Apollo.io vs Persana (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 they share a 2.4 GPA.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
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
Persana
Credit-based prospect data, enrichment and AI outreach agents
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 Persana if
- Fits if you want enrichment, research and outreach agents in one place
- Works for a small team that wants to start on the free credits
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you need phones: 10 credits each, so Starter's 24,000 yearly credits cover 2,400 numbers
- Skip it if you want it settled, as the banner says it's joining forces with Rox and plans may change
- Pricey if you need volume: Unlimited is $600 a month billed annually
- Watch out: unlimited searches and exports are subject to fair use, and only Starter's monthly price was visible
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAApollo.ioFair | 2.4GPAPersanaFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | C$68 a month billed annually for 24,000 credits a year, $85 monthly. That's the middle of the range, below the $74 dearer quarter. |
| 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. | CA free plan with 50 credits, enough for 50 emails or 5 phones, with unlimited users. |
| 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. | BWaterfall enrichment, people and company search, AI research, signals, sequencing and CRM sync. It covers the job. |
| 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. Tables, agents and signals to set up. |
| 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, with eight listed integrations and no desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | contact data and outreach in one account | credit-based enrichment with AI agents |
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 Persana. 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. Persana starts at $68 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Apollo.io starts $19 a month lower. Of the other lead and email finders on the chart, 1 scores higher than Apollo.io for less, and 1 scores higher than Persana 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.
- Persana also covers workflow automation and AI agents.
At a glance
| Apollo.io | Persana | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $49 per seat / month, billed annually | $68 per month, billed annually ($85 billed monthly) |
| 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. | 50 credits, enough for 50 emails or 5 phone numbers, with unlimited users and 100+ data providers. |
| Free trial | 14-day trial of Basic or Professional with 75 credits | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | ZenLeads Inc. (Apollo.io) | Persana AI |
| Price read from | apollo.io | persana.ai |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 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.
Persana
- Phones cost 10 credits each, so Starter's 24,000 credits a year cover 2,400 numbers.
- Annual prices are shown by default; only Starter's monthly price ($85) was visible on the page.
- The site banner says Persana is joining forces with Rox, so plans and pricing may change.
- Unlimited searches and exports are subject to fair use and anti-abuse terms.
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.
Persana
- Waterfall enrichment
- Looks up emails and phone numbers across more than 100 data providers in turn. One email found costs 1 credit and one phone found costs 10 credits.
- People and company search
- Builds lists from firmographic and technographic filters, with the number of results per search rising from 500 on Free to unlimited on the Unlimited plan.
- AI research and agents
- Persana Quantum research agents gather account details for each row. Autopilot AI agents on the Unlimited plan and AI SDR on Enterprise run outreach.
- Signals and triggers
- The Pro plan tracks job changes, intent data, hiring triggers and news, and webhooks accept feeds from RB2B, Clearbit and Warmly.
- Sequencing and CRM sync
- Growth connects to sequencers such as Smartlead, Instantly, Salesloft and Outreach. Pro adds HubSpot and Salesforce, and Unlimited can send email itself.
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.
Persana
Free$0
50 credits (50 emails or 5 phones), searches up to 500 results, CSV export, email and phone waterfalls.
Starter$68
per month, 24,000 credits a year, billed annually ($85 monthly)
2,000 credits a month, searches up to 7,000 results, credit rollover and credit reports.
Growth$151
per month for 60,000 credits a year, billed annually
Adds email sequencing integrations, company lookalikes, your own API key and webhooks or HTTP API. Searches up to 20,000.
Pro$400
per month for 216,000 credits a year, billed annually
Adds account-based marketing, CRM integration, signal triggers and funding data. Up to 10,000 exports and premium support.
Unlimited$600
per month for 600,000 credits a year, billed annually
Unlimited searches and CSV exports under fair use, Autopilot AI agents, email sequencing and sending, Slack support.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom credits and plan, AI SDR full-service option, custom playbooks and a dedicated account team. 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.
Persana
- Annual discount
20% off with annual billing
The pricing page toggle labels annual billing as a 20% saving over monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Apollo.io or Persana?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Apollo.io starts at $49 per seat / month, billed annually, and Persana starts at $68 per month, billed annually ($85 billed monthly). 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 Persana?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Apollo.io and Persana have a free plan.
Which platforms do Apollo.io and Persana run on?
As of Nov 12, 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.