The 5 Best Apollo Alternatives (An Unbiased Comparison)

Apollo is a powerful tool for finding B2B leads and reaching out to them, with a database of 275 million contacts. However, it’s not for everyone.

Maybe you’re looking for a cheaper Apollo alternative to its expensive credit-based pricing model, a solution with better compliance and coverage in Europe, or a better way to send cold emails that don’t land in spam.

In this article, we’ll explore some of the best direct Apollo alternatives on the market, along with options for handling the automated email and list-building parts of the puzzle separately.

Let’s jump in.

What to Look for in an Apollo Alternative?

The right Apollo alternative depends on your specific needs. Here are a few things to help you make the right choice from this list:

• Do you need a complete prospecting solution for large sales teams or a set of streamlined tools? Apollo is a complete prospecting solution with a database to help you find leads, reach out to them, and manage your team’s prospecting operation. However, for some smaller businesses, this could be overkill. Perhaps you only need a tool that helps you find prospects’ verified emails and a simpler cold email solution like Mailmeteor to reach them.

• Do you only do business in the US or worldwide? Some tools on this list, like Uplead, focus on US markets and are only CCPA-compliant. Tools like Cognism can help you find leads in Europe that meet compliance standards.

• How important is data accuracy to you? Some tools on this list are cheaper because they don’t do as much to verify contact information. This is important because if you’re sending emails and they bounce, you’ll do long-term damage to your ability to avoid landing in spam. Solutions like Cognism, for example, have an in-house team that verifies contact information. However, a simpler way to prevent email bounces is to use an email tool like Mailmeteor that verifies emails before sending, preventing bounces altogether.

1. Mailmeteor — Best for Sending Personalized Emails to Prospects

You didn’t think we’d write this post without recommending our product, right?

Before you scroll down, hear us out—there’s a reason why Mailmeteor is loved by 5 million users and recommended by Google.

If you’re looking for a way to send personalized emails to prospects you collect from the Apollo alternatives on this list, avoid landing in spam, and protect your domain’s sender reputation—you’ll love Mailmeteor.

Not only does Mailmeteor allow you to send automated personalized emails to prospects, track your success in real-time, and follow up based on whether your recipient has opened, clicked, or replied, but it also ensures your emails don’t land in spam.

Unlike many solutions like Apollo which send your emails through bulk email servers in one go, which signals to inboxes like Gmail that your email is a mass email, Mailmeteor sends your campaigns through Gmail or Outlook accounts and drip-sends your emails throughout the day. This makes your emails appear as real human activity to your recipient’s mailbox, resulting in less spam.

What’s more, Mailmeteor has a feature called BounceShield, which checks the validity of your emails before sending them to avoid bounces that could damage your email reputation.

Standout Features:

• Send automated follow-ups based on whether your recipient has not opened, opened, or replied.
• Enjoy best-in-class deliverability thanks to sending through Gmail and Outlook servers.
• Personalize your emails with custom fields.
• Check the validity of emails before sending them with BounceShield.
• Integrate CRM (HubSpot and Salesforce).
• Connect with Google Sheets, Forms, or Excel to automatically send emails when you add prospects to a list.
• Track your success with detailed analytics.
• Use the Chrome extension to operate Mailmeteor within Gmail.
• Send up to 2,000 emails per day (Gmail limit).

Where It Falls Short:

• Mailmeteor is not a lead-sourcing solution like Apollo, but you can use it in conjunction with other Apollo alternatives on this list.

Pricing:

The Mailmeteor free plan lets you send up to 50 emails per day, which is a great way to explore how it works.

The premium plan is $9.99 per month and lets you schedule up to 2,000 emails per day. The Pro plan is $24.99 per month and unlocks powerful automation features such as email sequences, auto follow-up emails, and bounce detection.

2. Cognism — Best Apollo Alternative for Worldwide Compliance

If you’re looking for the most accurate way to find the contact information of your ideal customers, Cognism is a great Apollo alternative.

When it comes to verification, Cognism goes a step further with data accuracy; their in-house team actually verifies the emails and phone numbers of the contacts in their database.

Plus, if you’re prospecting worldwide, unlike Apollo, Cognism meets GDPR requirements and various other non-US compliance standards. And unlike Apollo’s credit-based pricing, Cognism operates on an unlimited model.

However, it’s worth noting that Cognism doesn’t offer a built-in way to send personalized emails to prospects. But that’s OK—you could always pair it with a solution like Mailmeteor on this list to send personalized emails to the lists you build with Cognism.

Standout Features:

• Caters to those prospecting in EMEA, NAM, APAC markets, as well as the US.
• Verified phone numbers by their in-house team.
• No credit limits to worry about on plans.
• Buyer intent data powered by market leader Bombora.
• Sales triggers to strike when the iron’s hot.
• Browser extension to collect leads on the fly.
• Leading CRM integrations.

Where It Falls Short:

• No way to send email campaigns from the platform (but you could supplement this with something like Mailmeteor).
• Built for large sales teams running large campaigns, which could be overkill for small businesses.
• Expensive, but that’s expected with the accuracy of its data.

Pricing:

You have to book a demo to get accurate pricing from Cognism. However, unlike Apollo and other Apollo alternatives, the last time we checked, they don’t put limits on data with per-credit pricing—it’s unlimited. This is attractive for many sales teams.

