Apollo vs Instantly: Pricing, Features and Which to Pick
The all in one prospecting database against the high volume cold email sender, compared on published prices, sending limits, data and reviews.
By , research by the BestBots team · Updated Oct 19, 2026
Fact checked against each company's published pricing, documentation and verified user ratings. How we score
Pick Apollo if you need to find and contact leads from one seat: it bundles a B2B database, sequences, a dialer and AI research from $65 a month, with a free plan. Pick Instantly if you already have leads and need to send a lot of cold email cheaply: $97 a month buys 125,000 emails across unlimited warmed mailboxes with no seat fee.
Side by side
| Spec | Apollo.io | Instantly |
|---|---|---|
| BestBots Score | 4.4 | 4.0 |
| Starting price | $65 per seat per month | $47 per month |
| Pricing model | per seat plus credits | flat monthly by email volume, lead credits separate |
| Free trial | 14 days, 75 credits | Sign up without a credit card; trial length not stated on the pricing page |
| Price per seat | $65 per month (Basic, monthly) or $49 billed annually; Professional $99 or $79 | No per seat fee: from $47 per month flat (Growth), $97 for 125,000 emails |
| Contacts or credits | Free 900 credits per year; Basic 2,500 per month; Professional 4,000 per month. Email 1 credit, phone 8 credits | 1,000 to 100,000 uploaded contacts by plan; lead credits from $47 per month or bundled from $94 |
| Email sending | 250 emails a day on Free and Basic; unlimited daily sends on Professional and up | Unlimited email accounts and warmup; 5,000 to 500,000 emails a month |
| Data sources | Apollo's own B2B database plus waterfall enrichment from partner providers | 450M+ B2B lead database with waterfall enrichment |
| Chrome extension for prospecting on LinkedIn; no listed LinkedIn message automation | Not listed on the pricing page | |
| CRM sync | Salesforce, HubSpot and other CRM integrations on paid plans | Export to major CRMs; Instantly also sells its own CRM |
The short answer
These tools overlap less than their ads suggest. Apollo is a prospecting platform: the database is the product, and sequences, a US dialer, a meeting scheduler and AI research sit on top, priced per seat with credits for emails (1 credit) and phone numbers (8 credits). Instantly is a sending platform: unlimited email accounts with warmup is the product, priced flat by email volume, with a lead database and an AI Sales Agent sold as add ons or bundles.
- Solo founder or small sales team that needs leads: Apollo.
- Agency or growth team sending 50,000+ cold emails a month: Instantly.
- Team that wants the best of both: Apollo for lists, Instantly for sending. Many teams run exactly that.
Pricing
All prices as listed on each pricing page in October 2026, monthly billing unless noted.
| Apollo | Instantly | |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free plan: 900 credits a year, 2 sequences, 1 mailbox, 250 emails a day | No free plan; sign up without a card |
| Entry | Basic $65 per seat ($49 annual): 2,500 credits a month | Growth $47 flat ($37.60 annual): 5,000 emails, 1,000 contacts |
| Mid | Professional $99 per seat ($79 annual): 4,000 credits, unlimited daily sends | Hypergrowth $97 ($77.60 annual): 125,000 emails, 25,000 contacts |
| High | Organization $119 per seat, annual, 3 seat minimum | Light Speed $358 ($286.30 annual): 500,000 emails, 100,000 contacts |
| Data | Included as credits: email 1, phone 8 | Lead credits from $47 a month, or bundles $94, $194, $555 |
| Mailboxes | 1 per user on Basic; unlimited on Professional | Unlimited on every plan |
| Billing gotchas | Credits reset each cycle, downgrades not refunded, annual cannot switch to monthly mid term | Reviewers report strict no refund policy and hard cancellation |
Cost at three team setups
| Setup | Apollo | Instantly |
|---|---|---|
| 1 seat, find 2,000 contacts, send about 5,000 emails | $65 (Basic) | $94 (Starter bundle with 1,500 lead credits) |
| 1 seat, find 4,000 contacts, send 25,000 emails | $99 (Professional) | $194 (Scale bundle, 5,000 lead credits) |
| 3 users, own lists, send 100,000 emails | $297 (3 Professional seats) | $97 (Hypergrowth) |
The pattern is clear: Apollo is cheaper when you need data, Instantly is cheaper when you need volume. For other outbound tools, see the AI Price Index.
