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CRM · head to head

Affinity vs Apollo.io

Affinity logo

Affinity

CRM

Relationship intelligence platform for professionals

From
$2000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Apollo.io logo

Apollo.io

CRM

Revenue intelligence platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Apollo.io has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Affinity enterprise tier requires custom quote, pricing not transparent; Apollo.io everything is metered in credits, and the free Starter plan runs on them too, so prospecting volume is capped rather than the feature set
  • They diverge on capability: Affinity covers Contact management, Apollo.io covers Contact database.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Affinity and Apollo.io actually diverge.

Attributes where Affinity and Apollo.io differ
AttributeAffinityApollo.io
Starting price$2000/yearFree
Free tierNoYes
Founded20132020

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (CRM).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Affinity

  • Contact management
  • Deal tracking
  • Intelligence engine
  • Relationship mapping
  • Integration aggregation
  • LinkedIn
  • Crunchbase

Only in Apollo.io

  • Contact database
  • Email finder
  • Lead search
  • Automation
  • Engagement tracking
  • Reporting
  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot

Both cover

  • Gmail
  • Outlook
  • SOC2
  • GDPR
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support
  • English language support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Affinity

  • Deal sourcing and pipeline management for venture capital and private equitynot Apollo.io
  • Automatic capture of email and meeting activity into relationship recordsnot Apollo.io
  • Finding warm introductions through existing relationship networksnot Apollo.io
  • Investor relations and fundraising trackingnot Apollo.io
  • Portfolio company support and reportingnot Apollo.io

Apollo.io

  • Sales prospecting and lead generationnot Affinity
  • Contact database management for sales teamsnot Affinity
  • Email outreach and workflow automationnot Affinity

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Affinity

  • Enterprise tier requires custom quote, pricing not transparent
  • Scale tier API calls capped at 100000 per month
  • All plans charge per user annually

Apollo.io

  • Everything is metered in credits, and the free Starter plan runs on them too, so prospecting volume is capped rather than the feature set
  • Plans described as unlimited are capped in the fair use policy at 10,000 credits a month for non-paying accounts
  • Connecting a mailbox that is not Gmail or Microsoft requires a paid plan
  • How many records can be selected at once varies by tier
  • Running out of credits means buying more rather than waiting for a reset

Pricing, plan by plan

Affinity

$2000/year
  • Essential$2000/year
    • Activity capture (email and calendar)
    • Relationship scoring and interaction history
    • Deal pipeline tracking
  • Scale$2300/year
    • Automatic meeting capture (Notetaker)
    • AI Chat conversational access
    • Affinity Ascend agent platform
  • Advanced$2700/year
    • Third-party data enrichment (PitchBook, Dealroom, Crunchbase)
    • Company growth insights
    • Packaged integrations (Slack, Salesforce, Box)
  • Enterprise$null/year
    • Fund-level permissions
    • Enterprise SSO
    • Custom data retention

Apollo.io

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic contact search
    • Limited searches
  • Starter$49/month
    • Everything in Free
    • Advanced search
    • Email finder
  • Professional$149/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Automation
    • Advanced analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Affinity if

  • You need contact management.
  • You also want deal tracking.
Affinity review

Choose Apollo.io if

  • You need contact database.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want email finder.
Apollo.io review

Questions people ask

Is Affinity or Apollo.io better?
Neither clearly leads. Affinity starts at $2000/year and Apollo.io at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Affinity or Apollo.io?
Apollo.io has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2000/year for Affinity and Free for Apollo.io.
Does Affinity or Apollo.io run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Apollo.io for free?
Yes. Apollo.io has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Affinity starts at $2000/year.
What is Affinity best used for?
Affinity is most often used for deal sourcing and pipeline management for venture capital and private equity, automatic capture of email and meeting activity into relationship records, finding warm introductions through existing relationship networks, investor relations and fundraising tracking. Of those, deal sourcing and pipeline management for venture capital and private equity and automatic capture of email and meeting activity into relationship records are not what Apollo.io is typically brought in for.
What can Affinity do that Apollo.io cannot?
Affinity covers Contact management, Deal tracking, Intelligence engine, Relationship mapping. Apollo.io covers Contact database, Email finder, Lead search, Automation. Both handle Gmail, Outlook, SOC2, GDPR.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Affinity: How much does Affinity CRM cost per user?

Affinity CRM pricing starts at 2000 USD per user per year for the Essential plan, 2300 USD for Scale, and 2700 USD for Advanced. Enterprise tier requires custom pricing.

Source
Apollo.io: Does Apollo offer a free plan?

Yes, Apollo offers a Starter plan that is free forever and includes unlimited email addresses for contacts. Gmail and Microsoft email account linking are available on the free plan with limited third-party email account linking.

Source
Affinity: What is the API call limit on Affinity's Scale tier?

The Scale and Advanced tiers provide 100000 API calls per month. Enterprise tier customers receive unlimited API access.

Source
Apollo.io: How does Apollo's credit system work?

Apollo uses a credit-based system for exporting contact data outside the platform. Free and non-paying accounts have a monthly credit limit of 10,000 credits. Paid accounts receive limits based on their plan pricing, calculated as the lesser of annual commit divided by $0.025 or 1 million credits annually.

Source
Affinity: Which Affinity tier includes Notetaker and MCP integration?

The Scale tier (2300 USD per user per year) includes automatic meeting capture via Notetaker and Model Context Protocol server integration for AI tool connections.

Source
Apollo.io: How much do trial plans cost on Apollo?

Apollo trial plans include 50 credits and 5 mobile credits to test paid features at no charge. Trial versions do not support non-Gmail/Microsoft email account linking. Upgrades take effect immediately while downgrades take effect at the end of the billing cycle.

Source
Affinity: When does Affinity offer Enterprise SSO capabilities?

Enterprise SSO (single sign-on) capability is included only in the Enterprise tier, which requires custom pricing and is designed for established firms with multi-fund complexity.

Source
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