Smartlead vs Apollo: $174 vs $1,666 a month in plans at 5,000 emails a day

Smartlead charges by sends with unlimited mailboxes, so 5,000 emails a day fit Unlimited Smart at $174. Apollo charges per seat and links 15 IMAP/SMTP mailboxes per Organization seat, so 200 SMTP mailboxes take 14 seats: $1,666 a month, billed annually. Apollo is the one with the database, 240M+ contacts on credits, and a team on Google Workspace mailboxes can hold them all on one $99 Professional seat.

Create mailboxesBook a call
  • Warmup and sending included
  • $2.50 a mailbox, 12 minimum
  • Month-to-month billing

5,000 a day · 110,000 a month · 200 mailboxes · USD a month

  1. Smartlead + our mailboxesSmartlead + our mailboxes: $517.33
  2. Apollo + our mailboxesApollo + our mailboxes: $2,009.33
  3. Outreach2day all-inOutreach2day all-in: $343.33

Smartlead

Apollo

Entry price
$39 a month (Base, 6,000 sends)$65 per seat a month (Basic); free plan with 75 credits
Priced by
By sends a month and stored contacts; mailboxes unlimited, no per-seat pricePer seat a month plus a credit allowance per seat; credits pay for data, warmup, domains and mailboxes
Warmup
Unlimited warmup on every plan; the pool tier rises with the planPaid plans typically include 1 mailbox per seat; each extra mailbox 200 credits per 30 days (also 200 on Free); paused when credits run out; up to 50 warmup emails a day
At 5,000 a day, all lines
$517.33$2,009.33

All lines: the sequencer plan, mailboxes and domains at list prices, monthly billing. Every line is in the cost table below.

Side by side

Smartlead vs Apollo, line by line

Each cell links to the vendor's page it comes from.

Prices

Smartlead and Apollo prices

Smartlead

Apollo

  • Free$0

    75 credits per seat a month, 2 sequences, 1 mailbox per user, 250 emails a day · monthly

    Gmail only per the FAQ; the plan table says Gmail and Microsoftsource (opens the vendor's page in a new tab)

  • Basic$65 per seat a month

    2,500 credits per seat a month, 1 linked mailbox per user, 250 emails a day · monthly

    Unlimited sequences, deliverability suite and warmup, domain and mailbox purchasing, US dialer on creditssource (opens the vendor's page in a new tab)

  • Professional$99 per seat a month

    4,000 credits per seat a month; unlimited Google and Microsoft mailboxes, 5 IMAP/SMTP per user; no daily send cap · monthly

    A/Z testing, AI lead scoring, 4,000 call-recording minutessource (opens the vendor's page in a new tab)

List prices from Smartlead's pricing page and Apollo's pricing page, checked . Taxes and card fees excluded.

Full cost

Full monthly cost at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 emails a day

Each sequencer plan the volume needs, with the same mailboxes and domains on both sides.

1,000 a day · 22,000 a month40 mailboxes · USD a month
  1. Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxesSmartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes: $202.67
  2. Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxesApollo + Outreach2day mailboxes: $465.67
  3. Outreach2day all-inOutreach2day all-in: $108.67
5,000 a day · 110,000 a month200 mailboxes · USD a month
  1. Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxesSmartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes: $517.33
  2. Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxesApollo + Outreach2day mailboxes: $2,009.33
  3. Outreach2day all-inOutreach2day all-in: $343.33
10,000 a day · 220,000 a month400 mailboxes · USD a month
  1. Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxesSmartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes: $914.67
  2. Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxesApollo + Outreach2day mailboxes: $3,899.67
  3. Outreach2day all-inOutreach2day all-in: $686.67

  • Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes

    Keep the sequencer, buy the mailboxes from us

    1,000 a day · 22,000 a month (40 mailboxes)

    $202.67 / mo

    5,000 a day · 110,000 a month (200 mailboxes)

    $517.33 / mo

    10,000 a day · 220,000 a month (400 mailboxes)

    $914.67 / mo

  • Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxes

    Keep the sequencer, buy the mailboxes from us

    1,000 a day · 22,000 a month (40 mailboxes)

    $465.67 / mo

    5,000 a day · 110,000 a month (200 mailboxes)

    $2,009.33 / mo

    10,000 a day · 220,000 a month (400 mailboxes)

    $3,899.67 / mo

  • Outreach2day all-in

    Mailboxes, warmup and the sequencer in one bill

    1,000 a day · 22,000 a month (40 mailboxes)

