Apollo vs Instantly (2026) Compared
Apollo tries to be your entire outbound stack. Instantly does one thing, cold email, better than almost anyone. The choice depends on how you sell.
The Short Version
Apollo is the better choice for sales teams that want contact data, multi-channel sequences, and a basic CRM in one platform. Instantly wins for agencies and growth teams focused purely on high-volume cold email with superior deliverability. Apollo at $49/user/mo gives you data + outreach. Instantly at $30/mo gives you email infrastructure that handles volume Apollo can't match. Many advanced teams use both.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Apollo.io | Instantly |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | Free (250 emails/day) | $30/mo (Growth) |
| Pro Price | $79/user/mo (Professional) | $77.60/mo (Hypergrowth) |
| Top Tier Price | $119/user/mo (Organization) | $286.30/mo (Light Speed) |
| Pricing Model | Per user | Per workspace (all users included) |
| Contact Database | 275M+ contacts built-in | Add-on via B2B Lead Finder ($47+/mo) |
| Email Warmup | Not included | Built-in, unlimited |
| Phone Dialer | Built-in (Professional+) | No |
| Channels | Email, phone, LinkedIn | Email only |
| Best For | Sales teams wanting one platform | Agencies and volume email teams |
| The Big Risk | Deliverability at scale needs help | Email-only limits your outreach channels |
Deep Dive: Apollo.io
What They're Selling
Apollo.io is the all-in-one outbound platform: 275M+ contact database, email sequences, phone dialer, LinkedIn integration, and a basic CRM. The pitch to growth teams is compelling. Why pay for ZoomInfo ($15K+/year) plus Salesloft ($15K+/year) when Apollo does data and outreach in one tool for under $5K/year?
What It Actually Costs
The free tier is genuinely useful: 250 emails/day, 60 mobile credits/year, basic sequences. Basic ($49/user/mo) gives you unlimited emails and 900 mobile credits/year. Professional ($79/user/mo) adds uncapped sending, the dialer, and A/B testing. Organization ($119/user/mo) adds advanced reports and SSO. A 5-person team on Professional: $4,740/year. That's less than ZoomInfo's cheapest plan alone.
What Users Say
Growth teams consistently praise the value. Having data and sequences in one tool reduces stack complexity. The contact database is good enough for most mid-market prospecting. Complaints: data accuracy on phone numbers is inconsistent, deliverability management isn't as strong as Instantly for high-volume campaigns, and the built-in CRM is too basic for most teams to use as their primary CRM.
Pros
- All-in-one: 275M+ contacts, sequences, dialer, and CRM in one platform
- Free tier with real functionality for solo sellers
- Multi-channel outreach: email, phone, and LinkedIn in one workflow
- 3-5x cheaper than assembling a ZoomInfo + Salesloft stack
Cons
- Deliverability management weaker than Instantly for high-volume sending
- Mobile credit limits restrict phone number reveals on lower tiers
- Built-in CRM is basic, so most teams still run Salesforce or HubSpot alongside it
- Data accuracy for enterprise contacts trails ZoomInfo
Deep Dive: Instantly
What They're Selling
Instantly is the cold email infrastructure platform. It doesn't try to be a CRM, a data provider, or a multi-channel engagement tool. It does one thing: send a lot of cold emails without hitting spam. Unlimited email accounts, built-in warmup, inbox rotation, and deliverability monitoring. For agencies and growth teams sending tens of thousands of emails per month, that focus is the product.
What It Actually Costs
Growth tier is $30/mo for 1,000 active leads and 5,000 emails/mo with warmup included. Hypergrowth ($77.60/mo) scales to 25,000 leads and 75,000 emails/mo. Light Speed ($286.30/mo) handles 100,000 leads and 500,000 emails/mo. All pricing is per workspace, meaning your entire team is included. Add the B2B Lead Finder ($47+/mo) if you need contact data. An agency running moderate campaigns: $77-125/mo total.
What Users Say
Users love the simplicity and the deliverability focus. The warmup feature works. The inbox rotation keeps sending reputation healthy across multiple domains. Frustrations: Instantly is email-only, so you need separate tools for phone and LinkedIn. The Lead Finder data quality is inconsistent compared to Apollo or ZoomInfo. Reporting is basic.
Pros
- Built-in email warmup keeps deliverability high at scale
- Unlimited email accounts with inbox rotation
- Per-workspace pricing means the whole team is included
- Simplest interface for setting up and running cold email campaigns
Cons
- Email only. No phone dialer, no LinkedIn, no multi-channel sequences.
- Lead Finder data quality is inconsistent
- Basic reporting compared to Apollo or Salesloft
- Need separate tools for CRM, phone outreach, and enrichment
Which Should You Pick?
The Honest Take
The job numbers tell an interesting story: 37 Apollo postings vs 38 for Instantly. Almost identical demand, but very different salary profiles. Instantly roles average $162K-$225K. Apollo roles average $146K-$173K. This suggests Instantly is popular at well-funded growth companies willing to pay top dollar for outbound specialists, while Apollo has broader adoption across company sizes. These tools solve different problems, and comparing them head-to-head misses the point. Apollo is a sales platform. It replaces 3-4 tools (data provider + email tool + dialer + basic CRM) with one affordable platform. Its weakness is that it's good at many things but best-in-class at none. Instantly is a cold email tool. It does one thing better than Apollo: send cold emails at volume without landing in spam. Its weakness is that it's only email. The advanced move is using both. Apollo for data sourcing, lead research, and phone outreach. Instantly for the email campaigns. This gives you Apollo's 275M+ contact database with Instantly's superior deliverability infrastructure. Total cost for a small team: $79/user/mo (Apollo Pro) + $77.60/mo (Instantly Hypergrowth). That's a complete outbound stack for around $160/mo per rep.
Questions to Ask Before Buying
- Is your outbound motion primarily email, or do you also need phone and LinkedIn?
- Do you already have a contact data provider, or do you need built-in data?
- How many cold emails does your team send per month?
- Are you an agency managing campaigns for multiple clients?
- Do you need a built-in phone dialer for cold calling?
- How important is email deliverability monitoring and warmup?
- What's your budget per rep for outbound tools?
- Do you have a separate CRM, or do you need basic deal tracking?
Frequently Asked Questions
Apollo vs Instantly: which is better for cold email?
For pure cold email volume and deliverability, Instantly wins. Built-in warmup, unlimited email accounts, and inbox rotation are purpose-built for high-volume sending. Apollo's email capabilities are solid but not as specialized for deliverability at scale.
Can I use Apollo and Instantly together?
Yes. It's a popular combination. Use Apollo to find and research contacts (275M+ database), then export leads to Instantly for email campaigns. This gives you Apollo's data with Instantly's superior email infrastructure. Many growth teams run this exact stack.
Which is cheaper?
Depends on what you need. For email-only outbound, Instantly's $30/mo beats Apollo's $49/user/mo per-user pricing. But Apollo's free tier gives you 250 emails/day at no cost, and the $49/user/mo plan includes 275M+ contacts, sequences, and a dialer. If you need data + email, Apollo is cheaper than Instantly + a separate data provider.
Which has more job demand?
Nearly identical. Apollo has 37 job postings across 25 companies. Instantly has 38 postings across 24 companies. Instantly roles pay higher on average ($162K-$225K vs $146K-$173K), suggesting it's popular at well-funded startups running aggressive outbound.