Apollo.io vs Lusha

Updated November 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Apollo.io

B2B contact database and outbound sales platform with built-in email sequences and dialer.

Free plan + paid

Visit Apollo.io Apollo.io profile

Lusha

Credit-based B2B contact finder for emails and phone numbers, with a Chrome extension.

Free plan + paid

Visit Lusha Lusha profile

The short answer

Apollo.io suits small sales teams that want contact data and outreach in one tool, since it adds email sequences and a dialer on top of its database. Lusha suits SDRs and recruiters who mainly need a work email or direct phone number fast, with clear per-reveal credit costs and plans that can be cancelled any time. The biggest difference: Apollo sends the outreach, Lusha mostly finds the contact.

Apollo.io or Lusha: our take

Both tools search a B2B database by company, role and other filters, and both have a Chrome extension that reveals contact details while you browse professional profiles and company sites. The difference is what happens next. Apollo.io keeps the work inside the app: revealed contacts go straight into email sequences, a dialer or a CRM sync, and newer AI assistants help draft outreach and prioritise accounts. Lusha stops at the data. It pushes contacts to a CRM, enriches lists in bulk, and offers an API and an MCP server for AI assistants, plus intent and job-change signals, but it has no built-in email sequencing.

Pricing works differently too. Both have free plans and meter usage in credits. Lusha's costs are easy to plan: an email reveal is 1 credit and a phone reveal is 5 credits, the free plan gives 40 credits per month, and paid plans can be cancelled any time. The catch is that phone-heavy prospecting burns credits quickly. Apollo's free plan has no time limit and its database lists 240M+ contacts and 30M+ accounts, but unused credits don't roll over, the free plan connects only Gmail inboxes, and API access is limited to custom plans.

Pick Apollo.io if you are a startup or small team that wants to find prospects and run sequences without paying for a separate outreach tool, and you already use Salesforce or HubSpot. Pick Lusha if you mainly need accurate emails and phone numbers to feed into a CRM or sequencer you already have, want API or MCP access without a custom contract, or are a recruiter who doesn't need outbound email at all. As with any data vendor, quality varies by region and industry, so trying both free plans on your own target list is the quickest way to decide.

Choose Apollo.io if…

Startups and small sales teams that want contact data and outreach sequencing in one affordable tool
Free plan with no time limit for light prospecting
Data, email sequences and dialer in one product

Choose Lusha if…

SDRs, recruiters and small sales teams who mainly need emails and phone numbers fast
Free plan with monthly credits
Clear credit costs per email and per phone number

What is Apollo.io?

Apollo.io combines a large B2B contact and company database with the tools to act on it. Sales reps search for prospects by role, company size, industry and other filters, reveal verified emails and phone numbers, and then send them through email sequences, a dialer or a CRM sync without leaving the app. A Chrome extension shows contact details while browsing professional profiles and company sites, and enrichment keeps existing CRM records up to date. Newer features add AI research assistants and agents that draft outreach and prioritise accounts. Apollo is popular with startups and small sales teams because it has a free plan with no time limit and paid tiers far cheaper than older enterprise data vendors; usage is metered in credits that reset each billing cycle and don't roll over. It runs in the browser, with the Chrome extension and integrations for Salesforce, HubSpot and the major email providers. Data quality varies by region and industry, as with every vendor in this space.

What is Lusha?

Lusha is a sales intelligence tool built around quickly finding a prospect's work email and direct phone number. Reps search its database by company, role and other filters, or use the Chrome extension to reveal contact details while looking at professional profiles and company websites. Revealed data can be pushed to a CRM, enriched in bulk, pulled through an API, or, more recently, queried from AI assistants through an MCP server. Lusha also offers intent and job-change signals for timing outreach. Pricing is credit-based: an email reveal costs one credit and a phone number costs five, so teams can plan spend around the type of outreach they do. There is a free plan with a small monthly credit allowance, and paid plans can be cancelled at any time. It suits SDRs, recruiters and small sales teams who want contact data without the cost or contracts of enterprise vendors. It runs in the browser with the extension and CRM integrations.

Side by side

Attribute	Apollo.io	Lusha
Pricing	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	Web, Browser extension	Web, Browser extension
Best for	Startups and small sales teams that want contact data and outreach sequencing in one affordable tool	SDRs, recruiters and small sales teams who mainly need emails and phone numbers fast
Status	Active	Active

Verified facts, compared

Facts both apps publish, checked on each vendor's own site.

Fact	Apollo.io	Lusha
Free plan	Yes, no time limit	40 credits per month