Apollo.io vs Lusha
Apollo.io and Lusha are both self-serve contact databases with a free plan and email sequencing built in. Apollo.io states 240M contacts and lists plans at USD 49 and USD 99 a month. Lusha states 290M+ contacts, starts at USD 49.90 a month and publishes a longer list of privacy certifications. Outbound-heavy teams lean towards Apollo.io; compliance-led teams towards Lusha.
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Choose Apollo.io ifoutbound is the main job: you want sequencing, a parallel dialer and deal tools in the same product, with credits pooled across the whole team.
Choose Lusha ifyou mainly look up contacts, want a simple credit price per email or phone number, and need ISO 27701 and SOC 2 Type II on the vendor's record.
Apollo.io and Lusha side by side
| Apollo.io | Lusha | |
|---|---|---|
| Our sales intelligence software rank | #2 of 11 | #4 of 11 |
| Established in | United States | United States / Israel (dual entity) |
| Pricing | Free plan; Basic USD 49/month and Professional USD 99/month on monthly billing, published | Free plan (40 credits/month); Starter USD 49.90/month or USD 37.45/month billed annually, published |
| List price, 30 September 2026 | USD 49 a month on the Basic plan with monthly billing (annual billing is discounted); free plan available | USD 49.90 a month on Starter billed monthly, or USD 37.45 a month billed annually, with 400 credits a month; free plan available |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
Both are reviewed in full in our sales intelligence software ranking: Apollo.io and Lusha.
Where they differ
Apollo.io 2 · Lusha 1 · open 2- 01
Contacting the people you find
Both can send. Apollo.io includes email campaigns on every account and lists a parallel dialer, call recording and deal management around them. Lusha has Lusha Engage, an email sequencing tool offered to all users at no extra charge, which sends through a Gmail or Outlook account, up to 1,000 emails a day. Apollo.io covers calling as well as email; Lusha Engage covers email.
Edge: Apollo.io
- 02
Published database figures
Lusha states 290M+ contacts and 29M+ companies, broken down further into 165M+ emails and 117M+ direct dials. Apollo.io states 240M contacts and 30M companies. The totals are close and each is the vendor's own count, so neither settles the matter; Lusha's split between emails and direct dials simply gives a calling team one more number to check.
Depends on the buyer
- 03
Entry price and how credits work
Apollo.io lists Basic at USD 49 a month on monthly billing; credits are pooled across the team and expire at the end of each cycle. Lusha lists Starter at USD 49.90 a month, or USD 37.45 a month billed annually, with 400 credits; an email costs 1 credit and a phone number 5, and unused credits roll over on monthly plans up to twice the plan limit.
Depends on the buyer
- 04
Privacy and security claims on record
Both name standards. Apollo.io's privacy policy says it is certified under ISO 27001 and SOC 2. Lusha lists ISO 27701 for privacy management, ISO/IEC 42001 for AI management, SOC 2 Type II, a GDPR certification from ePrivacyseal and a CCPA validation from TrustArc. For a privacy officer reviewing imported contact data, Lusha's list is the longer and more privacy-specific one.
Edge: Lusha
- 05
Which company you are dealing with
Apollo.io's terms are an agreement with ZenLeads Inc., trading as Apollo.io, whose stated address is in Covina, California. Lusha runs two entities as joint data controllers, one incorporated in Delaware with a Boston address and one in Israel with a Tel Aviv address. One United States entity is simpler to assess than a joint structure across two countries.
Edge: Apollo.io
When neither fits
Reps who prospect one LinkedIn profile at a time are better served by Kaspr, which works as a Chrome extension on LinkedIn. Teams living inside HubSpot that want records enriched, scored and routed rather than searched should look at Clearbit.
Apollo.io or Lusha: questions
4 answersWhat is the main difference between Apollo.io and Lusha?
Both combine a contact database with email sequencing. Apollo.io goes further into outbound, listing a parallel dialer, call recording and deal management. Lusha centres on contact look-up priced by credits, 1 for an email and 5 for a phone number, with sequencing through Lusha Engage.
Which is cheaper, Apollo.io or Lusha?
Entry prices are close: Apollo.io Basic is USD 49 a month on monthly billing and Lusha Starter is USD 49.90 a month, or USD 37.45 a month billed annually, with 400 credits.
The real cost depends on credits used, and a phone number costs 5 credits on Lusha.
Are Apollo.io and Lusha GDPR compliant?
Both claim it. Apollo.io's pricing page carries a GDPR compliant label and its privacy policy cites ISO 27001 and SOC 2.
Lusha states a GDPR certification from ePrivacyseal, a CCPA validation from TrustArc, ISO 27701 and SOC 2 Type II. Obligations for imported contacts still pass to you.
Do Apollo.io and Lusha have free plans?
Yes. Apollo.io's free plan has no time limit and lets you connect Gmail accounts for sending.
Lusha's Free plan gives up to 40 credits a month, which is 40 emails or 8 phone numbers at its stated credit rates, plus the browser extension and CRM integrations.
Sources
Checked 30 September 2026- Apollo.io pricing page: Apollo.io plan prices, free plan, pooled credits, email campaigns, 240M contacts and 30M companies.
- Apollo.io privacy policy: Apollo.io ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certification.
- Apollo.io terms of service: ZenLeads Inc. trading as Apollo.io with a Covina, California address.
- Lusha pricing page: Lusha Starter price, 400 credits, credit cost per email and phone number, rollover and Free plan.
- Lusha homepage: Lusha database figures and certifications.
- Lusha Engage page: Lusha Engage sequencing at no extra charge and its daily send limit.