Apollo.io Explained: How This Platform Supercharges Sales and Lead Generation
In 2026, entrepreneurs and professionals have access to a wide range of innovative AI services that improve business productivity and automate many routine tasks. One of the most popular B2B sales and marketing solutions is Apollo.io. In this article, you'll learn about the capabilities the platform offers, its advantages and limitations, who needs its products, their cost, and how to use Apollo.io.
What Is Apollo.io
Apollo.io is an AI platform with a suite of tools for lead generation, sales, and marketing. It helps businesses optimize inbound and outbound processes, leverage up-to-date databases with millions of contacts, and close deals more efficiently.
The system is used by over 500,000 companies across various industries and sizes — from emerging startups to global market leaders. Active users include sales leaders and representatives, account executives, operations managers, as well as CEOs and founders.
The sales automation platform Apollo.io was founded in 2015 by entrepreneurs Tim Zheng and Ray Li. In 2016, the startup introduced its first product, and in 2018, it raised its first venture funding round — $7 million in Series A. In 2021, the number of paid users of the software reached 10,000. The project also received its next investment package (Series B) of $32 million.
In March 2022, Apollo.io completed a Series C funding round, bringing in an additional $110 million. In 2023, the service's paid user base increased to 40,000. A new Series D round was also completed, bringing the company an additional $100 million.
Source: apollo.io
Apollo.io is headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA. It employs over 1,600 people, and over 5,000 companies and agencies are its official partners. The project also has its own referral program and a startup ecosystem, which includes over 300 early-stage startups.
Core Features
Apollo.io's functionality covers the entire lead management cycle — from data discovery and enrichment to outreach automation and analytics. This section of our Apollo.io review explores the ecosystem’s key tools that deliver practical value for sales and marketing teams, enabling them to scale B2B campaigns without losing control over the quality of data and communications.
Apollo Data
The B2B database includes 210 million business contacts worldwide, 128 million personal and business email addresses, and 144 million mobile and landline numbers. It also contains information on 35 million companies from various countries, 25 million of which are registered outside the United States.
Users can sort and filter leads in this database based on 65+ parameters, including industry, job title, company size, and other data points. Information is collected from over 2 million sources, with 5.3 million new contacts added monthly and 150 million existing records updated.
Apollo AI
The built-in AI assistant automates a range of sales manager tasks, including research, scoring, outreach, and other processes. Specialists can personally coordinate these tasks or run them in an automated mode.
Apollo AI utilizes the most current and relevant data from the software's database, generating high-quality, personalized insights from this data. The virtual assistant operates based on company KPIs and recent industry trends, flexibly adapting to your specific sales style.
Process Automation
Apollo.io features allow you to create and configure complex multi-stage workflows with branching and conditional logic. The platform allows users to build campaigns in a drag-and-drop editor, manage each stage, and scale them.
Intelligent automations allow you to flexibly schedule tasks and notifications, as well as manually review and approve contacts for more robust control. A built-in template catalog makes launching and scaling automated workflows faster and easier.
Integrations and APIs
Apollo.io tools can be made even more convenient and effective thanks to a native Google Chrome browser extension and an extensive library of integrations. These include pre-built integrations with popular CRMs (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive) and a number of other well-known B2B systems. All integrations are categorized in the catalog by topic: connectors, email services, analytics systems, marketing automation services, sales engagement and intelligence, and more.
The REST API makes it easier and faster to integrate Apollo.io functionality with new and existing applications. It allows developers to create custom integrations, enrich data using endpoints, and search for people and companies directly from the software’s database.
You can also set up integrations using our ApiX-Drive platform. No coding or special knowledge is required. Easily integrate Apollo.io into your technology stack and get efficient automated workflows.
Waterfall Enrichment
Apollo Waterfall Enrichment, a data enrichment service, allows you to find and verify email addresses and phone numbers across multiple sources. The platform automatically monitors dozens of databases, providing managers with verified contact information for potential clients.
Built-in validation tools thoroughly verify the authenticity of email addresses, allowing senders to maintain the impeccable reputation of their domains. Data processed in Waterfall Enrichment is ideal for use in Apollo workflows, CRM integrations, and other systems.
Advantages and Limitations
Apollo.io is one of the most popular lead generation software solutions, trusted by hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. Its users receive a number of significant benefits:
- A massive database. Apollo's database contains millions of regularly updated contacts, and dozens of filters help you quickly and easily identify the most targeted leads across various industries and company sizes.
- Automation and AI support. The platform makes it easy to automate a number of key sales and marketing workflows. The AI assistant helps you complete everyday tasks faster and generates useful data-driven insights.
- Multi-channel reach. A suite of professional email outreach tools allows you to launch and manage campaigns directly from Gmail via a Google Chrome extension. Other communication channels are also supported: phone, LinkedIn, CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot), and Google Calendar.
- Powerful analytics. The toolkit includes a suite of analytics and reporting tools to help you track and optimize key campaign performance metrics.
However, Apollo.io's functionality is not without some drawbacks:
- Complex interface. The large number of different options, modes, and settings require some experience using the platform. New users will need time to fully master it.
- Risk of losing control. Apollo.io's automation and AI tools require regular monitoring; without consistent oversight, campaign results may deviate from the intended outcomes.
Pricing and Use Cases
Apollo.io pricing includes four subscription tiers:
- Free (100 credits per user per month, AI assistant, AI research, basic filters, 2 sequences, Deliverability Suite and Email Warmup, Gmail and Salesforce extensions, etc.).
- Basic (2,500 credits per user per month, all Free features + AI lead scoring, unlimited sequences, advanced filters, CRM integrations, Waterfall Enrichment, data enrichment from CSV, CRM, API, etc.) — $59 per month per user.
- Professional (4,000 credits per user per month, all Basic features plus projects, automated processes, unlimited Gmail and Microsoft mailboxes, 4,000 minutes of call recording, AI insights, analytics, and ready-made reports) — $99 per user per month.
- Organization (from 3 users, 6,000 credits per user per month, all Professional features + 8,000 minutes of call recording, customizable reports and dashboards, advanced security settings, SSO, support for custom LLM API keys) — $149 per month per user.
The rates listed reflect monthly subscription costs at the time of publication. Since pricing and plans are subject to change, please visit the official website for the most current information.
Source: apollo.io
Key user categories for the Apollo.io B2B prospecting platform:
- B2B companies. Apollo's tools help B2B companies across various industries more effectively implement lead generation and management processes, continuously expanding their customer base.
- Startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The software helps this category of businesses actively communicate with potential clients and grow their contact base. It enables startups and SMEs to scale their campaigns faster and more efficiently, achieving better marketing and sales results.
- Sales teams. Sales managers use Apollo to more effectively prospect for clients and significantly improve deal closing rates thanks to the platform's tools.
- Marketing departments. The solution helps marketing specialists effectively automate email newsletters and other marketing campaigns. It makes it easier and faster for them to build a subscriber base, segment their audience, and analyze KPIs.
Final Verdict
Apollo.io deservedly ranks among the best B2B lead generation tools for 2026. The solution offers a powerful set of tools for optimizing, automating, and monitoring sales, marketing, and customer service campaigns.
Apollo's key advantages include a large B2B contact database, native automations, and an AI assistant, as well as built-in data enrichment and analytics options. The flexible pricing, including a free plan, is especially noteworthy.
Apollo.io is used by hundreds of thousands of businesses across various industries and formats, including both startups and large international corporations. Its services are sought after by a wide range of professionals, including sales managers, marketing specialists, COOs, and business leaders.