Apollo vs ZoomInfo: data, pricing, compliance and fit

Data coverage: what each vendor claims

All vendor figures in this article were checked on 18 October 2026. Every number below is the vendor's own claim, and we have not audited either database.

The counts are not comparable. The pages use contacts, people and profiles loosely, and neither vendor defines what counts as a record, how duplicates are handled, or how accuracy was measured. ZoomInfo's own page says coverage depth varies by region and recommends testing non-US markets directly, which is good advice for Apollo too.

On sourcing, ZoomInfo describes automated scanning of 28 million company domains a day, data partners, 300+ human researchers, and a contributory network. In that network, users of ZoomInfo Lite can share contact details from email headers, signature blocks and contact books, and ZoomInfo says it does not read email body content. We could not retrieve Apollo's data-sourcing article, so we have nothing sourced to say about how Apollo collects records. Ask them.

Test both before you trust either number. Pull 200 accounts from your real ICP out of each tool, verify the emails with a separate verifier, and compare coverage and bounces. Smartlead's own warm-up guide treats a bounce rate above 5 percent as a sign the list needs better verification, which is a usable line to draw. We build lists from several sources for this reason: one engagement in our work produced 50K+ verified leads for a UK B2B SaaS company using Sales Navigator, Crunchbase and enrichment tools, so a gap in one database did not cap the campaign. Our list building service works that way.

Pricing as published

Apollo's pricing page names Free, Basic, Professional and Custom plans in its FAQ. In the version we could read, it shows no dollar amounts. The prices below come from two Apollo articles that quote the plans (a comparison dated 13 May 2026 and a plan walkthrough dated 17 September 2026), so treat them as Apollo's statements and confirm them on the live pricing page.

Several details need confirming with Apollo. The pricing FAQ describes credits as pooled across the team, while the articles list allowances beside a per-user price, so it is unclear whether the allowance is per seat. The FAQ names a Custom tier and says API access is available on Custom plans, yet Apollo's API documentation lists rate limits for Free, Basic, Professional and Organization. The FAQ also says monthly billing carries a higher effective cost and annual billing is a 12-month commitment, and the May article says monthly billing is available on Basic and Professional. Credits expire at the end of each billing cycle, and Apollo says it never charges more than one credit per contact. Its credits page leaves the email and phone cost blank, while the September article says a mobile reveal costs several credits and AI research costs 1 credit per record and column.

Other terms from the FAQ: all seats on an account must use the same plan, free plans connect Gmail accounts only, "unlimited" features fall under a Fair Use Policy, and Apollo data is for internal business use only, with resale needing a separate agreement.

ZoomInfo's pricing page lists three sales plans (Professional, Copilot Advanced, Copilot Enterprise) and three marketing plans (Marketing Demand, ABM Lite, ABM Enterprise). It shows no dollar amounts anywhere. It lists credit allotments only for two marketing plans (75K for Marketing Demand, 150K for ABM Enterprise), says each export costs one credit, and says price depends on features, licenses, credit usage, add-ons and integrations. The sales plans show a "Start free trial" button with no length or terms, the marketing plans say "Get a demo", and the page uses five different calls to action in all. It never says in so many words that a quote is required, so the practical advice is to expect one.

Third-party buyer data gives a rough sense of scale. Vendr's ZoomInfo page (last updated February 2026) shows a median of $33,500 a year, based on 1,577 purchases, with a range from $7,240 to $156,042. The period behind the median is not stated, and the page header shows 1,012 deals, which does not match the purchase count. Apollo's comparison page cites the same source with 1,570 purchases. These are Vendr's buyer figures and sit outside ZoomInfo's own pages.

An illustration, our arithmetic. Five reps on Apollo Professional at $79 is $395 a month, or $4,740 a year, on annual billing. The Vendr median is about seven times that. The two figures are not like for like, because Vendr does not state seat counts.

Features and workflow

Apollo combines a database with a sender. Its pages describe multichannel sequences, a Power Dialer and Parallel Dialer, waterfall enrichment, a Chrome extension, AI research, and buying signals such as job changes and website visits. Its homepage says domain warming, inbox rotation and reputation monitoring are part of the product, and the comparison page ties the number of mailboxes to the plan (5 on Professional, 15 on Organization). Apollo claims 200+ integrations on its homepage and 50+ on its comparison page, so ask for the list you need.

ZoomInfo describes itself as a go-to-market platform built around its data. Its homepage lists Copilot and GTM Workspace (AI agents for account research and meeting prep), GTM Studio (workflows triggered by buying signals), buyer intent and website visitor tracking, CRM enrichment, lead routing, dynamic territories and predictive modeling. It names native integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot and Microsoft Dynamics 365, cites 120+ tools overall, including Outreach, Salesloft, Marketo and Snowflake, and runs an MCP server for AI assistants. On its pricing page, buyer intent signals are added at Copilot Advanced.

If you plan to send from a dedicated cold email platform instead, the data tool's sender matters less and its export terms matter more. Our Smartlead vs Instantly comparison covers the sending side.

Compliance documentation

Apollo's subprocessor list on its trust center names Databricks, Snowflake, OpenAI, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud. ZoomInfo's security page says it collects "the same information typically found on your business card or a resume".

One wording issue to raise with ZoomInfo. Its security page says it is self-certified to the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks, while Apollo lists the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. The ZoomInfo wording reads like an older mechanism, so ask which transfer mechanism its contract relies on today. We could not confirm it from the page.

A vendor's certificates describe how the vendor secures and handles data. Whether your outreach is lawful depends on the recipient's country and on how you use the data, and Apollo says its data is for internal business use only. If you target the EU or UK, get advice from counsel before you buy.

Who each fits by company size and budget

The fit judgments are ours, drawn from these pages.

Apollo fits a founder, a small sales team or an agency that needs contact data and sequences without a procurement cycle, because you can start free and see per-seat prices. Its weak spots are the ones above: unclear credit allowances per seat and a database you should test before relying on it. ZoomInfo fits a larger sales organization that runs on Salesforce or HubSpot, wants intent signals and routing, and has a budget that survives a quote. Its main cost is the buying process, and its stated strength is North America, so check the regions you sell into.

If your market is outside North America, if you sell to a narrow niche, or if you need verified emails above all, test a third option. Our B2B contact data providers list covers the field, and Clay vs Apollo shows how a waterfall tool can sit on top of one database. The list building playbook walks through the build.

Questions

Does ZoomInfo publish its prices?

Not on the pricing page we read on 18 October 2026. It lists plan names and some credit allotments but no dollar amounts, and it shows free trial and demo buttons.

How big are the Apollo and ZoomInfo databases?

Apollo claims 240M contacts and 30M companies. ZoomInfo claims 500M+ contacts and 100M+ companies. The vendors define records differently and measure accuracy in their own way, so test both on your own ICP.

What does Apollo cost?

Apollo articles dated May and September 2026 quote $0 for Free, $49 for Basic, $79 for Professional and $119 for Organization per user per month, on annual billing for Basic. Confirm on the live pricing page, because the version we read showed no dollar amounts.

Are Apollo and ZoomInfo GDPR compliant?

Both publish GDPR-related documentation and an opt-out route, and ZoomInfo states it relies on legitimate interest. Your own outreach still has to meet the rules of each recipient's country, so check with counsel.