Compare / Apollo vs ZoomInfo
Apollo vs ZoomInfo for a small business buying B2B contacts
Updated November 5, 2026. Every Apollo and ZoomInfo page cited here was read that day.
Apollo prints its prices and ZoomInfo does not. Apollo Basic is $65 a seat month to month, or $49 a seat billed yearly with 30,000 credits a year, about 2 cents each. ZoomInfo sells custom annual contracts; third-party guides report about $15,000 a year, a starting figure ZoomInfo disputes. A small business can buy Apollo today.
Neither Apollo nor ZoomInfo is ours; we sell one-time industry email lists, which come up in the box below and in one FAQ answer. Apollo's figures come from its pricing page, read in a browser on November 5, 2026, because its plan cards load by script. ZoomInfo's come from its own pricing page, pricing FAQ and pricing guide, read the same day. The one number ZoomInfo does not publish, a paid price, is labeled as a third-party report wherever it appears.
| Apollo | ZoomInfo | |
|---|---|---|
| How you buy | Self-serve checkout on the pricing page | Form, then a sales conversation; Lite and the trial need no card |
| What it is | A contact database with email sequencing, a dialer and CRM integrations in the same tool | A contact and company database sold with intent signals, outreach and AI tools for sales and marketing teams |
| Database size, own counts | 240M+ people, 30M+ companies | 500M+ contacts, 100M+ companies, 200M+ business emails, 120M+ direct dials |
| Published paid price | Yes: $49 to $119 a seat a month billed yearly; $65 or $99 month to month | No: custom packages through sales |
| Free option | Free plan: 900 credits a seat a year (75 a month), no end date | ZoomInfo Lite: 10 credits a month (25 with Community Edition), no card, no end date |
| Trial | 14 days on Basic and Professional, with 75 credits | Free trial, typically 7 days, no card |
| Billing | Month to month (Basic, Professional) or yearly at the lower rate; Organization is yearly only | Paid plans billed annually; monthly billing is not standard |
| Seats | Priced per seat, one seat is fine on Basic and Professional; Organization needs 3 | Lite has no seat minimum; paid plans include a minimum number of seats |
| What a credit buys | Email 1 credit, phone number 8, enriched data 1 to 8 | Credits are consumed when you download verified contact records |
| Price per credit | About 2.0 cents billed yearly ($588 for 30,000 on Basic); 2.5 to 2.6 cents month to month | Not published. About $3 on one reported figure ($14,995 for 5,000 credits, Factors.ai), which ZoomInfo's FAQ disputes as a starting price |
| Unused credits | Expire at the end of each billing cycle, add-ons included | ZoomInfo tells buyers to ask whether they roll over or expire |
| Canceling | Monthly: cancel any time, effective at term end. Annual: no mid-cycle downgrade | Annual contract; ZoomInfo tells buyers to ask for a cap on renewal increases |
What ZoomInfo costs, and who says so
ZoomInfo's pricing page shows a form and no dollar figure. Its FAQ answers the question directly: "Does ZoomInfo's price start at $15,000? No, despite claims from Cognism, Demandbase, Lusha, Apollo, and others, ZoomInfo's pricing does not start at $15,000." It adds that packages are tailored and that it is not enterprise-only.
The figure comes from third parties. Factors.ai reports the Professional plan at about $14,995 a year with 5,000 credits and up to 3 seats. UpLead, which sells against ZoomInfo, reports $14,995 to $39,995 or more a year. Neither is a ZoomInfo price, and either could differ from the quote you get. So the useful read is this: expect an annual contract with a seat minimum, and get a written quote before you compare.
A year for three sellers
Three seats matches Apollo Organization's minimum and the seat limit in the reported ZoomInfo figure. Each Apollo line is the seat price times 3 seats times 12 months.
| Plan | First year | Credits in the year |
|---|---|---|
| Apollo Basic, 3 seats billed yearly | $1,764 | 90,000 |
| Apollo Professional, 3 seats billed yearly | $2,844 | 144,000 |
| Apollo Organization, 3 seats (its minimum) | $4,284 | 216,000 |
| ZoomInfo Professional as reported by Factors.ai (up to 3 seats; not a ZoomInfo price) | About $14,995 | 5,000 |
A credit is not one unit across the two. Apollo charges 1 credit for an email and 8 for a phone number. ZoomInfo describes a credit as spent on a downloaded contact record and says use varies with data depth, so the 2 cents and the $3 above are not the same thing bought. Compare quotes on the contacts you need, not on credits.
For 1,000 contacts with an email address each, Apollo Basic month to month is $65: 1,000 of its 2,500 credits. If each also needs a phone number, Apollo spends 9 credits a contact, 9,000 in all, and the $588 yearly Basic seat covers it. ZoomInfo Lite's 10 free credits a month would take 100 months to reach 1,000 contacts, so at that volume ZoomInfo means a paid quote.
Where Apollo wins
- A price you can read. Every self-serve plan is on the page, and you can buy without talking to sales.
