COMPARISON

Apollo vs Instantly: Outbound Compared for RevOps Teams

Apollo bundles 275M+ contacts, email sequences, a dialer, and a CRM-lite into one platform. Instantly does one thing: send cold emails at scale with best-in-class deliverability infrastructure. For RevOps, this is a stack consolidation decision. Do you want one tool that does everything adequately, or a specialist tool that does email brilliantly plus other tools for everything else?

Quick Verdict: Apollo is the better all-in-one platform for teams that want prospecting data, sequences, and calling without managing multiple tools. Instantly is the better cold email engine for teams that prioritize deliverability, mailbox rotation, and high-volume sending. If email is your only outbound channel and volume matters, Instantly wins on infrastructure. If you need data, multi-channel, and CRM sync in one tool, Apollo is more practical. Apollo at $49/user/mo with data included often costs less than Instantly plus a separate data provider.

Quick Comparison

Apollo vs Instantly at a Glance

Factor	Apollo	Instantly
Pricing	Free tier; paid from $49/user/mo	From $30/mo (account-based, unlimited users) Cheaper for email-only
Best For	All-in-one prospecting + engagement + data	High-volume cold email with deliverability focus
Contact Database	275M+ contacts included Bundled	B2B leads add-on (extra cost)
Channels	Email + calls + LinkedIn tasks Multi-channel	Email only Single channel
Email Deliverability	Standard SPF/DKIM, basic warm-up	Warm-up, rotation, domain health Best-in-class
CRM Integration	Native Salesforce, HubSpot sync Stronger	Zapier, webhooks, basic CRM Limited
Pricing Model	Per-user	Account-based (unlimited users) Better for teams
Learning Curve	Moderate; many features to learn	Low; focused on email sending Simpler

Feature Breakdown

Detailed Feature Comparison

Feature	Apollo	Instantly
Built-in Data	275M+ contacts with enrichment Included	Requires external data source or leads add-on
Mailbox Rotation	Basic	Advanced rotation with scheduling Core strength
Email Warm-up	Available but basic	Unlimited built-in warm-up Best-in-class
Dialer	Built-in at no extra cost Included	Not available
Sequence Builder	Multi-step with A/B testing More sophisticated	Email sequences with A/B testing
Analytics	Campaign + contact + deal analytics	Deliverability-focused metrics Domain health focus
CRM Sync	Bidirectional SF/HS sync Native	Requires Zapier or webhooks Manual

Decision Framework

When to Use Which

Choose Apollo When

You want one platform for finding contacts, enriching them, and running outbound sequences without managing multiple tools
Multi-channel outbound (email + calls + LinkedIn tasks) is part of your sales motion
CRM sync matters and you need activities, contacts, and deals flowing to Salesforce or HubSpot automatically
You do not have a separate data provider and Apollo built-in database covers your ICP adequately
Budget favors a single tool at $49/user/mo over stacking Instantly plus a data provider plus a dialer

Choose Instantly When

Cold email is your primary outbound channel and you send thousands of emails per month across multiple domains
Deliverability infrastructure (warm-up, mailbox rotation, domain health monitoring) is the top operational priority
You already have a data provider (ZoomInfo, Clay, Apollo) and just need the email sending layer
Account-based pricing works better for your team (one fee regardless of how many people access it)
You manage 5+ sending domains and need automated rotation to protect sender reputation

When to Consider Both or Neither

Some teams use Apollo for data and prospecting research, then export contacts to Instantly for the actual email sends because Instantly deliverability is better. This works but creates a data sync gap: replies and engagement in Instantly do not flow back to Apollo or your CRM without custom integration. If you need enterprise-grade engagement, Outreach or Salesloft are the step up.

RevOps Perspective

What This Means for Your Stack

RevOps-Specific Considerations

CRM data flow is the deciding factor for many RevOps teams. Apollo logs activities, creates contacts, and syncs deal data with your CRM natively. Instantly does none of this without middleware. If your pipeline reporting depends on CRM activity data, the Instantly gap is a real operational cost that goes beyond the license fee.
Data ownership matters. Apollo gives you a database you can search, filter, and export from. Instantly requires you to bring your own data. If you choose Instantly, budget for a separate data provider ($50-200/user/mo for ZoomInfo, $49/user/mo for Apollo, or $149+/mo for Clay). The total stack cost may exceed Apollo all-in.
Deliverability is a legitimate differentiator. If your current email deliverability is poor (landing in spam, low open rates, blacklisted domains), Instantly warm-up, rotation, and domain health tools provide infrastructure that Apollo does not match. For teams sending 10K+ cold emails monthly, this matters.
Duplicate outreach risk exists with both tools. Apollo can create contacts that already exist in your CRM. Instantly sends to whatever list you upload with no CRM awareness. Build exclusion workflows (active deals, existing customers, do-not-contact) before launching campaigns from either tool.
Reporting fragmentation increases with Instantly. Campaign metrics live in Instantly, pipeline data lives in your CRM, and the connection between them requires manual analysis or Zapier automation. Apollo single-platform reporting, while not deep, at least keeps everything in one place.

Summary

Winner by Use Case

Use Case	Winner	Why
All-in-one outbound	Apollo	Data + sequences + dialer + CRM sync in one tool
Email deliverability	Instantly	Purpose-built warm-up, rotation, and domain health
CRM integration	Apollo	Native bidirectional sync vs. Zapier workarounds
High-volume cold email	Instantly	Infrastructure built for scale across multiple domains
Budget-conscious teams	Apollo	Data included; no need for separate data provider
Large sending teams (10+ users)	Instantly	Account-based pricing beats per-user at scale

The RevOps Report's Bottom Line

Apollo is the Swiss Army knife. Instantly is the scalpel. If your outbound motion involves finding contacts, enriching them, emailing, calling, and tracking it all in your CRM, Apollo covers the entire workflow in one tool. If email is your weapon and deliverability is your bottleneck, Instantly infrastructure is genuinely better. For RevOps, do the total stack cost math: Apollo at $49/user/mo with data included versus Instantly at $30/mo plus a data provider at $50-200/user/mo plus a dialer plus CRM integration middleware. The "cheaper" email tool often costs more when you add up the whole stack.

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Disclosure: The RevOps Report may receive affiliate compensation from tools mentioned here. Our analysis is independent. Every claim is based on publicly available data and user feedback.

Last Updated: January 2026