Apollo.io
HubSpot
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $49/mo | Free / from $20/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | startups, sdrs, sales-teams, growth-teams | growing-businesses, marketing-teams, sales-teams, b2b-companies |
| Founded | 2015 | 2006 |
| Contact Database | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sequences | ✓ | ✗ |
| Email Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Dialer | ✓ | ✗ |
| Deal Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Enrichment | ✓ | ✗ |
| Crm | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Marketing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sales Pipeline | ✗ | ✓ |
| Live Chat | ✗ | ✓ |
| Landing Pages | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Reporting | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Apollo.io Pros
- Huge contact database
- Good free tier
- Sequences included
- Affordable
✗ Apollo.io Cons
- Data accuracy varies
- Email deliverability
- Complex interface
✓ HubSpot Pros
- CRM is completely free forever
- All-in-one marketing + sales + service
- Excellent onboarding and academy
- Massive integration ecosystem
✗ HubSpot Cons
- Paid hubs are very expensive
- Contracts are annual
- Can be overkill for small teams
The Verdict
Apollo.io is built for startups and sdrs, with a focus on contact-database and sequences. HubSpot targets growing businesses and marketing teams and leads with crm and email-marketing.
On pricing, HubSpot is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $20/mo compared to $49/mo for Apollo.io. That $29/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, HubSpot offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Apollo.io takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for sales teams — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.