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Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Apollo.io vs Hyperbound vs Retell AI

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

Hyperbound

4.1

Free to start

Retell AI

4.1

From About $0.07–$0.31/min

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: Sales managers and enablement teams onboarding and coaching reps on calls.

Pick it if: Service businesses and agencies that want an AI receptionist or phone agent without hiring developers.

Overview

AttributeApollo.ioHyperboundRetell AI
In one lineB2B contact database with emails and phone numbers, plus sequences to reach them.AI sales role-play: practise cold calls and objections with realistic AI buyers.AI phone agents that answer calls, book appointments and make outbound calls.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumPaid
Starting price$49/seat/moFreeAbout $0.07–$0.31/min
Free plan Yes Yes No
Works with Claude Code Yes No Yes

Rating breakdown

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

AttributeApollo.ioHyperboundRetell AI
Overall rating4.04.14.1
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
4.5
3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
4.0
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
3.0
4.5
4.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.0
3.5
4.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.0
4.0

Feature comparison

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

AttributeApollo.ioHyperboundRetell AI
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes No
Mobile app Yes––
Desktop app–––
Browser extension Yes 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
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–––
Works in many languages–– Yes
Capabilities score8/ 176/ 177/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeApollo.ioHyperboundRetell AI
Plans

Free

Free

Founders testing outbound.

Free

Free

Trying AI role-play with a few reps.

Pay as you goOur pick

About $0.07–$0.31/min

Most small businesses and agencies.

Basic

$49/seat/mo billed yearly

Individual sellers doing regular outbound.

PracticeOur pick

Custom per user

Teams that want reps rehearsing on AI.

Enterprise

Custom

High call volumes and compliance needs.

ProfessionalOur pick

$79/seat/mo billed yearly

Full-time reps.

Perform

Custom per user

Teams that also want real calls scored and coached.

Organization

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

Sales teams wanting advanced controls.

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.Run the free role-plays with two or three reps first. If they keep using them, Practice covers rehearsal; only pay for Perform if you do not already have Gong or another call recorder.Start on pay as you go with the free credits, build one agent for your most common call and test it on your own phone. Talk to sales only once you run thousands of minutes a month.

Key features

AttributeApollo.ioHyperboundRetell AI
Standout features
  • Contact database
  • Email sequences
  • Chrome extension
  • Dialer and call recording
  • AI research and scoring
  • Enrichment
  • AI buyer role-plays
  • Custom personas
  • Scorecards
  • Real call scoring
  • Manager dashboards
  • Phone agents
  • Flow builder
  • Appointment booking
  • Knowledge base
  • Batch calling
  • Call analysis

Pros and cons

AttributeApollo.ioHyperboundRetell AI
Pros
  • Generous free plan for getting started
  • Database and outreach in one tool
  • Much cheaper than ZoomInfo
  • Easy to learn for non-technical users
  • Very realistic AI buyers that react to what you say
  • Useful free plan with ready-made role-plays
  • Clear scoring that shows reps what to fix
  • Saves managers hours of live role-play
  • Natural voices and quick responses
  • Visual builder makes it usable for non-developers
  • Pay per minute with no platform fee
  • Strong reviews from small businesses and agencies
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
  • No public pricing for team plans
  • Custom personas and scorecards take setup time
  • Built for sales teams, not individuals practising on their own
  • Per-minute cost varies a lot with your model and voice choices
  • Takes testing to handle real callers reliably
  • Some users want more voice and customisation options

Who each one is for

AttributeApollo.ioHyperboundRetell AI
Best for
  • Finding business emails and phone numbers
  • Building B2B lead lists
  • Simple cold email sequences
  • Cheaper alternative to ZoomInfo
  • Practising cold calls before going live
  • Onboarding new sales reps faster
  • Drilling objection handling
  • Scoring calls against a scorecard
  • AI receptionist for a small business
  • Booking appointments by phone
  • Answering after-hours and overflow calls
  • Outbound reminder and follow-up calls
You'll find it used by
  • Founders
  • Sales development reps
  • Account executives
  • Marketers
  • Recruiters
  • Sales development reps
  • Account executives
  • Sales managers
  • Sales enablement teams
  • Small business owners
  • Clinics
  • Voice AI agencies
  • Customer service teams
  • Developers

Questions people ask

Which is better, Apollo.io, Hyperbound or Retell AI?

They tie on our overall rating (Apollo.io 4.0/5, Hyperbound 4.1/5 and Retell AI 4.1/5). Apollo.io is best for finding business emails and phone numbers and Building B2B lead lists. Hyperbound is best for practising cold calls before going live and onboarding new sales reps faster. Retell AI is best for AI receptionist for a small business and booking appointments by phone.

Which is cheaper, Apollo.io, Hyperbound or Retell AI?

Apollo.io: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $49/seat/mo. Hyperbound: It's free to use. Retell AI: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at About $0.07–$0.31/min.

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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