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Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Apollo.io vs Reply.io vs Sierra

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

Best overall

Apollo.io

4.0

From $49/seat/mo

Reply.io

3.7

From From $49/user/mo

Sierra

3.9

Free to start

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Best overallBest valueEasiest 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.

Pick it if: Large consumer brands that want an AI agent to handle a big share of their customer conversations end to end.

Overview

AttributeApollo.ioReply.ioSierra
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.Builds and runs AI customer service agents for big brands, across chat, email and phone.
Pricing modelFreemiumPaidPaid
Starting price$49/seat/moFrom $49/user/moSee website
Free plan Yes No No
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes No

Rating breakdown

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

AttributeApollo.ioReply.ioSierra
Overall rating4.0Winner3.73.9
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
4.0
3.0
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
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
3.5
4.5

Feature comparison

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

AttributeApollo.ioReply.ioSierra
Access & platform
Free plan Yes No 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
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–– Yes
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.ioSierra
Plans

Free

Free

Founders testing outbound.

Email Volume

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

Email-only cold outreach.

EnterpriseOur pick

Custom

Large companies with high conversation volumes.

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.

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.There is one route: talk to Sierra's sales team. Agree clearly what counts as an outcome you pay for, and what setup and services cost, before you sign.

Key features

AttributeApollo.ioReply.ioSierra
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
  • Agent Studio
  • Ghostwriter
  • One agent, every channel
  • Connected to your systems
  • Insights and testing

Pros and cons

AttributeApollo.ioReply.ioSierra
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
  • Agents take real actions, not just answer questions
  • Covers voice as well as chat, SMS, WhatsApp and email
  • Outcome-based pricing means you pay for results, not seats
  • Proven at very large brands
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
  • No public pricing; estimates put it out of reach for most small and mid-sized businesses
  • No trial or self-serve option, so you are committing to a sales process and a project
  • Few independent reviews to check claims against
  • You depend on Sierra's team for much of the build

Who each one is for

AttributeApollo.ioReply.ioSierra
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
  • High-volume customer service at large brands
  • AI phone agents that take real actions
  • Returns, bookings and account changes
  • Saving cancellations and handling retention calls
You'll find it used by
  • Founders
  • Sales development reps
  • Account executives
  • Marketers
  • Recruiters
  • Founders
  • Sales development reps
  • Lead generation agencies
  • Recruiters
  • Enterprise support teams
  • Contact centres
  • Retail brands
  • Banks and insurers
  • Telcos

Questions people ask

Which is better, Apollo.io, Reply.io or Sierra?

Apollo.io scores highest overall in our ratings (Apollo.io 4.0/5, Reply.io 3.7/5 and Sierra 3.9/5). 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. Sierra is best for high-volume customer service at large brands and AI phone agents that take real actions.

Which is cheaper, Apollo.io, Reply.io or Sierra?

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. Sierra: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote.

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

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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