ZoomInfo VS Apollo.io: Which Is The Best Data Provider In 2024

The B2B lead generation tool market is vast today. So, choosing the right tool can be time-consuming.

But it’s worth the effort cause the right tools will transform your lead search and outreach efforts, turning potential clients into loyal customers.

So, continuing the B2B lead generation tools comparison series, it’s time to talk about ZoomInfo VS Apollo.io.

ZoomInfo and Apollo.io each offer unique strengths, which will be the core of this comparison guide.

I’ll break down the plan for this guide in the following order:

1. ZoomInfo And Apollo.io Overview
2. ZoomInfo VS Apollo.io: Features
3. ZoomInfo VS Apollo.io: Search Engine
4. ZoomInfo VS Apollo.io: Database And Sources
5. ZoomInfo VS Apollo.io: Plans & Pricing
6. Alternatives: LinkedIn Sales Navigator & Evaboot

Let’s see which B2B lead-generation tool best matches your business requirements.

ZoomInfo And Apollo.io Overview

ZoomInfo and Apollo.io are both leading B2B prospecting tools that help businesses find and connect with potential customers.

They offer large contact databases and advanced search capabilities, but the features and user experience differ.

ZoomInfo is a go-to-market sales intelligence tool that provides detailed B2B contact information and advanced search capabilities to help marketing and sales teams find and connect with potential leads.

It offers comprehensive databases, intent signals, and seamless CRM integration capabilities.

ZoomInfo’s features include:

• Web Insights
• Comprehensive Contact Database
• Advanced Search Capabilities
• Intent Signals
• CRM Integration
• Chrome Extension

Apollo.io is an end-to-end sales platform.

With its extensive database and powerful AI features, you can:

• find the right prospects,
• engage with them at the right time,
• send messages,
• automate these workflows,
• and close deals.

Apollo offers an accurate, complete, and verified contact database with over 280 million leads and over 70 million companies’ contact information.

This B2B lead-generation platform provides you with:

• Dozens of Advanced Search Filters
• Buyer Intent Signals
• Comprehensive Databases
• AI-powered Automation
• On-site Sequence Builder
• Sales Pipeline Management
• Web Analytics
• CRM Integration
• Chrome Extension

So, Apollo is an ideal solution for companies looking to improve their sales strategies and drive growth.

ZoomInfo VS Apollo.io: Features

The features are huge advantages for both ZoomInfo and Apollo.io.

Each tool offers different but robust features designed to enhance sales intelligence and streamline outreach efforts.

ZoomInfo

Based on ZoomInfo’s versatile business solutions, it’s a valuable tool for organizations of all sizes and industries.

ZoomInfo’s features can be used by the Sales, Marketing, HR, and Business Development departments.

To use ZoomInfo effectively, here are its key features to consider:

• Comprehensive B2B database: Access extensive company and contact info, emails, direct dials, technographics, and firmographics to target your ideal customers (ICP).

• ZoomInfo Chrome Extension : Get phone numbers , email addresses , job titles , and key buying signals from LinkedIn, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Website , and other pages.

• AI-powered insights: Leverage AI and machine learning for predictive analytics, trend analysis, and lead prioritization to optimize sales process and marketing.

• Integration with CRM systems: Sync data with popular SaaS software for continuous workflow within your existing tools and processes.

• Automated workflows: Streamline tasks such as lead enrichment, B2B data cleansing, notifications, and email outreach to save time for high-value activities.

• Real-time data updates: Accessing up-to-date information, such as company ownership changes and personnel updates, ensures you have the most current data.

Apollo.io

Apollo.io stands out with its functionality in helping sales reps engage and automate sales.

Apollo.io’s features include a robust contact database, seamless integration, and comprehensive workflow management.

These capabilities enable sales teams to streamline their outreach efforts and improve efficiency.

Apollo.io’s key features include:

• Prospect & Enrich: Apollo provides access to over 275 million contacts that 65+ criteria can filter to identify qualified leads.

• Sales Engagement: This feature enables outreach to email lists, mobile numbers, SMS, chatbots, and social media. In addition, Apollo’s AI powers messaging and sequencing to increase connect rates.

• End-to-End Workflows & AI: This helps to generate outbound email sequences and follow-ups based on your business needs and offers premade message templates.

You can also automate repetitive sales tasks, leverage AI for deal insights and revenue analysis, and upload lead lists from your database.

• Security & Compliance: Apollo is GDPR-compliant and SOC 2 + ISO 27001 certified, ensuring proper data governance.