    $108.67 / mo

    • 40 mailboxes at $2.50, warmup and sequencer included: $100
    • 8 domains at $13 a year: $8.67
    5,000 a day · 110,000 a month (200 mailboxes)

    $343.33 / mo

    • 200 mailboxes at $1.50 (volume price from 100), warmup and sequencer included: $300
    • 40 domains at $13 a year: $43.33
    10,000 a day · 220,000 a month (400 mailboxes)

    $686.67 / mo

    • 400 mailboxes at $1.50 (volume price from 100), warmup and sequencer included: $600
    • 80 domains at $13 a year: $86.67

25 cold emails per mailbox a day and 5 mailboxes per domain: 1,000 a day = 40 mailboxes and 8 domains; 5,000 a day = 200 mailboxes and 40 domains; 10,000 a day = 400 mailboxes and 80 domains. A month is 22 sending days, so emails a month = emails a day × 22. Monthly list prices on monthly billing; .com domains at $13 a year spread over 12 months. Outreach2day mailboxes on comparison pages: $2.50 a mailbox up to 99, $1.50 from 100, $0.50 from 1,000, warmup and the sequencer included.

New · Outreach2day volume pricing

The mailbox price falls from 100 and again from 1,000 mailboxes

Warmup, the sequencer and the replies inbox included at every tier

  1. Up to 99 mailboxes$2.50a mailbox a month
  2. From 100 mailboxes$1.50a mailbox a month
  3. From 1,000 mailboxes$0.50a mailbox a month

Enterprise plan. Better prices for larger volumes.

Book a call

With Outreach2day mailboxes on both: $203 on Smartlead and $466 on Apollo at 1,000 a day, $717 and $2,009 at 5,000, $915 and $3,900 at 10,000. Apollo is priced on Organization because it links 15 SMTP mailboxes a seat against 5 on Professional; at 1,000 a day Professional would need 8 seats ($792).

Plan by plan: Smartlead pricing and Apollo pricing.

Apollo sells its own mailboxes for credits: 300 a month for Apollo SMTP, 800 for Google, 1,500 for Microsoft, each capped at 200 emails per 24 hours. It publishes no price per credit, so that setup has no dollar row here. With SmartSenders Google mailboxes, Smartlead comes to $1,117 a month at 5,000 a day.

At scale

From 25,000 to 1,000,000 cold emails a day

The same setups at larger daily volumes. A vendor without a published price at a size reads “Custom pricing (not published)” and has no bar.

25,000 a day · 550,000 a month1,000 mailboxes · USD a month
  1. Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxesSmartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes: $1,176.67
  2. Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxesApollo + Outreach2day mailboxes: $8,689.67
  3. Outreach2day all-inOutreach2day all-in: $716.67
50,000 a day · 1,100,000 a month2,000 mailboxes · USD a month
  1. Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxesSmartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes: $2,173.33
  2. Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxesApollo + Outreach2day mailboxes: $17,379.33
  3. Outreach2day all-inOutreach2day all-in: $1,433.33
100,000 a day · 2,200,000 a month4,000 mailboxes · USD a month
  1. Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxesSmartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes: $4,322.67
  2. Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxesApollo + Outreach2day mailboxes: $34,639.67
  3. Outreach2day all-inOutreach2day all-in: $2,866.67
250,000 a day · 5,500,000 a month10,000 mailboxes · USD a month
  1. Outreach2day all-inOutreach2day all-in: $7,166.67
Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes, Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxes: no published price at this volume, so no bar.
500,000 a day · 11,000,000 a month20,000 mailboxes · USD a month
  1. Outreach2day all-inOutreach2day all-in: $14,333.33
Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes, Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxes: no published price at this volume, so no bar.
1,000,000 a day · 22,000,000 a month40,000 mailboxes · USD a month
  1. Outreach2day all-inOutreach2day all-in: $28,666.67
Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes, Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxes: no published price at this volume, so no bar.
Monthly cost of Smartlead and Apollo setups from 25,000 to 1,000,000 cold emails a day
Setup25,000 a day550,000 a month1,000 mailboxes50,000 a day1,100,000 a month2,000 mailboxes100,000 a day2,200,000 a month4,000 mailboxes250,000 a day5,500,000 a month10,000 mailboxes500,000 a day11,000,000 a month20,000 mailboxes1,000,000 a day22,000,000 a month40,000 mailboxes
Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes$1,176.67$460 more$2,173.33$740 more$4,322.67$1,456 moreCustom pricing (not published)Custom pricing (not published)Custom pricing (not published)
Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxes$8,689.67$7,973 more$17,379.33$15,946 more$34,639.67$31,773 moreCustom pricing (not published)Custom pricing (not published)Custom pricing (not published)
Outreach2day all-in$716.67$1,433.33$2,866.67$7,166.67$14,333.33$28,666.67

