Alternatives
Apollo alternatives for prospecting and cold email
Good Apollo alternatives are ZicReach, Instantly, lemlist, Smartlead, Saleshandy and Woodpecker. ZicReach fits teams that want a B2B lead database and cold email with free unlimited warmup and an AI SDR in one account, starting on a free plan with 100 credits. Each tool's fit is below.
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On this page
Facts checked on each vendor's site on .
Why look
When teams look beyond Apollo
Apollo is a solid tool. These are the needs that usually start the search.
Cold email first
Apollo is a broad sales platform. If email is your main channel, a tool built around sending, warmup and replies may be simpler.
Mailboxes on a free plan
Apollo's pricing page says free plans connect Gmail accounts only. Check which mailbox providers each tool lets you connect.
Warmup included
If you send from new domains, compare how each tool warms mailboxes and what it costs.
An AI SDR that asks first
Some teams want an agent that builds the campaign and waits for a Confirm before it sends.
The alternatives
6 Apollo alternatives, and who each fits
ZicReach is our product, so it is first. Each card says who the tool fits, including when another one fits better.
1. ZicReach
Our productAn AI outbound platform: a built-in B2B lead database with waterfall enrichment, AI cold email with free unlimited AI warmup, Unibox and a CRM, built-in video meetings, workflows, and ZicAgent, an AI agent that does the work from a chat. Test a campaign on AI prospects in the AI Campaign Simulator before you send.
Fits best: Teams that want leads, sending, free unlimited warmup, replies and an AI agent that does the work from a chat, in one account on one credit balance, starting on a free plan. Test each campaign on AI prospects before you send.
- Lowest listed paid price
- $39 a month (Starter plan)
- Built-in B2B lead database
- Yes, ZicBook: Find People, Find Companies, Find Jobs, lookalikes and Search Google
- Email warmup
- Free and unlimited on every plan, the free plan included, with AI written warmup emails
2. Instantly
A cold email platform with unlimited email accounts and warmup on its outreach plans, a B2B lead database sold as credits, Unibox, a CRM and AI agents.
Fits best: High volume senders who want unlimited email accounts and warmup on a sending plan, and are happy to buy lead data as a separate credits plan.
- Lowest listed paid price
- $47 a month (Outreach Growth plan)
- Built-in B2B lead database
- Yes, through separate credits plans or bundles
- Email warmup
- Unlimited on outreach plans, with their deliverability network
3. lemlist
A multichannel outreach platform: email, LinkedIn, calls and WhatsApp in one sequence, with a lead database, an email finder and verifier, lemwarm warmup, a unified inbox and lemAgent.
Fits best: Teams whose buyers answer on LinkedIn or the phone as often as on email, and who want those steps in the same sequence as their emails.
- Lowest listed paid price
- $69 a month (Email plan)
- Built-in B2B lead database
- Yes, a large lead database; data uses credits
- Email warmup
- lemwarm, included in all plans
4. Smartlead
A cold email platform with unlimited email accounts on every plan, a Master Inbox, a warmup pool, client access and white label for agencies, and add-ons for deliverability tests, calls and mailboxes.
Fits best: Agencies that want unlimited mailboxes, client access and a white label add-on, and teams that want to buy deliverability testing, mailboxes and calling as add-ons.
- Lowest listed paid price
- $39 a month (Base plan)
- Built-in B2B lead database
- SmartProspect; price: check their site
- Email warmup
- Yes, with their own warmup pool
5. Saleshandy
A cold email tool with unlimited email accounts and warmup at no extra cost, a unified inbox, API access and lead finder credits on every listed plan.
Fits best: Small teams that want a low entry price with lead finder credits, unlimited mailboxes and warmup in one plan.
- Lowest listed paid price
- $41 a month (Starter plan)
- Built-in B2B lead database
- Lead finder credits included (1,500 a month on Starter)
- Email warmup
- Unlimited mailboxes warmed at no extra cost
6. Woodpecker
A cold email tool with Email, Multichannel (email and LinkedIn) and LinkedIn plans, unlimited email accounts, warmups included and an Agency Panel add-on.
Fits best: Agencies that want per client billing through an agency panel, and teams that add LinkedIn steps to email.
- Lowest listed paid price
- Check their site
- Built-in B2B lead database
- Check their site
- Email warmup
- 3 warmups included on Email and Multichannel; more as an add-on
Only in ZicReach
Five things you only get in ZicReach
We did not see these listed on the other tools' sites when we checked on 23 October 2026. Some tools list AI agents, warmup or meeting tools of their own; the table shows what each one lists.
