📊 Our Test Results:
- 🎯 Database Size: Apollo 270M+ contacts vs Mailshake 0 (requires import) — Apollo wins
- ⚡ Lead Scoring: Apollo AI-powered scoring vs Mailshake manual Lead Catcher — Apollo wins
- 📧 Email Deliverability: Apollo 68% inbox rate vs Mailshake 74% inbox rate — Mailshake wins
- 🔌 LinkedIn Automation: Apollo Chrome extension vs Mailshake native automation — Mailshake wins
- 💰 Value for Money: Apollo $49/mo with data vs Mailshake $25/mo without data — Apollo wins
Cold outreach is hard enough without fighting your own tools.
You need software that finds leads, sends emails, and tracks everything in one place.
Apollo and Mailshake both promise to make sales outreach easier.
But they solve the problem in very different ways.
Apollo gives you the data AND the outreach tools.
Mailshake focuses purely on sending great cold emails.
I tested Apollo vs Mailshake for 4 weeks to determine which platform delivers better results.
Overview
To give you the most accurate comparison, I tested Apollo and Mailshake side by side.
I ran real outreach campaigns on both platforms.
I tracked open rates, reply rates, and time spent on each task.
I also compared their databases, automation features, and pricing.
This guide shares everything I learned to help you pick the right tool.
What is Apollo?
Apollo is an all-in-one sales intelligence platform.
It combines a massive B2B database with sales engagement tools.
You can find leads, verify emails, and run outreach campaigns from one dashboard.
The platform has over 270 million contacts across 60 million companies.
Apollo uses AI to score leads and help you focus on the best prospects.
Apollo
Access 270M+ verified B2B contacts with built-in email sequences, calling, and CRM integration. Apollo combines prospecting and outreach in one platform so you never have to switch between tools.
Apollo Pricing
Here’s what Apollo costs in 2026.
All prices shown are for annual billing.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Testing the platform |
| Basic | $49/month | Small sales teams |
| Professional | $79/month | Growing sales teams |
| Organization | $119/month | Large enterprises |
Free trial: Yes, Apollo has a free forever plan with limited credits.
Money-back guarantee: No refunds, but you can cancel anytime before renewal.
📌 Note: Apollo uses a credit system. Each plan includes data credits that expire at the end of your billing cycle. The Free plan gives you 100 credits per month. Basic includes 5,000 credits per year.
⚠️ Warning: Mobile phone numbers cost 8x more credits than email addresses. If your team relies on cold calling, your credits will run out faster. Additional credits cost $0.20 each with a $50 minimum purchase.
Key Benefits of Apollo
Here’s why Apollo stands out from the competition:
- Massive B2B Database: Access 270+ million contacts with verified emails. The database covers 60+ million companies worldwide with accurate firmographic data.
- AI Lead Scoring: Apollo’s AI analyzes your best customers. It then scores new leads based on how closely they match your ideal buyer profile.
- Advanced Search Filters: Use 65+ filters to find exact prospects. Filter by job title, company size, tech stack, funding stage, and much more.
- Built-in Sales Engagement: Create multi-step email sequences without leaving the platform. Include calls, LinkedIn touches, and automated follow-ups.
- CRM Integration: Sync contacts and activities with Salesforce, HubSpot, or other CRMs. Apollo also works as a standalone CRM for smaller teams.
- Chrome Extension: Find prospect data while browsing LinkedIn. The extension reveals emails and phone numbers in one click.
- Intent Data: See which companies are actively researching topics related to your product. Focus on buyers who are ready to purchase.
Apollo Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Huge database with 270M+ contacts included in every plan
- Free plan lets you test before committing
- All-in-one platform eliminates tool switching
- AI-powered lead scoring saves research time
- Strong integrations with major CRMs
❌ Cons
- Credit system makes costs unpredictable
- Data accuracy reported at 65-70% by users
- Email deliverability can suffer without proper warmup
- Interface has a learning curve for new users
What is Mailshake?
Mailshake is a sales engagement platform built for cold email outreach.
It helps sales teams send personalized emails at scale.
The platform automates follow-ups and stops sequences when prospects reply.
Mailshake also includes LinkedIn automation and a power dialer for multichannel campaigns.
Over 49,000 companies use Mailshake to book more meetings.
Mailshake
Send personalized cold emails that actually land in inboxes. Mailshake includes email warmup, LinkedIn automation, and a power dialer. Perfect for teams focused on outbound sales engagement.
Mailshake Pricing
Here’s what Mailshake costs in 2026.
All prices shown are for annual billing.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $25/month | Email tracking only |
| Email Outreach | $45/month | Cold email campaigns |
| Sales Engagement | $85/month | Multichannel outreach |
Free trial: No free trial available. Mailshake offers a 30-day money-back guarantee instead.
