Apollo vs ZoomInfo: what each actually costs
Apollo publishes its prices and has a free tier. ZoomInfo keeps pricing behind a sales quote with annual contracts. Here is how they compare, plus a pay-per-result option built on public LinkedIn data.
Apollo vs ZoomInfo, side by side
The Apollo vs ZoomInfo choice usually comes down to one question: do you get to see the price before you buy? Apollo lists its plans openly and runs a free tier you can start on today. 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). The free plan gives you email credits that are marketed as unlimited but capped in practice, roughly 100 a month on a personal domain or up to 10,000 on a corporate one, plus 5 mobile credits and 10 export credits a month (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 higher once you add intent data, Copilot, or extra seats (cleanlist.ai, factors.ai). The truthful hook is that 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 | 3,000 credits a month, no card |
| Entry paid price | ~$49/user/mo, billed yearly | Median ~$54,000/yr (vendr.com) | $49 for 25,000 credits |
| Contract | Monthly or annual | Annual, auto-renew, 3-seat min | None, prepaid credits |
| Billing unit | Seats plus data credits | Seats plus data credits | 1 credit per result returned |
| Credits expire | Reset each cycle | Reset each term | Never |
| Core data | Owned B2B database | Owned B2B database | Live public LinkedIn |
Related: Apollo alternative · ZoomInfo alternative
Where the data comes 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.
US courts have repeatedly sided with collecting public, logged-out pages, while a site's terms restrict automated access on their side. We handle the collection; what you get is data that is public for anyone to 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 a lookup returns
Find people with the people-search type, 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:
Pay for results, not seats
Neither incumbent charges the way CrustAPI does. Apollo and ZoomInfo meter seats plus credits that reset. CrustAPI charges one credit per result that actually comes back, and the credits never expire.
A people search that returns 40 matches costs 40 credits. A search that returns nothing costs nothing. There are no seats and no contract to sign.
Packs are prepaid and listed right on the page: 3,000 free every month with no card, then 25,000 for $49, 100,000 for $149, 500,000 for $549, and on up to 250,000,000 for $100,000. The entry rate works out to about $1.96 per 1,000 results, dropping to roughly $0.40 per 1,000 at the largest pack. You can start on the free tier and never talk to a rep.
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 result, 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
Clay
The short version
Apollo shows its price and lets you start free, which suits smaller teams that want a workflow bundle. ZoomInfo hides pricing behind an annual quote and wins on enterprise depth. If you mostly need current, public LinkedIn records with a verified email and you would rather pay only for results that come back, CrustAPI is the third path. Start on 3,000 free credits a month, no card, and see your price before you commit.
Get 3,000 free credits