Apollo vs ZoomInfo: what each actually costs
What each really costs in 2026, and which one fits you.
Apollo vs ZoomInfo, side by side
The Apollo vs ZoomInfo choice comes down to one question: do you see the price before you buy? Apollo lists its plans openly and runs a free tier; ZoomInfo puts everything behind a sales quote.
Apollo publishes pricing on its site (apollo.io/pricing). There is a free plan, then paid tiers reported at about $49, $79, and $119 per user per month when billed yearly, with higher rates on monthly billing (warmly.ai, salesmotion.io).
Free-plan email credits are marketed as unlimited but capped in practice: roughly 100 a month on a personal domain, up to 10,000 on a corporate one (costbench.com). Phone numbers and enrichment burn more credits per record.
ZoomInfo does not publish prices. Every plan is quote-based with an annual contract, auto-renewal, and a three-seat minimum, and there is no monthly billing (zoominfo.com/pricing).
Vendr's aggregated buyer data puts the median around $54,000 a year, climbing once you add intent data, Copilot, or extra seats (cleanlist.ai, factors.ai). You cannot know your number without talking to a rep.
| Apollo | ZoomInfo | CrustAPI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing shown publicly | Yes, on the site | No, quote only | Yes, on the page |
| Free tier | Free plan, capped credits | None | free to try, no card |
| Entry paid price | ~$49/user/mo, billed yearly | Median ~$54,000/yr (vendr.com) | Deposits from $10; lower prices from $149 |
| Contract | Monthly or annual | Annual, auto-renew, 3-seat min | None, prepaid funds |
| Billing unit | Seats plus data credits | Seats plus data credits | the applicable price per successful call |
| Paid funds / quota expiry | Reset each cycle | Reset each term | Never |
| Core data | Owned B2B database | Owned B2B database | Live public LinkedIn |
Related: Apollo alternative · ZoomInfo alternative
Where does the data come from?
Apollo and ZoomInfo both sell access to a stored contact database that they own and refresh. CrustAPI takes a different route: it reads public, logged-out LinkedIn pages at request time and hands back the fields plus one verified work email per person.
Logged-out, public-only collection has repeatedly defeated computer-fraud and contract claims, and what you get is data anyone can see. Here are the fields a person lookup returns:
The verified email is the piece most teams care about, and it comes only from the LinkedIn person endpoint, one per profile. If you already run Apollo or ZoomInfo, CrustAPI works as a check-and-fill layer against the records you export.
What data do you get?
Find people with the search type (beta), then enrich each match with the profile type to get the verified work email. Results come back as clean rows you can drop straight into a sheet.
The enriched rows, shown as CSV:
How much does CrustAPI cost?
Apollo and ZoomInfo meter seats plus credits that reset. CrustAPI charges the applicable price per successful call, with no seats, and the paid funds never expire.
A successful LinkedIn profile request costs $0.006 at standard prices. Work email lookup is included. Empty and failed requests cost nothing.
| Deposit | Google Search / 1,000 requests | Maps / 1,000 businesses | LinkedIn reads / 1,000 requests | People, Jobs, Refresh / 1,000 units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10+ | $1.00 | $1.96 | $6.00 | $1.96 |
| $149+ | $0.76 | $1.49 | $4.50 | $1.49 |
| $549+ | $0.56 | $1.10 | $3.30 | $1.10 |
| $1,999+ | $0.41 | $0.80 | $2.45 | $0.80 |
| $6,500+ | $0.33 | $0.65 | $1.95 | $0.65 |
| $27,500+ | $0.28 | $0.55 | $1.65 | $0.55 |
| $50,000+ | $0.26 | $0.50 | $1.50 | $0.50 |
| $100,000+ | $0.20 | $0.40 | $1.50 | $0.40 |
Every eligible account gets $6 of free usage monthly. Each deposit keeps its prices until spent; paid funds never expire. People and Jobs bill per successful search, Refresh per accessible profile. Full profiles in People use the read rate per full profile. See all billing details.
Larger deposits unlock lower endpoint prices. Each deposit keeps its prices until spent. See the full deposit table on the pricing page. Prices in USD, ex-tax.
Funds are prepaid and never expire. You can start on the free tier and never talk to a rep.
How do you get started?
No demo call and no quote. From signup to enriched rows in a few minutes:
- 1
Create a free account. Try it free, no card needed.
- 2
Run a profile lookup in the playground. Paste a public LinkedIn URL and the fields land in a table.
- 3
Export the CSV or run the curl. Same record as JSON for your own stack.
Who uses CrustAPI instead?
- SDR and outbound teams. Enrich lead lists with a verified work email per person, without buying seats.
- RevOps. Check and fill Apollo or ZoomInfo exports before a campaign goes out.
- Recruiters. Pull current title, company, and work history straight from public profiles.
- Founders and small teams. Get the records without an annual contract or a three-seat minimum.
When to pick each one
A pay-per-result API is not the right tool for every team. Here is where each incumbent is the better call.
You want a full sales workflow in one seat: Apollo bundles a contact database, email sequencing, a dialer, and CRM sync. If your reps live inside one tool all day, that bundle beats wiring an API into your own stack.
You need the deepest B2B coverage and intent signals: ZoomInfo's database, buying-intent data, and org charts are broad and well maintained. For large enterprise teams with the budget, that depth is hard to match.
CrustAPI fits best when you want current, public LinkedIn records with a verified email, priced per successful call, and you would rather skip the annual contract. Many teams run it alongside one of the incumbents to fill gaps and verify exports.
Related: LinkedIn people search API · Apollo alternative · ZoomInfo alternative
Common questions
Apollo publishes its plans on apollo.io/pricing, including a free tier and paid tiers reported around $49 to $119 per user per month when billed yearly. ZoomInfo does not publish prices; every plan is a custom quote with an annual contract, so you have to talk to sales to get a number.
No. ZoomInfo has no free plan and no monthly billing. Plans are annual, auto-renewing, and carry a three-seat minimum. Vendr's buyer data puts the median around $54,000 a year, and it climbs with add-ons like intent data (cleanlist.ai, factors.ai).
For most small and mid-size teams, yes. Apollo starts free and its paid tiers are in the tens of dollars per user per month, while ZoomInfo contracts are reported in the five-figure range per year. ZoomInfo's pitch is depth and enterprise coverage, not a low entry price.
CrustAPI charges for successful data, with no seats or contract. The endpoint and deposit amount determine the rate. Failed requests are free, and paid funds never expire.
From the public LinkedIn profile endpoint, one verified work email per person. You find people with the search type (beta), then enrich each match with the profile type. The data is read from public, logged-out pages at request time.
Yes. A common setup is keeping your existing tool for its workflow features and using CrustAPI to verify exports and fill missing emails. Because you only pay per successful call, running it as a check-and-fill layer stays cheap.
Clay
The short version
Apollo suits smaller teams that want a workflow bundle, and ZoomInfo wins on enterprise depth behind an annual quote. Need current public LinkedIn records with a verified email? Start on a free plan, no card.
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