Is Apollo.io or Chatwoot better?

Neither clearly leads. Apollo.io starts at Free and Chatwoot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Apollo.io or Chatwoot?

Apollo.io starts at Free and Chatwoot at Free.

Does Apollo.io or Chatwoot run on more platforms?

Apollo.io runs on Web. Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted.

Can I use Apollo.io for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Apollo.io best used for?

Apollo.io is most often used for sales prospecting and lead generation, contact database management for sales teams, email outreach and workflow automation. Of those, sales prospecting and lead generation and contact database management for sales teams are not what Chatwoot is typically brought in for.

What can Apollo.io do that Chatwoot cannot?

Apollo.io covers Contact database, Email finder, Lead search, Automation. Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Both handle Slack, GDPR, Web support.

CRM · head to head

Apollo.io vs Chatwoot

Apollo.io

CRM

Revenue intelligence platform

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

Chatwoot

Customer Support

Open-source customer engagement platform

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: 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; Chatwoot free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month
They diverge on capability: Apollo.io covers Contact database, Chatwoot covers Live chat.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Apollo.io and Chatwoot differ
Attribute	Apollo.io	Chatwoot
Pricing model	subscription	Unknown
Platforms	Web	Web, Cloud, Self-hosted
Category	CRM	Customer Support
Founded	2020	2017

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Apollo.io

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

Only in Chatwoot

Live chat
Email inbox
Social channels
Knowledge base
Chatbots
Reports
WhatsApp
Telegram

Both cover

Slack
GDPR
Web support

What people use each for

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

Apollo.io

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

Chatwoot

Self-hosted supportnot Apollo.io
Privacy-first chatnot Apollo.io
Multi-channel supportnot Apollo.io

Where each one falls short

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

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

Chatwoot

Free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month
Self-hosted option requires managing infrastructure, updates, and external messaging costs
Smaller ecosystem and community compared to Zendesk or Intercom
AI features require credit consumption and additional configuration

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Chatwoot

Free

HackerFree
- 2 agents
- 500 conversations per month
- 1 live chat channel
Startups$19/month
- Unlimited agents
- Unlimited conversations

Which should you pick?

Choose Apollo.io if

You need contact database.
You want to start without paying.
You also want email finder.

Apollo.io review

Choose Chatwoot if

You need live chat.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted.
You also want email inbox.

Chatwoot review

Questions people ask

Is Apollo.io or Chatwoot better?: Neither clearly leads. Apollo.io starts at Free and Chatwoot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Apollo.io or Chatwoot?: Apollo.io starts at Free and Chatwoot at Free.
Does Apollo.io or Chatwoot run on more platforms?: Apollo.io runs on Web. Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted.
Can I use Apollo.io for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Apollo.io best used for?: Apollo.io is most often used for sales prospecting and lead generation, contact database management for sales teams, email outreach and workflow automation. Of those, sales prospecting and lead generation and contact database management for sales teams are not what Chatwoot is typically brought in for.
What can Apollo.io do that Chatwoot cannot?: Apollo.io covers Contact database, Email finder, Lead search, Automation. Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Both handle Slack, GDPR, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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

Chatwoot: Does Chatwoot offer a self-hosted option?

Yes. Chatwoot provides both cloud-hosted and self-hosted versions. Self-hosting is free with the open-source version, though you handle infrastructure, maintenance, and external messaging costs.

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

Chatwoot: What communication channels does Chatwoot support?

Chatwoot supports email, live chat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media channels consolidated into a single inbox.

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

Chatwoot: Is there a free plan for Chatwoot?

Yes. Chatwoot offers a free Hacker plan supporting up to 2 agents, 500 conversations per month, and one live chat channel.

Source

Chatwoot: What AI features does Chatwoot include?

Chatwoot includes Captain AI agent for automated responses, Copilot for smart reply suggestions, and live translation features.

Source

Apollo.io vs Chatwoot

Apollo.io

Chatwoot

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Apollo.io

Only in Chatwoot

Both cover

What people use each for

Apollo.io

Chatwoot

Where each one falls short

Apollo.io

Chatwoot

Pricing, plan by plan

Apollo.io

Chatwoot

Which should you pick?

Choose Apollo.io if

Choose Chatwoot if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Apollo.io

More on Chatwoot

Keep looking

Other head to heads