The facts, with their sources

What it does

Done-for-you service: PartlyYou mainly run the software yourself, but Apollo also sells expert-led onboarding plus an ongoing GTM engineer who builds and tunes the motion for you, positioned for mid-market and enterprise buyers who talk to sales.Get up and running with expert-led onboarding, then work with a GTM engineer who continuously builds, tests, and improves your motion to hit your…apollo.io/enterprise

How much it does unattended

Runs autonomously: PartlyAgents plan and run multi-step work from a goal, but the vendor states autonomy is tiered and earned: they stay supervised until the buyer decides they may act independently, so unattended completion is a setting rather than the default.Stays supervised until you determine it can act independently.apollo.io/product/intelligence
Agent permissions: YesGovernance is an advertised layer: every action is reviewable, autonomy levels widen only as the buyer allows, and usage controls keep credit consumption and guardrails with the customer rather than the agent.Stay in control at every step and approve the actions that count. GTM Harness only gets more independent once you decide it can be.apollo.io/product/intelligence

Which models it runs on

Claude: YesApollo publishes a Claude connector and its own MCP endpoint, so Claude is a first-class surface for search, enrichment and sequencing work.Apollo MCP connects 240M+ B2B contacts to Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity. Search, enrich, and sequence prospects from your AI chat. Free to start.apollo.io/product/mcp
GPT: YesChatGPT is a named supported platform with its own app listing and setup article, alongside Claude and Perplexity connectors.Apollo connects to leading AI platforms via MCP (Model Context Protocol) — the standard for giving AI tools live data and the ability to act on it.apollo.io/product/mcp
Model choice: PartlyApollo normally picks the model, but its plan comparison table carries a 'Use your own LLM API key' row, so some tiers let a buyer substitute their own provider; the table did not show which columns include it.apollo.io/pricing

Where you use it

In your editor: PartlyThere is no Apollo IDE extension, but after one OAuth step its tools appear inside MCP clients including Cursor and Claude Code, so editor-side use is via the MCP client rather than a native plugin.Authenticate once via OAuth. Apollo tools are then available inside Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and any other MCP client — callable in natural…apollo.io/developers
On the command line: YesApollo ships a CLI aimed at developers and GTM engineers, with headless scheduled execution and command chaining across enrichment, sequencing and prospecting.Built for developers and GTM engineers who need headless, scheduled execution without a user interface in the way.apollo.io/product/anywhere
In your pipeline: PartlyThere is no pull-request integration, but the CLI is explicitly pipeable into shell scripts and CI/CD, which is the only automation-pipeline surface the vendor claims.Apollo commands in your terminal, pipeable into shell scripts and CI/CD. The most token-efficient path for high-frequency agent workflows.apollo.io/developers
In a browser: YesWorkspace is the hosted web application for prospecting, outreach and dialing, and sign-up is self-serve from the website with no install required.Workspace for prospecting, outreach, and dialingapollo.io

Whose machine it runs on

Self-hosted: NoEverything is Apollo-hosted: even the MCP server is remote by design, with nothing a buyer can run on their own infrastructure.Hosted and maintained by Apollo.io. The server runs remotely — there is nothing to build, host, or run locally.github.com/apolloio/apollo-mcp-plugin
Open source: PartlyOnly the optional MCP client plugin and its workflow skills are MIT-licensed; the platform and MCP server stay closed and hosted.License: MITgithub.com/apolloio/apollo-mcp-plugin

