Outbound
Sales Navigator vs Apollo
Sales Navigator wins on the accuracy of who's actually still at a company today, because it reads LinkedIn directly. Apollo wins on workflow — you can search, export and sequence without leaving the tab.
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LinkedIn Sales Navigator or Apollo — which should you use?
Sales Navigator wins on the accuracy of who's actually still at a company today, because it reads LinkedIn directly. Apollo wins on workflow — you can search, export and sequence without leaving the tab. LinkedIn Sales Navigator starts at Core plan starts around $99 per user per month billed annually (free tier: No free tier; LinkedIn offers a trial period.); Apollo starts at Paid plans from roughly $49 per user per month billed annually (free tier: Free plan with limited monthly credits and basic sequencing.). Prices are list prices and change, so check the vendor pages before buying.
Last updated 3 August 2026
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a search layer over LinkedIn's own profile data, sold by LinkedIn. Apollo is a third-party database with its own contact records, built to also handle outreach.
The practical split is: Sales Navigator tells you who to target and lets you send InMail; Apollo tells you who to target and gives you an email address and phone number to reach them outside LinkedIn.
Side by side
LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Apollo in short.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
LinkedIn's own advanced search and lead-tracking tool, built on live profile data.
- Free
- No free tier; LinkedIn offers a trial period.
- Paid from
- Core plan starts around $99 per user per month billed annually
Good at
- Job-change and title data comes straight from LinkedIn, so it's rarely stale
- Advanced filters (seniority, headcount growth, posted content) aren't replicated by third-party scrapers
- InMail credits let you message people outside your network directly
Weak at
- No email addresses or phone numbers — you still need a finder to actually reach someone
- No sequencing or sending built in beyond InMail
Apollo
A large B2B contact database with filters, a Chrome extension and built-in sequencing.
- Free
- Free plan with limited monthly credits and basic sequencing.
- Paid from
- Paid plans from roughly $49 per user per month billed annually
Good at
- Returns email addresses and phone numbers, not just profiles
- Sequencing and a dialler sit in the same product as the data
- Chrome extension pulls contacts while browsing LinkedIn, including Sales Navigator
Weak at
- Contact data can lag when someone changes jobs, since it's not sourced live from LinkedIn
- Filters are less precise than Sales Navigator's for things like recent activity
The differences
Where they actually diverge.
| Feature | LinkedIn Sales Navigator | Apollo |
|---|---|---|
| Data source | LinkedIn's own live profiles | Third-party aggregated database |
| Email addresses | No | Yes |
| Phone numbers | No | Yes, on paid plans |
| Outreach channel | InMail only | Email, calls, sequences |
| Job-change accuracy | Very high, near real time | Depends on refresh cycle |
| Chrome extension | N/A, it's native to LinkedIn | Yes |
| Free tier | No, trial only | Yes, limited credits |
| Built-in sequencing | No | Yes |
Pick one
Which one fits you.
Choose LinkedIn Sales Navigator if
- You want the most current picture of who holds a role right now
- Your outreach works through LinkedIn and InMail rather than email
- You need filters like recent job changes or content activity that scrapers miss
Choose Apollo if
- You need an email address or phone number to actually send outreach
- You want search, export and sequencing in one subscription
- You're building lists at a volume where InMail credits won't cover it
When neither is the answer
If your total addressable market is under a few hundred named accounts, a manual list beats paying for either — you can look each one up by hand.
Questions
Common questions.
Does Apollo pull from Sales Navigator?
Apollo's Chrome extension can capture contacts while you browse Sales Navigator search results, but Apollo's underlying contact data comes from its own database, not from LinkedIn directly.
Can I use both together?
Yes, and it's a common setup: search and qualify in Sales Navigator, then use Apollo (or a dedicated finder) to get an email address for the people who match.
Which has better data accuracy?
For job titles and current employer, Sales Navigator, since it reads LinkedIn live. For a reachable email or phone number, Apollo, since Sales Navigator doesn't offer either.
Is Sales Navigator worth it without a data tool?
On its own it's a research and InMail tool. Most B2B teams pair it with something like Apollo or a dedicated email finder to close the loop.
Which is cheaper for a small team?
Apollo's free plan is more usable day to day than Sales Navigator's trial, since Sales Navigator has no ongoing free tier.
Prices are list prices published by each vendor and change often — check the linked pricing pages before you buy. We take no affiliate commission and nobody pays to appear here.
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