Apollo vs Lusha
Both are B2B contact-data tools, but they play different roles. Apollo is an all-in-one platform that finds, sequences, and dials in one place. Lusha is a lightweight data layer you plug into your own stack. Here is how they compare on breadth, mobile accuracy, credit cost, pricing, and reviews.
By Rahul Bageria, co-founder · Updated June 2026
Same data job, different scope
Both give you verified B2B contacts. They split on how much of the outbound job each one does for you.
A 275M-plus contact database with email sequencing and a dialer built in, transparent self-serve pricing, and a real free plan. You can prospect and run outreach end to end in one tool.
A lightweight, extension-first source of verified contacts, phone-heavy with 300M-plus direct dials, that you plug into a CRM and a sender you already run. Its only sending tool is an email-only one.
- ✓You want data plus sequencing and a dialer in one tool
- ✓You build big lists and want low cost per record
- ✓You want to run outbound without a separate stack
- ✓You want clean data to feed a stack you already trust
- ✓You live in LinkedIn and want fast targeted reveals
- ✓Direct-dial mobile numbers are your priority
Short on time? We'll tell you which fits your motion and stack.
What each tool actually is
Apollo
An all-in-one B2B platform built around a 275M-plus contact database. It bundles prospecting, email sequencing, and a dialer into one self-serve tool, with intent filters, a Chrome extension, and CRM sync. Pricing runs from a free plan to $119 a month. Best value all-in-one for lean teams that want to prospect and run outreach end to end without a separate stack.
Visit ApolloLusha
A lightweight, verified B2B contact-data layer, extension-first with transparent self-serve pricing. It is phone-heavy, with 300M-plus direct dials and 152M-plus emails across 300M-plus contacts and 30M-plus companies. It enriches and reveals contacts on demand, with a free email-only sender (Lusha Engage) but no dialer and no multichannel sending. Best for teams that want clean data to feed their own stack.
Visit LushaApollo vs Lusha, side by side
The facts that decide it, verified from each tool's official site in June 2026.
| Dimension | Apollo | Lusha |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Teams wanting data plus outreach in one tool | Teams wanting clean data for their own stack |
| What it is | All-in-one platform: data, sequencing, dialer | Data and enrichment layer, extension-first |
| Database size (claimed) | 275M+ contacts | 300M+ contacts, 30M+ companies |
| Phone data | Mobile numbers, credit-gated | Phone-heavy, 300M+ direct dials, 10 credits each |
| Outreach engine | Sequencing and a dialer, built in | Email-only sender (Engage), no dialer |
| Credit model | Monthly credits per plan, low cost per record | 1 credit per email, 10 per phone, no rollover on annual |
| Pricing model | Transparent, self-serve, monthly or annual | Transparent, self-serve, monthly or annual |
| Entry price | Free, then $49 to $79/mo | Free, then $37.45/mo (annual) |
| Free plan | Yes, monthly credits, basic sequencing | Yes, 40 credits a month |
| Native CRMs | Salesforce, HubSpot | Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, more |
Both are priced in USD. Numbers verified June 2026, confirm the current plan on Apollo and Lusha before you buy.
What each one can and cannot do
A capability check, scored the same way for both tools.
| Capability | Apollo | Lusha |
|---|---|---|
| Contact and company database | ✓ 275M+ | ✓ 300M+ |
| Verified emails | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile / direct-dial numbers | ✓ credit-gated | ✓ phone-heavy, 10 credits each |
| Chrome extension | ✓ | ✓ core strength |
| Intent / buying signals | ✓ | ✓ Bombora |
| CRM enrichment and sync | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email sequencing | ✓ | ✓ Engage, email-only |
| Native dialer | ✓ paid tiers | ✕ |
| Multichannel sequences | Limited email + calls | ✕ |
| API access | ✓ | ✓ higher tiers |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Self-serve signup (no sales call) | ✓ | ✓ |
"Limited" means available but not a core strength. Apollo runs email and calls in one sequence, but neither tool is a full multichannel engine. Lusha is a data layer first, so its sending and dialing sit outside the product.
What real users say
Public review scores and the themes that come up most, checked June 2026. Counts drift, so the live links are the source of truth.
Apollo
Praised for: all-in-one value, breadth of database and filters, and self-serve setup that gets a team prospecting fast.
Watch-outs: data accuracy and email deliverability (bounces, catch-alls), credit limits that feel tight, and billing or account-suspension complaints that run hot on Trustpilot.
Lusha
Praised for: a fast, clean Chrome extension, strong direct-dial coverage, and a simple setup with a low learning curve.
Watch-outs: phone reveals cost 10 credits each with no rollover on annual, real-world phone accuracy weaker than the headline, and privacy and billing complaints that run hot on Trustpilot.
Read the scores in context. Apollo carries a much larger G2 base, 9,600 reviews, and rates higher on both sites. Lusha's strength is targeted accuracy rather than volume, which its smaller base and 4.3 G2 score reflect. One note on Lusha: its Trustpilot score is far lower than its G2 one, but that is driven by data-subject privacy complaints and billing disputes, not by buyers rating the product, so treat it as a watch-out on privacy and renewals, not a quality score. Counts move over time, so the live links are the source of truth.
Where each one actually wins
Six things separate these tools in practice. Here is the honest call on each.
