For marketing agencies running cold email at scale, Instantly is the better fit in 2026: its Growth outreach plan starts at $47/month with unlimited email accounts and warmup, and its Agency bundle tops out at $555/month for 500,000 emails monthly. Apollo.io is the stronger pick when your team needs a 230M+ contact database plus a built-in dialer, with paid seats from $49/user/month (annual) — but phone-heavy usage burns credits fast. If you'd rather skip the tooling entirely, SentFirst is a done-for-you form-outreach service starting at a $497 one-time pilot that contacts 1,500 unique businesses for you.
Bottom line: Instantly wins for agencies: flat volume-based pricing (not per-seat), unlimited email accounts and warmup on every plan, and an agency-sized $555/month tier with 500,000 emails monthly. Apollo is better only if you need its large contact database and native dialer in one platform — and its credit meter makes real costs hard to predict.
TL;DR
- Instantly's Outreach plans run $47/mo (Growth), $97/mo (Hypergrowth), $358/mo (Light Speed) and custom Enterprise — annual billing saves roughly 20%.
- Instantly bundles outreach plus credits from $94/mo (Starter), $194/mo (Scale) and $555/mo (Agency) — the Agency tier covers 500,000 emails and 100,000 uploaded contacts monthly.
- Apollo.io paid seats are $49, $79 and $119 per user per month on annual billing ($59, $99, $149 monthly), with a 3-seat minimum on the top Organization tier.
- Apollo's credit system is the real cost driver: 1 credit per verified email, 8 per phone number, and Vendr data on 101 purchases puts the median contract at $19,000/year.
- Instantly charges per workspace, not per seat — a 5-person and 50-person team pay the same platform fee, but each client workspace is a separate subscription.
- Apollo reports a 4.7/5 rating across 9,690 reviews; both platforms split data, sending and AI into separately priced modules.
- Instantly's terms are non-refundable with 30-day cancellation notice before renewal; Apollo credits expire at the end of each billing cycle with no rollover.
Head-to-head
| Dimension | Apollo.io | Instantly |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $49–$119/user/mo annual ($59–$149 monthly); credit overages push real spend higher — Vendr median contract $19,000/yr | $47–$358/mo Outreach monthly ($37.60–$358 annual); bundles $94–$555/mo; flat fee regardless of team sizewinner |
| Ease of use | All-in-one but credit accounting across email/phone/export pools adds complexity | Self-serve plans, 14-day trial, unlimited warmup built in; modular products take configurationwinner |
| Features | 230M+ contact database, sequencing, US + international dialers, intent data, call recordingwinner | Unlimited mailboxes, warmup, SISR IP rotation, 450M+ lead database, AI agents — no phone data |
| Support | Dedicated support on Custom/ Organization tier; self-serve below | Chat support on Growth; premium live support from Hypergrowth upwinner |
| Integrations | Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, SalesLoft, Marketo, Sendgrid, LinkedIn; API on Custom planswinner | Export to major CRMs and outreach providers via credit plans |
| Setup | Connect mailbox, pick plan, start sequencing; 14-day trial available | Connect unlimited mailboxes, warmup runs automatically; 14-day trial available |
| Agency fit | Per-seat costs scale with headcount; all seats must share one plan; no agency tier | Dedicated Agency bundle $555/mo with 500,000 emails; per-workspace subscriptions separate clientswinner |
Scores
Apollo.io
apollo.io ↗Apollo.io is an all-in-one sales intelligence and engagement platform that combines a B2B contact database (reported at 230M+ contacts, with some sources citing 275M+), an email sequencing engine, and a built-in phone dialer in a single subscription. It is designed to consolidate the separate tools agencies typically stitch together for contact data, cold email and calling. Pricing is per seat, with four tiers — Free, Basic, Professional and Organization — plus a Custom enterprise plan. The catch is the credit system: revealing a verified email costs 1 credit, a phone number costs 8, enrichment runs 1–8 credits per record, and the US dialer burns 2 credits per minute. Credits are pooled across the team, granted upfront each billing cycle, and expire unused. Apollo reports a 4.7/5 rating from 9,690 reviews, claims over 600,000 companies as users, and integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, SalesLoft, Marketo, Sendgrid and LinkedIn. In 2026 the company reported approaching $200M ARR and nearly 100,000 paying customers.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | 900 credits/seat/year, 2 active sequences, 250 daily emails, Gmail only |
