Everyone in B2B sales knows Apollo.io. It’s an all-in-one B2B sales platform that combines a large contact database with email sequencing, a dialer and AI tools, and for a lot of teams it’s the default place to start.
But if you’re reading this, you already know the catch: the same contact data is being sold to every other Apollo.io customer, it ages every time someone changes jobs, and the prospects you email have almost certainly heard the same pitch from someone else using the same tool.
This guide covers what Apollo.io actually does well, where that shared-database approach leaves gaps, and the 7 best Apollo alternatives - starting with the one that doesn’t rely on a shared database at all.
Whether you’re after an alternative to Apollo with fresher data or cheaper Apollo io alternatives, every tool below is compared on data source, pricing and phone numbers.
What is Apollo.io?
Apollo.io is an all-in-one B2B sales platform that combines a large contact database with email sequencing, a dialer and AI tools. It’s built for SDR and AE teams at startups and mid-market companies doing outbound.
What does Apollo.io do?
- One of the largest B2B contact databases available
- Prospecting, sequences, dialer and AI in one platform
- A usable free plan and a low per-seat entry price
How does Apollo.io work?
You filter Apollo’s database by company, industry, role and seniority, reveal contacts with credits, then send sequences or export them to your CRM.
How much does Apollo.io cost?
- Free: 900 credits per seat per year
- Basic: $49/seat/mo billed annually
- Professional: $79/seat/mo billed annually
- Organization: $119/seat/mo billed annually (minimum 3 seats)
Annual plans auto-renew and are non-refundable. As of September 2026, from Apollo.io’s pricing page.
Why look for an alternative to Apollo?
- The same database is shared by every Apollo customer, so your prospects are already being contacted by other users
- Accuracy drops as records age - independent tests often find email bounce rates well above what cold email can tolerate
- Credits don’t roll over, so whatever you don’t use each month is lost
- Per-seat annual contracts that auto-renew
The shared-database problem: database tools sell the same records to every customer. By the time a contact reaches you, it has been exported, emailed and sequenced by countless other teams - and a meaningful share of it is already out of date. Fresh data from an under-prospected channel is the single biggest lever on reply rates.
- Shared by every customer of the tool
- Goes stale as people change jobs
- The same inboxes pitched again and again
- Collected at the moment you run your scrape
- From the exact audience you pick
- An untapped channel your competitors aren't mining
What should you look for in an Apollo.io alternative?
Data freshness, reach beyond the usual databases, emails and phone numbers, zero risk to your own accounts, and pricing you only pay for results. The tools below are ranked on exactly those points.
7 best Apollo alternatives in 2026
Comparison table
| Tool | Best for | Data source | Starting price | Phone numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SocialScraper | Fresh leads from Instagram | Real-time scrape of public Instagram profiles | 10 emails free, then $49/mo | Yes - 10 credits each |
| Lusha | Direct dials for B2B professionals | Its own shared B2B database (extension, app, API) | $49.90/mo (400 credits) | 5 credits per number |
| Kaspr | LinkedIn contact reveal in Europe | LinkedIn + a shared B2B database | €59/mo (€45/mo annually) | Separate, limited phone credits |
| Wiza | Exporting Sales Navigator lists | LinkedIn / Sales Navigator exports | $49/mo (100 emails + 100 phones) | Included on some plans, $0.35 each otherwise |
| Hunter.io | Finding emails at known companies | Company domains + name/pattern matching | €49/mo (2,000 credits) | Not available |
| Snov.io | All-in-one budget prospecting | Domain search, a shared B2B database + LinkedIn extension | $39/mo (1,000 credits) | Separate token packs |
| Clay | Custom enrichment workflows | Resold data from 150+ third-party B2B providers | $185/mo ($167/mo annually) | More credits than emails; not on Free |
SocialScraper- Fresh data collected from Instagram in real time
- Reaches creators, brands, coaches, agencies and local businesses
- Emails and phone numbers from one credit balance
- Only pay for contacts actually found, never duplicates
- No risk of your Instagram account getting suspended
- From $49/mo with 1,000 emails, plus 10 emails free
- A shared database every customer prospects from
- No Instagram data
- Per-seat, auto-renewing annual contracts
- Unused credits don't roll over
- Built-in sequences and dialer
1. SocialScraper - Best for fresh, real-time leads nobody else is emailing
SocialScraper builds lead lists from Instagram audiences in real time. Instead of pulling contacts from a database every competitor also uses, it collects them live from public profiles in the audiences your customers actually follow and engage with.
