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AI Ark vs Apollo · AI Ark wins on list building, Apollo fits a small team that wants sequences and a dialer

Notes from GTM teamsWritten by people who run outboundWe use the tools we recommend.Updated Oct 26, 2026

The short answer

AI Ark is the best Apollo alternative for building contact lists, the emails and mobile numbers, or cell phone numbers, of the people you want to reach. Apollo stays the pick for a small team that wants email sequences, steps sent over days, and a dialer, a tool for making calls from the browser, in one login. Apollo prices that login per seat, one user. AI Ark charges in credits, a unit you spend per contact found. A found email costs 1 credit in a person export, and a mobile number costs 5. Its paid plan starts at $49 a month billed monthly for 5,000 credits, or $470 a year billed yearly for 60,000 credits. Apollo Basic costs $49 per seat a month billed yearly for 30,000 credits a year, or $65 per seat a month billed monthly for 2,500 credits a month.

our pick

Our pick

AI Ark wins on building contact lists. Its paid plan, Usage-Based, costs $470 a year billed yearly for 60,000 credits, versus Apollo Basic at $588 a year billed yearly for 30,000 credits for one seat. Apollo wins for a small team that wants sequences and a dialer in the same login as its contact database.

What each tool does

AI ARK

FeaturedList build

A cheap database of business contacts. Use it to build lists, find lookalike companies, ones that look like your best customers, and export verified emails.

Go to the website

Apollo

List build

Apollo finds people and lets you pay credits to see an email or phone number. You can also send email from the same login. Use another tool for the contacts Apollo can’t find.

Go to the website

How the two tools compare

	AI ARK	Apollo
Price to start	Free costs $0 a month for 100 credits a month.	Apollo prices every paid plan per seat, one user login.
Paid entry plan	Usage-Based costs $49 a month billed monthly for 5,000 credits, or $470 a year billed yearly for 60,000 credits.	Basic costs $49 per seat a month billed yearly for 30,000 credits a year, or $65 per seat a month billed monthly for 2,500 credits a month.
Higher plans	Usage-Based is the paid plan, billed monthly or yearly.	Professional costs $79 per seat a month billed yearly, or $99 per seat a month billed monthly. Organization costs $119 per seat a month billed yearly, with a minimum of 3 seats.
Credit cost per email and mobile	A found email costs 1 credit in a person export, 0.5 for the person plus 0.5 for the email. A mobile number, a cell phone number, costs 5 credits, 5 times a found email.	Check Apollo’s phone credit cost in your account before you budget for mobiles.
Seats	AI Ark prices by credits.	Apollo prices per seat, one user login. Organization needs a minimum of 3 seats.

How to pick one if you only have 10 seconds

The math: for one user for a year, Apollo Basic costs 12 × $49 = $588 a year billed yearly for 30,000 credits. AI Ark costs $470 a year billed yearly for 60,000 credits. The two totals are not the same unit, since AI Ark and Apollo charge different numbers of credits for the same email or mobile find.
AI Ark charges 1 credit for a found email in a person export and 5 credits for a mobile number, a cell phone number. Check Apollo’s phone credit cost in your account before you compare mobiles.
Apollo credits do not roll over, so unused credits end with the billing period.
Apollo Organization costs $119 per seat a month billed yearly, with a minimum of 3 seats, so it is built for teams.

Who should buy each one

Pick AI ARK if

You already pay for Apollo and want a separate source for emails and mobiles, a cell phone number for each contact.
You want a flat credit cost, 1 for a found email and 5 for a mobile, instead of a per-seat login price.
You want a free plan to test first, 100 credits a month at $0.

Pick Apollo if

You want one login that holds the contact database, sends email sequences, steps sent over days, and dials calls.
You want a seat price, one user login, instead of a pure credit price.
Your team needs more than one seat and plans to grow past Basic into Professional or Organization.

What users say

“Step 1: Base data from Apollo or AI Ark... AI Ark (100x cheaper than Apollo with monthly data refresh). This gives you name, title, company, and a first-pass email for 50 to 60% of your list.”

“Apollo goes first... because it’s the cheapest per-credit... easy 60% before you spend real money on the hard 40%.”

Common questions

Is AI Ark cheaper than Apollo?▾

For one user for a year, AI Ark costs $470 a year billed yearly for 60,000 credits. Apollo Basic costs $588 a year billed yearly for 30,000 credits. The two credit counts are not the same unit, since each tool charges a different number of credits for the same email or mobile find.

Does Apollo send email sequences?▾

Yes. Apollo sends email sequences, steps sent over days, from the same login where you find contacts, and it includes a dialer, a tool for making calls from the browser. AI Ark is for finding contacts.

Does AI Ark have a free plan?▾

Yes. Free costs $0 a month for 100 credits a month.

Do unused Apollo credits roll over?▾

No. Apollo credits do not roll over, so unused credits end with the billing period. AI Ark’s unused credits roll over.

what to do next

What to do next

Pull the contact list you already built in Apollo and run a small batch of those contacts through AI Ark’s Free plan, 100 credits a month at $0. Compare the emails and mobiles you get back. Prices are from AI Ark pricing, October 26, 2026 and Apollo pricing, October 26, 2026. Try AI Ark