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Sales Intelligence

Lusha vs Apollo.io: Which Sales Intelligence Tool Fits Your Business in 2026?

Both publish per-seat pricing and a genuine free tier. Apollo is a flat per-seat price with generous annual credit grants built into every plan; Lusha layers a monthly credit cap on top of its per-seat fee, so cost can grow with lookup volume, not just team size.

Lusha logoStarter $37.45/user/mo (annual, 400 credits/mo); $49.90 monthly

Lusha

VS
Apollo.io logoFrom $49/user/mo (published)

Apollo.io

Bottom line Editorial assessment

Lusha or Apollo.io, which is better?

Choose Lusha if your lookup volume per rep is modest and predictable and you want the lower per-seat price ($37.45/mo annual). Choose Apollo if your prospecting volume varies a lot or your team will grow past 5 seats — its flat $49/seat/mo price doesn't cap monthly lookups the way Lusha's credit system does.

Quick verdict: Lusha Starter is cheaper per seat on annual billing ($37.45 vs $49), but Apollo’s price is flat regardless of how many contacts you look up, while Lusha caps monthly lookups at 400 credits on Starter before you need a higher plan. Apollo also grants credits annually (900 per seat per year) rather than monthly, which suits teams with uneven prospecting volume better than a hard monthly cap.
Verified data

Lusha vs Apollo.io: quick facts

At a glanceLushaApollo.io
CategorySales Intelligence
Entry priceStarter $37.45/user/mo (annual, 400 credits/mo); $49.90 monthlyFrom $49/user/mo (published)
Free planFree — 40 credits/monthYes — 900 credits/seat/yr (granted monthly)

Is Lusha cheaper than Apollo.io?

Lusha, by $11.55 a seat a month on annual billing ($37.45 vs $49) — as long as your lookup volume stays within Lusha’s 400 monthly credits per seat. Teams that regularly exceed that cap may find Apollo’s flat price works out cheaper once Lusha upgrade costs are counted.

Verified data

Lusha vs Apollo.io at a glance

CategoryLushaApollo.io
Entry priceStarter $37.45/seat/mo (annual); $49.90 monthlyFrom $49/seat/mo (published)
Free plan40 credits/month900 credits/seat/year, granted monthly
Credit modelMonthly cap per plan (400 on Starter)Annual grant per seat, more headroom for uneven usage
Pricing basisPer seat, capped by monthly creditsFlat per seat, no separate credit purchase needed at published tiers
Teams over 5 usersCustom/sales-quoted pricingPublished per-seat pricing continues
CRM integrationsSalesforce, HubSpot and othersSalesforce, HubSpot and others
Chrome extensionYesYes

Verified September 23, 2026Prices recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page. See sources

Prices in USD from lusha.com/pricing and apollo.io/pricing, both checked September 23, 2026. Lusha bills per seat but caps monthly contact lookups by a “credit” allowance per plan; going over the included credits requires an upgrade, so cost can effectively scale with lookup volume as well as headcount, unlike Apollo’s flat per-seat price.

Editorial assessment

How they actually differ

Both find verified emails and phone numbers for prospects and sync to your CRM, but they price the “how much can I look up” question very differently.

Credits: monthly cap vs annual grant

Lusha bills per seat but caps monthly contact lookups by a “credit” allowance per plan; going over the included credits requires an upgrade, so cost can effectively scale with lookup volume as well as headcount, unlike Apollo’s flat per-seat price. Apollo’s 900-credits-per-seat-per-year grant lets a rep who prospects heavily one month and lightly the next average out, without hitting a hard monthly wall the way Lusha’s 400-credit cap can.

Pricing at scale

Lusha’s published pricing stops at 5 users; larger teams move to custom, sales-quoted pricing. Apollo continues to publish per-seat pricing beyond 5 users, which makes it easier to budget for a growing team without a sales call.

Moving between them

Your prospect lists and saved sequences do not transfer between platforms; export your active lists as CSV before cancelling, since each vendor’s contact and company database is proprietary and cannot be pointed at another tool.