All-in-one vs data-only
Edge: dependsThis is the whole matchup. Apollo finds, sequences, and dials in one tool, so a lean team can run outbound end to end without buying anything else. Lusha is a data layer you plug into a CRM and a sender you already trust, its only native sending is an email-only one. The edge depends on what you want: pick Apollo if you want execution in-tool, pick Lusha if you only want clean data to feed an existing stack.
Database breadth and value
Edge: ApolloApollo's 275M-plus database and credit model make it strong for building big lists cheaply inside one workflow. Lusha's database is broad too, with 300M-plus contacts, but it is built for targeted, high-confidence reveals rather than bulk export, and only 152M-plus of those are emails. For volume list-building at low cost per record, Apollo is the better fit.
Mobile accuracy and credit cost
Edge: LushaLusha is phone-heavy, with 300M-plus direct dials, and mobile reveals are its sweet spot for targeted prospecting. The caveat is cost: a phone reveal costs 10 credits against 1 for an email, and reviewers report real-world phone accuracy below the headline claim, so volume mobile prospecting gets expensive. Lusha takes the edge on targeted mobile, but price the credits before you scale.
Outreach engine
Edge: ApolloApollo bundles email sequencing and a built-in dialer, so you can run cadences and calls without a second product. Lusha has only Lusha Engage, an email-only sender, with no dialer and no multichannel sequencing, so phone or LinkedIn outbound means bolting on a separate stack. If you want the execution layer included, this is a clear Apollo win.
Pricing transparency and free tier
Edge: tieBoth publish their prices and both offer a real free plan, so you can test either before paying. Apollo runs from free to $119 a month, Lusha from free to $299.95 a month on annual billing. Where they differ is the unit: Apollo prices seats and credits, Lusha prices reveals, with phone reveals at 10 credits each. Neither hides the number, so this one is a genuine tie.
Compliance and data hygiene
Edge: splitLusha leans into compliance, with GDPR, CCPA, SOC 2, and ISO certifications and a stated policy of not scraping LinkedIn, though its public Trustpilot reputation carries privacy and billing complaints from data subjects. Apollo gives you broad coverage but draws more bounce and deliverability complaints, so you verify before sending. Each is cleaner on a different axis, so call this a split.
Want the right one picked for your stack?
We run both inside live campaigns. Tell us your motion and we'll call it.
What each one costs in 2026
Verified from each official pricing page in June 2026. Read the credit model, not just the headline number.
Apollo
USD / per user- Free
Monthly credits, basic sequencing$0 - Basic / Professional
More credits, US dialer, unlimited sequences$49 to $79/mo - Organization
3-user min, international dialer$119/mo
Free forever plan plus paid tiers. Prices shown are annual per user; monthly is higher. Heavy mobile or export use needs extra credits on top.
Lusha
USD / per user- Free
40 credits a month, extension, CRM integrations$0 - Starter / Pro
About 400 to 600 credits a month$37.45 to $52.45/mo - Premium
About 3,400 credits a month$299.95/mo
Free plan plus paid tiers. Prices shown are annual per user; monthly is higher. An email reveal costs 1 credit, a phone reveal 10, and credits do not roll over on annual.
True cost at scale. The sticker prices look close, but the unit cost is where they part. Apollo's seat-plus-credit model stays cheap for volume list-building and bundles the outreach engine, so one bill covers data and execution. Lusha's per-credit model bites on phone reveals: at 10 credits each with no rollover, heavy mobile prospecting burns through a plan fast, and you still need a separate sender and dialer around it. Price the reveals and the execution layer together, not just the headline.
What neither tool does well
Both are contact-data tools, so they share the same blind spots. Worth knowing before you expect either to drive pipeline on its own.
Both carry intent signals, but neither tells you which accounts are genuinely ready to buy right now. Intent is not timing, and that read is targeting, not a database lookup.
Contact data of any size still needs verification before you send. Both ship some stale records, and a bigger database holds more dead entries, not fewer.
A database is not a strategy. Neither one decides who to target, what to say, or when to reach out. That is the work that turns a list into pipeline.
Want the right accounts found and timed on real signals, not just a bigger list? That is the signal-based outbound we run. Need the sending layer too? See our best cold email tools for 2026.
Our take, after running both
The choice is mostly about how much of the job you want the tool to do. Here is how we'd call it in three situations.
The free plan, the broad database, and the built-in sequencer and dialer cover a lean motion in one tool, with low cost per record at volume.
If you already have a CRM and a sender you trust and just want clean targeted reveals, especially mobile numbers, Lusha is the cleaner data layer. Watch the 10-credit phone reveals.
Both hand you contacts. Neither tells you who is ready or what to say. That targeting and timing is the part that drives pipeline.
Not sure which fits? We run signal-based outbound for early-stage teams and will tell you straight.
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Co-founder of Real Good GTM. He has been the first business hire and Chief of Staff across seed and pre-seed B2B startups like Palm.ai and Cef.ai, building sales engines from nothing, with a strategy foundation from AWS and Accenture. This comparison comes from running these tools on live campaigns, not from a spec sheet.
Connect on LinkedInQuestions buyers ask
Is Lusha better than Apollo?
Does Apollo include sequencing and a dialer?
Is Lusha just a Chrome extension, or can it send outreach?
Which is cheaper, Apollo or Lusha?
Which has more accurate mobile numbers, Apollo or Lusha?
Which has better reviews, Apollo or Lusha?
Can Apollo or Lusha replace a full outbound stack?
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Not sure which fits your motion?
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