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Short answer
Apollo.io is a contact database plus an outreach suite: email sequences, a Parallel Dialer, a Chrome extension and AI agents in one login. Lusha sells contact data only: it reveals emails and phone numbers and sends them to the outreach tool you already use. For a startup building outbound for the first time, Apollo is the better default. Lusha fits a team that already pays for an outreach platform and mainly needs phone numbers.
Who each tool is for
Apollo fits founders and small sales teams building outbound from scratch. Its free plan needs no credit card, so a founder can test whether outbound works before paying, and the paid plans add more credits and features on the same platform.
Lusha fits SDR teams that already run Outreach, Salesloft, lemlist or a CRM sequencer and need contact data to feed it. It has no sequencer and no dialer, so plan on a second tool for the actual outreach.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Apollo.io | Lusha |
|---|---|---|
| Database (vendor claim) | 240M contacts and 30M companies | 515M+ contacts, 29M+ companies, 165M+ verified emails |
| Paid plans | Basic, Professional, Custom (prices on apollo.io/pricing) | Starter $37.45/mo, Pro $52.45/mo, Premium $299.95/mo (billed annually) |
| Free plan | Yes, no credit card required | Yes, 40 credits a month |
| Email sequences | Built in | None: data only |
| Dialer | Parallel Dialer | None |
| Chrome extension | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations (vendor claim) | 200+ integrations | Chrome extension, API and MCP listed |
| Credit model | Credits pooled across the team, granted at the start of each billing cycle | 1 credit per email, 5 credits per phone number |
| Security (vendor claim) | See Apollo's security page | ISO 27701, ISO/IEC 42001, SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and CCPA |
| Customers (vendor claim) | Over 600,000 companies | 280,000+ GTM teams |
Database sizes, customer counts and certifications are each vendor's own published figures, read on apollo.io and lusha.com on November 7, 2026. Neither vendor publishes an independent audit of its data accuracy.
Pricing (checked November 7, 2026)
Lusha publishes its prices. Apollo's pricing page did not render prices in a form that could be checked for this update, so this page does not quote Apollo prices. See current pricing on apollo.io/pricing before you compare totals.
| Plan | Price | Credits | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lusha Free | $0 | 40 credits a month | Testing the extension |
| Lusha Starter | $37.45/mo billed annually ($449.10/yr) or $49.90 monthly | 400 credits a month | One prospector |
| Lusha Pro | $52.45/mo billed annually ($629.10/yr) or $69.90 monthly | 600 credits a month | Regular prospecting |
| Lusha Premium | $299.95/mo billed annually ($3,599.10/yr) or $399.90 monthly | 3,400 credits a month | Small teams |
| Lusha Scale | Custom quote | Custom | Teams larger than 5 users |
| Apollo Free | $0 | See apollo.io/pricing | Exploring Apollo or very light use (Apollo's description) |
| Apollo Basic | See current pricing | See apollo.io/pricing | Individual sellers doing regular outbound, with email sequencing |
| Apollo Professional | See current pricing | See apollo.io/pricing | Full-time reps needing higher credit limits, AI features and call recording |
| Apollo Custom | Quote | Custom volumes | Teams needing SSO, advanced security and dedicated support |
Lusha charges 1 credit to reveal a verified email and 5 credits to reveal a phone number, per its pricing page. Apollo grants credits upfront at the start of each billing cycle and pools them across the team.
What the credit math means for phone-first teams
At 5 credits per phone number, Lusha Pro's 600 monthly credits buy 120 phone numbers a month, or 600 emails. Starter's 400 credits buy 80 phone numbers.
Premium does not make data cheaper. Pro works out to about $0.087 per credit on annual billing ($52.45 for 600) and Premium to about $0.088 ($299.95 for 3,400). The extra money buys volume and team features, not a lower unit price.
Apollo bundles data with sending, so the comparison is not credit for credit. If you already pay for an outreach tool, add its cost to Apollo's side of the ledger only if you would drop it; if you would keep it, Lusha's price is the whole extra cost.