Features
| Feature | Apollo | Instantly |
|---|---|---|
| Contact database | Own B2B database plus waterfall enrichment | 450M+ lead database with waterfall enrichment |
| Phone numbers | Yes, 8 credits each | Not listed as a core feature |
| Dialer | US dialer, 1 credit per 30 seconds | No |
| Email sequences | Unlimited on paid plans | Yes, core product |
| Mailboxes and warmup | 1 per user on Basic, unlimited Google and Microsoft on Professional | Unlimited accounts and warmup on every plan |
| AI agent | AI research and writing in sequences | AI Sales Agent on bundles, AI Reply Agent on Scale |
| Chrome extension for prospecting | Not listed | |
| CRM | Salesforce, HubSpot and others on paid plans | Export to CRMs, plus Instantly CRM |
| Seats | Per seat | No seat fee |
Who wins for each scenario
Founder doing outbound alone
Winner: Apollo. One $65 seat (or the free plan to start) gets you leads, verified emails, a sequence and a dialer in one place. Instantly would need a bundle to match the data.
Agency sending for many clients
Winner: Instantly. Unlimited mailboxes with warmup and flat pricing by email volume suit agencies that spin up dozens of sending domains. Apollo's per seat and per mailbox model gets expensive.
Sales team that calls as well as emails
Winner: Apollo. Direct dials at 8 credits, a built in US dialer and call recording on Organization. Instantly is email only.
High volume cold email with your own lists
Winner: Instantly. $97 for 125,000 emails a month against $99 per seat on Apollo Professional. At 3 users that is $97 against $297.
Tight budget, testing outbound for the first time
Winner: Apollo. The free plan gives 900 credits a year and 2 sequences. Instantly has no free plan.
Teams that care about vendor trust
Winner: Apollo. Its 3.1 Trustpilot score from 1,369 reviews is middling, but Instantly's rating is suspended by Trustpilot and a quarter of its reviews are one star.
Reviews and trust
Apollo's Trustpilot page shows 3.1 from 1,369 reviews. Repeated complaints: outdated or wrong contact data and rigid billing (annual plans locked until term end, no refunds on downgrade). Praise centers on value and having everything in one tool.
Instantly's Trustpilot page has its rating suspended for a guideline breach. Of 1,178 reviews, 26% are one star, mostly about billing, refunds, cancellation and campaigns landing in spam despite warmup.
Privacy
Both tools store your prospect lists, email content and mailbox connections. Apollo is also a data provider, so people in its database can request access or deletion under privacy laws; check how it handles suppression for your own contacts. With either, connect mailboxes on separate sending domains, not your main domain, so a deliverability problem does not hit your company email. Review each vendor's data processing terms before you upload customer data.
Verdict
Apollo is the better single tool for most small sales teams because it covers finding, contacting and calling leads from $65 a seat, with a free plan to start. Instantly wins outright for high volume cold email and agencies, where unlimited warmed mailboxes at $97 a month beat any per seat model. If you can afford both, use Apollo for data and Instantly for sending. Full reviews: Apollo and Instantly. Other options: best AI SDR tools.
Frequently asked questions
Is Apollo or Instantly better for cold email?
Instantly, if sending volume is the job. $97 a month buys 125,000 emails with unlimited mailboxes and warmup and no seat fee. Apollo caps Basic at 250 emails a day and 1 mailbox per user, and charges per seat, so high volume senders end up on its $99 Professional plan for each user.
Is Apollo or Instantly better for finding leads?
Apollo. Its database, filters, phone numbers and Chrome extension come with every seat, including 900 free credits a year on the free plan. Instantly has a 450M+ lead database, but lead credits are sold separately from $47 a month or in bundles from $94.
Can I use Apollo and Instantly together?
Yes, and many teams do: build and enrich lists in Apollo, export them, and send through Instantly's unlimited warmed mailboxes. That pairing costs from $65 (Apollo Basic) plus $47 or $97 (Instantly) a month.
Does Apollo have email warmup?
Apollo lists a deliverability suite on paid plans, but Basic allows 1 mailbox and 250 emails a day per user. Instantly includes unlimited email accounts and warmup on every outreach plan, which is the core of its product.
Which is cheaper, Apollo or Instantly?
For sending, Instantly: $47 to $97 a month flat for any number of mailboxes. For one seat that needs data, sequences and a dialer in one place, Apollo Basic at $65 ($49 annual) is cheaper than Instantly's $94 Starter bundle with lead credits.
Does Instantly have an AI SDR?
Yes. Instantly's AI Sales Agent comes on its bundle plans from $94 a month; it finds leads, writes, sends and books from your website URL. Apollo offers AI research and writing inside its sequences on paid seats.
Which has better reviews?
Apollo, on public record. It holds 3.1 on Trustpilot from 1,369 reviews, with data accuracy and billing the common complaints. Trustpilot has suspended Instantly's rating for a guideline breach, and 26% of its 1,178 reviews are one star, mostly about billing, refunds and deliverability.
Does Apollo or Instantly do LinkedIn outreach?
Neither automates LinkedIn messages on its pricing page. Apollo has a Chrome extension for prospecting on LinkedIn; Instantly lists no LinkedIn features. For LinkedIn steps, look at lemlist's Multichannel plan or Reply.io.