SocialScraper results: every scrape, with users and emails found, in one dashboard.
Key features:
- Real-time data, not a shared database. Every scrape pulls live data from public Instagram profiles at the moment you run it - not records that have been sitting in a database, sold to thousands of other users.
- Reach an untapped channel. Instagram is where creators, brands, coaches, agencies and local businesses are most active - and far fewer sellers are prospecting there than on LinkedIn.
- Emails and phone numbers in one scrape. Emails on every plan, phone numbers on any paid plan.
- Whole audiences at once. Scrape a competitor’s followers, a hashtag, the people who liked a post, or your own list of handles.
- Zero risk to your account. You never connect your Instagram account, so there’s no risk of your Instagram account getting suspended.
- Only pay for what’s found. 1 credit per email, 10 per phone number, nothing for duplicates or empty profiles.
Every export comes with rich profile data (username, full name, website, bio, location and follower count), so you can personalise each message:
Pros:
- Fresh data your competitors don’t have
- Reaches creators, brands, coaches, agencies and local businesses that B2B databases miss
- Simple: paste a handle, hashtag or post, then export
- Monthly plans, no seats, no contracts
Cons:
- Focused on Instagram - pair it with a LinkedIn tool if you also sell to corporate buyers
- Doesn’t send emails itself; export to Instantly, Smartlead, lemlist or your CRM
Getting started takes about a minute: enter the Instagram account to scrape, optionally set an email limit, and start. For the full walkthrough, see how to scrape emails from Instagram followers.
Pricing:
- Free: your first 10 emails
- Basic: $49/mo, 1,000 emails
- Growth: $99/mo, 4,000 emails
- Business: $249/mo, 18,000 emails
- Business+: $399/mo, 30,000 emails
- Enterprise: $549/mo (50,000 emails) or $999/mo (100,000 emails)
- Phone numbers: 10 credits each, on any paid plan
💡 Why it’s the easy pick: if your prospects are on Instagram, SocialScraper gives you data that’s fresher than any database, from a channel your competitors are ignoring - for the price of an entry-level Apollo.io plan.
Get your first 10 emails free →
2. Lusha - Best for direct dials for B2B professionals
Lusha is a B2B contact-data platform known for direct dials, used mainly through a Chrome extension.
Pros:
- Strong direct-dial focus
- Simple extension that works on LinkedIn, CRMs and websites
- Free plan with no credit card
Cons:
- A shared database - the same contacts are sold to every Lusha customer
- Reviewers frequently report outdated or disconnected phone numbers, with no refund on credits
- Tight credit limits: 400 credits is about 80 phone numbers a month
Pricing:
- Free: 40 credits/month
- Starter: $49.90/mo, 400 credits/month
- Pro: $69.90/mo, 600 credits/month
- Premium: $399.90/mo, 3,400 credits/month
- Scale: custom
Monthly billing; 25% off annually. Credits: 1 per email, 5 per phone number. See Lusha pricing.
Comparing more options? See the best Lusha alternatives.
3. Kaspr - Best for LinkedIn contact reveal in Europe
Kaspr is a LinkedIn Chrome extension that reveals emails and phone numbers on LinkedIn profiles.
Pros:
- One-click reveal inside LinkedIn
- Strong European data coverage
- Unlimited B2B emails on paid plans
Cons:
- Only works for people with LinkedIn profiles
- Shared database data that ages as people change jobs
- Limited phone credits (100/month on Starter)
Pricing:
- Free: a small monthly allowance of phone, email and export credits
- Starter: €59/mo (€45/mo annually), 100 phone credits/month
- Business: €99/mo (€79/mo annually), 200 phone credits/month
- Enterprise: custom
Per user, listed in EUR. Phone allowances shown are monthly-billing figures. See Kaspr pricing.
Comparing more options? See the best Kaspr alternatives.
4. Wiza - Best for exporting Sales Navigator lists
Wiza is a tool that turns LinkedIn and Sales Navigator searches into lists of emails and phone numbers.
Pros:
- One-click export of Sales Navigator lists
- Charges for valid emails, with real-time verification
- Direct push to HubSpot, Salesforce and Outreach
Cons:
- Bulk exports depend on a separate Sales Navigator subscription
- Only reaches people active on LinkedIn - the most over-prospected channel in B2B
- Small monthly allowances on lower plans
Pricing:
- Free: 20 emails + 5 phone numbers
- Starter: $49/mo, 100 emails + 100 phones
- Email: $99/mo, 500 emails
- Email + Phone: $199/mo, 500 emails + 500 phones
- Team: custom
Monthly billing. Sales Navigator is billed separately by LinkedIn. See Wiza pricing.
