Apollo vs Lusha is a choice between more credits and fewer credits per phone. Apollo.io charges 8 credits for a phone number but gives 2,500 credits per seat a month from 49 USD. Lusha charges 5 credits for a phone but its Starter plan has 400 credits a month, from 37.45 USD.
At list price that makes an Apollo phone about 0.16 to 0.21 USD and a Lusha phone about 0.47 to 0.62 USD.
Price is not the whole story, though. Below, both tools get the same 11 fields from their own pricing pages and help centers on 27 September 2026, plus Apollo’s measured phone coverage from our own benchmark. Lusha was not in that test, and we say so wherever it matters.
Apollo vs Lusha at a glance
Apollo is an all-in-one sales platform priced per seat; Lusha is a self-serve contact data tool with a few seats included in each plan. Here are the same 11 fields for each, in the same order.
| Field | Apollo.io | Lusha |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | All-in-one sales platform: database, sequences, dialer, deal tools | Self-serve B2B contact data: web app, browser extension, API, MCP |
| Best for | SMB and mid-market teams that want data and sending per seat | Individual reps and small teams, month to month |
| Entry price | 49 USD per seat a month yearly, 65 monthly (Basic). Free: 75 credits a month | 37.45 USD a month yearly, 49.90 monthly (Starter). Free: 40 credits a month |
| Pricing model | Per seat plus credits (2,500 a month per Basic seat) | Credits, with 1, 2 or 5 seats included by plan |
| Contracts | Monthly or yearly; Organization is annual only, 3 seats minimum | Monthly or yearly, cancel any time; teams above 5 users go through sales |
| Email data | 1 credit per email; claims 240M contacts | 1 credit per email; claims 290M+ contacts and 165M+ emails |
| Mobile numbers and cost | Yes, 8 credits each (0.16 to 0.21 USD at list price) | Yes, 5 credits each (0.47 to 0.62 USD on Starter) |
| Charged on a miss | No on Apollo’s own data; multi-source enrichment can charge | Partly: CSV misses free, API requests cost at least 1 credit |
| Integrations | Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, Salesloft, Marketo, API, MCP | Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho, Outreach, Salesloft, Zapier, API, MCP |
| Compliance | GDPR (processor and controller), ISO 27001, SOC 2 | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27701, GDPR, CCPA, Do Not Call list listed |
| Where it falls short | Phones cost 8x an email, no refunds on mobiles, every user is a seat | Credits cost about 5x Apollo’s, annual credits reset, 5-user ceiling |
For each tool on its own, read our Apollo.io review and our Lusha review.
How are Apollo and Lusha different?
Apollo and Lusha differ most in what a credit costs, who counts as a seat and what comes with the data. These six differences change the bill or the daily workflow.
- Credit price against credits per phone. A Lusha phone uses 5 credits and an Apollo phone 8. But an Apollo credit costs about 2.6 cents on Basic billed monthly, and a Lusha credit about 12.5 cents on Starter. Net, the Apollo phone is cheaper.
- Seats. Every Apollo user is a paid seat. Lusha includes 1 seat on Starter, 2 on Pro and 5 on Premium, and “For teams larger than 5 users, please reach out to our Sales team.”
- What comes with the data. Apollo includes sequences on every plan and a US dialer on Basic, at 2 credits a minute, with 250 daily email sends. Lusha includes Engage, “an email sequencing tool”, at “no extra charge”, with up to 1,000 emails a day. Lusha’s product menu lists no dialer.
- Edge charges. Apollo “doesn’t refund any credits for mobile numbers.” Lusha charges at least 1 credit per API request “even if no results are returned”, 1 credit per 25 rows on CSV export, and credits for the whole selection on bulk reveals with partial data. Re-viewing a contact you already revealed costs nothing on Lusha.
- Credit expiry. Lusha’s monthly Pro and Premium plans roll credits over up to 2x. On annual plans, “Any unused credits will be reset at the end of the annual cycle.”
- Compliance paperwork. Apollo lists GDPR, ISO 27001 and SOC 2. Lusha’s trust center shows SOC 2 Type II and “5 ISO Certifications”, and its pricing comparison lists GDPR, CCPA, ISO 27701 and a “Do not call list” item.
Apollo vs Lusha pricing
Both vendors publish every plan price, so you can work out the cost of one phone number before you talk to anyone.
Apollo pricing
- Free: 75 credits per seat a month and 2 sequences.
- Basic: 49 USD per seat a month billed yearly, or 65 monthly, with 2,500 credits per seat a month.
- Professional: 79 or 99 USD per seat a month, with 4,000 credits and unlimited daily email sends.
- Organization: 119 USD per seat a month, annual only, 3 seats minimum.
Our Apollo pricing guide covers the add-ons and the API rates.
Lusha pricing
| Lusha plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Credits a month | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 0 USD | 0 USD | 40 | 1 |
| Starter | 37.45 USD | 49.90 USD | 400 | 1 |
| Pro | 52.45 USD | 69.90 USD | 600 | 2 |
| Premium | 299.95 USD | 399.90 USD | 3,400 | 5 |
| Scale | Not published | Not published | Custom | Custom |
Yearly plans grant the full year of credits upfront. Our Lusha pricing breakdown shows the cost per contact on every plan.