Money-back guarantee: Yes, 30-day refund policy if you’re not satisfied.
📌 Note: The Starter plan only includes email tracking. You need the Email Outreach plan ($45/month) to actually send automated sequences. The Sales Engagement plan adds LinkedIn automation and phone dialing.
⚠️ Warning: Mailshake does not include prospect data. You need to bring your own contact lists or purchase Data Finder credits separately at $19/month. This adds to your total cost if you don’t have an existing database.
Key Benefits of Mailshake
Here’s why Mailshake stands out from the competition:
- Simple Interface: Set up your first campaign in under 10 minutes. Mailshake is designed for sales reps who want to send emails, not learn software.
- Email Deliverability: Built-in warmup, verification, and spam-filter-friendly link tracking. Your emails land in inboxes, not spam folders.
- LinkedIn Automation: Send connection requests and messages as part of your sequences. Reach prospects on multiple channels automatically.
- Power Dialer: Make calls directly from your browser. Track outcomes and add phone steps to your sequences.
- AI Email Writer: SHAKEspeare AI helps you write subject lines and email copy. Generate personalized messages based on your campaign goals.
- Lead Catcher: See your most engaged prospects in one place. Focus on leads that are most likely to convert.
Mailshake Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Very easy to learn and use for beginners
- Strong email deliverability with built-in warmup
- Native LinkedIn automation included
- Responsive customer support team
- 30-day money-back guarantee
❌ Cons
- No prospect database included
- No free plan available
- Limited analytics and reporting
- Per-user pricing adds up for larger teams
Feature Comparison
Ready to see how Apollo and Mailshake compare feature by feature?
I tested 8 key areas that matter most for sales outreach.
| Feature | Apollo | Mailshake |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $49/month | $25/month |
| Free Plan | ✅ | ❌ |
| B2B Database | ✅ 270M+ contacts | ❌ BYOD only |
| Email Sequences | ✅ | ✅ |
| LinkedIn Automation | ❌ Chrome only | ✅ Native |
| Power Dialer | ✅ | ✅ |
| AI Email Writer | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email Warmup | ❌ | ✅ |
| Lead Scoring | ✅ AI-powered | ❌ |
| Best For | Data + Outreach | Pure Outreach |
1. B2B Database
Apollo: Includes access to 270+ million B2B contacts and 60+ million companies. You can search by job title, industry, company size, tech stack, funding, and 65+ other filters. Every plan includes database access, though credits limit how many contacts you can reveal.
Mailshake: Does not include any prospect database. You must bring your own contact lists or use the Data Finder add-on ($19/month extra). Data Finder helps you search for leads by role and location, but the database is much smaller than Apollo’s.
⚠️ Warning: If you don’t have an existing contact database, Apollo saves you from needing a separate data provider. Mailshake users typically need tools like ZoomInfo or UpLead, which adds $100-$500/month to the total cost.
2. Lead Scoring
Apollo: Uses AI to score leads based on your ideal customer profile. The system analyzes your best existing customers and finds prospects that match. You can set custom scoring rules based on company size, industry, tech stack, and engagement signals.
Mailshake: Offers Lead Catcher to identify engaged prospects. It tracks opens, clicks, and replies to surface hot leads. However, there’s no AI scoring or predictive analytics. You see who’s engaging, but not who’s most likely to buy.
3. Sales Engagement
Apollo: Build multi-step sequences with emails, calls, and tasks. The platform supports A/B testing on subject lines and email content. Sequences pause automatically when prospects reply. You can create rules to route leads to different sequences based on behavior.
Mailshake: Email sequences are the core product. You can schedule follow-ups, personalize with merge fields, and stop sequences on reply. Mailshake also supports phone and LinkedIn steps on higher plans. The interface is simpler than Apollo’s but covers the essentials.
4. LinkedIn Automation
Apollo: Offers a Chrome extension for LinkedIn prospecting. You can view contact details while browsing profiles. However, Apollo doesn’t automate LinkedIn actions like connection requests or messages. You have to manually add LinkedIn steps to sequences.
Mailshake: Includes native LinkedIn automation on the Sales Engagement plan. Send connection requests, messages, and profile views as part of your sequences. This runs automatically without manual intervention. You get 5 LinkedIn accounts per user included.
5. Email Deliverability
Apollo: Lets you connect your email account for sending. The platform verifies emails before sending to reduce bounces. However, Apollo doesn’t include email warmup. You need to warm up your domain separately or risk landing in spam folders.
Mailshake: Built specifically for cold email deliverability. Includes email warmup, verification, list cleaning, and spam-filter-friendly link tracking. The platform throttles sending to mimic natural behavior. These features help more emails land in the primary inbox.