Comparing more options? See the best Wiza alternatives.
5. Hunter.io - Best for finding emails at known companies
Hunter.io is an email finder and verifier built around searching company domains.
Pros:
- Very simple and fast
- Built-in email verifier and cold-email campaigns
- Unlimited seats and a generous annual discount
Cons:
- You need to know the company first - it doesn’t help you discover prospects
- Doesn’t work for people without a company domain, like creators and many small businesses
- Email only - no phone numbers
Pricing:
- Free: 50 credits/month
- Starter: €49/mo (€34/mo annually), 2,000 credits
- Growth: €149/mo (€104/mo annually), 10,000 credits
- Scale: €299/mo (€209/mo annually), 25,000 credits
Listed in EUR. 1 credit per email found; no phone numbers. See Hunter.io pricing.
Comparing more options? See the best Hunter.io alternatives.
6. Snov.io - Best for all-in-one budget prospecting
Snov.io is an all-in-one prospecting and cold-email suite with an email finder, verifier, drip campaigns and a CRM.
Pros:
- Lots of tools in one place, including a free CRM
- Low entry price and a recurring free trial
- Well-regarded drip campaign builder
Cons:
- Separate limits for credits, campaign recipients and phone tokens make costs hard to predict
- Built on the same shared B2B sources as other database tools
- Reviewers describe the interface as overloaded
Pricing:
- Trial: 50 credits, renews every 30 days
- Starter: $39/mo, 1,000 credits
- Pro S: $99/mo, 5,000 credits
- Pro M: $189/mo, 20,000 credits
- Pro L / Ultra: $369–$738/mo
Monthly billing; about 25% off annually. Phone numbers use a separate token system. See Snov.io pricing.
Comparing more options? See the best Snov.io alternatives.
7. Clay - Best for custom enrichment workflows
Clay is a spreadsheet-style data-enrichment platform that chains many third-party data providers into workflows.
Pros:
- Very high coverage by cascading through many providers
- Enormous flexibility and AI web research
- Unlimited seats
Cons:
- A steep learning curve - reviewers cite weeks to get proficient
- Two separate meters make costs hard to forecast
- Expensive: the first paid plan starts at $185/mo
Pricing:
- Free: 100 data credits + 500 actions/month
- Launch: $185/mo ($167/mo annually), 2,500 data credits
- Growth: $495/mo ($446/mo annually), 6,000 data credits
- Enterprise: custom
Plans restructured in March 2026 with two meters: data credits and actions. See Clay pricing.
Comparing more options? See the best Clay alternatives.
When Apollo.io is still the right choice
Stick with Apollo.io if your buyers are corporate roles you find by title and seniority, and you want prospecting, sequences and a dialer in one seat-based tool. Its free plan is also hard to beat for occasional lookups. Many teams keep Apollo.io for corporate accounts and add SocialScraper for the creators, brands and local businesses it misses.
Final thoughts
Apollo.io is a capable tool for SDR and AE teams at startups and mid-market companies doing outbound. But it works from the same shared data as every other customer.
If you want prospects who haven’t already been emailed a dozen times, the fastest way to get them is to go where the database tools don’t: real-time data from Instagram audiences. That’s why SocialScraper tops this list.
Comparing Instagram tools specifically? Our roundup of the best Instagram email scraper tools covers cloud tools, Chrome extensions and DIY options side by side.
Start free with SocialScraper →
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Apollo.io alternative?
For fresh leads that other sellers aren’t already contacting, SocialScraper - it collects data from Instagram in real time instead of a shared database. For LinkedIn-only prospecting, Lusha and Kaspr are solid options.
Is there a free Apollo.io alternative?
Yes. SocialScraper lets you scrape your first 10 emails free, with no credit card required.
Why is real-time data better than a database?
Database records are shared by every customer and go stale as people change jobs and roles. Data collected at the moment you run a scrape reflects what’s publicly on the profile right now, and it comes from audiences far fewer sellers are prospecting.
Does Apollo.io work with Instagram?
No. Apollo.io is built around B2B data and LinkedIn. SocialScraper is built for Instagram.
Can I get phone numbers with SocialScraper?
Yes - on every paid plan, at 10 credits per number. See how to scrape phone numbers from Instagram.
