Apollo vs ZoomInfo
A self-serve contact database with sequences built in, against a wide B2B data platform sold in separate products. Your buying motion decides it.
Choose Apollo when you want a self-serve contact database with sequences, a free plan and a published credits model. Choose ZoomInfo when your team runs account-based plays that depend on buyer intent, website-visitor tracking and conversation intelligence across one data platform.
The short answer
- Apollo runs on credits: exports to CSV, a CRM or the API spend them, and its Starter plan is free forever (apollo.io/pricing, checked 24 September 2026).
- ZoomInfo sells its data across named products: Sales, Copilot, GTM Workspace, GTM Studio, Marketing, Talent, Operations and ZoomInfo MCP (zoominfo.com, checked 24 September 2026).
- Apollo bundles outreach with the data: email campaigns, sequences with A/B tests, call recording and an opportunities pipeline.
- ZoomInfo's pricing page did not load for our check, so any ZoomInfo figure should come from a written quote.
Apollo vs ZoomInfo at a glance
| Dimension | Apollo | ZoomInfo |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Plans plus credits; exports and mobile numbers spend credits | No price on a page we could read; the product page offers a free trial and a sales contact |
| Free option | Starter plan, free forever, with Gmail-only sending on non-paying plans | Free trial offered on the product page |
| Contact data | Company and contact database with search and filters | Company and contact database with direct dials and filters by attribute |
| Outreach | Email campaigns, sequences, A/B tests, call recording | Sales automation for phone and email, plus Copilot as an AI sales agent |
| Pipeline | Opportunities feature for deals | Built to feed your CRM through enrichment and the API |
| AI connection | MCP page at apollo.io/product/mcp | ZoomInfo MCP and a ZoomInfo app in ChatGPT |
Checked on apollo.io/pricing, apollo.io/product/mcp, zoominfo.com/products/sales and zoominfo.com/pricing, 24 September 2026. The ZoomInfo pricing page returned an access error to our check, so no ZoomInfo price appears here.
What each one does well, and where it costs you
Apollo
- You can start free and see the product before you pay, because the Starter plan has no end date
- Data and sequences live in one product, so a small team can prospect and send without a second tool
- Every export spends credits, so a team that moves contacts into its own CRM often needs to plan credit use month by month
- Non-paying plans send through Gmail only, per the pricing page
ZoomInfo
- Intent, website-visitor tracking, ABM and conversation intelligence all sit on one data platform
- Direct dials and a deep attribute filter suit phone-heavy and enterprise account work
- No public price on a page we could read, so budgeting starts with a sales call
- Capabilities are split across products, so the plan you buy decides which ones you get
How to choose between Apollo and ZoomInfo
Start with how your team finds buyers. If you build lists by title, industry and company size, then send sequences, Apollo covers that in one product. You can test it on the free plan with your own targets before a contract is on the table.
If your plays start from a signal, the maths changes. An account that visits your pricing page or researches your category is the trigger in that model. ZoomInfo lists intent and visitor tracking as products built for it. That's where its wider platform earns its place.
Price the export, not the seat. Both tools matter most when their data reaches the system your team works in every day. Count how many contacts you move each month, then ask each vendor what that volume costs. Choose neither when your list is small and hand-built: a spreadsheet or your CRM's own import does that job.
Wherever the data comes from, keep it in a CRM you control. Our Apollo integration page shows how SalesCrew imports and enriches from Apollo, and the sales intelligence roundup covers the wider field.
Questions
- Is Apollo cheaper than ZoomInfo?
- Apollo is the easier one to price, because it publishes its plans and runs a free Starter plan it calls free forever. Its paid plans run on credits, and exporting contacts out of Apollo spends them. ZoomInfo's pricing page did not load for our check on 24 September 2026, so we quote no ZoomInfo figure. Ask both vendors for a quote at your real seat count and monthly export volume before you compare.
- Does Apollo or ZoomInfo have an MCP server?
- Both do. Apollo publishes an MCP page at apollo.io/product/mcp. ZoomInfo lists ZoomInfo MCP in its product menu as a way to connect your AI to its data. Both pages were live on 24 September 2026. An MCP server lets Claude or ChatGPT query the database from a chat window, so check which records and credits each call uses.
- Can Apollo replace ZoomInfo for outbound?
- For many outbound teams, yes. Apollo pairs its contact database with email sequences, A/B tests, call recording and a deal pipeline in one product. ZoomInfo splits the same ground across products. Sales holds the database, Copilot is an AI sales agent, and Marketing runs ABM. The switch works when your team mostly needs lists plus sequences. It gets harder when your plays depend on intent or website-visitor signals.
- What happens to the data when I stop paying?
- With either vendor, what you keep is what you exported while you were a customer. Apollo meters exports with credits, whether they go to CSV, a CRM or the API. Plan your exports into your own CRM while the contract is active. Store the source and date on each record so you know when it needs re-checking.
- Is there a CRM that holds Apollo data and runs the outreach too?
- Yes. SalesCrew connects Apollo as a data source for import and enrichment, then keeps those contacts in its data bank beside your pipeline. Segments apply suppression when you freeze an audience, and multi-step cadences send from your own mailbox pool. SalesCrew is our product; Core is $299 a month with unlimited seats.