Apollo.io Pricing Breakdown [2026]: Plans, Credits, and Hidden Costs
Apollo.io has become one of the most popular sales intelligence platforms, but its pricing structure is more complex than it appears. What starts at "$49/user/month" often balloons once you account for credit systems, add-ons, and scaling costs.
This guide breaks down exactly what each Apollo plan includes, what the credit system really means for your budget, and where you might find better value.
Apollo.io Pricing Plans at a Glance
Apollo offers four tiers: Free, Basic, Professional, and Organization. All paid plans offer annual billing discounts of roughly 20%.
Free Plan — $0/month
- 10,000 email credits per month
- 5 mobile credits per month
- 250 emails/day send limit
- Basic sequence automation
- LinkedIn and Gmail extension
- Limited filters and search
The Free plan is decent for individual prospectors testing the waters, but the 5 mobile credits and 250 daily email cap makes it impractical for any real SDR workflow.
Basic Plan — $49/user/month (annual) or $59/user/month (monthly)
- Unlimited email credits
- 75 mobile credits per month
- 1,000 export credits per month
- Email open and click tracking
- Advanced filters
- Integration with major CRMs
- No A/B testing on sequences
Basic is where most small teams start, but watch the mobile credit limit. If your SDRs are making 20+ calls per day, 75 mobile credits will run out by week two.
Professional Plan — $79/user/month (annual) or $99/user/month (monthly)
- Unlimited email credits
- 100 mobile credits per month
- 2,000 export credits per month
- A/B testing on sequences
- Auto-dialer
- Multichannel sequences
- Advanced analytics and reporting
Professional unlocks the real sales engagement features. But at $79/user/month for a team of 5, you're already at $4,740/year before add-ons.
Organization Plan — $119/user/month (annual) or $149/user/month (monthly)
- Minimum 3 users required
- 200 mobile credits per month
- 4,000 export credits per month
- International dialer
- Custom workflows
- Advanced security and governance
- API access
- Dedicated CSM
Organization is designed for larger teams with compliance needs. The 3-user minimum means you're committing at least $4,284/year.
The Credit System: Where Costs Spiral
Apollo's biggest hidden cost is the credit system. Every meaningful action — exporting a lead, viewing a mobile number, enriching a contact — costs credits.
Here's what that looks like in practice:
- Exporting a lead: 1 export credit
- Viewing a mobile number: 1 mobile credit
- Bulk operations: Credits burn fast at scale
For an SDR team of 5 on the Professional plan, you get 10,000 export credits and 500 mobile credits per month total. If each rep is prospecting 50 accounts per day, those export credits vanish in two weeks.
Buying additional credits is expensive. Apollo doesn't publicly list overage pricing, but users report costs of $0.03-0.10 per additional credit depending on type and volume.
Real-World Cost Example: 5-Person SDR Team
| Item | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Professional plan (5 users) | $395/mo |
| Additional mobile credits (500 extra) | ~$50/mo |
| Additional export credits (5,000 extra) | ~$150/mo |
| Annual total | ~$7,140/year |
And that's before you factor in CRM costs, calling tools, and other tech stack expenses.
What Apollo.io Does Well
Credit where it's due — Apollo offers genuine value in several areas:
- Massive contact database: 275M+ contacts across 73M+ companies
- Free plan is usable: Unlike many competitors, the free tier has real functionality
- Sequence automation: Built-in email sequences reduce tool sprawl
- Chrome extension: Prospect directly from LinkedIn
- Data enrichment: Keep your CRM records current
Where Apollo Falls Short
Based on G2 reviews and user feedback, here are the recurring complaints:
Data accuracy issues. Multiple G2 reviewers note that email bounce rates can reach 15-20% on some segments. Mobile numbers are particularly unreliable for mid-market and enterprise contacts.
No website visitor identification. Apollo tells you who might be interested based on firmographic data. It cannot tell you who is actually on your website right now showing buying intent. This is a critical gap for intent-driven selling.
No daily action plan. Apollo gives you a database and tools, but the "what to do next" decision still falls on your SDR. You get data, not direction.
Credit anxiety. SDRs start rationing credits mid-month, which defeats the purpose of having a prospecting tool. Nobody should hesitate to research a prospect because they might run out of credits.
Expensive at scale. A team of 10 on the Professional plan runs $9,480/year minimum — and that's before credit overages.
Apollo.io vs. MarketBetter: Different Approaches to Sales
Apollo and MarketBetter solve different problems. Apollo is primarily a contact database with outreach tools. MarketBetter is an intent-powered SDR workflow platform.
Here's the fundamental difference:
Apollo tells you WHO exists. It gives you access to millions of contacts and lets you build lists based on firmographic filters. Your SDRs still need to decide who to prioritize, what to say, and when to reach out.
MarketBetter tells you WHO to contact and WHAT TO DO. Every morning, your SDRs get a prioritized task list based on real buying signals — website visits, engagement patterns, and intent data. No guessing. No "let me build a list." Just: call this person, send this email, follow up on this opportunity.
Key Differences
| Capability | Apollo.io | MarketBetter |
|---|---|---|
| Contact database | 275M+ contacts | Integrated data |
| Website visitor ID | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Daily SDR playbook | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Smart dialer | ❌ Basic auto-dialer | ✅ Built-in with context |
| AI chatbot | ❌ No | ✅ Engages visitors 24/7 |
| Credit system | Complex, limited | No credit anxiety |
| Setup complexity | Moderate | Easiest setup (G2 award) |
| G2 rating | 4.7 | 4.97 |
Pricing Comparison
Apollo Professional for a 5-person team: ~$7,140/year (with typical credit overages)
MarketBetter includes visitor identification, smart dialer, AI chatbot, and the daily playbook in one platform — no credit systems, no per-action fees.
Who Should Choose Apollo?
Apollo is a strong choice if you:
- Need a massive contact database for cold outbound
- Have SDR managers who can build and optimize sequences themselves
- Don't rely heavily on inbound website traffic
- Want a free tier to test before committing
Who Should Choose MarketBetter?
MarketBetter is the better fit if you:
- Want your SDRs to work from a prioritized daily task list
- Need website visitor identification to catch buying intent
- Want an AI chatbot engaging visitors while your team sleeps
- Prefer transparent pricing without credit games
- Value speed-to-lead (90% faster lead response)
The Bottom Line
Apollo.io offers a solid contact database at competitive prices — if you stay within credit limits. But the real cost isn't the monthly fee. It's the SDR time spent building lists, deciding who to call, and managing sequences manually.
For teams that want to move from "here's a database, figure it out" to "here's exactly what to do today," MarketBetter's intent-powered approach delivers faster results with less manual work.
Ready to see the difference? Book a demo and see your daily SDR playbook in action.