Apollo.io
The cheapest way to put a 230M-contact database, a sequencer and a first-class MCP server in one seat — but the data is roughly 65-70% accurate in practice, and worse in Europe.
PRICING
| Free | Free | 1 seat, 900 credits/yr |
| Basic | $59/mo | per seat, $49/mo billed annually |
| Professional | $99/mo | per seat, $79/mo billed annually |
| Organization | $149/mo | per seat, 3 seats min, $119/mo annually |
| Custom | Custom | enterprise, contact sales |
The seat price is only part of the bill: every data action spends credits (1 per email, 8 per phone number, 2/min dialing) from an annual grant of 900 to 72,000, with extra credits and $119/team/mo Inbound and Advanced Dialer add-ons sold on top.
checked 2026-07-25 · vendor pricing page
Element scores
Strengths
For €45-110 a seat you get a 230M-contact database, unlimited sequences, a dialer, call recording with AI insights, lead scoring, a workflow engine and a full REST API — a stack that costs five figures elsewhere. The February 2026 MCP server is the standout: first-party, hosted, OAuth-only, no API key, no developer setup, and included on every plan including the free one, which makes Apollo one of the few GTM tools you can drive properly from Claude or ChatGPT. ISO 27001 and SOC 2 are certified by A-LIGN with annual penetration testing and quarterly internal audits.
Honest dings
The data is the product, and the data does not hold up. Apply Apollo's own 'Verified Emails' filter and the database drops from 275M to roughly 96M records; independent review aggregations put real-world accuracy at 65-70% against a claimed 91-97%, with US contacts around 88% and international around 60%. Enrichment is single-source with no waterfall fallback, so European coverage gaps stay gaps. Trustpilot sits at 3/5 with a persistent pattern of data-subject complaints about personal addresses appearing without consent — Apollo is GDPR-compliant as an operator, which is a different question from whether its 'legitimate interest' basis for scraped EU records survives contact. Credits meter everything, so the sticker price is not the bill.
Sources (10) — every claim traceable
Every audit lists the research it rests on — transparency and traceability are the product. Tools evolve: each audit is a snapshot of its audit date, and re-audits supersede older versions (kept below for reference).
- apollo.io/pricing — Official: 600,000+ companies, four-tier plan structure, credit system mechanics, Fair Use Policy on Unlimited plans, API access restricted to Custom plans (accessed 2026-07-24)
- apollo.io/product/mcp — Official: first-party hosted MCP server, 230M+ verified contacts, OAuth with no API key, available on every plan including free, Claude/ChatGPT/Perplexity connector links (accessed 2026-07-24)
- apollo.io/ai/assistant — Official: AI Assistant scope and execution model, AI Context Center, introductory free pricing with 5 chats/month on Free, confirmation that customer data is not used to train third-party models (accessed 2026-07-24)
- apollo.io/product/security — Official: ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certified by A-LIGN, GDPR compliance as both processor and controller, encryption at rest and in transit, annual third-party penetration testing, quarterly internal audits (accessed 2026-07-24)
- scalekit.com/blog/apollo-mcp-vs-api — Independent technical comparison: Apollo MCP launched February 2026, Streamable HTTP transport, OAuth 2.0 consent flow, plan-mirrored limits; REST API requires a master key for accounts, deals, users and call-record endpoints (accessed 2026-07-24)
- amplemarket.com/blog/what-does-apollo-really-do — Review aggregation (competitor-authored, sourced to G2 and Reddit): 'Verified Emails' filter drops the database from 275M to 96M, user-reported accuracy 65-70% vs advertised 91%+, US ~88% vs international ~60% (accessed 2026-07-24)
- syncgtm.com/blog/apollo-io-review — Independent review: regional data-quality breakdown (US strongest, EU inconsistent, APAC/LATAM weakest), single-source enrichment with no secondary-provider fallback (accessed 2026-07-24)
- trustpilot.com/review/apollo.io — Independent review platform: 3/5 'Average' rating, recurring data-subject complaints (March 2026) about private email addresses appearing in the database without consent or opt-in (accessed 2026-07-24)
- apollo.io/magazine/building-trust-through-data-priv… — Official: Privacy Center self-service opt-out tools, GDPR/CCPA/CPRA rights handling, disclosure that AI is used for email personalisation, lead scoring and agentic workflows (accessed 2026-07-24)
- clodura.ai/blog/apollo-io-pricing — Independent pricing breakdown: credit mechanics (1 credit = email, 8 = mobile, 9 = full lead), per-tier annual credit allowances, Organization 3-user minimum (accessed 2026-07-24)