25 cold emails per mailbox a day and 5 mailboxes per domain: 25,000 a day = 1,000 mailboxes and 200 domains; 50,000 a day = 2,000 mailboxes and 400 domains; 100,000 a day = 4,000 mailboxes and 800 domains; 250,000 a day = 10,000 mailboxes and 2,000 domains; 500,000 a day = 20,000 mailboxes and 4,000 domains; 1,000,000 a day = 40,000 mailboxes and 8,000 domains. A month is 22 sending days, so emails a month = emails a day × 22. Each tool at the published plan that covers the volume; where the vendor publishes no price at that size (a top plan that stops below it, or "contact sales"), the cell says so and the chart leaves it out. Domains at $13 a year, spread over 12 months, are in every total.

Every line at scale

  • Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes, 25,000 a day: Smartlead Smart, 630K step ($460) source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab) + 1,000 Outreach2day mailboxes at $0.50 (volume price from 1,000) ($500) + 200 domains at $13 a year ($216.67) = $1,176.67
  • Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes, 50,000 a day: Smartlead Smart, 1.11M step ($740) source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab) + 2,000 Outreach2day mailboxes at $0.50 (volume price from 1,000) ($1,000) + 400 domains at $13 a year ($433.33) = $2,173.33
  • Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes, 100,000 a day: Smartlead Smart, 2.37M step ($1,456) source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab) + 4,000 Outreach2day mailboxes at $0.50 (volume price from 1,000) ($2,000) + 800 domains at $13 a year ($866.67) = $4,322.67
  • Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxes, 25,000 a day: Apollo Organization, 67 seats ($7,973) source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab) + 1,000 Outreach2day mailboxes at $0.50 (volume price from 1,000) ($500) + 200 domains at $13 a year ($216.67) = $8,689.67
  • Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxes, 50,000 a day: Apollo Organization, 134 seats ($15,946) source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab) + 2,000 Outreach2day mailboxes at $0.50 (volume price from 1,000) ($1,000) + 400 domains at $13 a year ($433.33) = $17,379.33
  • Apollo + Outreach2day mailboxes, 100,000 a day: Apollo Organization, 267 seats ($31,773) source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab) + 4,000 Outreach2day mailboxes at $0.50 (volume price from 1,000) ($2,000) + 800 domains at $13 a year ($866.67) = $34,639.67
  • Outreach2day all-in, 25,000 a day: 1,000 mailboxes at $0.50 (volume price from 1,000), warmup and sequencer included ($500) + 200 domains at $13 a year ($216.67) = $716.67
  • Outreach2day all-in, 50,000 a day: 2,000 mailboxes at $0.50 (volume price from 1,000), warmup and sequencer included ($1,000) + 400 domains at $13 a year ($433.33) = $1,433.33
  • Outreach2day all-in, 100,000 a day: 4,000 mailboxes at $0.50 (volume price from 1,000), warmup and sequencer included ($2,000) + 800 domains at $13 a year ($866.67) = $2,866.67
  • Outreach2day all-in, 250,000 a day: 10,000 mailboxes at $0.50 (volume price from 1,000), warmup and sequencer included ($5,000) + 2,000 domains at $13 a year ($2,166.67) = $7,166.67
  • Outreach2day all-in, 500,000 a day: 20,000 mailboxes at $0.50 (volume price from 1,000), warmup and sequencer included ($10,000) + 4,000 domains at $13 a year ($4,333.33) = $14,333.33
  • Outreach2day all-in, 1,000,000 a day: 40,000 mailboxes at $0.50 (volume price from 1,000), warmup and sequencer included ($20,000) + 8,000 domains at $13 a year ($8,666.67) = $28,666.67

Why each plan at scale

Where they differ

A sending tool and a data platform

Smartlead is built around sending: unlimited mailboxes and warmup on every plan, rotation across a campaign's mailboxes, and dedicated servers as a $39 add-on.

Apollo is built around its contact data: 240M+ contacts and 30M+ companies at 1 credit per email and 8 per phone number, with a dialer, deals and AI agents. Sequences come with every paid seat.

The limits that set the bill

Apollo's Free and Basic plans send at most 250 emails a day and link 1 mailbox per user. Professional lifts the daily cap and links unlimited Google and Microsoft mailboxes plus 5 IMAP/SMTP; Organization raises IMAP/SMTP to 15 per user, billed annually with 3 seats minimum.

