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Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Apollo.io vs Reply.io 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

Reply.io

3.7

From From $49/user/mo

Best overall

Retell AI

4.1

From About $0.07–$0.31/min

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Easiest to use

Pick it if: Founders, small sales teams and marketers who need to find B2B contacts and email them.

Pick it if: Small sales teams, founders and agencies running cold email and LinkedIn outreach.

Best overall

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

Overview

AttributeApollo.ioReply.ioRetell AI
In one lineB2B contact database with emails and phone numbers, plus sequences to reach them.Cold email and LinkedIn outreach sequences, plus an AI SDR that writes and replies.AI phone agents that answer calls, book appointments and make outbound calls.
Pricing modelFreemiumPaidPaid
Starting price$49/seat/moFrom $49/user/moAbout $0.07–$0.31/min
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.ioReply.ioRetell AI
Overall rating4.03.74.1Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
4.0
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
3.5
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
3.5
4.0

Feature comparison

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

AttributeApollo.ioReply.ioRetell AI
Access & platform
Free plan Yes No No
Mobile app Yes––
Desktop app–––
Browser extension Yes 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–––
Runs agents or automations Yes Yes Yes
Learns your brand or style–––
Works in many languages– Yes Yes
Capabilities score8/ 176/ 177/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeApollo.ioReply.ioRetell AI
Plans

Free

Free

Founders testing outbound.

Email Volume

From $49/user/mo billed yearly, or $59 monthly

Email-only cold outreach.

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.

MultichannelOur pick

$89/user/mo billed yearly, or $99 monthly

Teams running email and LinkedIn together.

Enterprise

Custom

High call volumes and compliance needs.

ProfessionalOur pick

$79/seat/mo billed yearly

Full-time reps.

Jason AI SDR

From $500/mo billed yearly

Teams wanting AI to run outbound end to end.

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.Multichannel is the best value if you use LinkedIn at all, since the add-ons on Email Volume quickly cost more. Only look at Jason AI SDR once your manual sequences are already booking meetings.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.ioReply.ioRetell AI
Standout features
  • Contact database
  • Email sequences
  • Chrome extension
  • Dialer and call recording
  • AI research and scoring
  • Enrichment
  • Multichannel sequences
  • Deliverability tools
  • Jason AI SDR
  • AI email writer
  • Contact data
  • Agency features
  • Phone agents
  • Flow builder
  • Appointment booking
  • Knowledge base
  • Batch calling
  • Call analysis

Pros and cons

AttributeApollo.ioReply.ioRetell 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
  • Email, LinkedIn, calls and SMS in one sequence
  • Warm-up and deliverability tools included
  • Fair price for small teams and agencies
  • AI SDR option when you want less hands-on work
  • 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
  • Frequent complaints about auto-renewals, minimum terms and refunds
  • LinkedIn and calls are paid add-ons on the cheaper plan
  • AI SDR is a big price jump and still needs supervising
  • Some users report bugs and emails sent in error
  • 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.ioReply.ioRetell AI
Best for
  • Finding business emails and phone numbers
  • Building B2B lead lists
  • Simple cold email sequences
  • Cheaper alternative to ZoomInfo
  • Cold email campaigns
  • Email plus LinkedIn sequences
  • Agencies running outreach for clients
  • Handing outbound to an AI SDR
  • 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
  • Founders
  • Sales development reps
  • Lead generation agencies
  • Recruiters
  • Small business owners
  • Clinics
  • Voice AI agencies
  • Customer service teams
  • Developers

Questions people ask

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

Retell AI scores highest overall in our ratings (Apollo.io 4.0/5, Reply.io 3.7/5 and Retell AI 4.1/5). Apollo.io is best for finding business emails and phone numbers and Building B2B lead lists. Reply.io is best for cold email campaigns and email plus LinkedIn sequences. Retell AI is best for AI receptionist for a small business and booking appointments by phone.

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

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

Which is easier to use, Apollo.io, Reply.io or Retell AI?

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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