| Basic (annual) | $49/mo | 30,000 credits/year per seat, unlimited sequences, CRM integrations, waterfall enrichment |
| Professional (annual) | $79/mo | 48,000 credits/year, US dialer, call recording with AI insights, unlimited mailboxes |
| Organization (annual) | $119/mo | 72,000 credits/year, 3-seat minimum, international dialer, SSO, custom reports |
Pros
- Consolidates contact data, email sending and calling into one platform, replacing multiple subscriptions
- Large database (230M+ contacts) with intent data and waterfall enrichment
- Free tier and 14-day Professional trial let you test before committing
- Strong integration coverage across major CRMs and sales tools
- Highly rated: 4.7/5 across 9,690 reviews per its own pricing page
- Annual billing saves roughly 20–24% versus monthly
Cons
- Credit system makes real costs unpredictable — phone numbers cost 8 credits and Vendr's median contract is $19,000/year
- Credits expire at the end of each billing cycle with no rollover
- Organization tier requires a 3-seat minimum ($4,284/year entry)
- All seats on an account must be on the same plan
- Reported data accuracy around 65–70% with 15–25% email bounce rates per user reviews
- Annual billing locks you in — no mid-term refunds for downgrades
Instantly
instantly.ai ↗Instantly is a cold-email outreach platform built around volume sending and deliverability. Its Outreach product handles campaigns, unlimited email accounts, unlimited warmup, inbox rotation and a unified Unibox reply manager, priced by uploaded contacts and emails per month rather than per seat — so a 5-person team and a 50-person team pay the same platform fee. Beyond Outreach, Instantly sells a lead database (Instantly Credits, 450M+ B2B contacts with enrichment and AI agents), a CRM, and add-ons like pre-warmed mailboxes and inbox placement testing. Its SISR system (Server & IP Sharding and Rotation), included on Light Speed and above, automatically assigns dedicated private server and IP blocks to protect sender reputation. Bundles combine Outreach and Credits: Starter $94/mo, Scale $194/mo, Agency $555/mo. For agencies, the Agency tier covers 500,000 emails and 100,000 uploaded contacts monthly. Notable constraints: each client workspace is a separate subscription, AI agents charge 5 credits per output, and fees are non-refundable with 30-day cancellation notice.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Growth Outreach | $47/mo | Unlimited email accounts and warmup, 1,000 uploaded contacts, 5,000 emails/mo |
| Hypergrowth Outreach | $97/mo | 25,000 uploaded contacts, 125,000 emails/mo, premium live support |
| Light Speed Outreach | $358/mo | 100,000 uploaded contacts, 500,000 emails/mo, SISR private IP rotation |
| Starter Bundle | $94/mo | Outreach + 1,500 credits/mo, 450M+ B2B leads database, AI Sales Agent |
| Scale Bundle | $194/mo | 5,000 credits/mo, AI Reply Agent, advanced deliverability |
| Agency Bundle | $555/mo | 10,000 credits/mo, 500,000 emails/mo, 100,000 uploaded contacts, SISR |
Pros
- Volume-based pricing, not per-seat — team size doesn't change the platform fee
- Unlimited email accounts and warmup included on every Outreach tier
- Dedicated Agency bundle at $555/mo sized for 500,000 emails monthly
- SISR private IP rotation protects deliverability at high volume
- 14-day free trial on Outreach plans and roughly 20% annual discount
- 450M+ contact database with 13 filters, lookalikes and waterfall enrichment
Cons
- Modular pricing stacks up: Outreach, Credits, CRM, mailboxes and domains are billed separately
- Each client workspace is a separate subscription — five client workspaces means five plans
- AI agents charge 5 credits per output whether or not you use the result
- No phone or direct-dial data in the credit table
- Fees are non-refundable and cancellation requires 30 days' notice before renewal
- Growth's 1,000-contact cap makes the real entry point for most teams Hypergrowth at $97/mo
Pricing compared: per-seat credits vs flat volume
Deliverability and sending infrastructure
Which platform fits a marketing agency's workflow
Which should you pick?
