Apollo.io starts at $49 per user per month (Basic, annual billing) with a 275M+ contact database, email sequencing, and a dialer on higher tiers, while Instantly starts at $47/mo (Growth outreach plan) with unlimited email accounts and warmup but lead data sold separately from $47/mo more. For MSPs running form-based or done-for-you outreach instead of self-managed cold email, SentFirst is a managed alternative starting at a $497 one-time pilot that puts your offer in front of 1,500 unique businesses. Choose Apollo if your team needs calling data and CRM consolidation; choose Instantly if you need high-volume cold email sending with unlimited inboxes.
Bottom line: These tools solve different problems: Apollo is a per-seat sales intelligence platform with contact data, sequencing, and dialing, while Instantly is a volume cold-email sender with unlimited mailboxes but no phone data. The right pick depends on whether your MSP needs calling data (Apollo) or high-volume email sending (Instantly).
TL;DR
- Apollo.io's paid tiers run $49–$119 per user per month on annual billing ($59–$149 monthly), with a free tier and a 14-day Professional trial.
- Apollo's real cost is driven by its credit system: 1 credit per verified email, 8 per phone number, and unused credits expire each billing cycle.
- Apollo's Organization tier requires a 3-seat minimum, making its entry price $4,284 per year on annual billing.
- Instantly's Outreach plans run $47/mo (Growth) to $358/mo (Light Speed), with volume-based pricing — a 5-person and 50-person team pay the same platform fee.
- Instantly's lead database (Instantly Credits, 450M+ B2B contacts) is a separate subscription from $47/mo, or bundled from $94/mo.
- Instantly has no phone or direct-dial data, so calling-focused MSPs need a second data tool.
- Instantly's terms state fees are non-refundable and require cancellation 30 days before renewal; Apollo's cancellations take effect at the end of the plan term.
Head-to-head
| Dimension | Apollo.io | Instantly |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $49–$119/user/mo annual ($59–$149 monthly); free tier; credits and add-ons extra; Organization requires 3 seats ($4,284/yr entry) | $47/mo Growth to $358/mo Light Speed (Outreach); Credits from $47/mo; bundles from $94/mo; volume-based, not per-seat |
| Ease of use | All-in-one but credit system and plan gating add complexity | Simple sending platform; unlimited inboxes and warmup on every planwinner |
| Features | 275M+ contacts, sequencing, US/international dialer, call recording, intent signalswinner | Unlimited inboxes, warmup, SISR, AI agents, 450M+ lead database, enrichment |
| Support | Self-serve help center; dedicated support on Custom plans | Chat support on Growth; premium live support on Hypergrowth and abovewinner |
| Integrations | Native Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, SalesLoft, Marketo, Sendgrid, LinkedIn; API on Custom planswinner | Export to major CRMs and outreach providers; CRM module sold separately |
| Setup | Self-serve; 14-day Professional trial; annual billing grants credits upfront but locks 12 months | Self-serve; 14-day Outreach trial; fees non-refundable, 30-day cancellation notice |
| Data (phone numbers) | Direct-dial phone numbers available (8 credits each); US dialer on Professional, international on Organizationwinner | No phone or direct-dial lookups in the credit table |
| Deliverability infrastructure | Email warmup on paid plans; mailbox connections depend on plan | Unlimited warmup on every plan; SISR private IP sharding and rotation on Light Speedwinner |
Scores
Apollo.io
apollo.io ↗Apollo.io is an all-in-one sales intelligence and engagement platform that consolidates a B2B contact database of more than 275 million contacts with email sequencing, a phone dialer, and CRM integrations into a single subscription. It is built for companies of all sizes, from solo founders testing prospecting to Fortune 500 enterprises like Intel, AT&T, Adobe, SAP, and Shopify. The platform meters usage through a credit system: credits unlock verified emails, phone numbers, enrichment, AI-researched data, and dialer minutes, and they are pooled across the team and expire at the end of each billing cycle. Plans are tiered from a free option through Basic, Professional, and Organization, with higher tiers unlocking deeper search filters, buying intent signals, call recording, and advanced CRM integrations. For MSPs and IT providers building an outbound motion, Apollo's appeal is consolidation — replacing separate subscriptions for contact data, email sending, and calling with one platform — though the credit economics mean heavy phone users burn through allocations far faster than email-only teams. The company is independent, reported approaching $200M in ARR with nearly 100,000 paying customers as of early 2026.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | 900 credits per seat per year, 2 active sequences, 250 daily emails, basic filters, 1 seat |
| Basic (annual billing) | $49/mo | 30,000 credits per year, unlimited sequences, CRM integrations, waterfall enrichment, email warmup |
| Professional (annual billing) | $79/mo | 48,000 credits per year, US dialer, call recording with AI insights, unlimited daily sends, A/Z testing |
| Organization (annual billing) | $119/mo | 72,000 credits per year, international dialer, SSO, custom reports, 3-seat minimum ($4,284/year entry) |
Pros
- Published, transparent seat pricing with a genuinely free tier for testing data quality
- Consolidates contact data, email sending, and calling into one platform, replacing multiple subscriptions
- Strong native CRM and engagement-tool integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, SalesLoft, Marketo)
- 14-day free trial on the Professional plan with access to most features
- Annual billing saves roughly 24% and grants the full year of credits upfront
Cons
- Credit system drives real costs well above sticker price — third-party estimates suggest $150–$400 per user per month for heavy outbound once overages and add-ons are factored in
- Phone numbers cost 8 credits versus 1 for an email, so calling-focused teams exhaust allocations quickly
