Apollo.io Alternative for LinkedIn Outreach: Pricing, Complaints, and When to Switch in 2026
By Abdellah El Younsi. Published , updated . 6 min read.
Apollo.io is a contact database with email sequences, a dialer and a light CRM. Paid plans run from $49 to $119 per seat per month billed annually, with credits to reveal emails and phone numbers.
What Apollo does not do is LinkedIn. Its sequences can include LinkedIn steps, but you complete them by hand: Apollo writes the text, you paste it into LinkedIn.
This page covers Apollo's plans and credits, the complaints that come up most in reviews, and when a LinkedIn first, signal based tool like Deberli fits better.
Key Takeaways
- Apollo costs $49, $79 or $119 per seat per month billed annually, or $65 and $99 billed monthly. Credits are pooled, reset each cycle and do not roll over.
- LinkedIn steps in an Apollo sequence are manual tasks. Apollo does not send invitations or messages for you.
- Apollo's intent data is company level topic interest. It does not tell you which person just posted a need.
- The top complaints are data accuracy and bounces, credits that run out or expire, support, and billing on annual plans.
What Is Apollo.io?
Apollo is a sales platform built around a large contact database: Apollo says 240 million contacts and 30 million companies. On top of it sit email sequences, a deliverability suite, a dialer, AI writing and scoring, and integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot and Pipedrive.
It is pitched at everyone from founders to enterprise sales teams, and its free plan makes it the first prospecting tool many people try.
How Much Does Apollo.io Cost in 2026?
Prices are in US dollars, per seat per month. These are the prices Apollo showed us on 3 October 2026. Apollo appears to test prices, so you may see different numbers.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 75 a month per seat |
| Basic | $65 | $49 a month | 2,500 a month |
| Professional | $99 | $79 a month | 4,000 a month |
| Organization | Annual only | $119 a month, 3 seats minimum | 6,000 a month |
How credits work. One pool, shared across the team, granted up front and reset every billing cycle. Unused credits do not roll over. Revealing a verified email or a phone number costs credits, and mobile number credits are never refunded.
Professional is the plan most teams land on, because Basic caps email sending at 250 a day and has no A/Z testing.
Can Apollo.io Send LinkedIn Messages for You?
No. Apollo's own help center says LinkedIn tasks need to be completed by hand, and that Apollo does not complete them for you.
A sequence can include four LinkedIn task types: send a connection request, view a profile, interact with a post, and send a message. Apollo fills in the text. You open LinkedIn, paste it and mark the task done.
The Chrome extension helps while you browse LinkedIn: it saves contacts and reveals their email and phone, using credits. It still does not send anything.
So if LinkedIn is where your buyers answer, Apollo leaves the slowest part of the work to you.
Does Apollo.io Have Buying Signals?
It has three kinds of signal, all useful, none person level:
| Apollo signal | What it tells you | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Buying intent (Bombora topics) | A company is reading about a topic more than usual, captured weekly | Company |
| Website visitors | Which companies visited your site | Company |
| Job changes | A contact moved to a new company | Person, paid plans |
| Signals | Saved filters you define, like headcount or revenue | Filter, not an event |
None of these tells you that a specific person just asked for a recommendation, complained about the problem you solve or engaged with a competitor's post. Those are the moments Deberli is built around.
What Do Users Complain About With Apollo.io?
Apollo rates 4.5 out of 5 on Capterra and 3.1 out of 5 on Trustpilot, where reviews split between five stars and one. The complaints that come back most, paraphrased:
| Complaint | What reviewers describe | What to check in an alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Data accuracy | Outdated contacts and bounced emails, weaker outside the US | Whether emails are verified before you pay for them |
| Credits | They run out fast, do not roll over, and the real cost climbs | What a month of your real usage costs |
| Support | Slow or unhelpful answers | Who answers, and how fast |
| Billing | Annual plans cannot be downgraded mid cycle | How downgrades and cancellations work |
| Interface | Slow and cluttered for some | How long until your first campaign is live |
How Does Deberli Compare With Apollo.io?
They solve different problems. Apollo gives you a database to search and email. Deberli finds people at the moment they show a need and contacts them on LinkedIn and by email for you.
| Apollo.io | Deberli | |
|---|---|---|
| Where leads come from | A database you filter | Buying signals: intent posts, hiring, funding, engagement with you or a competitor |
| Signals | Company level topics, visitors, job changes | Person level: what this person just did |
| LinkedIn invitations and messages | Manual tasks you complete | Sent for you from your own account, paced safely |
| Sequences, warmup, mailboxes | From as many of your own inboxes as you like | |
| Finding emails | Credits, pooled, reset each cycle | One credit per verified address, nothing when none is found |
| Phone numbers and dialer | Yes | No |
| Public API | Yes | Not yet |
| Price | $79 per seat a month on Professional, annual | EUR 99 a month, two LinkedIn accounts included |
Keep Apollo for data if you like. Let Deberli find buyers on LinkedIn and message them for you, free for 7 days.
When Should You Stay With Apollo.io?
If you sell by email and phone at volume. Apollo's database, dialer and email suite are built for that, and Deberli has no dialer.
If you need the data in your CRM. Apollo's API and CRM integrations are mature. Deberli has no public API yet.
If you use it alongside. Many teams keep Apollo for enrichment and add a LinkedIn tool for the outreach Apollo leaves manual.
Moving LinkedIn Outreach Off Apollo: What Do You Check First?
Run these before you change anything.
- Export the contacts and sequences you want to keep before your plan changes.
- Check your renewal date. Annual plans cannot be downgraded mid cycle.
- Find which LinkedIn tasks you actually completed last month. That is the work a LinkedIn tool takes off your plate.
- Remove people already in an Apollo sequence from the new tool's list, so nobody hears from you twice.
- Run the new tool for a week on the same market and compare who it finds with who Apollo's filters return.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Apollo.io cost?
On 3 October 2026, Apollo showed Basic at $49, Professional at $79 and Organization at $119 per seat per month billed annually, or $65 and $99 billed monthly for Basic and Professional. Organization needs at least 3 seats. A free plan includes 75 credits a month. Apollo appears to test prices, so you may see different numbers.
Does Apollo.io automate LinkedIn?
No. LinkedIn steps in an Apollo sequence are manual tasks. Apollo writes the text, and you send the invitation or message yourself in LinkedIn.
What is the best Apollo.io alternative for LinkedIn outreach?
Pick a tool that sends on LinkedIn for you. Deberli finds people from buying signals, checks each one against who you sell to, writes the message and sends it from your own LinkedIn account, for EUR 99 a month with two accounts and email included.
Does Apollo.io have intent data?
Yes, at company level. It uses Bombora topic intent, captured weekly, plus website visitor identification and job change alerts on paid plans. It does not show which person just posted about a need.
Do Apollo credits roll over?
No. Credits are granted up front, pooled across the team and reset every billing cycle. Unused credits are lost.
Apollo prices and features come from Apollo's pricing page and help center, checked on 3 October 2026. Complaints are paraphrased from public reviews. Apollo.io is a trademark of its owner, and Deberli is not affiliated with it.