Makelead vs Apollo: which one should you choose in 2026?

Last updated: October 2026

The short answer

Apollo is a large B2B contact database with email sequences and calls, where LinkedIn is a secondary module run through a Chrome extension. Makelead is built for LinkedIn and X prospecting from your own account, from €29.99 a month, with a fixed cap of 200 invitations a week, an AI setter and posts in your voice. Choose Apollo for high-volume email and phone outreach; choose Makelead when your buyers answer on LinkedIn and X.

Makelead vs Apollo at a glance

Makelead is our product. Every claim about it can be checked on our pricing page and in the product. Competitor prices come from their public pricing pages, with the month we checked them; their strengths are listed as fully as their limits, because a comparison that hides them is useless to you.

MakeleadApollo
Best forProspecting from your own LinkedIn account without putting it at risk, with X and content in the same toolTeams that need a large B2B contact database for email and phone outreach
Starting priceFrom €29.99/monthFree plan, then about $49 to $119/seat/month (annual)
Pricing detailStarter €29.99, Growth €59.99 and Business €99.99 per month, with 30% off on annual billing. AI-written messages and the AI setter start on Growth. Checked October 2026.Free plan with limited credits, then roughly $49 to $119 per seat per month on annual billing, in dollars. Checked September 2026.
ChannelsLinkedIn, XEmail, phone; LinkedIn through an extension
AIPersonalised AI messages and an AI setter that answers replies (Growth and Business); LinkedIn and X posts in your voiceAI-assisted email writing
Account safetyFixed cap of 200 invitations a week and 40 a day that no setting can raise; a new account starts at 10 a dayLinkedIn is a secondary module, run through a Chrome extension
Content for your own profileYes: LinkedIn and X posts written in your voice and scheduledNo content generation for your own profile

Choose Makelead if

  • Your buyers answer on LinkedIn and X rather than by email
  • You want to prospect from your own profile with a fixed safety cap
  • You want posts in your voice and an AI setter

Choose Apollo if

  • You need verified emails and phone numbers at scale
  • You run high-volume cold email and calls
  • You filter prospects by technology used or intent signals

Strengths and limitations

Makelead

Makelead is a LinkedIn and X prospecting tool built around one constraint: a cap of 200 invitations a week per account that you cannot raise. It imports prospects from LinkedIn search, the people who liked or commented on a post (yours or someone else's), CSV import; on X, search and the people who replied to a post, runs sequences that stop at the first reply, and writes your posts in your voice.

Strengths

  • A hard cap of 200 invitations per week and 40 per day; a new account starts at 10 a day and ramps up.
  • Sequences with yes or no branches that stop automatically at the first reply.
  • An AI setter that answers the prospects who reply, qualifies the need and proposes your booking link (Growth and Business).
  • LinkedIn and X prospecting and posts in the same tool, from €29.99 a month.
  • An MCP server for ChatGPT and Claude, HubSpot, and webhooks for n8n, Zapier and Make. Data hosted in the EU.

Limitations

  • Volume is capped by design: 200 invitations a week is too low for anyone who wants thousands from one profile.
  • AI messages and the AI setter require Growth (€59.99 a month) or above.
  • No cold email sequencer; professional email finding is on Business only, 500 a month.

Apollo

Apollo is the most widely used B2B contact database among English-speaking sales teams: hundreds of millions of profiles, verified emails and phone numbers, filters by technology and intent signals, and built-in email sequences.

Strengths

  • One of the largest B2B contact databases, with verified emails and phone numbers
  • Filters by technology used and by intent signals
  • Email sequences, calls and tasks in one place
  • A free plan to test the product

Limitations

  • LinkedIn automation is a secondary module that runs through an extension
  • Built for high-volume cold email, which requires deliverability work
  • The price multiplies with the number of seats
  • Coverage of small European companies is thinner than LinkedIn itself
  • No content generation

Frequently asked questions

Can Makelead replace Apollo?

For LinkedIn and X prospecting, yes. For a large email and phone database, no: Makelead finds professional email addresses on its Business plan, 500 a month.

How do the prices compare?

Apollo has a free plan with limited credits, then roughly $49 to $119 per seat per month on annual billing (checked September 2026). Makelead costs €29.99 to €99.99 a month.

How does Apollo handle LinkedIn?

Through a Chrome extension, as a secondary module. Makelead works on LinkedIn and X from the cloud, with sequences that stop at the first reply.

Which one helps with content?

Apollo has no content generation. Makelead writes and schedules LinkedIn and X posts in your voice.

Other comparisons

Prospect on LinkedIn and X without risking your account.

200 invitations a week at most, an AI setter that answers your prospects, posts in your voice. From €29.99 a month.

Get started with Makelead