- ZicAgentAn AI agent inside ZicReach that does tasks for you from a chat: it builds campaigns, finds leads, edits tables and runs workflows, and asks before it changes anything.See how it works
- AI Campaign SimulatorTest a campaign before you send it on thousands of AI agents that act like your real prospects. See how they react and why, with a score and fixes.See how it works
- AI BoardAn AI whiteboard for plans and presentations. ZicAgent draws your ICP maps, personas and plans.See how it works
- Video meetings with recordingsMeet prospects in a built-in video room, record the call and share the recording with a link.See how it works
- Free AI warmupUnlimited warmup on every plan, the free plan included, with warmup emails written by AI. It never uses credits.See how it works
Side by side
Apollo and its alternatives, side by side
ZicReach is the first column. Scroll sideways on a phone, and open a group to see its rows. Check their site means we did not find it on that tool's pages.
Plans and price2 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Apollo | Instantly | lemlist | Smartlead | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan or trial | Free plan with 100 credits, no card needed | Free plan; Gmail accounts only for email on free plans | Says Start free, no card needed. Trial terms: check their site | 14 day free trial with 200 credits | Free trial on all plans, no card needed | 7 day free trial | 14 day trial or 500 cold emails, no card needed |
| Lowest listed paid price | $39 a month (Starter plan) | Check their site | $47 a month (Outreach Growth plan) | $69 a month (Email plan) | $39 a month (Base plan) | $41 a month (Starter plan) | Check their site |
AI that does the work3 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Apollo | Instantly | lemlist | Smartlead | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key featureAI agent that does tasks for you from a chat | Yes, ZicAgent: builds campaigns, finds leads, edits tables and runs workflows from a chat, and asks before it changes anything | Lists agents that work in the background; tasks from a chat: check their site | Lists AI Sales Agent and AI Reply Agent; tasks from a chat: check their site | Lists lemAgent; tasks from a chat: check their site | Lists SmartAgents; tasks from a chat: check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Key featureTest a campaign on AI prospects before you send | Yes, the AI Campaign Simulator: thousands of AI agents act like your real prospects, then you get a score and fixes | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| AI whiteboard for plans and presentations | Yes, AI Board: ZicAgent draws ICP maps, personas and plans | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
AI Leads Engine7 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Apollo | Instantly | lemlist | Smartlead | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in B2B lead database | Yes, ZicBook: Find People, Find Companies, Find Jobs, lookalikes and Search Google | Yes, a large contact and company database | Yes, through separate credits plans or bundles | Yes, a large lead database; data uses credits | SmartProspect; price: check their site | Lead finder credits included (1,500 a month on Starter) | Check their site |
| Waterfall enrichment across many providers | Yes, a waterfall across many data providers | Yes, waterfall enrichment | Waterfall email enrichment on credits plans | Lead data enrichment add-on, $20 a month | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Lead enrichment and email verification | Yes, enrich each lead and verify every email | Check their site | Check their site | Email finder and verifier listed | Verified emails included (2,000 a month on Base) | Check their site | Check their site |
| AI personalization fields and icebreakers | Yes, AI fields and icebreakers for each lead | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| AI agents that research and qualify leads | Yes, AI agents research and qualify each lead | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Signals: job changes, hiring, intent | Yes, job changes, hiring and intent | Check their site | Check their site | Buying intent signals add-on, $29 a month | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Spreadsheet tables with AI columns | Yes, spreadsheet style tables with AI columns and formulas | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
AI Email Marketing10 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Apollo | Instantly | lemlist | Smartlead | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI writes the whole sequence | Yes, AI writes the whole sequence | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| An email written for each prospect | Yes, a new email written for each prospect | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Email warmup | Free and unlimited on every plan, the free plan included, with AI written warmup emails | Domain warming, inbox rotation and reputation monitoring | Unlimited on outreach plans, with their deliverability network | lemwarm, included in all plans | Yes, with their own warmup pool | Unlimited mailboxes warmed at no extra cost | 3 warmups included on Email and Multichannel; more as an add-on |
| Sending mailboxes | Gmail, Outlook, Zoho, Hostinger or any SMTP and IMAP mailbox | Check their site | Unlimited email accounts | Email plan: unlimited users and senders; Multichannel: 5 senders per user | Unlimited email accounts on all plans | Unlimited email accounts | Unlimited email accounts |
| AI reply agent | Yes, an AI reply agent | Check their site | Yes, AI Reply Agent | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Unified inbox for replies | Yes, Unibox | Check their site | Yes, Unibox | Yes, Unified Inbox | Yes, Master Inbox | Yes, unified inbox on every listed plan | Yes, a centralized inbox |
