LinkedIn Outreach · 2026 Comparison
Apollo gives you a large database, email sequences and a dialler. Ghost is the all-in-one GTM platform: a 600M-contact database, automated LinkedIn + email sequences, intent signals from engagement on your own posts and competitor content, and a built-in CRM, on one $99/£79/€89 per month plan.
Why teams choose Ghost over Apollo
600M B2B contact database with verified work email enrichment, built in
Native LinkedIn + email steps in one sequence, with auto-pause on reply
Intent signals from engagement on your posts and competitor content
Side by side
Overview
Apollo (apollo.io) is a sales platform built around a large B2B database. Its site lists 240M+ contacts and 30M+ companies, and says over 600,000 companies use it. Around the data sit email sequences, a dialler, website visitor identification, intent topics, deal management and call recording.
Apollo is built for SDRs, account executives and founders who prospect by list. The core workflow is to filter the database, spend credits to reveal emails and phone numbers, then enrol contacts in sequences that mix emails, calls and LinkedIn tasks. LinkedIn steps are tasks you complete through the Apollo Chrome extension. Apollo also runs AI agents in Slack that find leads, draft sequences and suggest improvements, each waiting for your approval.
Apollo prices per seat with a credit allowance. There is a free plan, and paid plans run from $49 per seat per month on annual billing ($65 billed monthly), with a 14-day trial on Basic and Professional. Credits reset each cycle and do not roll over. Ghost has one plan at $99, £79 or €89 a month with every feature included and a 7-day free trial.
Apollo prices as published, checked October 2026. Check their site for current pricing.
Why Ghost wins
600M B2B contact database with verified work email enrichment, built in
Native LinkedIn + email steps in one sequence, with auto-pause on reply
Intent signals from engagement on your posts and competitor content
Agentic Campaign Creator builds a full campaign from an ICP in under 90 seconds, queued for your approval
One flat plan at $99/£79/€89 per month, no feature tiers
Fair comparison
Large contact database (240M+ contacts, 30M+ companies) with deep filters
Free plan, plus paid plans with a dialler, call recording and deliverability tools
200+ integrations, including mature Salesforce and HubSpot enrichment
LinkedIn steps are manual tasks run through the Chrome extension, not automated
Intent comes from website visits and third-party topics, not your own LinkedIn engagement
Per-seat pricing with credit allowances that reset each cycle and do not roll over
Which should you choose?
On Apollo, a founder can start free, filter the database, reveal emails with credits and run email sequences, adding LinkedIn tasks they complete by hand. On Ghost, the founder saves an ICP, presses Run Agent and gets a LinkedIn and email campaign queued for approval. Apollo costs less to start. Ghost does more of the LinkedIn work.
Apollo fits teams that call a lot. Paid plans include a US dialler billed in credits, with a parallel and power dialler sold as an add-on, plus call recording and AI insights on Professional. Ghost has no dialler. For a team whose day revolves around calling, Apollo is the stronger choice, and Ghost is better suited to LinkedIn-led outreach.
If prospects already like and comment on your LinkedIn posts, Ghost tracks that engagement, scores each person on five intent dimensions and can trigger warm DM sequences that reference what they engaged with. Apollo's intent comes from website visits and third-party research topics, not from your LinkedIn activity, so this workflow needs Ghost.
Our verdict
Apollo is a strong choice for email- and phone-led prospecting, with a big database, a free plan and a dialler. Its LinkedIn steps are manual tasks, and its intent data comes from website visits and research topics. Ghost is built for founders and small teams who sell on LinkedIn and email: automated LinkedIn + email sequences, intent signals from engagement on your own posts and competitor content, LinkedIn content and a built-in CRM on one $99 (£79/€89) per month plan.
Switching
Read the full breakdown
Deep-dive: Ghost vs Apollo on the blogFAQ
Ghost and Apollo serve different needs. Apollo is a strong choice for email- and phone-led prospecting, with a big database, a free plan and a dialler. Its LinkedIn steps are manual tasks, and its intent data comes from website visits and research topics. Ghost is built for founders and small teams who sell on LinkedIn and email: automated LinkedIn + email sequences, intent signals from engagement on your own posts and competitor content, LinkedIn content and a built-in CRM on one $99 (£79/€89) per month plan.
Apollo prices per seat with a credit allowance. There is a free plan, and paid plans run from $49 per seat per month on annual billing ($65 billed monthly), with a 14-day trial on Basic and Professional. Credits reset each cycle and do not roll over. Ghost has one plan at $99, £79 or €89 a month with every feature included and a 7-day free trial.
Yes. Ghost offers a 7-day free trial so you can test the full platform before committing. There's no long-term contract and you can cancel any time.
600M B2B contact database with verified work email enrichment, built in. Native LinkedIn + email steps in one sequence, with auto-pause on reply. Intent signals from engagement on your posts and competitor content.
Yes. Apollo's free plan costs $0 and includes 900 credits per seat per year, granted monthly, plus 2 sequences, basic filters and limited website visitor identification. Paid plans start at $49 per seat per month on annual billing. Ghost has no free plan; it offers a 7-day free trial instead.
Apollo sequences can include LinkedIn steps such as connection requests, messages and profile views, but these are tasks that need the Apollo Chrome extension and a logged-in LinkedIn account, and a rep has to run them. Ghost runs LinkedIn and email steps inside one sequence and pauses automatically when someone replies.
Credits pay for data actions. Apollo lists 1 credit for an email, 8 for a phone number and 1 per AI research run. Credits are pooled across the team, granted each cycle and expire if unused. Extra credits can be bought mid-cycle. Ghost's plan does not use a published credit system.
Sources
Facts about Apollo were checked against these sources on 10 October 2026. Products change; tell us at hello@growwithghost.io if anything here is out of date.