Apollo.io vs Clearbit (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Apollo.io: it is third in our ranking of lead and email finders, and it grades higher too, 2.4 against 1.6.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Apollo.io grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Apollo.io
B2B contact database with built-in email sequences and a dialer
Which one is for you
Pick Apollo.io if
- Fits if you want to find people and email them from the same account
- Works for founders trying outbound on a free plan with 2 sequences and 250 emails a day
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you call a lot, since each phone number eats 8 credits
- Tight if your usage is lumpy, as unused credits expire at the end of each cycle
- Not for you if you want some reps on cheaper seats, since every seat must be on the same plan and Organization needs 3
- Watch out: downgrades take effect at once with no refund, and annual plans can't move to monthly mid-term
- Pricey if you want inbound visitor identification, at $119 to $639 a team a month on top of a plan, billed yearly
Pick Clearbit if
- Fits if your team already runs on HubSpot and wants enriched records and visitor signals
- Works for marketers who want shorter web forms filled in from an email address
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need a published price, as the page shows none
- Not for you if you want a database to search for new contacts, as the page describes enrichment only
- Tight if you want a free start, as no plan or trial is listed
- Watch out: only the home page was read, so how it is now packaged inside HubSpot is not confirmed here
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAApollo.ioFair | 1.6GPAClearbitWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$245 a month for five on Basic, billed yearly: $49 a seat, right at this category's dearer quarter ($49). That buys 30,000 credits a seat a year, about 2,500 a month each, pooled, at 1 credit an email and 8 a phone number. | CNo price is published on the page we read, so it sits at the middle of the category by default. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan for good with 900 credits a seat a year, 2 sequences and 250 emails a day, plus a 14-day trial of the paid plans. But 900 a year is 75 a month, a cap you'll hit if you prospect every day. | FNo free plan or trial is shown anywhere on the page. |
| Features | BAbout 240 million contacts with emails and phone numbers, waterfall enrichment, unlimited sequences, a dialer, call recording and a Chrome extension. It covers the whole job, and the outreach after it. | CEnriches leads, contacts and accounts, standardises job titles and industries, and shortens forms. It is an enrichment and signals product, not a contact search app, as far as the page says. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. It's a big web app with a database, sequences, mailboxes and a dialer, so expect a learning curve before it pays off. | CNo store rating on record. The page describes data you connect to your own systems, which takes setup. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and a Chrome extension that works on LinkedIn, Gmail and CRMs, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Outreach, Salesloft and Slack. No desktop or phone apps on record. | CWeb only on the listing, with one integration on record. Only the home page could be read, so the platform and connections are not confirmed. |
| Best for | contact data and outreach in one account | enriching leads inside HubSpot |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Apollo.io and Clearbit. How we grade
Where they differ
- Apollo.io also covers web clipper, sales pipeline and email campaigns.
- Clearbit also covers research, forms and reports.
At a glance
| Apollo.io | Clearbit | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $49 per seat / month, billed annually | Not published |
| Free plan | 900 credits per seat a year, granted monthly, 2 sequences, basic filters, 250 emails a day from 1 mailbox, and the Chrome extension. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day trial of Basic or Professional with 75 credits | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | ZenLeads Inc. (Apollo.io) | Clearbit |
| Price read from | apollo.io | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Apollo.io
- Phone numbers cost 8 credits each against 1 for an email, and unused credits expire at the end of each billing cycle.
- All seats on an account must be on the same plan, and Organization requires at least 3 seats.
- Downgrades take effect at once with no refund, and annual plans cannot move to monthly mid-term.
- Inbound visitor identification costs $119 to $639 per team a month on top of a plan, billed annually.
Clearbit
- The Clearbit site says Clearbit has joined HubSpot, and its page publishes no plans or prices.
- Only the homepage could be read, so integrations, platforms and current packaging are not confirmed here.
- It is an enrichment and signals product, not a prospecting database with its own contact search interface, as far as the page states.
Key features
Apollo.io
- Contact and company database
- Search about 240 million contacts and 30 million companies by title, company, intent topics and other filters. Paid plans unlock advanced filters.
- Credits for emails and phones
- Revealing a verified email costs 1 credit and a phone number 8. Credits are pooled across the team, reset each billing cycle and do not roll over.
- Email sequences
- Multi-step outreach from connected mailboxes. The free plan allows 2 sequences and 250 emails a day; paid plans add unlimited sequences and any email provider.
- Chrome extension
- Shows emails and numbers for people on LinkedIn, company websites, Gmail and CRMs, and adds them to lists or sequences. Works on every plan.
- Enrichment and waterfall
- Fill in missing fields for CSV files, CRM records and API calls. From Basic, waterfall enrichment checks partner sources when Apollo has no match.
- Dialer and call recording
- A US dialer billed in credits, call recording with AI insights, and an Advanced Dialer add-on with parallel and international calling.
Clearbit
- Lead, contact and account enrichment
- Enriches records with data gathered from public web sources, proprietary data and language models, with coverage the site describes as global.
- Industry and hierarchy data
- Includes 6-digit NAICS, GICS and SIC industry categories, plus parent and subsidiary relationships for routing leads.
- Role and seniority normalization
- Turns job titles into a standard set of roles and seniorities so they map to an ideal customer profile.
- Visitor intent signals
- Uses IP intelligence to show which companies visit a website, in a dashboard that highlights those matching your ideal customer profile.
- Dynamic form shortening
- Removes form fields that can be filled by enrichment from an email address, and shows fields only when no value is available.
Plans
Apollo.io
Free$0
900 credits per seat a year, granted monthly. 2 sequences, basic filters, 25-record selection limit and 250 emails a day.
Basic$49
per seat / month, billed annually, 30,000 credits a seat a year
Unlimited sequences, advanced filters, CRM integrations, waterfall enrichment, email warmup and the US dialer (credits apply).
Professional$79
per seat / month, billed annually, 48,000 credits a seat a year
Adds A/Z testing, AI lead scoring, 4,000 minutes of call recording with AI insights and more automated workflows.
Organization$119
per seat / month, billed annually, 72,000 credits a seat a year
Minimum 3 seats. Adds 12 intent topics, 8,000 recording minutes, unlimited inbound routers, SSO and advanced security.
Clearbit
Pricing could not be confirmed. See clearbit.com.
Ways to pay less
Apollo.io
- Annual discount
Save 24% with annual billing
Apollo's pricing page shows a 24% saving on paid plans when billed annually instead of monthly.
- Startups
50% off for a year for early-stage startups
Startups with fewer than 20 employees, no Apollo subscription and a link to a partner program get 50% off Basic or Professional for a year, up to 5 seats.
Clearbit
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Apollo.io or Clearbit?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Apollo.io starts at $49 per seat / month, billed annually, and Clearbit has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Apollo.io or Clearbit?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Apollo.io has a free plan. Clearbit does not.
Which platforms do Apollo.io and Clearbit run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Apollo.io lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.