Apollo.io vs Instantly
Apollo.io and Instantly are both sales engagement & outbound tools. Apollo.io is aimed at small businesses and enterprise, while Instantly is aimed at small businesses and agencies. Instantly costs less, from $47/mo versus $59/mo for Apollo.io. Only Apollo.io has a free plan.
B2B contact database with sequences and dialer
Cold email at scale with unlimited accounts
| Pricing | Freemium · $59 | Paid · $47 |
| Starting price | $59/mo | $47/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | Small businesses, Enterprise | Small businesses, Agencies |
| Platforms | web | web |
| Country | US · 2015 | US · 2021 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Apollo.io if
Startups and SMB sales teams who need data and outreach without ZoomInfo budgets.
- Data plus engagement in one affordable tool
- Generous free tier
- Fast prospect list building
Look elsewhere if: Enterprises needing highest-accuracy phone data or complex orchestration (Clay + Outreach).
Choose Instantly if
Teams and agencies running high-volume cold email.
- Flat pricing with unlimited inboxes
- Strong warm-up and deliverability tools
- Simple, fast UI
Look elsewhere if: Personalized multichannel outreach (lemlist) or teams new to deliverability.
Apollo.io vs Instantly pricing
Apollo.io
- Free$0Light usage, limited credits and contact database
- Basic$59/user/mo$49/mo billed annually; email sequencing, core integrations
- Professional$99/user/mo$79/mo billed annually; AI features, dialer, call recording
- CustomCustomCustom volumes, SSO, advanced security, API access
Instantly
- Growth$47/mo$37.60/mo billed annually; 1,000 contacts, 5,000 emails/mo
- Hypergrowth$97/mo$77.60/mo billed annually; 25,000 contacts, 125,000 emails
- Light Speed$358/mo$286.30/mo billed annually; 100,000 contacts, SISR
- EnterpriseCustom500,000+ emails, private deliverability network
Apollo.io · Key features
- Searchable database with 65+ filters and buying intent
- Email sequences with A/B tests and deliverability tools
- Dialer, call recording and conversation intelligence
- Chrome extension for LinkedIn and websites
- CRM enrichment and two-way sync
- AI research, writing and workflows
Cons
- Mobile number accuracy varies
- Credit limits on higher-value data
- Deliverability depends on your setup
Instantly · Key features
- Unlimited sending accounts with rotation
- Warm-up network and deliverability analytics
- Sequences with A/B testing and spintax
- Unified inbox (Unibox) for replies
- Lead database and enrichment
- CRM and AI reply agent add-ons
Cons
- Add-ons increase total cost
- Encourages volume over quality
- Email only (no native LinkedIn)
Apollo.io vs Instantly: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Apollo.io or Instantly?
Instantly starts at $47/mo and Apollo.io at $59/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Apollo.io and Instantly have a free plan?
Apollo.io has a free plan. Instantly has no free plan.