• Chrome Extension: This extension provides easy access to Apollo’s capabilities directly from the browser, streamlining prospecting and data enrichment activities.

• Sales Pipeline Management: Enables efficient tracking and management of sales pipelines, ensuring that all deals are properly monitored and progressed through the sales funnel. You can do this with the deals intelligence feature.

• CRM Integrations: Apollo offers 8 categories of integrations, including email, CRM, connectors, video & web conferencing, dialer, etc.

You can find and connect one or several of 16 go-to-market integrations, such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, SalesLoft, and others.

• Meetings & Video Summaries: You can use meetings to easily schedule time with your prospects and generate insights automatically before and after every meeting.

And with deals intelligence, you can view and manage your entire sales pipeline.

ZoomInfo VS Apollo.io: Search Engine

When choosing new sales tools for building prospecting lists, search capabilities and filters are as important as data accuracy and data quality.

Now, let’s compare the search filters in Apollo VS ZoomInfo.

ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo provides an advanced search engine that allows sales reps to filter prospects by multiple criteria to ensure precise targeting.

Users can conduct highly specific searches based on industry, job title, company size, location, revenue, funding type, etc.

ZoomInfo advanced filters include:

• Contact filters
• Company filters
• Locations
• Scoops
• Technologies
• Engagement
• Exclude Exported Contacts

If you want to start your research by typing keywords on the Search Bar, you can type:

• company names
• industries
• contacts

The next search bar you have is only for finding the right filter.

You can also put search queries wherever you see a free text box.

ZoomInfo’s search engine supports Boolean search logic, allowing for complex query construction that further refines results.

In ZoomInfo Sales, 7 filters support Boolean operators and modifiers:

• Job Title
• College/Degree
• Web Reference Keywords
• Company Name
• Company Description Keywords
• Industry keywords
• Scoops Description Keywords

Apollo.io

Apollo.io’s search engine is designed to help SDRs, marketing teams, and all users quickly identify and connect with potential leads.

The interface is user-friendly for navigating the filters. Its advanced search filters, which include industry, company size, and job title, are similar to ZoomInfo’s.

Apollo.io Contact data filters include:

• Lists
• Persona
• Email Status
• Job Titles
• Company
• Location
• Employees
• Industry & Keywords
• Buying Intent
• Scores
• Sequence
• Technologies
• Revenue
• Funding
• Job Postings
• Signals
• Emails Opened

This comprehensive filter list can find anyone in any market strategy case.

On the other hand, company data filters include:

• Lists
• Company
• Account Location
• Employees
• Industry & Keywords
• Buying Intent
• Website Visitors
• Technologies
• Revenue
• Funding
• Job Postings
• Scores
• Signals
• Stage

Both tools include powerful and advanced search filters that give precise search results.

However, there are filters that you can find only in one sales intelligence platform: either ZoomInfo or Apollo.io.

Different search filters show their position in the market, who they target, and what problems they solve.

ZoomInfo VS Apollo.io: Database And Sources

Now, let’s see where both tools get their data from.

ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo collects B2B sales data from trusted sources using advanced automation and validation to ensure accuracy.

It uses tools like the Neverbounce, Chorus, or FormComplete features to enrich and verify data accuracy across the platform.

Key data collection methods include:

• Web Crawling: They get publicly available data from websites, social media, and news articles.
• Data Partnerships: Trusted partners help to enrich their databases.
• Human Research and Verification: In-house teams continuously improve the database.
• AI and ML: Artificial intelligence and machine learning analyze existing data patterns and improve quality.
• Contribution Networks: Tracks email signatures from users’ inboxes to collect additional data.

ZoomInfo Data is less real-time than Sales Navigator because it has special data enrichment teams that check the accuracy of the data provided by the users.

Apollo.io

There are 4 main ways Apollo collects data:

• Data Contributor Network: 2 million data contributors share information about their business contacts as they use Apollo services, allowing Apollo to perform verification checks against connected inboxes and CRMs.

• Engagement Suite: Apollo’s powerful engagement tools allow it to track email responses and bounces, collecting and verifying valid emails against invalid ones.

• Public Data Crawling: Apollo uses proprietary algorithms that regularly crawl the web at scale, analyzing public-facing websites and building a comprehensive index of people and company data.

• Third-Party Data Providers: Apollo processes over 270 million monthly records from carefully vetted third-party data providers. These partnerships add high-quality, verified data to Apollo’s highly accurate and growing database.