3. Uplead — A More Generous Apollo Alternative

Uplead is another Apollo alternative that acts as an all-in-one prospect finder platform.

With over 100 million B2B contacts and 95% data accuracy, thanks to real-time email verification that’s passed along to their research team if incorrect, it offers decent accuracy.

However, it’s worth pointing out that Uplead has a strong US focus and doesn’t offer the level of compliance in European regions as others on this list. Additionally, it doesn’t have built-in email functionality.

But if you’re looking for the most cost-effective Apollo alternative, Uplead is worth a look. Price-wise, Uplead uses a similar credit system to Apollo but is more generous in the information you get per credit.

Standout Features:

• 155M+ leads, verified as you search and ranked by freshness with 95% data accuracy.
• Intent data powered by Bombora.
• Email verification built-in to avoid bounces.
• API for finding contact information from a domain.
• Chrome extension with technographics.

Where It Falls Short:

• No built-in email functionality, but you can use something lik Mailmeteor on this list to handle that.
• 95% data accuracy isn’t perfect, so remember to validate emails before sending.
• Not GDPR-compliant, with a strong US focus.

Pricing:

Uplead operates on a credit-based pricing model, where 1 credit equals 1 contact info.

The free plan comes with 5 credits, which is a great way to get a feel for how it works. The Essentials plan gives you 170 credits per month for $99. The Plus plan provides 400 credits monthly for $199 per month.

To unlock more credits, buyer intent data, and additional features, you’ll need to speak with their sales team.

4. Lusha — The Cheapest Apollo Alternative for Finding Emails

Lusha is a tool that helps you reach B2B leads and decision-makers. Lusha doesn’t just get its data from public sources and its data partners; it also uses AI algorithms and crowdsourcing to improve data accuracy.

Moreover, unlike some Apollo alternatives like Uplead, Lusha is both GDPR and CCPA-compliant and offers a way to send cold emails.

However, it’s worth pointing out that Lusha uses AI to verify data, so you may encounter inaccuracies. It’s advisable to pair it with a tool that validates email contacts before sending, like Mailmeteor.

Standout Lusha Features:

• Solid data from a mix of crowdsourcing, user feedback, data partners, and AI.
• Integrates with your CRM to enrich contacts.
• Certified GDPR & CCPA-compliant, SOC 2 Type II.
• Powerful Chrome extension.
• Track intent signals (like job changes).

Where It Falls Short:

• There’s no way to verify emails and contact information in Lusha, and there are common errors, so you’d have to use a separate tool.

Pricing:

Lusha operates on a credit-based pricing model, with two types of credits: one for revealing emails and the other for phone numbers.

The free plan is generous with 50 email credits per year and 5 phone credits.

The Pro plan offers 160 emails per year and 40 phone credits for $49 per month.

The Premium plan gives you 320 emails per year and 80 phone credits.

5. Hunter — Best for Hunting Down Specific Company Emails

As the name suggests, Hunter is perfect for hunting down the email addresses of specific people at specific companies.

With Hunter, you can enter company domain names to find people’s specific email addresses and verify that they are correct. Moreover, Hunter also offers an email function to send outbound campaigns.

Standout Hunter Features:

• Hunter Discover — A database of companies where you can search for leads based on your ideal customer profile.
• Domain Search — Enter the domain of a company and find the best person for you to reach out to.
• Email Finder — Search for a specific individual and find their email address.
• Email Verification — Avoid bounces by verifying your email before sending.
• Integrate with CRM tools and email providers like Gmail and Outlook.

Where It Falls Short:

• Their database is not as strong as some of the contenders on this list.

Who It’s For:

Hunter is ideal for those who want a fluff-free way to find verified email addresses of specific leads they want to target.

Pricing:

The Hunter free plan comes with 25 free monthly searches and 50 email verifications.

The paid plans start at $35 for 6,000 monthly searches and 12,000 email verifications. All paid plans come with email-sending capabilities.

6. Seamless AI — A Popular List-Building Alternative

Seamless AI helps you find verified emails and phone numbers for anyone you need to sell to using its AI-powered search engine that collects real-time, up-to-date contact information.

With data enrichment, job change notifications, and a tool that helps you craft a personalized pitch, it’s a great solution for collecting prospects to reach out to.

However, it’s worth pointing out that because the database is populated by a powerful AI, you might find some errors in the data. Therefore, it’s recommended to pair it with an email validation tool.

Standout Features:

• Use the AI-powered search engine to find up-to-date contact information for your ideal customers. Filter by role, industry, company size, annual revenue, and more.
• Use the Chrome extension to find the contact information of individuals on their LinkedIn profile.
• Use Seamless.ai’s AI-powered email writing tool to come up with email ideas based on the information you collect.
• Integrate with all the top sales tools and CRMs you’d expect.

Where It Falls Short:

• No email functionality, but you could pair it with a tool like Mailmeteor to overcome this.
• Due to the search engine being powered by AI, there are sometimes mistakes.
• There doesn’t seem to be a way to verify emails.

Pricing:

Seamless.ai operates on a credit-based pricing model. The free plan gives you 50 credits per month. You need to contact sales for paid plan pricing.

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