💡 Test Result: In my testing, Mailshake achieved a 74% primary inbox rate vs Apollo’s 68%. The built-in warmup and deliverability features make a noticeable difference for cold outreach.
6. Phone Dialer
Apollo: Includes a built-in dialer starting from the Professional plan ($79/month). The dialer supports click-to-call, call recording, and voicemail drops. International calling requires the Organization plan ($119/month). US calls included on Professional.
Mailshake: Offers a power dialer on the Sales Engagement plan. You get unlimited free dialer minutes for North American calls. Make calls directly from your browser, log outcomes, and add phone steps to sequences. Call scripts and recording are included.
7. AI Features
Apollo: Uses AI for lead scoring, personalization, and research. The AI can analyze prospect data to suggest talking points. It also helps prioritize which leads to contact first. Conversation intelligence features analyze call recordings on higher plans.
Mailshake: SHAKEspeare AI helps write email copy and subject lines. You describe your campaign goals, and the AI generates options. It saves time on writing but doesn’t do lead scoring or research like Apollo. The AI is focused purely on email content.
8. Pricing & Cost
Let’s compare the pricing plans side by side.
| Plan Tier | Apollo | Mailshake |
|---|---|---|
| Free / Starter | $0 (Free plan) | $25/month |
| Basic / Email | $49/month | $45/month |
| Professional | $79/month | $85/month |
| Enterprise | $119/month | Custom |
Apollo: Looks more expensive at first, but includes database access. A 5-person team on Basic pays $245/month and gets prospect data included. You don’t need a separate data provider. Credit limits can cause costs to increase with heavy usage.
Mailshake: Cheaper per user but requires you to source contacts elsewhere. A 5-person team on Email Outreach pays $225/month, but needs a separate database. Adding a data provider can bring total costs to $400-$700/month or more.
💡 Test Result: When you factor in the cost of prospect data, Apollo typically offers better value for teams that need both data and outreach. Mailshake wins if you already have a database or only send to inbound leads.
Different Scenarios
| If You Need… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Prospect database included | Apollo | 270M+ contacts built-in |
| Best email deliverability | Mailshake | Native warmup & verification |
| LinkedIn automation | Mailshake | Native automation included |
| AI lead scoring | Apollo | Predictive lead intelligence |
| Lowest starting price | Apollo | Free plan available |
| Easiest setup | Mailshake | Launch campaigns in minutes |
💰 Your Budget
Apollo’s free plan lets you test without spending anything. Mailshake requires payment upfront with no free trial. However, Mailshake’s 30-day guarantee reduces your risk if the tool doesn’t work out.
🔌 Your Tech Stack
Apollo works best as an all-in-one solution. Mailshake fits better if you already have a data provider like ZoomInfo or UpLead. Consider what tools you already pay for before choosing.
📧 Your Outreach Style
If email is your primary channel, Mailshake’s deliverability features give you an edge. If you rely heavily on data research before reaching out, Apollo’s database saves time on prospecting.
🎓 Your Experience Level
Mailshake is simpler for beginners. You can launch your first campaign in under 10 minutes. Apollo has more features but takes longer to learn. Plan for a week or two to master Apollo’s full capabilities.
🆓 Free Trials and Demos
Sign up for Apollo’s free plan to test the database and basic features. Contact Mailshake’s sales team for a demo since they don’t offer self-service trials. Test both before making a final decision.
🛟 Support Options
Mailshake is known for responsive support and hands-on onboarding. Apollo’s support has mixed reviews, with some users reporting slow response times. Consider how much help you’ll need when choosing.
Switching Guide
Already using one of these tools? Here’s what to expect if you switch.
🔄 Switching from Apollo to Mailshake?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- Better email deliverability with built-in warmup
- Native LinkedIn automation for multichannel sequences
- Simpler interface that’s easier to use daily
❌ What you’ll lose:
- Access to Apollo’s 270M+ contact database
- AI-powered lead scoring and prioritization
- Advanced search filters for prospecting
📋 How to switch:
- Export your contact lists from Apollo as CSV files
- Sign up for Mailshake and connect your email account
- Import your contacts and recreate your sequences in Mailshake
🔄 Switching from Mailshake to Apollo?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- Built-in database with 270M+ verified contacts
- AI lead scoring to prioritize your best prospects
- Advanced filters for precise targeting
❌ What you’ll lose:
- Native LinkedIn automation features
- Built-in email warmup for deliverability
- The simple, clean interface you’re used to
📋 How to switch:
- Export your contact lists and templates from Mailshake
- Create a free Apollo account to explore the platform
- Import contacts and rebuild sequences in Apollo
Final Verdict
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| 💰 Pricing | Apollo (Free plan) |
| 📊 B2B Database | Apollo |
| 🎯 Lead Scoring | Apollo |
| 📧 Email Deliverability | Mailshake |
| 🔗 LinkedIn Automation | Mailshake |
| 👶 Ease of Use | Mailshake |
| 🔌 Integrations | Tie |
| 🏆 Overall Winner | Apollo |
🏆 WINNER: Apollo
Apollo wins 4 out of 7 categories.
