Apollo.io vs Lusha: Which One Should You Buy in 2026?
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Apollo.io and Lusha are the two database-led platforms of the five, and they split cleanly on European compliance. Apollo.io has the certifications; Lusha has the data residency. Neither can be independently benchmarked on this site, for two different reasons.
TL;DR
The two database-led options, where coverage differs most. Apollo.io starts at 65 USD a month and Lusha at 49.90 USD, both read off the vendors' own pages. The headline gap is the least useful number on this page, because Apollo.io and Lusha charge in different units and expire credits under different rules.
Where do Apollo.io and Lusha actually differ?
9 differences that change what you pay or what you can do, each read from Apollo.io's and Lusha's own documents. Rows where a vendor publishes two conflicting figures show both instead of one.
| What differs | Apollo.io | Lusha | Which matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit cost, clarity | Single pooled credit per plan. Web-app phone cost not published | Contradicted. Pricing page says 10 credits for a phone reveal, documentation says 5, twice | Neither lets you build a phone-heavy budget with confidence. |
| Credit rollover | No. Credits expire at the end of each billing cycle | Yes on monthly plans, capped at twice the allowance. Annual credits are forfeited at cycle end | Lusha is materially better inside a monthly subscription. |
| Mid-term cancellation | Not permitted during the term | Permitted, with 14 days notice before the period expires | Both auto-renew. Lusha at least defines a route out. |
| Refund | None. “All payments by you are nonrefundable” | None. “All payments under these Terms are non-refundable” | Neither refunds. Lusha adds a prorated refund only if availability drops below 99 percent. |
| Where data is stored | United States only, no EU residency option | United States on AWS with processing in Israel, plus a contractual Europe Service | Lusha is the only one of the five offering contractual EU residency. |
| EU-US Data Privacy Framework | Certified | Not claimed. Relies on the Israel adequacy decision and a transfer impact assessment | Apollo.io reduces the transfer paperwork that falls on you. |
| Security certifications | ISO 27001 and SOC 2 | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 27701 and more. Two Lusha pages disagree on 27017 against 27018 | Lusha claims more, and contradicts itself on one of them. |
| Named data sources | Publicly accessible websites, directories, public regulatory sources, vetted third-party providers. Self-describes as a registered business-to-business data broker | Six named sources including a community programme taking email headers and signature blocks from members' business email, and access to connected Google or Microsoft mail accounts | Lusha names more, and what it names is harder to defend in Europe. |
| Why neither is measured here | Terms forbid publishing benchmark results without written consent | Two signup attempts were refused as suspicious | Two different reasons, stated separately rather than merged. |
What has been measured, and what has not?
Apollo.io carries no measured accuracy figure on this site, and the reason is stated below rather than left as an empty column.
Everything above this section comes from published documents rather than from a test, which is why it can be checked against the vendors themselves in the time it takes to open a link. The full explanation of which tools are measured and why sits on the comparison page.
Which is cheaper in practice, Apollo.io or Lusha?
Neither headline price answers the question. Apollo.io starts at 65 USD and Lusha at 49.90 USD, but what you actually pay depends on whether a failed lookup is charged and whether unused credits survive the month.
Headline plan price and real cost are different numbers. What decides the real cost is the credit mechanics in the table above: whether a failed lookup is charged, whether unused credits survive the month, and whether an overage rate is published at all. A tool that charges less per month and expires everything you did not use can cost more than one that charges more and lets you bank it.
When should you pick Apollo.io?
Apollo.io is the better pick when your compliance team works from a certification checklist. Apollo.io is the only tool of the five compared here that certifies under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, and it states ISO 27001 and SOC 2 alongside it.
Apollo.io pricing: Basic 65 USD per seat · Professional 99 USD per seat per month.
Commercial relationship: None. An affiliate application is pending and has not been approved. Last checked 2026-08-31. The link below is a standard, non-affiliate link.
When should you pick Lusha?
Lusha is the better pick when the requirement is that personal data physically stays in Europe. Lusha's processing agreement offers a Europe Service under which it undertakes not to process personal data in a third country, which Apollo.io does not offer at any tier.
Lusha pricing: Free free · Starter 49.90 USD · Professional 69.90 USD · Premium 399.90 USD per month.
Commercial relationship: None. Last checked 2026-08-31. The link below is a standard, non-affiliate link.
What if neither Apollo.io nor Lusha fits?
Neither Apollo.io nor Lusha wins on every row above. If the row that matters most to you is one where both fall short, the full comparison of 5 tools is the better page.
Same Sample covers 5 tools in this category on one page, with credit mechanics, contract exit terms, European data handling and named data sources for each.
See all 5 email finder tools compared
What else do buyers ask about Apollo.io and Lusha?
- Which is better for GDPR, Apollo.io or Lusha?
- They answer different halves of the question. Apollo.io certifies under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which simplifies the transfer mechanism. Lusha offers a contractual Europe Service under which data is not processed in a third country, which removes the transfer instead of papering it.
- Why does Lusha publish two different credit prices?
- Lusha has not reconciled them. The pricing page states a phone reveal costs 10 credits; two documentation pages state 5, and the documentation's own figure of up to 6 credits for email plus phone supports 5. Both were live when checked on 31 August 2026.
- Do Apollo.io or Lusha credits roll over?
- Lusha yes, Apollo.io no. Lusha rolls monthly credits over up to twice the plan allowance while you stay subscribed, though annual credits are forfeited at the end of the cycle. Apollo.io states credits expire at the end of each billing cycle with no rollover.
- Where do Apollo.io and Lusha get their contact data?
- Apollo.io names publicly accessible websites, professional directories, public regulatory sources and vetted third-party providers, and describes itself as a registered business-to-business data broker. Lusha names six sources including a community programme that takes email headers and signature blocks from members' own business email.