FAQs
How much does Apollo.io cost for a marketing agency in 2026?
Apollo's paid plans run $49 (Basic), $79 (Professional) and $119 (Organization) per user per month on annual billing, or $59, $99 and $149 on monthly billing. The Organization tier requires a minimum of 3 seats, making its entry point $357/month billed annually. The bigger budget question is credits: emails cost 1 credit, phone numbers 8, and credits expire each cycle — Vendr data on 101 purchases shows a median contract of $19,000 per year, and third-party estimates suggest heavy outbound teams should budget $150–$400 per user per month once overages and add-ons are factored in.
How much does Instantly cost in 2026?
Instantly's Outreach plans are $47/mo (Growth), $97/mo (Hypergrowth) and $358/mo (Light Speed) on monthly billing, with roughly 20% savings on annual billing ($37.60, $77.60 and $286.30 respectively). Bundles combining Outreach and the Instantly Credits lead database start at $94/mo (Starter), with Scale at $194/mo and the Agency bundle at $555/mo covering 500,000 emails and 100,000 uploaded contacts monthly. Remember that Outreach, Credits, CRM, mailboxes and AI agents are separate subscriptions, and each client workspace counts as its own plan.
Is Apollo.io or Instantly better for agencies?
For most marketing agencies running cold email for clients, Instantly is the stronger fit: flat volume-based pricing that doesn't scale with headcount, unlimited email accounts and warmup on every plan, a dedicated Agency bundle at $555/mo, and SISR private IP infrastructure for deliverability. Apollo is the better choice if your team needs its 230M+ contact database, intent data and a native phone dialer consolidated in one platform — but per-seat pricing, the same-plan-across-all-seats rule, and an unpredictable credit meter make it costlier and less flexible for multi-client operations.
Do Apollo.io credits expire?
Yes. Apollo credits are pooled across your team, granted upfront at the start of each billing cycle, and expire at the end of that cycle with no rollover — this applies to both plan-included and purchased add-on credits. On annual plans the full year of credits is granted upfront, which front-loads your prospecting capacity. Admins can set per-user credit caps to distribute the shared pool, and add-on credits can be added mid-cycle via a slider, but they are charged immediately and renew automatically until removed.
Does Instantly charge per seat or per workspace?
Per workspace. Instantly's pricing is volume-based on uploaded contacts and emails per month, so a 5-person team and a 50-person team pay the same platform fee on any given tier — unusual in the sales engagement category. Team members are free to add. The important caveat for agencies is that each workspace is a separate subscription: an agency running five client workspaces pays for five plans, which is why the per-workspace model both separates clients cleanly and multiplies costs.
Is there a free trial for either platform?
Yes, both offer trials. Apollo provides a 14-day free trial of its Professional plan with 100 credits and access to most plan features (non-Gmail/Microsoft mailboxes stay locked until you pay), plus a permanently free tier with 900 credits per seat per year. Instantly offers a 14-day free trial on its Outreach plans. Either way, you can test the core sending workflow before committing to a paid plan.
Sources
- Apollo.io Pricing Plans | Sales Intelligence Platform Pricing
- Pricing - Plans for Outreach, Leads, and CRM | Instantly
- Apollo Pricing 2026: Seats, Credits, and the Real Cost
- Apollo.io Pricing 2026: Plans, Credits & Is It Worth It?
- Apollo.io Pricing Breakdown 2026: Plans, Credits, and Real Costs
- Apollo.io Pricing 2026: Free Plan to $119/mo (Real Costs)
- Instantly Pricing 2026: Every Plan, Credit and Hidden Cost
- Instantly.ai Pricing 2026: Plans and Costs Breakdown