Each tool makes a point about the presence of transparent data collection sources. You can trust the data you get and use it for your outreach campaigns.

ZoomInfo VS Apollo.io: Plans & Pricing

Last but not least, the price plans. Let’s see what they offer financially.

ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo pricing structure is determined by several key factors, including:

• Features and functionality: The depth and breadth of functionality a customer requires.
• Number of licenses: The number of user licenses required.
• Credit usage: The consumption of credits representing professional or company profile exports.

However, their website doesn’t provide any exact information about the price of each ZoomInfo Plan.

It’s their policy not to give you any trial or pricing information until you schedule a demo with an account executive.

However, I’ve found that the ZoomInfo SalesOS offers 3 main packages + 2 free trials:

1. ZoomInfo Copilot Pro
2. ZoomInfo Copilot Advanced
3. ZoomInfo Copilot Enterprise
4. ZoomInfo Free Trial
5. ZoomInfo Lite (Community Edition)

1. ZoomInfo Copilot Pro $14,995/year

This package is a good fit for small businesses and start-ups and includes features like:

• Individual or company searches
• Contact information
• Customized prospect lists
• Data export to multiple file types

2. ZoomInfo Copilot Advanced $24,995/year

The advanced plan works well for mid-sized companies. You can find information like:

• Company locations
• Data hierarchy
• Departmental organization charts
• Social media links
• Financial information
• Technology adoption trends
• Intent signals
• Website visitor data

3. ZoomInfo Copilot Enterprise $32,995/year

Consider the ZoomInfo Enterprise pricing plan if you’re a large business owner and need 20,000 bulk credits a year.

This plan includes all features of previous plans plus:

• Real-time intent data
• Sales automation
• Contact tracking
• Departmental headcount
• Advanced company characteristics

You might think that ZoomInfo doesn’t offer a free trial, but it does, and there are 2 ways to use it for free:

1. ZoomInfo Free Trial
2. ZoomInfo Lite (Community Edition)

4. ZoomInfo Free Trial

Before purchasing an annual subscription, you must schedule a demo call with a ZoomInfo Sales Development Representative.

During this call, they explain and show you all the interface, details, and usage nuances you need to know about ZoomInfo to get the most out of it and give you time for some Q&A.

After this, you get an email with confirmation and ZoomInfo login information.

Follow the account activation instructions to start your ZoomInfo free trial.

Please note that the free trial is valid only for 2 days (48h), after which you cannot access your account.

This free trial gives you 200 Bulk Credits, which the account admin distributes.

Your trial account can have 3 members, each of whom can receive a certain amount of bulk credits to export leads.

5. ZoomInfo Lite (Community Edition)

You can use ZoomInfo for free with a ZoomInfo Lite account.

ZoomInfo Lite gives you free access to all ZoomInfo features (depending on your plan).

Users can search the entire ZoomInfo database and download up to 10 contacts per month at no cost.

The only thing you give in return is your email contact book, headers, and signature blocks from received emails.

Apollo.io

Compared with ZoomInfo, Apollo’s pricing is also transparent and embraces low-barrier adoption with a free forever tier that provides basic access, which is ideal for testing and validating/or not the tool.

If you choose to be billed annually, Apollo pricing starts at $0 to $99 per user/month with a 20% discount.

If you choose to be billed monthly, pricing starts at $0 to $119 per user/month.

Apollo.io pricing plans are:

1. Free plan: $0/user/month

• 5 mobile credits per month
• 10 export credits per month
• Unlimited email credits (subject to fair usage policy)
• Sign up via website

2. Basic plan: $59/user/month ($49/user/month if billed annually)

• 75 mobile credits per month
• 1,000 export credits per month
• Unlimited email credits (subject to fair usage)
• Sign up via website

3. Professional Plan: $99/user/month ($79/user/month if billed annually)

• 100 mobile credits per month
• 2,000 export credits per month
• Unlimited email credits (subject to fair usage)
• Sign up via website

4. Organization plan: $119/user/month ($99/user/month if billed annually)

• 200 mobile credits per month
• 4,000 export credits per month
• Unlimited email credits (subject to fair usage)
• Sign up via website

In each base package, you get:

• LinkedIn extension
• CSV export
• Basic filters
• Purchase intent
• API access
• Zapier Integration
• Salesforce Extension

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The pricing model is justified for both tools. This makes your decision-making process less painful.

Compared to other scraping tools, the pricing may be overpriced for many small and medium businesses and companies that don’t need the daily credits and features for lead generation.