- A small first payment. $65 for one month of Basic, against an annual contract at ZoomInfo.
- A bigger free tier. 75 credits a month against 10 at ZoomInfo Lite.
- A longer trial. 14 days on Basic and Professional, against a typical 7 at ZoomInfo. The Apollo trial includes 75 credits, so it tests the product more than a large list.
- Month-to-month billing. Basic and Professional can be paid monthly and canceled.
Where ZoomInfo wins
- A larger database by its own count. 500M+ contacts and 100M+ companies, against Apollo's 240M+ people and 30M+ companies. These are each company's own numbers.
- US direct dials, on one review. RB2B's comparison calls ZoomInfo generally stronger for US direct dials and Apollo strong on verified emails and international prospecting.
- Intent data, on one review. RB2B's comparison table lists ZoomInfo's intent data as advanced first- and third-party with optional add-ons, and Apollo's as native buying intent and website activity. ZoomInfo's own guide lists streaming intent as an add-on to its base plans, so it is priced separately.
By need
| If you | Pick | Why, on November 5 pages |
|---|---|---|
| Have one seller and want to start this week | Apollo | Basic is $65 for a month, bought without a sales call |
| Want to try a database before paying | Apollo | 75 free credits a month against 10 at ZoomInfo Lite |
| Need to know the price before you talk to anyone | Apollo | Its plan prices are on the page; ZoomInfo asks for a form |
| Want sequences and contacts in one bill | Apollo | Basic includes unlimited sequences |
| Sell to US enterprises by phone | Run a ZoomInfo trial | RB2B rates its US direct dials higher; test them on your own accounts |
| Run sales and marketing on intent data with a contract budget | Quote ZoomInfo | RB2B's table calls ZoomInfo's intent data advanced, and it is an add-on, so only a quote settles the price |
One industry, once
If you need one industry's emails once (dentists, roofers, HVAC contractors), a one-time list can cost less per contact than a subscription. Sales.co, the publisher of this page, sells 71 one-time industry email lists at $295 each, paid once, delivered as a CSV; across the 38 lists that publish a count that is $0.003 to $0.053 a contact. Nine list providers compared on price and one-time vs subscription lists cover the rest.
Sources
- Apollo: apollo.io/pricing, monthly and yearly plan cards and FAQ, read in a browser November 5, 2026; database counts from its Apollo vs ZoomInfo page, read the same day.
- ZoomInfo: pricing page, pricing FAQ, pricing guide (updated July 7, 2026) and free trial page, read November 5, 2026.
- Third-party estimates of ZoomInfo's price: Factors.ai and UpLead, read November 5, 2026. Direct-dial comparison: RB2B, read the same day.
Per-credit figures, worked out November 5, 2026, are the plan price divided by its credits (yearly plans: twelve months over the year's credits), rounded to a tenth of a cent. This page compares prices and terms. To check accuracy and coverage in your market, run both free tiers on a sample of your own target accounts. More side-by-side pages are on the compare hub, including Apollo vs UpLead.
FAQ
Is Apollo cheaper than ZoomInfo?
On every published number, yes. Apollo Basic is $65 a seat month to month or $588 a seat for a year, about 2 cents a credit. ZoomInfo publishes no paid price; third-party guides report about $14,995 a year for 5,000 credits, about $3 a credit, and ZoomInfo disputes that starting figure (read November 5, 2026). The credits are different units, so compare quotes on the contacts you need. Ask for a quote before you compare final totals.
How much does ZoomInfo cost?
ZoomInfo does not publish a paid price. Its pricing page offers custom packages, and its FAQ says the price does not start at $15,000. Paid plans are billed annually with a minimum number of seats. Factors.ai reports about $14,995 a year for its Professional plan and UpLead reports $14,995 to $39,995 or more. ZoomInfo Lite is free.
Does ZoomInfo have a free plan?
Yes. ZoomInfo Lite is free with no card and no end date, and it includes 10 credits a month (25 with Community Edition). Apollo's free plan grants 900 credits a seat a year, or 75 a month. ZoomInfo also offers a free trial, typically 7 days; Apollo's paid plans carry a 14-day trial.
Does ZoomInfo have monthly billing?
No standard monthly option. ZoomInfo says paid plans are billed annually and that monthly billing is not standard. Apollo has a monthly toggle: Basic is $65 a seat for 2,500 credits a month and Professional is $99 for 4,000. Apollo's Organization plan is yearly only, with a 3-seat minimum.
Is there a cheaper alternative to ZoomInfo?
Apollo is one that publishes its prices: 240M+ people by its own count, from $49 a seat billed yearly. If you need one industry once, a one-time list has no seat or contract. Our list providers comparison prices nine sellers at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 contacts.
How current is this page?
Apollo's pricing page, ZoomInfo's pricing page, FAQ and pricing guide, and the two third-party estimates were read on November 5, 2026. Prices change, so check each source before you buy.