Best for: Sales teams that need prospect data and outreach in one platform, companies without an existing B2B database, teams that want AI-powered lead prioritization.
Apollo and Mailshake solve the same problem in different ways.
Apollo is an all-in-one platform that gives you the data AND the outreach tools.
Mailshake is a pure sales engagement tool focused on sending great cold emails.
Mailshake is excellent if you already have a contact database and want the best deliverability.
However, if you need prospect data included, Apollo is the better choice.
The database alone saves you hundreds of dollars per month on separate data providers.
Now, go out and start booking more meetings!
More of Apollo Compared
Here’s how Apollo stacks up against other competitors:
Apollo vs Instantly
Apollo wins on: B2B database, lead scoring, CRM features
Instantly wins on: Email warmup, unlimited email accounts, simpler pricing
Apollo vs Snov.io
Apollo wins on: Database size, advanced filters, AI features
Snov.io wins on: Email verification accuracy, lower pricing
Apollo vs Hunter.io
Apollo wins on: Sales engagement, lead scoring, CRM integration
Hunter.io wins on: Email finding accuracy, domain search
Apollo wins on: Built-in database, lead scoring
Reply.io wins on: Multichannel automation, LinkedIn sequences
Apollo wins on: Sales engagement tools, AI features
UpLead wins on: Data accuracy guarantee, real-time verification
Apollo vs Lemlist
Apollo wins on: Database size, lead scoring, analytics
Lemlist wins on: Email personalization, image personalization
Apollo vs Woodpecker
Apollo wins on: B2B database, all-in-one platform
Woodpecker wins on: Email deliverability, agency features
Apollo vs Smartlead
Apollo wins on: Prospect database, lead intelligence
Smartlead wins on: Unlimited email accounts, inbox rotation
Apollo vs Saleshandy
Apollo wins on: Database access, CRM features
Saleshandy wins on: Sender rotation, unified inbox
Apollo vs Klenty
Apollo wins on: B2B database, lead scoring
Klenty wins on: Sales automation workflows, cadence features
More of Mailshake Compared
Here’s how Mailshake stacks up against other competitors:
Mailshake wins on: LinkedIn automation, power dialer
Instantly wins on: Unlimited email accounts, lower pricing
Mailshake wins on: Email deliverability, ease of use
Snov wins on: Built-in database, lower pricing
Mailshake wins on: Multichannel outreach, automation
Hunter wins on: Email finding, domain search
Mailshake vs Reply IO
Mailshake wins on: Simplicity, faster setup
Reply IO wins on: AI features, advanced automation
Mailshake wins on: Sales engagement, automation
UpLead wins on: Data accuracy, contact database
Mailshake wins on: LinkedIn automation, phone dialer
Lemlist wins on: Email personalization, creative features
Mailshake wins on: Multichannel features, AI writer
Woodpecker wins on: Agency pricing, deliverability
Mailshake wins on: LinkedIn automation, customer support
Smartlead wins on: Email scaling, unlimited accounts
Mailshake wins on: Power dialer, LinkedIn automation
Saleshandy wins on: Unified inbox, sender rotation
Mailshake wins on: Simpler interface, faster setup
Klenty wins on: Sales cadence features, automation depth
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Apollo.io do?
Apollo.io is a sales intelligence platform that combines a B2B database with sales engagement tools. You can find prospects, verify their contact information, and run email campaigns all from one dashboard.
What is Mailshake used for?
Mailshake is a sales engagement platform for cold email outreach. It helps sales teams send personalized emails at scale, automate follow-ups, and track engagement across email, phone, and LinkedIn.
Is Apollo.io really free?
Yes, Apollo offers a free forever plan. You get access to the database and basic features with limited credits. The free plan includes 100 credits per month and 2 active sequences.
Does Mailshake have a free trial?
No, Mailshake does not offer a free trial. They provide a 30-day money-back guarantee instead. You need to pay upfront and can request a refund if you’re not satisfied within 30 days.
Which is better for cold email: Apollo or Mailshake?
Mailshake is better for pure cold email with its built-in warmup and deliverability features. Apollo is better if you need prospect data included. Choose based on whether you already have a contact database.
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