Let’s say you go with ZoomInfo. Then, you must pay an annual subscription exceeding $15K.

It’s right that this pricing may not be for SMBs or start-ups, but if you’re a large-scale enterprise with the budget to spend on this tool, go ahead!

But let’s say you only need the lead data lists in CSV, and that’s all.

Then, don’t hesitate to try other tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator + Evaboot.

It’s a cost-effective duo for lead list enrichment.

You can scrape your prospects’ emails and phone numbers for $199/month ($1788/year) using a LinkedIn Sales Navigator and include people from your network.

Alternatives: LinkedIn Sales Navigator & Evaboot

If you still have second thoughts, I recommend testing Apollo.io and ZoomInfo alternatives.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Evaboot offer powerful lead generation and prospecting solutions.

With LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you can find prospects and companies that match your target profiles using advanced filter searches such as job title, company size, and connections.

Moreover, you get a set of key features, such as:

• Unlimited searches: Perform unlimited searches using extensive criteria.
• Advanced filters: Access better and more advanced search filters than LinkedIn’s free version.
• Lead Suggestions: Receive suggestions for potential leads.
• InMail Communications: Contact prospects directly through LinkedIn InMail.
• CRM Integration: Integrate seamlessly with your CRM system.

The cost of Sales Navigator depends on your subscription plan:

• Sales Navigator Professional: $99.99 /month
• Sales Navigator Advanced: $149.99 /month
• Sales Navigator Advanced Plus: custom pricing

After you’ve all the lead and company lists, download the Evaboot Chrome extension to export all your lead data.

This smart LinkedIn Sales Navigator scraper and email finder extracts, cleanses, and improves your lead list contact data with one click.

It’ll double-check your leads to show you if they match the search filters you selected and reduce the false positives in your Sales Navigator searches.

This is a cost-effective and bold tool.  

You can scrape your prospects’ emails and phone numbers and download clean lead data for $199/month ($1788/year).

Conclusion

When choosing the best B2B lead generation tool, ensure it’s aligned with your company’s unique needs.

Both ZoomInfo and Apollo.io offer powerful features, from comprehensive databases to advanced automation tools, that can enhance your sales strategy.

To determine which tool is best for you, it’s worth testing both platforms. I’d even suggest you give a chance to its alternatives, such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Evaboot.

You can find the ideal solution to boost your lead generation efforts by exploring each option.

FAQ

Is Apollo better than ZoomInfo?

ZoomInfo is for businesses that need a large database and advanced integrations that provide deep insights and seamless connectivity.

Apollo.io is ideal for affordable sales tools and effective email marketing capabilities. It provides excellent value for essential business needs.

So, ZoomInfo is better for large databases and advanced integrations. But if you are looking for affordable sales tools and email marketing features, Apollo.io is ideal.

Who is ZoomInfo’s main competitor?

ZoomInfo’s main competitors include Cognism, Apollo.io, LinkedIn Sales Navigator with Evaboot, and LeadIQ.

These competitors offer easy-to-use interfaces, comprehensive contact data such as mobile numbers and B2B emails, buyer intent data, technographic data, CRM enrichment, and sales event triggers. Importantly, all of the data provided is GDPR compliant.

Can Apollo.io replace ZoomInfo?

Apollo.io and ZoomInfo are top sales intelligence platforms with different strengths. Apollo.io offers end-to-end revenue capabilities powered by AI, enriching contacts and automating workflows. ZoomInfo excels in providing unrivaled contact data and seamless CRM integration.

Whether Apollo.io can replace ZoomInfo depends on your company’s capabilities and business needs. This is a question about your needs in the lead scraping process and the money you’re ready to pay for each tool.

How can Apollo.io optimize your Workflow Management?

Here are several techniques to streamline your workflow by integrating Apollo.io into your system.

• Use Apollo’s API to connect CRMs and third-party software to search the database.
• A/B test sequence elements to refine your strategies.
• Monitor and iterate the performance of your email sequences.

Is there a better Prospecting software than ZoomInfo?

Consider the LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Evaboot duo for a more affordable alternative to ZoomInfo.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator gives you access to millions of sales leads and prospects likely to need your product, allowing you to build a targeted network. To streamline prospecting, it provides B2B contact data, intent, job change filters, alerts, and saved lists.

Use Evaboot to export this lead information to CSV files, extracting emails and other business data for efficient follow-up.

Disclosure

This content was partly written by AI (ChatGPT 4), I added my own perspective, fact-checked it and made sure it is helpful for you.