What one phone number costs
One phone number costs about 0.16 to 0.21 USD on Apollo Basic and 0.47 to 0.62 USD on Lusha Starter, if you use all the credits you pay for.
The same math on emails: about 2 to 2.6 cents on Apollo Basic, and 9.4 to 12.5 cents on Lusha Starter. In credits, one Apollo Basic seat covers up to 312 phones a month; Lusha Starter covers 80.
What a small team pays
For one or two reps Lusha’s bill is lower; at five reps Apollo’s is. Apollo gives more credits at every size.
Two reps on Lusha Pro pay 69.90 USD a month for 600 credits between them, about 120 phones. Two Apollo Basic seats cost 130 USD for 5,000 credits. Pick by the volume you will really reveal, not by the sticker price.
Which has better phone coverage, Apollo or Lusha?
On measured data we can only answer for Apollo, because Lusha was not in our benchmark. Here is what each side gives you to go on.
Apollo, measured. We ran the same list of founders per region through 8 data providers and published the raw data in our B2B data provider comparison. Apollo found a phone number for 50% of the North America list, 63% in EMEA and 8% in APAC, and an email for 77%, 77% and 74%. It was not tested in Latin America.
Lusha, claimed. Lusha says it has “117M+ direct dials” and “290M+ verified contacts”, and that it verifies each vendor’s data “before and during the engagement.” We have not tested it.
A third option: Scalelist, if mobiles are the job
If your reps call more than they email, a pay-per-result tool may fit better than either. Scalelist is an AI Lead Finder: you describe the people you want in one sentence and get them back with verified work emails and mobile numbers.
- How you pay: 1 credit per lead found, 1 per email found, 20 per mobile found, and nothing when nothing is found. Plans run from 29 USD a month for 500 credits to 649 USD for 20,000, with no seats (Scalelist plans and credits).
- Measured: in the same benchmark, Scalelist found a phone number for 87% of the North America list, 73% in EMEA, 75% in APAC and 85% in Latin America.
- Where it is not the better buy: a mobile costs 0.65 to 1.16 USD at list price, more than both Apollo and Lusha per phone credit. There is no sequencer or dialer, and HubSpot is the only native CRM.
The direct matchups are in Scalelist vs Apollo.io and Scalelist vs Lusha.
Describe the prospects you would look up in Apollo or Lusha and see how many match before you spend a credit.
Describe your buyer in one sentenceHow to choose between Apollo and Lusha
Choose between Apollo and Lusha by how many phones your team really reveals each month, then by what else each seat must do.
- Count last month’s reveals. Split phones and emails. Under about 80 phones for one rep, Lusha Starter is enough; above that, Apollo Basic gives far more room.
- Count the seats. Lusha includes 1, 2 or 5; Apollo charges every user. Above 5 users, Lusha needs a sales call.
- Decide if you need a dialer. Apollo includes a US dialer. Lusha lists email sequences but no dialer.
- Check how you will pull data. If you work through the API, remember that Lusha charges at least 1 credit per request, even when nothing comes back.
- Test in your regions. Apollo found phones for 8% of our APAC list. Run your own 100 contacts before you commit.
Still weighing options? Compare Apollo alternatives and Lusha alternatives, or read ZoomInfo vs Apollo, Clay vs Apollo and Lusha vs ZoomInfo. The Scalelist blog has more matchups.
FAQ
Is Apollo better than Lusha?
For most teams that use their credits, yes on price: Apollo gives 2,500 credits per seat a month from 49 USD, and a phone costs about 0.16 to 0.21 USD against 0.47 to 0.62 USD on Lusha Starter. Lusha is the lighter choice for one or two reps with modest volume, because its plans include seats and email sequences at a lower monthly bill.
Lusha vs Apollo: which is cheaper?
Per contact, Apollo. An Apollo credit costs about 2 to 2.6 cents on Basic and a Lusha credit about 9.4 to 12.5 cents on Starter, so Apollo is cheaper for both emails and phones at list price. Per month, Lusha can be cheaper for small teams: Pro costs 69.90 USD for 2 seats, while two Apollo Basic seats cost 130 USD.
How many credits does a phone number cost on Apollo and Lusha?
Apollo charges 8 credits for a phone number and Lusha charges 5. An email costs 1 credit on both, and Lusha charges up to 6 credits for an email and a phone together. Apollo does not refund credits for mobile numbers. Lusha does not charge again when you re-view a contact you already revealed.
Does Lusha or Apollo charge when no data is found?
Apollo does not charge when its own data has nothing, though its multi-source enrichment can charge for unverified results from connected providers. Lusha does not charge for CSV rows with no match, but every API request costs at least 1 credit even when nothing is returned, and bulk reveals charge for contacts with partial data.
Which has better phone numbers, Apollo or Lusha?
We can only speak for Apollo. In our own benchmark it found a phone number for 50% of a North America list, 63% in EMEA and 8% in APAC. Lusha was not in the test; it claims 117M+ direct dials. Test both on your own target list, in the regions you sell into, and count connected calls before you commit.
Is there an alternative to Apollo and Lusha for mobile numbers?
Yes. Scalelist, an AI Lead Finder, returns verified work emails and mobile numbers from a one-sentence description and charges 20 credits per mobile found, nothing for a miss, with no seats. Its phone credit costs more than Apollo’s or Lusha’s at list price, and it has no sequencer or dialer. New accounts get 20 free credits.
