Apollo vs Cognism: which is right for you?
Features, pricing and fit, compared from a cold calling point of view. Not affiliated with either tool.
Apollo and Cognism both sell B2B contact data to outbound teams, and both put phone numbers next to their list-building tools. Apollo combines its database with sequences and a parallel dialer, and has a free plan. Cognism sells data on custom quotes, with phone-verified mobiles and a European focus. This page sets out what each vendor says on its own site, and where a page is silent we say so.
- From
- Freemium
- Custom quote
The short answer
Here is who each of Apollo and Cognism suits best, from what each vendor says on its own site.
- You want to try it before paying, since Apollo's pricing page lists a Free plan with no time limit.
- You want lists, enrichment, sequences and a parallel dialer in one workspace, rather than data you load into other tools.
- You are a small outbound team or a founder prospecting alone, which is who its pages describe as the natural fit.
- You sell into Europe, since Cognism positions its data for that market.
- You want mobiles that Cognism says went through extra verification, which it calls Diamond Data.
- You need Do-Not-Call coverage and direct sync with CRMs such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Bullhorn and Microsoft Dynamics, or with Salesloft and Outreach.
Side by side
| FEATURE | Apollo | Cognism |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Startups, SMBs | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Starting price | Freemium | Custom quote |
| Billing | Freemium | Custom quote |
| Works with | Gmail, ChatGPT, Claude | Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Bullhorn, Microsoft Dynamics |
Key features
- B2B contact and company database
- Waterfall enrichment
- Parallel dialer
- AI assistant and agents
- Chrome extension
- Phone-verified mobiles
- Do-Not-Call coverage
- CRM enrichment
- API and MCP
- Credits per reveal
Pricing
A free plan with no time limit sits under the paid plans. Dollar amounts and credit counts for each plan could not be read when the page was checked.
See Apollo pricingNo prices are shown. The pricing page lists Standard and Pro tiers and a route to talk to sales.
See Cognism pricingWhere each fits in your calling
Apollo and Cognism sit at the same step of a calling day, so most teams choose one rather than both.
- STEP 1Find the numberBuild the list and fill in mobilesApolloCognism
- STEP 2See who will pick upCheck the list before you dial
Will This Person Answer - STEP 3DialCall the high chance contacts
- STEP 4Log the callRecord the outcome and follow up
Frequently asked questions
We cannot rank them on price. Apollo shows a free plan but we could not read dollar amounts or credit counts for its paid plans. Cognism shows no prices at all, only Standard and Pro tiers and a route to sales. Get a quote from each before you compare.
Apollo. Its pricing page lists a Free plan and says the Starter plan stays free with no time limit. Cognism's pricing page offers no free plan that we could see, only a way to talk to sales.
Only Apollo does. Its site names a Parallel Dialer inside the Apollo Workspace, though we did not record how many lines it runs. Cognism is a data product, so reps dial from their own dialer or from Salesloft or Outreach.
Neither vendor gives a figure we could use. Apollo's pages do not quantify phone accuracy. Cognism says its mobiles are phone-verified, but that describes the number when it was checked, not whether the person will pick up. Test a sample of your own list.
Neither page settles it. Cognism describes a European specialty and says nothing we read about US mobile coverage. Apollo does not split its database by region on the pages we read. Run a sample list through each and compare before committing.
Cognism says its data includes extensive Do-Not-Call coverage, though we did not record which countries it covers. The Apollo pages we read do not mention Do-Not-Call coverage, so ask Apollo before you rely on it.
Cognism lists Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Bullhorn, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesloft, Outreach and Zapier. Apollo's homepage names Gmail, ChatGPT and Claude, and we could not read its full integration list, so check it for your CRM.
Cognism's pricing page says one credit equals one revealed contact. Apollo's pages we read did not show credit counts for each plan, so ask what a phone number costs in credits on the plan you would buy.
No. Neither has a native integration, so you export a CSV with the phone column, check it, then load the High chance contacts into your dialer or sequence. US phone numbers only, and the first 250 contacts are free with no card required.
Phone the High chance rows from Apollo's call tasks or your dialer, and keep Low chance rows in a multi-channel sequence. Send Bad data to email and LinkedIn. For Cognism, non-US rows are skipped and not charged, so check only the US mobiles.
Other comparisons
Know who’ll answer
before you call.
Ask your AI tool who on your list will pick up. Every contact comes back High chance, Low chance or Bad data, with the best way to reach them.
No card required. US phone numbers only.