Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support
Apollo.io vs Chatbase vs Sierra
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Founders, small sales teams and marketers who need to find B2B contacts and email them.
Pick it if: Small businesses and online stores that want an AI chatbot answering questions on their website without hiring a developer.
Pick it if: Large consumer brands that want an AI agent to handle a big share of their customer conversations end to end.
Overview
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Chatbase | Sierra |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | B2B contact database with emails and phone numbers, plus sequences to reach them. | Puts an AI chatbot on your website that answers from your own docs and pages. | Builds and runs AI customer service agents for big brands, across chat, email and phone. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | $49/seat/mo | $32/mo | See website |
| Free plan | Yes | No | No |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Chatbase | Sierra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0Winner | 3.7 | 3.9 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Chatbase | Sierra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | No | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | – | – |
| Desktop app | – | – | – |
| Browser extension | Yes | – | – |
| API access | Yes | Yes | – |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | – | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | – | – |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | – | No | – |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | Yes | Yes |
| Works in many languages | – | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 8/ 17 | 7/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Chatbase | Sierra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Founders testing outbound. | Hobby $32/mo billed yearly, or $40 monthly A small site with light chat traffic. | EnterpriseOur pick Custom Large companies with high conversation volumes. |
Basic $49/seat/mo billed yearly Individual sellers doing regular outbound. | StandardOur pick $120/mo billed yearly, or $150 monthly Businesses with steady daily chats. | ||
ProfessionalOur pick $79/seat/mo billed yearly Full-time reps. | Pro $400/mo billed yearly, or $500 monthly Busy sites and support teams. | ||
Organization $119/seat/mo billed yearly (min 3 seats) Sales teams wanting advanced controls. | Enterprise Custom Larger companies needing security and white-labelling. | ||
| Which plan to pick | Start on Free to check the data covers your market. Basic suits one person prospecting; Professional is worth it if you also call prospects or want AI scoring. Monthly billing costs noticeably more than the yearly prices shown. | Start on the 7-day trial and watch how fast credits go with your real traffic. Hobby works for a small site; most businesses with daily customer chats need Standard. Each extra agent is $300 a year, and removing the Chatbase badge is $1,188 a year. | There is one route: talk to Sierra's sales team. Agree clearly what counts as an outcome you pay for, and what setup and services cost, before you sign. |
Key features
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Chatbase | Sierra |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Chatbase | Sierra |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Chatbase | Sierra |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Apollo.io, Chatbase or Sierra?
Apollo.io scores highest overall in our ratings (Apollo.io 4.0/5, Chatbase 3.7/5 and Sierra 3.9/5). Apollo.io is best for finding business emails and phone numbers and Building B2B lead lists. Chatbase is best for Website FAQ and support chatbot and answering questions from your docs and policies. Sierra is best for high-volume customer service at large brands and AI phone agents that take real actions.
Which is cheaper, Apollo.io, Chatbase or Sierra?
Apollo.io: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $49/seat/mo. Chatbase: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $32/mo. Sierra: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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