Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support
Apollo.io vs Close vs Lightfield
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 sales teams and solo sellers who call and email a lot of leads and want it all in one tool.
Pick it if: Founders and small B2B sales teams who hate updating a CRM and want one that keeps itself current from their email and meetings.
Overview
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Close | Lightfield |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | B2B contact database with emails and phone numbers, plus sequences to reach them. | Sales CRM with calling, texting and email built in, plus an AI agent that calls leads. | A CRM that fills itself in from your emails, calls and meetings, and drafts follow-ups. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | $49/seat/mo | $9/user/mo | $89/user/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No | No |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Close | Lightfield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0 | 4.1Winner | 3.7 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Close | Lightfield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | No | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Desktop app | – | Yes | – |
| Browser extension | Yes | No | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | No | 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 | No |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | No | No |
| Works in many languages | – | No | No |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 7/ 17 | 6/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Close | Lightfield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Founders testing outbound. | Solo $9/user/mo billed yearly, or $19 monthly One person selling on their own. | StarterOur pick $89/user/mo A founder or small team getting started. |
Basic $49/seat/mo billed yearly Individual sellers doing regular outbound. | Essentials $35/user/mo billed yearly, or $49 monthly Small teams sharing leads. | Pro $999/mo billed yearly Small customer-facing teams. | |
ProfessionalOur pick $79/seat/mo billed yearly Full-time reps. | GrowthOur pick $99/user/mo billed yearly, or $109 monthly Teams that want follow-ups and AI on autopilot. | Growth $1,999/mo billed yearly Companies scaling outbound sales. | |
Organization $119/seat/mo billed yearly (min 3 seats) Sales teams wanting advanced controls. | Scale $139/user/mo billed yearly, or $149 monthly High-volume calling teams. | Enterprise Custom Larger companies with security and data needs. | |
| 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. | Take the 14-day trial, which needs no card. Solo is a bargain if you sell alone and follow up by hand. Growth is where Close earns its price, because that's where automated follow-ups, the power dialer and Chloe in workflows start. Budget a little extra each month for call minutes. | Try Starter free for 14 days and connect your real inbox and calendar, because the self-filling records are the whole point. Only move to Pro once you need sequences and more than 3 people. Extra capture seats cost $200 a month each, billed yearly. |
Key features
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Close | Lightfield |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Close | Lightfield |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Apollo.io | Close | Lightfield |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Apollo.io, Close or Lightfield?
Close scores highest overall in our ratings (Apollo.io 4.0/5, Close 4.1/5 and Lightfield 3.7/5). Apollo.io is best for finding business emails and phone numbers and Building B2B lead lists. Close is best for calling and texting leads straight from the CRM and following up leads automatically by email and text. Lightfield is best for founders doing their own sales who never update the CRM and getting meeting notes and follow-ups written for you.
Which is cheaper, Apollo.io, Close or Lightfield?
Apollo.io: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $49/seat/mo. Close: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $9/user/mo. Lightfield: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $89/user/mo.
Which is easier to use, Apollo.io, Close or Lightfield?
Apollo.io rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Founders, small sales teams and marketers who need to find B2B contacts and email them.
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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