Skip to content

Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Apollo.io vs Decagon vs Pipedrive

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Apollo.io

4.0

From $49/seat/mo

Decagon

3.9

Free to start

Best overall

Pipedrive

4.1

From $14/seat/mo

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: Large companies with big support teams that want AI to handle most customer chats, emails and calls.

Best overall

Pick it if: Small businesses, agencies and sales teams of one to twenty people who want a clear view of every deal without a complicated CRM.

Overview

AttributeApollo.ioDecagonPipedrive
In one lineB2B contact database with emails and phone numbers, plus sequences to reach them.AI agents that answer customer chats, emails and phone calls for large companies.Simple sales CRM that shows every deal as a card on a board, with an AI sales assistant.
Pricing modelFreemiumPaidPaid
Starting price$49/seat/moSee website$14/seat/mo
Free plan Yes No No
Works with Claude Code Yes No Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeApollo.ioDecagonPipedrive
Overall rating4.03.94.1Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
3.0
4.5
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
4.5
4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.0
3.0
4.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.5
4.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeApollo.ioDecagonPipedrive
Access & platform
Free plan Yes No No
Mobile app Yes No Yes
Desktop app– No–
Browser extension Yes No Yes
API access Yes– Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes–
Connects to other apps Yes Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files– 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– Yes–
Works in many languages– Yes Yes
Capabilities score8/ 177/ 177/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeApollo.ioDecagonPipedrive
Plans

Free

Free

Founders testing outbound.

EnterpriseOur pick

Custom

Large companies with high support volume.

Lite

$14/seat/mo billed yearly, or $24 monthly

One person who just needs a pipeline and reminders.

Basic

$49/seat/mo billed yearly

Individual sellers doing regular outbound.

GrowthOur pick

$39/seat/mo billed yearly, or $49 monthly

Small teams who live in their inbox.

ProfessionalOur pick

$79/seat/mo billed yearly

Full-time reps.

Premium

$59/seat/mo billed yearly, or $79 monthly

Teams that want to capture and score leads too.

Organization

$119/seat/mo billed yearly (min 3 seats)

Sales teams wanting advanced controls.

Ultimate

$79/seat/mo billed yearly, or $99 monthly

Bigger teams that need the highest limits and tighter security.

Which plan to pickStart 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.There's only one way to buy it: book a demo and get a custom quote. It only makes sense once you handle tens of thousands of support conversations a month.Growth is the plan most small teams should start on, because Lite has no proper email sync or automations. Move to Premium if you want web forms and lead scoring without paying for add-ons. Prices exclude tax and vary by country.

Key features

AttributeApollo.ioDecagonPipedrive
Standout features
  • Contact database
  • Email sequences
  • Chrome extension
  • Dialer and call recording
  • AI research and scoring
  • Enrichment
  • Chat, email and voice
  • Agent Operating Procedures
  • Real actions
  • Testing and A/B tests
  • Quality checks
  • Customer insights
  • Visual pipeline
  • AI Sales Assistant
  • Email sync and tracking
  • Automations
  • Lead capture
  • Reports and forecasts

Pros and cons

AttributeApollo.ioDecagonPipedrive
Pros
  • Generous free plan for getting started
  • Database and outreach in one tool
  • Much cheaper than ZoomInfo
  • Easy to learn for non-technical users
  • Takes real actions in customer accounts, not only answers
  • Support teams can change how the agent behaves without engineers
  • Strong testing and quality tools before changes go live
  • Handles chat, email and phone in one agent
  • Big-name customers report high resolution rates
  • Very easy to learn, even for people who hate CRMs
  • The pipeline view makes it obvious what needs doing
  • Official Claude connector for reading and updating deals
  • Huge app marketplace with 500+ integrations
  • Good mobile app for updating deals on the go
Cons
  • Bounce rates and out-of-date contacts are common complaints
  • Weaker phone and contact data outside the US
  • Credits run out fast and do not roll over
  • Billing disputes and slow support on lower plans
  • Large companies only, with no public pricing, trial or self-serve plan
  • Contracts are reported to start well above $100,000 a year
  • Setup takes weeks and needs your systems connected
  • Most performance figures come from Decagon and its customers
  • No free plan, only a 14-day trial
  • Lite is too limited, so the real starting price is Growth
  • Lead capture, campaigns and web visitor tracking cost extra on lower plans
  • Marketing tools are thin next to HubSpot
  • Reporting gets limited once you want detailed custom reports

Who each one is for

AttributeApollo.ioDecagonPipedrive
Best for
  • Finding business emails and phone numbers
  • Building B2B lead lists
  • Simple cold email sequences
  • Cheaper alternative to ZoomInfo
  • Automating support at a large consumer brand
  • AI agents that take real actions in customer accounts
  • Answering phone calls with AI in many languages
  • Support teams that want to change the AI without engineers
  • Tracking deals from first contact to signed
  • Reminders so no lead is forgotten
  • Small sales teams who want a simple CRM
  • Forecasting what's likely to close this month
You'll find it used by
  • Founders
  • Sales development reps
  • Account executives
  • Marketers
  • Recruiters
  • Large consumer brands
  • Fintech companies
  • Travel companies
  • Enterprise support teams
  • Small businesses
  • Agencies
  • Sales teams
  • Consultants
  • Real estate

Questions people ask

Which is better, Apollo.io, Decagon or Pipedrive?

Pipedrive scores highest overall in our ratings (Apollo.io 4.0/5, Decagon 3.9/5 and Pipedrive 4.1/5). Apollo.io is best for finding business emails and phone numbers and Building B2B lead lists. Decagon is best for automating support at a large consumer brand and AI agents that take real actions in customer accounts. Pipedrive is best for tracking deals from first contact to signed and reminders so no lead is forgotten.

Which is cheaper, Apollo.io, Decagon or Pipedrive?

Apollo.io: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $49/seat/mo. Decagon: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote. Pipedrive: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $14/seat/mo.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

Swap in another tool

More tools from Sales & Customer Support in the library.