B2B sales intelligence — contact database, email sequences, and CRM in one platform
Apollo.io is the all-in-one B2B sales intelligence platform — database of 270M+ contacts, email finder, sequence automation, and CRM in one product. For Indian B2B sales teams doing outbound to US/EU markets, Apollo is the most cost-effective starting point: the free plan gives 50 email credits/month, and the paid plans start at $49/user/mo — cheaper than buying ZoomInfo data + a separate email tool + a separate CRM. The killer use case: build a list of CTOs at 200-500 employee fintech companies in the US, find their verified emails, and launch a personalised cold email sequence — all within Apollo without exporting to another tool. For Indian market targeting (finding Indian company decision-makers), Apollo's data coverage is decent but not as strong as LinkedIn Sales Navigator or local providers.
Apollo.io is a B2B sales intelligence and engagement platform. Its core product is a database of 270M+ professional contacts with filters for job title, company size, industry, geography, tech stack, funding stage, and revenue — letting sales teams build highly targeted prospect lists without manual LinkedIn research. On top of that database, Apollo layers email finding, email verification, multi-step outreach sequences, a built-in CRM, and intent data signals.
For Indian B2B sales teams, Apollo solves a very specific problem: finding verified contact details for decision-makers at target companies abroad. If your ICP is a Head of Engineering at a 300-person US fintech, Apollo lets you find that person, verify their work email, and launch a personalised cold email sequence — all in one workflow. The alternative is manually hunting emails on LinkedIn, using a separate email verification tool, and then loading contacts into a separate email platform. Apollo replaces that entire stack.
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, Apollo has grown aggressively on the back of its generous free tier and pricing that undercuts ZoomInfo and Outreach by a wide margin. It now serves 160,000+ customers globally, and adoption among Indian B2B SaaS and IT services companies has grown sharply since 2023.
Apollo has good US/EU data coverage. Indian company data is decent — better than nothing, not as comprehensive as LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Many Indian B2B SaaS teams use Apollo specifically for outbound to US/EU buyers, where Apollo's data quality is genuinely strong.
For India domestic outbound (selling to Indian companies), LinkedIn Sales Navigator or IndiaMart for SMB segments tends to work better. Apollo's India contact coverage has gaps, particularly for mid-market companies and tier-2 city businesses. That said, for Indian IT services firms and SaaS companies targeting US/EU enterprise buyers, Apollo is the default tool of choice — and the free plan is generous enough for small teams to explore properly before committing.
270M+ contacts with filters: job title, company size, industry, location, tech stack, funding stage, revenue. Build laser-targeted prospect lists in minutes instead of hours of LinkedIn manual research.
Find and verify work emails — 50 free credits/mo on free plan, 10K+ on paid tiers. Built-in verifier checks deliverability before you send, reducing bounce rates and protecting your domain reputation.
Automated multi-step email + LinkedIn outreach sequences with A/B testing. Set up a 5-step sequence with personalised merge tags and let Apollo run follow-ups automatically — no manual tracking required.
Built-in lightweight CRM — pipeline, deals, contact history — or sync to HubSpot/Salesforce. For early-stage teams without a CRM, Apollo's built-in CRM is enough to manage a basic outbound pipeline without paying for a separate tool.
Enrich your existing CRM/CSV with Apollo data — fill in missing emails, phone numbers, LinkedIn profiles, and company information. Upload a list of company names and Apollo appends contact data automatically.
See which companies are actively researching topics relevant to your product — prioritise warm accounts showing buying signals over cold outreach. Available on Professional and above plans.
Apollo bills in USD per user per month. Annual billing saves approximately 20% vs monthly. No INR billing — Indian companies pay USD + GST under reverse charge mechanism.
50 email credits/mo, 5 sequences. Good for solo founders validating ICP before committing to a paid plan.
~₹4,116/mo. Unlimited emails, 10K credits. Most Indian outbound teams start here. Best value entry point.
~₹8,316/mo. Intent data, dialer, advanced analytics. Upgrade when you need intent signals and call tracking.
Organization plan at $149/user/mo (~₹12,516) adds custom permissions, SSO, and advanced admin controls for larger sales teams. For a 3-person Indian SDR team on Basic, total cost is ~₹12,348/mo — compare that to ZoomInfo ($15,000+/yr) plus Outreach ($100+/user/mo) plus a separate CRM.
(1) Search for ICP contacts with company size + industry + job title filters. (2) Export to sequence with personalised first line — use {{company_name}} merge tags. (3) Step 2: LinkedIn connection request. (4) Step 3: Follow-up email referencing company news. A 200-contact sequence costs ~₹4,116/mo on Basic — cheaper than one cold call agency retainer.
Apollo's contact data is sourced from crawling, user submissions, and partner databases. Email bounce rates of 5-15% are common — always verify before bulk sending to protect your domain reputation. Apollo has a built-in verifier but cross-check with Hunter or NeverBounce for high-stakes campaigns targeting senior enterprise buyers.
| Factor | Apollo | ZoomInfo | LinkedIn Sales Nav | Clearbit | Clay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Database size | 270M+ contacts | 260M+ contacts | 950M+ profiles | 20M companies | Aggregates multiple |
| Email sequences | Yes (built-in) | Via Engage add-on | No | No | Via integrations |
| India data | Decent | Good | Best | Limited | Aggregated |
| Price | $49/user/mo | $15K+/yr | $99/user/mo | $275+/mo | $149+/mo |
| Free tier | Yes (50 credits) | No | No | No | Yes (100 rows) |
Start on the free plan to validate Apollo's data quality for your specific ICP before committing to Basic. Search for 50 of your ideal contacts, export their emails, send them and track bounce rates. If bounce rate is under 8%, Apollo's data is good enough for your ICP — upgrade. If it is 15%+, cross-verify with Hunter.io before scaling sequences.
For teams already using HubSpot or Salesforce: connect Apollo via native integration so sequences and contact activities sync automatically to your CRM. This avoids the common problem of outreach activity existing only in Apollo while deal history lives in your CRM — the two systems stay in sync with no manual logging.
Try Apollo FreeWe help Indian B2B SaaS and services companies set up Apollo sequences, ICP targeting, and outbound playbooks for US/EU markets.
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