Strengths and limits
Apollo.io: strengths
- - Data, sequences, a Parallel Dialer and a Chrome extension in one product, so a founder can start sending on day one
- - Free plan with no credit card required
- - Over 200 integrations, including CRM, Gmail and AI assistants (Apollo's figure)
- - Credits pooled across the team instead of stranded per seat
Apollo.io: limits
- - Prices were not checkable on the pricing page for this update; get a written quote for your seat count
- - Its database is smaller than Lusha's by each vendor's own published count (240M vs 515M+ contacts)
- - No refunds on mid-cycle downgrades, per its pricing page
- - All-in-one breadth means paying for sending features a data-only buyer will not use
Lusha: strengths
- - Public, self-serve prices with a free plan of 40 credits a month
- - Simple credit rule: 1 credit per email, 5 per phone number
- - Tracks 30 buying-signal types, including job changes, funding rounds and hiring surges (Lusha's figure)
- - Lists ISO 27701, ISO/IEC 42001 and SOC 2 Type II, plus GDPR and CCPA compliance
Lusha: limits
- - Data only: no sequencer and no dialer, so budget for a second tool
- - Phone reveals cost 5 credits, so phone-heavy teams burn credits five times faster than email-only teams
- - Its accuracy figures (98% email, 85% US and 86% global phone) are Lusha's own claims, not an independent audit
- - Teams larger than 5 users must go to the custom-priced Scale plan
Pick Apollo if / pick Lusha if
Pick Apollo if you are...
- - Building outbound from scratch and want one tool for data and sending
- - Running email-first or multichannel sequences
- - A founder who wants a free plan to test outbound before paying
- - A small team without a separate outreach platform
Pick Lusha if you are...
- - Already paying for Outreach, Salesloft, lemlist or a CRM sequencer
- - Running cold calling as the main channel and need phone numbers
- - Prospecting one contact at a time from LinkedIn with the extension
- - Using job changes and other buying signals as triggers
Alternatives
ZoomInfo
The larger enterprise data vendor. Compare it if you are an enterprise sales team that needs intent data and org charts; check its terms and minimums with sales, because they are not self-serve. Our Apollo vs ZoomInfo and Lusha vs ZoomInfo pages, linked below, go deeper.
Cognism
A contact-data vendor that leads with European coverage and compliance. Shortlist it if most of your prospects are in Europe, and ask for a sample list in your target countries before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Is Apollo cheaper than Lusha?
It depends on what else you pay for. Lusha's paid plans start at $37.45 a month billed annually ($49.90 monthly) for 400 credits a month, per its pricing page on November 7, 2026. Apollo's prices were not checkable on its pricing page for this update, so get a quote. Apollo includes sequencing and a dialer, while Lusha needs a separate outreach tool, so compare total stack cost, not plan price.
How many credits does a phone number cost on Lusha?
5 credits. A verified email costs 1 credit. That means Lusha Pro's 600 monthly credits cover 120 phone numbers or 600 emails, per Lusha's pricing page on November 7, 2026.
Which has the bigger database?
By each vendor's own published figures, Lusha: it cites 515M+ contacts and 29M+ companies, while Apollo cites 240M contacts and 30M companies. These are marketing figures, not audited counts, and neither vendor publishes an independent accuracy test.
Does Lusha have email sequences or a dialer?
No. Lusha is contact data only. You reveal contacts and send them to Outreach, Salesloft, lemlist or your CRM. Apollo includes email sequences and a Parallel Dialer.
Is there a free plan?
Both have one. Lusha's free plan includes 40 credits a month. Apollo's free signup requires no credit card; see apollo.io/pricing for its current free-plan limits.
Related Comparisons & Reviews
Dig deeper with our full Apollo.io review and Lusha review. Weighing other data providers? See Apollo vs ZoomInfo, Lusha vs ZoomInfo, and Apollo vs Lemlist. To put these tools to work, read the B2B cold outbound playbook.
Sources
Each price, number and date above was re-checked against these pages on November 7, 2026. Vendor figures are the vendor's own claims.
- Apollo.io pricing page: plan names, credit pooling, downgrade terms (read Nov 7, 2026)
- Apollo.io homepage: 240M contacts, 30M companies, 600,000+ companies, Parallel Dialer, 200+ integrations
- Lusha pricing page: plan prices, credits, credit cost per email and phone number
- Lusha homepage: database size, accuracy claims, certifications, 280,000+ GTM teams, buying signals