Head to head
Apollo.io vs Bright Data
As a data enrichment API, Bright Data rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 80.3 to 80.1, a 0.2-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Apollo.io | Bright Data |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 80.1 | 80.3 |
Specifications
| Apollo.io | Bright Data | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Sales engagement plus enrichment | Bulk public people and company datasets for data teams |
| Free tier | 10k credits/mo (verified corporate domain) or 100/mo | Free dataset samples; new-account credits (unconfirmed for datasets) |
| Pricing | Per credit (email 1, phone 8) | Per 1,000 records ($2.50 CPM), plans/commits |
| Official SDKs | 6 languages | 5 languages |
Is Apollo.io better than Bright Data?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, Bright Data rates higher (80.3 vs 80.1). It leads on the four weighted criteria, but price is reported separately, so the best choice still depends on your budget.
Verdict in one line
Bright Data leads by 0.2 points (80.3 vs 80.1) and wins 2 of 4 criteria; Apollo.io wins 2.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 80 | 82 | |
| Reliability | 84 | 80 | |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 78 | 82 | |
| Accessibility | 78 | 76 |
Choose Apollo.io if… / choose Bright Data if…
- →reliability matters most to you (84 vs 80)
- →accessibility matters most to you (78 vs 76)
- →you need broad SDK coverage (6 official SDKs vs 5)
- →your use case matches its focus: sales engagement plus enrichment
- →documentation & dx matters most to you (82 vs 80)
- →ecosystem & sdks matters most to you (82 vs 78)
- →your use case matches its focus: bulk public people and company datasets for data teams
Pricing side by side
- Model
- Per credit (email 1, phone 8)
- Free tier
- 10k credits/mo (verified corporate domain) or 100/mo
- Free$0
- Basic$49/user/mo (annual)
- Professional$79/user/mo (annual)
- Organization$119/user/mo (annual)
- Overage credits$0.20 / credit
- Model
- Per 1,000 records ($2.50 CPM), plans/commits
- Free tier
- Free dataset samples; new-account credits (unconfirmed for datasets)
- Dataset Marketplace (one-time)$250 for 100K records
- Dataset subscriptionDiscounted refresh
- Scraper API (pay-as-you-go)About $1.50 per 1,000 records
- EnterpriseCustom
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-06-27 (Apollo.io) and 2026-10-07 (Bright Data).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 1
REST API (HTTPS / JSON)
Only Apollo.io · 5
OpenAPI / Swagger specificationApollo MCP serverApollo CLIllms.txt index for AI agentsCommunity-built clients (e.g. Ruby gem EnaiaInc/apollo_io), no official first-party language SDKs
Only Bright Data · 4
Python (brightdata-sdk)JavaScript SDKMCP server (remote, OAuth)Snowflake / S3 / GCS delivery
Strengths and weaknesses
- +Large database (275M+ contacts, 73M+ companies) with strong US coverage (~80–88% match accuracy)
- +Aggressive pricing that undercuts ZoomInfo/Lusha-class incumbents for comparable breadth
- +Bulk enrichment endpoints (up to 10 people or companies per call) reduce call volume
- –Data accuracy drops sharply outside the US (~60–73% in EU/APAC/LATAM); stale titles common
- –Phone numbers cost 8 credits each yet user-reported direct-dial accuracy is only ~50–70%
- –Credits expire every billing cycle with no rollover and no refund on unused balance
- +Self-serve Search (sync, up to 1,000 records) and Filter (async snapshots) APIs
- +Published $2.50 per 1,000 records with no charge for zero-match queries
- +669M+ LinkedIn people profiles plus company and jobs datasets
- –Public profile fields only; no verified emails or direct dials by default
- –No free API tier for datasets; $250 minimum for 100K-record packages
- –Enrichment emails/phones depend on a third-party partner
Apollo.io vs Bright Data: questions
- Which has better documentation, Apollo.io or Bright Data?
- Bright Data scores higher on documentation and developer experience: 82 vs 80 out of 100.
- Which is more reliable, Apollo.io or Bright Data?
- Apollo.io scores higher on reliability: 84 vs 80 out of 100.
- Do Apollo.io and Bright Data have a free tier?
- Apollo.io: yes (10k credits/mo (verified corporate domain) or 100/mo). Bright Data: yes (Free dataset samples; new-account credits (unconfirmed for datasets)).
- How are Apollo.io and Bright Data priced?
- Apollo.io: Per credit (email 1, phone 8). Bright Data: Per 1,000 records ($2.50 CPM), plans/commits.
- Which has more official SDKs?
- Apollo.io lists 6 official SDKs, Bright Data lists 5.