The honest Apollo alternative.
Apollo's actual product is the sequencer — the data is bundled in to lock you onto per-seat pricing. If you already have a sequencer (Smartlead, Lemlist, Instantly), you're paying $300-1,800/mo for data you could rent for $0.50/lead.
| GeoLayer | Apollo | |
|---|---|---|
| Headline pricing | $0.50 per delivered lead | $59-149/seat/mo + add-on credits |
| Effective $-per-lead | $0.30-0.50 | ~$1.40 effective |
| Team seats | 5 free, then $15/mo | $59/seat (Basic) → $149/seat (Organization) |
| Contract length | None — credits never expire | 12 months for serious tiers |
| Self-serve checkout | Yes — Stripe | Partial — entry tier only |
| API access | All paid tiers | Higher tiers only ($99+/seat) |
| Public pricing on website | Yes — on / | Listed; serious limits hidden |
Apollo Professional ($79/seat) with typical email+phone mix and ~60% credit utilization (credits expire monthly). Last reviewed May 2026.
Why teams move from Apollo to GeoLayer.
You don't need their sequencer
Apollo bundles the data with a sequencer you may already have. If you use Smartlead, Instantly, Lemlist, HubSpot Sequences, or any homegrown setup, you're double-paying for workflow tooling.
Per-seat pricing punishes growth
Apollo charges $59-149/seat per month. A 5-person SDR team on Apollo Pro is $445/mo before you've pulled a single contact. GeoLayer's first 5 seats are free.
Hidden quota gotchas
Apollo's published credit counts are mailbox-credits, not contacts. Phone unlocks cost 10x. Most teams hit the cap by week 3 and pay overage at the worst rate.
The math, on a real example.
A 3-person SDR team pulling 200 verified leads per rep per month — 600 leads/mo total.
On GeoLayer (Growth tier)
$99/mo
220 leads included + $0.45 per top-up lead × 380 = $171 → $270/mo all-in. 5 team seats free. No contract.
On Apollo
$237+/mo
3 seats × $79 Professional = $237/mo before overage. Phone unlock credits eat through quota by week 3; effective per-lead lands ~$1.40.
FAQ
Does Apollo have more data than GeoLayer? +
Apollo's international footprint is much larger — they list ~275M contacts globally. GeoLayer is US-only and indexes ~7.5M business contacts sourced from public registries and Google Maps. If you sell internationally, Apollo wins on coverage. If you sell in the US, GeoLayer wins on price-per-delivered-lead and on contract flexibility.
Why is Apollo's per-lead price effectively higher than GeoLayer's $0.50? +
Apollo's plans list 'credits' not contacts. Email unlocks = 1 credit; phone unlocks = 10 credits. Credits expire monthly and don't roll over. Backing out the real $-per-delivered-contact on the Professional plan with a typical email+phone SDR pull gets you to ~$1.40 per usable row. GeoLayer's $0.50 is the same whether you pull 50 leads or 5,000.
Can I get Apollo without a sales call? +
Apollo's Basic ($59/seat) and Professional ($79/seat) tiers are self-serve. The Organization tier ($149/seat) and any enterprise quota lift requires a call.
Is there a free trial of Apollo? +
Apollo's free tier is real but capped at low credit volumes and missing API access. GeoLayer's free tier is 50 leads on signup with no card, also dashboard-only.
Try GeoLayer free — 50 leads.
No card. No sales call. Run a real search in 60 seconds.
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