What it costs to run

How it meters: YesBilling is per seat per month plus a credit meter: credits are the platform currency and the vendor prices each action, for example one credit per email and eight per phone number.Apollo uses credits as the currency to perform activities throughout the platform. Depending on your plan, credits give you access to emails, phone…apollo.io/pricing
Free tier: YesA standing $0 Free plan exists with 900 credits per seat per year and no credit card needed, and paid tiers additionally offer a 14-day trial.Free — Exploring Apollo or very light usage. Good for founders and early-stage teams.apollo.io/pricing
API access: PartlyA public REST API with 70+ endpoints and self-serve keys is advertised, yet the pricing FAQ says advanced or custom integrations need a Custom plan, so the breadth available on cheap tiers is not settled.70+ REST endpoints across search, enrichment, sequencing, and analytics. The only GTM API that exposes execution endpoints, not just data.apollo.io/developers
MCP server: YesApollo runs a hosted MCP server at a published URL with OAuth, plus listed connectors in Claude, ChatGPT and Perplexity, and says any plan including free qualifies.You can connect directly using Apollo's standalone MCP server. Just copy this URL and paste it into your AI tool's MCP configuration:…apollo.io/product/mcp
Bring your own key: PartlyThe privacy policy states a customer may independently select, connect or route data through another third-party AI provider, and the plan table carries a 'Use your own LLM API key' row; there is no bring-your-own-cloud or self-hosted inference option described.A Customer may, however, independently select, connect, or route data through another third-party AI providerapollo.io/privacy-policy

Buying it for a team

A company can buy it: YesPlans are sold per seat to whole accounts, an Organization tier requires at least three seats, and a Custom plan is offered for enterprise volume, security and support needs.Custom — Teams needing custom volumes, SSO, advanced security, and dedicated support.apollo.io/pricing
Seat model: YesPricing is per seat per month with a three-seat floor on the Organization tier, and the whole account must sit on one plan: seats cannot be mixed across Basic and Professional.All seats on an Apollo account are on the same plan — you can't have some users on Professional and others on Basic. The plan level applies to the…apollo.io/pricing
Pooled budget: YesCredits are a shared team balance granted upfront each cycle, and admins can set per-user caps to stop one rep draining the pool.Credits are pooled across your entire team and granted upfront at the start of each billing cycle, so your full allotment is available from day one.apollo.io/pricing
Admin controls: YesAdmins can cap per-user credit spend from team management settings, and the plan table lists custom permission profiles and billing/seat manager profiles as governance controls.To limit per-user spend, admins can set per-user credit caps from the team management settings — useful for distributing the shared pool more evenly…apollo.io/pricing
Single sign-on: PartlySingle sign-on appears as its own plan-comparison row, and the vendor's plan guidance places SSO with the Custom tier, so it is not part of the self-serve Basic or Professional purchase.Custom — Teams needing custom volumes, SSO, advanced security, and dedicated support.apollo.io/pricing

What happens to your code

Opt out of training: PartlyThird-party AI providers are contractually barred from training on customer information and must delete inputs and outputs, but Apollo says it may itself use Usage Data and database records to train internal models, with no customer opt-out published.We may use information collected through the Services, including Contributor Database records and Usage Data, to train internal models. We prohibit…apollo.io/privacy-policy
Data residency: PartlyApollo is US-based and processes and transfers personal information in the United States and other countries where it and its subprocessors operate; it certifies to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, but no region-pinned hosting option is offered.Apollo is based in the United States, and we may collect, process, store, and transfer personal information in the United States and other countries…apollo.io/privacy-policy
Getting out: PartlyData can leave through CSV, CRM and API export, with up to 10,000 leads selectable in one action where no record limit applies, but unused credits expire every cycle and do not carry over, including purchased add-on credits.Unused credits expire at the end of each billing cycle and do not carry over. This applies to both plan-included credits and purchased add-on credits.apollo.io/pricing
Certifications: YesThe vendor names SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 on its own pages and its trust centre lists SOC 2, ISO/IEC 27001, GDPR, CCPA, CPRA, CASA Tier 2, EU-US DPF and PCI DSS with downloadable reports on request.Enterprise-grade security and certifications, including SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001.apollo.io

Plans and pricing

Price and terms

Free plan: YesYes
The terms in full
Free plan at $0: 900 credits per seat per year granted monthly (75 per month), 2 sequences, basic filters, AI Assistant limited to 5 chats of 10 messages, 25-record selection limit, 5,000 AI writing words per month, 250 daily email sends, Gmail mailboxes only. Paid tiers separately offer a 14-day trial.