Lusha

Pros

  • Cheaper per seat on annual billing
  • Genuine free tier (40 credits/month)
  • Simple, well-regarded Chrome extension
  • Transparent published pricing at every tier shown

Cons

  • Monthly credit cap can force an upgrade mid-cycle
  • Teams over 5 users move to custom pricing
  • Credits don’t roll over month to month
  • Higher monthly-billed price if you skip annual

Apollo.io

Pros

  • Flat per-seat price regardless of lookup volume
  • Annual credit grant smooths uneven prospecting months
  • Published pricing continues beyond 5 seats
  • Large user base and G2 review volume (9,400 reviews)

Cons

  • Higher published per-seat price than Lusha
  • Free-tier credits granted monthly from an annual pool, worth understanding before relying on it
  • No published monthly-billing discount comparison point on this page
Verified data

Cost calculator: what does your team actually pay?

Lusha

 
$0/mo

Apollo.io

 
$0/mo
 

List prices checked September 23, 2026. Lusha Starter includes 400 credits/month per seat; heavier lookup volume may require an upgrade not reflected in this per-seat calculator. Apollo’s price is flat per seat at published tiers. Promotions and taxes are not included.

Choose Lusha if…

Your lookup volume per rep is modest and predictable, and the lower per-seat price matters more than usage headroom.

Choose Apollo.io if…

Your reps’ prospecting volume varies month to month, your team is or will grow past 5 seats, or you want the largest published-pricing track record.

Total cost over time

Uses your selections above. Estimate excludes add-ons, overages, and negotiated discounts.

Ready to pick your sales intelligence tool?

Both offer a free tier. Run your actual prospect list through each and track how fast you burn through the free credits before committing to a paid plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Lusha cheaper than Apollo?

Per seat on annual billing, yes: $37.45 against $49. But Lusha caps monthly lookups at 400 credits on Starter, while Apollo’s price doesn’t change with lookup volume at published tiers. Prices checked September 23, 2026.

Do unused Lusha credits roll over?

No indication of rollover on the published pricing page; credits are a monthly allowance per the plan you’re on.

What happens if my team grows past 5 people?

Lusha moves to custom, sales-quoted pricing above 5 users. Apollo continues to publish per-seat pricing.

Does either have a free plan?

Yes, both: Lusha gives 40 credits/month free; Apollo grants 900 credits per seat per year on its free tier, distributed monthly.

Migration Guides

Already decided? Here’s how to actually switch.

Step-by-step migration guides covering what transfers automatically, what doesn’t, and how to handle the gap — in both directions.

Editorial assessment

When to Buy — and When to Walk Away

Every “best sales intelligence tool” listicle tells you why to buy. Here’s the other half: the specific conditions under which Lusha or Apollo.io is the wrong purchase for your team.

Lusha

Buy Lusha if:

  • Your lookup volume per rep is modest and predictable
  • You want the lower published per-seat price
  • Your team is 5 people or fewer

Do NOT buy Lusha if:

  • Your prospecting volume varies a lot month to month
  • Your team will grow past 5 seats soon
  • You want a flat price regardless of usage

Apollo.io

Buy Apollo.io if:

  • Your prospecting volume is uneven across reps or months
  • Your team is larger than 5 or growing
  • You want the largest reviewed track record on G2

Do NOT buy Apollo.io if:

  • You want the lowest possible per-seat price
  • Your lookup volume is consistently low
  • You want the simplest possible pricing page

Sources

Prices on this page were recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Vendors change pricing often — check the live source before you buy.

Every figure is also in our open dataset (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0), with its source page and verification date. See how we research pricing.

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About the author

Bill Belcamino

Founder and author, HelpCompare

Engineer by training, operator by experience, marketer by choice. Bill spent nine years as an engineer at HP, was COO of Auctiva (the number one third-party selling platform on eBay, past 200,000 users) and ran Google’s $70M/year search syndication partnership at Alot.com. Then he spent 13 years building his own web properties with his own money at stake. He has bought, trialled, integrated and cancelled more SaaS tools than he can count, and started HelpCompare because the real cost of switching tools is the part nobody covers.

“I’ve sat on both sides of the table: the agency recommending the tool and the client paying for it.”

Researched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team. Pricing on this page was last verified on September 23, 2026. No paid sponsorships, no affiliate commissions.