| Inbox placement | Yes, by mailbox provider, read from engagement, no seed lists | Check their site | Inbox Placement listed as a product | Deliverability Hub with monitoring and alerts | SmartDelivery add-on, from $49 a month | Check their site | Check their site |
| Domain and deliverability checks | Yes, MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC and blocklist checks for every domain | Reputation monitoring listed | Check their site | Deliverability Hub with monitoring and alerts | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Campaign automations and A/B tests | Yes, campaign automations and A/B tests | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| CRM | Built in, with a pipeline: a deal opens from every Interested reply | Works from your CRM (Salesforce and HubSpot named); own CRM: check their site | Yes, listed as a product | Integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive and Attio | Integrated CRM | Check their site | Check their site |
Other channels3 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Apollo | Instantly | lemlist | Smartlead | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phone calls | No | Yes, Parallel Dialer | Check their site | Built-in calling on the Multichannel plan | Through the SmartDialer add-on | Check their site | Check their site |
| SMS and WhatsApp | Through workflows, with your own Twilio account | Check their site | Check their site | WhatsApp on the Multichannel plan; SMS: check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| LinkedIn steps | No | Check their site | Check their site | LinkedIn automation on the Multichannel plan | Check their site | Check their site | On the Multichannel and LinkedIn plans |
Automation3 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Apollo | Instantly | lemlist | Smartlead | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agentic workflows with app integrations | Yes, a visual builder with 30+ app integrations, like n8n | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Public REST API and webhooks | Yes, public REST API and webhooks | Yes, API docs published | API listed; webhooks: check their site | Yes, API reference published | Yes, APIs and webhooks | Yes, on every listed plan | In the API, webhooks, MCP and CLI add-on |
| MCP server | Yes, with guides for 24 AI clients | Yes, Apollo MCP | Check their site | Yes, lemlist MCP | Yes, Smartlead MCP | Check their site | In the API, webhooks, MCP and CLI add-on |
Meetings3 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Apollo | Instantly | lemlist | Smartlead | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting booking pages | Yes, booking pages | Meetings Scheduler | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Built-in video meetings | Yes, video meetings in the browser | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Call recording with a share link | Yes, record calls and share a link | Call recording on the Professional plan; share link: check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
Teams and agencies3 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Apollo | Instantly | lemlist | Smartlead | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agencies and white label | A workspace per client; white label on Scale | Check their site | Agency bundle listed; white label: check their site | Check their site | Client access; white label add-on at $29 a month per client workspace | White label on Enterprise | Agency Panel and white label add-ons, priced per active client |
| Team roles | Yes, owner, admin, member and viewer | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Two-step login | Yes, two-step login | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
Fair to say
When Apollo is still the better choice
Switching is not always right. Stay with Apollo if one of these is you.
- You call prospects a lot and want a parallel dialer, call recording and conversation intelligence.
- Your team works from Salesforce or HubSpot and wants prospecting inside the CRM.
- You want prospecting, calling and call notes in one platform your team already knows.
Sources. Facts about Apollo, Instantly, lemlist, Smartlead, Saleshandy and Woodpecker were read on each tool's own pricing and product pages on 23 October 2026. Prices are as listed then, in US dollars, monthly billing unless noted. Where a fact was not on their site, the cell says Check their site. ZicReach facts come from our pricing and product pages. Product names belong to their owners; no endorsement is implied.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Short answers about Apollo alternatives.
What is the best Apollo alternative for cold email?
For cold email with a built-in lead database, ZicReach. For high volume sending only, Instantly or Smartlead. For LinkedIn and calls in one sequence, lemlist.
Is there a free Apollo alternative?
ZicReach has a free plan with 100 credits and unlimited email warmup, no card needed, and connects Gmail, Outlook or any SMTP and IMAP mailbox.
Which Apollo alternatives have a B2B database?
ZicReach (ZicBook) and lemlist list a lead database, Instantly sells lead credits as separate plans and Saleshandy includes lead finder credits. Smartlead lists SmartProspect.
Do Apollo alternatives include a dialer?
lemlist lists built-in calling on its Multichannel plan and Smartlead sells SmartDialer as an add-on. ZicReach has no phone dialer. It has built-in video meetings, and it can send SMS and WhatsApp messages through workflows with your own Twilio account. If phone calls matter, Apollo or lemlist may fit better.
How did you check these facts?
We read each tool's own pricing and product pages on 23 October 2026. Apollo's pricing page did not show prices that day, so those cells say Check their site.
Can I move my Apollo lists into ZicReach?
Yes. Export a CSV from Apollo and import it as a ZicReach table, or merge it into a table you have. ZicAgent can then grade every row A to F against your business.