Smartlead's limits are sends and stored contacts: 90,000 sends on Pro, 150,000 on Unlimited Smart with no contact cap. Its help center advises at most 50 emails per sending address a day.

Warmup, refunds and trials

Smartlead warms every connected mailbox on every plan. Apollo warms 1 mailbox per seat and charges 200 credits per extra mailbox every 30 days, pausing warmup when the credits run out; a Professional seat's 4,000 monthly credits cover about 20 extra mailboxes.

Smartlead refunds a new subscription within 7 days. Apollo's payments are non-refundable, with no refund for unused time on a downgrade. Smartlead's trial runs 14 days with 2,500 sends; Apollo has a free plan and a one-time 14-day trial of Basic or Professional.

Running both

One way to run both: find and export contacts in Apollo, send from Smartlead. Apollo then needs only the seats that prospect, and the mailbox count sits in a tool with no per-mailbox price.

Both have official MCP servers. Smartlead MCP and Apollo MCP compare each with ours, and the Apollo review covers its credits and terms.

Fit

Which one to pick

Smartlead

Pick Smartlead if

  • You send from dozens or hundreds of SMTP mailboxes
  • You already have your contact lists
  • You want a refund window and unlimited warmup on every plan

Apollo

Pick Apollo if

  • You need a B2B database, enrichment and a dialer in one tool
  • Each rep sends personal sequences from a few Google or Microsoft mailboxes
  • You want an MCP server on the free plan

Outreach2day

Where Outreach2day fits

Outreach2day is a third option: mailboxes, warmup and a sequencer in one subscription. It is ours, so it has its own section.

Outreach2day mailboxes are added to Smartlead by API key and export to Apollo as a CSV in its import format, where each Organization seat links 15 of them.

For email-only campaigns from your own lists, Outreach2day all-in is $343 a month at 5,000 a day: mailboxes, warmup and our sequencer, domains included. We have no contact database, dialer or LinkedIn steps, so a team that prospects in Apollo keeps it for that.

Outreach2day mailboxes are $2.50 a mailbox up to 99, $1.50 from 100, $0.50 from 1,000, with warmup, the sequencer and the replies inbox included at every tier. For larger volumes and better prices there is the Enterprise plan: book a call and we size it with you.

Outreach2day

  • Warmup and sending included
  • $2.50 a mailbox, 12 minimum
  • Month-to-month billing
Create mailboxesBook a call

FAQ

Smartlead vs Apollo: questions

Is Smartlead cheaper than Apollo for cold email?

For sending volume from SMTP mailboxes, yes: $94 to $228 a month in plans at 1,000 to 10,000 emails a day, against $357 to $3,213 in Apollo Organization seats. Apollo's price includes its contact data, which Smartlead sells as verified prospect emails ($59 a month on Base and Pro, included on Unlimited plans).

How many mailboxes can one Apollo seat send from?

Basic links 1. Professional links unlimited Google and Microsoft mailboxes plus 5 IMAP/SMTP, and Organization 15 IMAP/SMTP per user. Smartlead has no per-seat limit: mailboxes are unlimited on every plan.

Do Smartlead and Apollo include warmup?

Smartlead includes unlimited warmup on every plan. Apollo covers 1 mailbox per seat; each extra one costs 200 credits every 30 days.

Can I use Apollo and Smartlead together?

Yes. Export contacts from Apollo and send from Smartlead, which also lists Clay, HubSpot and Salesforce integrations.

Deliverability call

Talk to our deliverability team

Book a call with the people who run our mailbox infrastructure. We look at your current setup and tell you what to change. Mailboxes are $1.50 from 100 and $0.50 from 1,000; for larger volumes we size an Enterprise plan with you.

  • Review your domains, DNS records and current inbox placement
  • Size the setup: domains, mailboxes per domain and daily volume per mailbox
  • Plan warmup and the move from your current provider or sequencer
  • Larger volumes: the Enterprise plan and its price for your setup

Free call

See open times in your time zone and book on this page.

Or open the booking page

Related

More on Smartlead and Apollo

Sources

Each vendor's own pages. Vendors change prices and plans; if something here is out of date, write to support@outreach2day.com and we will fix it.

Smartlead
Apollo
Outreach2day

Full volume from day 14: 25 cold emails a mailbox a day

Add domains, create mailboxes and turn on warmup. You see every mailbox's warmup numbers from day one.

Book a call
Create mailboxes$2.50 a mailbox, all in