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Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Apollo.io vs Lightfield 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

Lightfield

3.7

From $89/user/mo

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: Founders and small B2B sales teams who hate updating a CRM and want one that keeps itself current from their email and meetings.

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.ioLightfieldPipedrive
In one lineB2B contact database with emails and phone numbers, plus sequences to reach them.A CRM that fills itself in from your emails, calls and meetings, and drafts follow-ups.Simple sales CRM that shows every deal as a card on a board, with an AI sales assistant.
Pricing modelFreemiumPaidPaid
Starting price$49/seat/mo$89/user/mo$14/seat/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.

AttributeApollo.ioLightfieldPipedrive
Overall rating4.03.74.1Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
4.0
4.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
4.0
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
3.0
4.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
3.5
4.0

Feature comparison

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

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

Pricing

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

AttributeApollo.ioLightfieldPipedrive
Plans

Free

Free

Founders testing outbound.

StarterOur pick

$89/user/mo

A founder or small team getting started.

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.

Pro

$999/mo billed yearly

Small customer-facing teams.

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.

Growth

$1,999/mo billed yearly

Companies scaling outbound sales.

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.

Enterprise

Custom

Larger companies with security and data needs.

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.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.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.ioLightfieldPipedrive
Standout features
  • Contact database
  • Email sequences
  • Chrome extension
  • Dialer and call recording
  • AI research and scoring
  • Enrichment
  • Records that update themselves
  • Meeting recorder
  • Ask your CRM
  • Follow-ups and sequences
  • Automations in your own words
  • Open to Claude
  • Visual pipeline
  • AI Sales Assistant
  • Email sync and tracking
  • Automations
  • Lead capture
  • Reports and forecasts

Pros and cons

AttributeApollo.ioLightfieldPipedrive
Pros
  • Generous free plan for getting started
  • Database and outreach in one tool
  • Much cheaper than ZoomInfo
  • Easy to learn for non-technical users
  • Records really do fill themselves in from email and meetings
  • Built-in meeting recorder, so you don't need a separate notetaker
  • Ask questions about your pipeline and get answers from real conversations
  • API, MCP and CLI access on every record
  • Free migration from your old CRM on team plans
  • 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
  • Small and new: launched in November 2025, so the product is still changing fast
  • Starter caps you at 3 users and team plans start at $999 a month billed yearly
  • Built for B2B startups, so less suited to trades, shops or local services
  • Workspace credits for automations don't roll over at year end
  • Voice dialer is listed as coming soon
  • 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.ioLightfieldPipedrive
Best for
  • Finding business emails and phone numbers
  • Building B2B lead lists
  • Simple cold email sequences
  • Cheaper alternative to ZoomInfo
  • Founders doing their own sales who never update the CRM
  • Getting meeting notes and follow-ups written for you
  • Asking questions about your deals in your own words
  • Replacing a CRM, call recorder and outreach tool with one
  • 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
  • Startup founders
  • B2B sales teams
  • Account managers
  • Customer success teams
  • Small businesses
  • Agencies
  • Sales teams
  • Consultants
  • Real estate

Questions people ask

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

Pipedrive scores highest overall in our ratings (Apollo.io 4.0/5, Lightfield 3.7/5 and Pipedrive 4.1/5). Apollo.io is best for finding business emails and phone numbers and Building B2B lead lists. Lightfield is best for founders doing their own sales who never update the CRM and getting meeting notes and follow-ups written for you. Pipedrive is best for tracking deals from first contact to signed and reminders so no lead is forgotten.

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

Apollo.io: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $49/seat/mo. Lightfield: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $89/user/mo. 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.

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