Apollo.io vs Common Room (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 value for money, the free plan and features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
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
Common Room
Buyer intelligence and signals platform for go-to-market teams
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 Common Room if
- Fits if you run a go-to-market team and want signals from many sources in one place
- Works for mid-size and larger teams that can pay annually
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are one person or a small team, at $2,500 a month for 5 seats
- Skip it if you want a free start, as no plan or trial is listed
- Not for you if you need price certainty, as Advanced and Enterprise are by quote
- Watch out: website deanonymisation is capped at 1,000 a month below Enterprise, and some exports and actions are add-ons
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAApollo.ioFair | 1.6GPACommon RoomWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | D$2,500 a month for 5 seats is $500 per seat, against a category where the dearest tenth starts at $167. Advanced and Enterprise are quoted. |
| 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. | FThe listing shows no free plan and no trial, so you pay before you can try it. |
| 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. | CPerson and company enrichment, prospecting, AI research and signals. Website visitor identification is 1,000 a month on the two lower tiers, and some actions are add-ons. |
| 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. It connects to many sources and needs setup, with a shared customer success manager on the entry plan. |
| 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. | BWeb app and extension, eight listed integrations, an MCP server and a CLI. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | contact data and outreach in one account | go-to-market teams tracking buyer signals |
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 Common Room. How we grade
Price against what you get
Apollo.io starts at $49 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Common Room starts at $2,500 a month and scores 2.3.
Apollo.io scores higher and starts $2,451 a month lower. Of the other lead and email finders on the chart, 1 scores higher than Apollo.io for less, and 27 score higher than Common Room for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Apollo.io also covers web clipper and email campaigns.
- Common Room also covers workflow automation and reports.
At a glance
| Apollo.io | Common Room | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $49 per seat / month, billed annually | $2,500 per month, billed annually (Essential, 5 seats) |
| 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) | Common Room |
| Price read from | apollo.io | commonroom.io |
| 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.
Common Room
- Only Essential shows a price ($2,500 a month billed annually); Advanced and Enterprise are quoted through demo requests.
- Website deanonymization is 1k per month on Essential and Advanced and unlimited only on Enterprise.
- In-product data exports and DataAgent actions are add-ons on lower tiers; Product Signals is add-on only on Essential.
- Sold annually with seats included, so it suits mid-size and larger teams more than individuals.
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.
Common Room
- Person360 and Enrichment
- Builds a profile of each person and account from signals across the web, product, community and social channels.
- Prospector
- A contact database with credit-based lookups; extra Prospector credits are sold as an add-on.
- RoomieAI research
- AI research, messaging and scoring features that draw on the collected buyer context, metered in research credits.
- Signals
- Tracks website activity, job changes, social and community engagement, and Bombora Company Surge topics (6 on Essential, up to 25 on Enterprise).
- Workflows and alerts
- Unlimited alerts, workflows and segments on every plan, with Slack and email alerts and a Chrome extension.
- MCP server and CLI
- An MCP server is included on all plans so AI assistants can reach buyer intelligence.
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.
Common Room
Essential$2,500
per month, billed annually, for 5 seats
Up to 100k contacts, 5k RoomieAI research credits and 2.5k Prospector credits, with a shared CSM.
AdvancedCustom
15 seats, up to 250k contacts, 7.5k RoomieAI and 7.5k Prospector credits, dedicated CSM; sold through sales.
EnterpriseCustom
30 seats, up to 750k contacts, 10K RoomieAI and 15K Prospector credits, comprehensive integrations; sold through sales.
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.
Common Room
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Apollo.io or Common Room?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Apollo.io starts at $49 per seat / month, billed annually, and Common Room starts at $2,500 per month, billed annually (Essential, 5 seats). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Apollo.io or Common Room?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Apollo.io has a free plan. Common Room does not.
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.