- Organization tier requires a 3-seat minimum ($4,284/year entry) and SSO is locked to that tier
- Unused credits expire at the end of each billing cycle with no rollover
- Reported data accuracy of roughly 65–70% with email bounce rates of 15–25%, per user reviews
Instantly
instantly.ai ↗Instantly is a cold-email sending platform built around volume: unlimited email accounts and unlimited email warmup on every Outreach plan, with pricing based on uploaded contacts and emails per month rather than seats — a 5-person team and a 50-person team pay the same platform fee. The platform handles campaign creation, inbox rotation, warmup, the Unibox reply manager, and analytics, and its SISR (Server & IP Sharding and Rotation) system on higher tiers assigns dedicated private server and IP blocks to protect deliverability. Instantly is modular: Outreach (sending), Instantly Credits (a 450M+ B2B lead database with enrichment and AI features), and CRM are three separate subscriptions, with additional paid modules for website visitors, inbox placement testing, and pre-warmed accounts. AI agents — an AI Sales Agent and AI Reply Agent — charge 5 credits per output. The workspace-per-client structure (each workspace is a separate subscription, team members free) makes it popular with agencies running multiple client accounts. Its entry Growth plan is $47/mo, scaling to $358/mo on Light Speed and custom Enterprise pricing above that.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Growth (Outreach, monthly) | $47/mo | 5,000 emails/mo, 1,000 uploaded contacts, unlimited email accounts and warmup, chat support |
| Hypergrowth (Outreach, monthly) | $97/mo | 125,000 emails/mo (100,000 per comparison table), 25,000 uploaded contacts, premium live support |
| Light Speed (Outreach, monthly) | $358/mo | 500,000 emails/mo, 100,000 uploaded contacts, SISR private IP system |
| Growth Credits (monthly) | $47/mo | 1,500 Instantly credits/mo, 450M+ B2B lead database, waterfall enrichment, AI agents |
| Starter Bundle (monthly) | $94/mo | Growth Outreach + Growth Credits combined |
Pros
- Volume-based pricing, not per-seat — the same platform fee regardless of team size
- Unlimited email accounts and warmup included on every plan, keeping sending infrastructure costs low
- SISR system on Light Speed provides rotating private IPs without buying your own servers or proxies
- Strong cost-per-email economics at volume: about $0.78 per 1,000 emails on Hypergrowth versus $9.40 on Growth
- Workspace-per-client structure suits agencies and MSPs managing multiple client accounts
Cons
- Modular pricing stacks up: Outreach, Credits, CRM, mailboxes, and add-ons are each separate subscriptions
- No phone or direct-dial data in the credit table — calling-focused teams need a second data tool
- AI agents charge 5 credits per output even if you reject or don't send the result
- Fees are non-refundable per Instantly's terms, and cancellation requires 30 days' notice before renewal
- Growth's 1,000 uploaded contacts cap makes the $47 entry price impractical for most real campaigns — the realistic entry is Hypergrowth at $97
Pricing compared: per-seat credits vs flat volume
Data and calling: where the two platforms diverge most
Deliverability, sending infrastructure, and agency fit
Which should you pick?
FAQs
How much does Apollo.io cost for a small MSP team?
Apollo's paid tiers 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 3-seat minimum, so its entry price is $4,284 per year. Budget beyond the seat fee for credits: a verified email costs 1 credit, a phone number 8, and unused credits expire each billing cycle. 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 per month?
Instantly's Outreach plans run $47/mo (Growth, $37.60 annual), $97/mo (Hypergrowth), and $358/mo (Light Speed), with custom Enterprise pricing above that. The lead database (Instantly Credits) is a separate subscription from $47/mo, or you can buy both as a bundle from $94/mo. Add-ons like an outreach capacity block ($87/mo for an extra 25,000 contacts and 125,000 emails) and mailboxes stack on top. Pricing is volume-based, not per-seat, so team size doesn't change the platform fee.
Does Instantly have phone numbers or dialing data?
No. Instantly's credit table has no phone or direct-dial lookups — its lead database covers email finding, enrichment, and AI features only. If your MSP's outbound motion includes cold calling, you'll need a second data tool for phone numbers. Apollo.io, by contrast, sells direct-dial numbers at 8 credits each and includes a US dialer on its Professional plan and an international dialer on Organization.
Which platform is better for agencies and MSPs managing multiple clients?
It depends on the motion. Instantly's workspace-per-client structure maps naturally onto client accounts — each workspace is a separate subscription with team members free — and its unlimited inboxes, warmup, and SISR private IP system suit high-volume sending. Apollo's advantage is native CRM and engagement-tool integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, SalesLoft, Marketo) plus phone data, making it stronger for CRM-driven sales engagement. Note that both lock you in: Instantly's fees are non-refundable with 30-day cancellation notice, and Apollo's cancellations take effect at the end of the plan term.
Do Apollo and Instantly offer free trials?
Yes, both do. Apollo's Professional plan has a 14-day free trial with access to most plan features, and its Free tier stays free with no time limit for testing data quality. Instantly offers a 14-day free trial on its Outreach plans. Be aware of the terms around each: Apollo's annual billing grants the full year of credits upfront but cancellations take effect at the end of the term, while Instantly's terms state fees are non-refundable and require cancellation 30 days before renewal.
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 | Salesmotion
- Apollo.io Pricing 2026: Free Plan to $119/mo (Real Costs) | Hacking Demand
- Instantly Pricing 2026: Every Plan, Credit and Hidden Cost | Rhycon
- Instantly.ai Pricing 2026: Plans and Costs Breakdown | Landbase