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LApollo.io vs Lusha
Apollo wins on all-in-one depth — database plus sequences plus dialer. Lusha wins on compliance and multi-seat entry price. Here's which self-serve data tool fits.
ALApollo.io — for teams that want data and outreach in one subscription
230M+ contacts plus sequences, a dialer, intent signals, and AI scoring — the full outbound stack in one self-serve platform from $0. The trade-off: credits need managing, and phone numbers burn them 8× faster than emails.
Lusha — for compliance-first teams and cheap multi-seat entry
The deepest compliance stack in the class — GDPR, CCPA, SOC 2, ISO 27701 — with strong EMEA coverage, 5-credit phone numbers, and a 3-seat Pro plan at ~$17.48/person. The trade-off: it's a data layer, not an outreach platform; sequences stay basic.
Afor teams that want data and outreach in one subscription
230M+ contacts plus sequences, a dialer, intent signals, and AI scoring — the full outbound stack in one self-serve platform from $0. The trade-off: credits need managing, and phone numbers burn them 8× faster than emails.
Lfor compliance-first teams and cheap multi-seat entry
The deepest compliance stack in the class — GDPR, CCPA, SOC 2, ISO 27701 — with strong EMEA coverage, 5-credit phone numbers, and a 3-seat Pro plan at ~$17.48/person. The trade-off: it's a data layer, not an outreach platform; sequences stay basic.
Side-by-side, 6 axes.
Every tool gets the same criteria rubric. Each axis is scored 0–5 under our fixed research protocol — and the bar shows how they stack up directly.
ALALALALALALALALWhich one is right for you?
Skip the rest of the page — if you fit one of these profiles cleanly, the answer is already obvious.
AChoose Apollo.io if…
You're a fit when:
- Teams that want database, sequences, dialer, and intent signals in one tool instead of stitching a data provider to an outreach platform
- Solo founders validating outbound on the free plan — 900 credits/year and 2 sequences before spending a dollar
- Outbound teams that want AI lead scoring and waterfall enrichment from the $49 Basic tier
- US-market prospecting where Apollo's database is deepest
- Teams already running the full motion in one place — call recordings and AI summaries included on Professional
- GDPR scrutiny drives your procurement — Lusha's ISO 27701 + GDPR certification stack is the deeper one
- You're 2–3 people needing data only — Lusha Pro's 3 seats at $52.45 total beat Apollo's per-seat math
LChoose Lusha if…
You're a fit when:
- Teams selling into Europe — EMEA coverage validated by enterprise case studies and a compliance stack procurement teams approve quickly
- Phone-first prospecting on a budget — numbers at 5 credits each, well under the category standard
- Small teams of 2–3: the Pro plan includes 3 seats at ~$17.48/person, the cheapest credible multi-seat entry in the class
- Organizations that keep outreach in a separate tool and want a clean data layer with API, webhooks, and CRM sync
- Intent-curious teams — buying signals ship on all paid plans without an enterprise tier
- You want outreach built in — Apollo's sequences, dialer, and AI agents make it a complete outbound platform; Lusha isn't one
- Database breadth decides — Apollo's 230M+ contacts with waterfall enrichment out-reach Lusha's verified-first set
Every feature, side by side.
Grouped by what you actually use day-to-day.
ALALALALALWhat you'll actually pay.
Listed at full price — both vendors run discount cycles that knock 30–50% off for the first 3 months. Numbers verified June 2026.
AApollo.io
LLusha
What we loved & hated.
From hundreds of verified user reviews and real-world usage reports. The good, the bad, and the deal-breakers.
AApollo.io
Pros
- Full outbound stack in one subscription — 230M+ contacts, sequences, US dialer, intent, AI scoring.
- Usable free plan: 900 credits/year, 2 sequences, Chrome extension, Gmail integration.
- Waterfall enrichment validates each contact through multiple sources in order.
- Buying intent on all paid plans; AI research and lead scoring from Basic ($49).
- Transparent self-serve pricing — no sales call below the Organization tier.
- Seven compliance certifications including GDPR, SOC 2, ISO 27001, EU-US DPF.
Cons
- Credit management is a real chore — phone numbers cost 8× the credits of emails.
- Deal management stays lighter than a dedicated pipeline CRM.
- Power dialers and visitor identification are separate $119/team/month add-ons.
- SSO and full reporting need Organization with a 3-seat minimum.
- 250 emails/day cap on Free and Basic plans.
LLusha
Pros
- Deepest compliance stack in the category: GDPR, CCPA, SOC 2, and ISO 27701 certified.
- Phone numbers at 5 credits — materially cheaper per dial than category norms.
- Pro plan ships 3 seats for $52.45/month total — ~$17.48 per person.
- EMEA data strength validated by enterprise case studies.
- Free plan includes sequences and call recordings alongside 40 monthly credits.
- Lookalike audiences from Starter — ICP-matched cohorts without manual filters.
Cons
- Credits evaporate at volume — Starter's 400/month equals just 80 phone numbers.
- Sequence automation lacks branching and A/B testing — functional, not competitive.
- Phone accuracy is mixed in some European regions despite the EMEA positioning.
- SSO, credit controls, and priority support sit behind the custom-quoted Scale tier.
- Intent tracking capped at 5 topics below Scale.
One is a platform, the other is a data layer — buy the shape your stack is missing.
Apollo sweeps the scorecard because it competes in more dimensions: where Lusha hands you verified contact data and steps back, Apollo carries the contact through the entire motion — enrichment, sequence, dial, AI summary — inside one subscription. For a team building its outbound stack from scratch, that consolidation is worth real money: Apollo Basic at $49 replaces a data tool plus an outreach tool plus a light dialer. The free plan is the cheapest credible way in the industry to find out if cold outbound works for your business at all.
Lusha wins the narrower, sharper question: 'we have our outreach tool — who sells us trustworthy, compliant data?' For European-market teams, ISO 27701 plus GDPR certification turns legal review into a checkbox, and the 3-seat Pro plan is arithmetic Apollo can't match for a 2–3 person team buying data only. The 5-credit phone numbers compound that for phone-first motions. The honest line: choose by what's missing in your stack — everything (Apollo) or just the data (Lusha).
Decision rule: building the whole outbound stack → Apollo. Adding compliant data to an existing stack, especially in EMEA → Lusha. Both free tiers benchmark against your real ICP in an afternoon.
- Official documentation & pricing pages
- Verified user reviews from major review platforms
- Real user discussions in public communities
- Pricing re-verified against the official pricing page
Findings are synthesized into our fixed 6-axis rubric — sources inform the score, never the other way around. How we score →
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