> SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. This is the Markdown copy of https://specstream.ai/alternatives/apollo. Every page, with what SpecStream does and costs: https://specstream.ai/llms.txt

# Best Apollo alternatives in 2026 | SpecStream

Compared on Nov 8, 2026.

# Apollo alternatives: a fixed price for every row, set before the run

Apollo sells credits, and a record can cost 1 credit or 9 depending on whether a mobile number comes back. SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. Describe the accounts you want in plain words, and Deep Search returns every one that meets each condition as a structured row, with the source URL of every value. A row costs 5¢, 15¢ or $1, an email adds 5¢ and a phone adds 15¢, and you approve the most a run can cost before it starts. SpecStream leads two public benchmarks: WideSearch, at 60.9 on the low-cost model, where the best other API scores 57.6 even on the larger model, and SimpleQA Verified, at 99. The scores and their sources are on [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=apollo).

[Describe your data](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-apollo&utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=apollo)

New accounts get $10 of credit for their first 30 days, no card.

## SpecStream and Apollo side by side

|  | SpecStream | Apollo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What you send | The data you want in plain words, with the conditions every row must meet | Searches in its app, or calls to its API on Custom plans |
| What you get back | Structured rows, one record per company, place or filing, with facts from many sites joined. Source URL and read time on every value | People and organization records, with exports of up to 10,000 leads in one click. A source for each value: Not stated |
| Data already held | Public databases read every morning at [specstream.ai/data](https://specstream.ai/data?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=apollo): every company that filed a Form D since 2023 with its filing history, nearly 2 million US nonprofits, every US bank failure since 1934, federal rules, open federal contracts and grants, and local businesses. Signals such as funding rounds, new executives and layoffs at [specstream.ai/signals](https://specstream.ai/signals?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=apollo). Ask for your own cut of any of them | Not stated on its pricing pages |
| A list you already have | Import a CSV, Excel file, Google Sheet or Airtable base of up to 20,000 rows. SpecStream fills in or checks each row and matches it to one identity, with any namesakes shown alongside their evidence. Import is free. A row that matches pays its rate, and a row that does not costs 5¢ | API enrichment: 1 to 9 credits a person and 1 credit an organization |
| What a row costs | A delivered row: 5¢, 15¢ or $1 by how much the row needs, plus 5¢ for an email and 15¢ for a phone. The same rate on every plan | Credits. A person is 1 credit, plus 8 when a mobile number comes back. Waterfall email is typically 1 to 4 credits and can pass 20; waterfall phone typically 8 to 25 and can pass 45. The dollar value of a credit: Not stated |
| Plans | $10 of credit for your first 30 days, no card. Pro $19, Scale $99 and Team $499 a month, all spent as credit at the same row rates. A yearly plan adds 20% more credit | Free, Basic, Professional and Custom. Dollar prices: Not stated. Yearly plans are paid upfront and committed for 12 months; monthly plans can be canceled anytime |
| Failed or empty work | Nothing. Duplicates, rows you already own and rows a page contradicts are not charged, and a run that finds nothing costs nothing | Not stated |
| Before a run | The most the run can cost, quoted before it starts. Nothing runs until you approve it, and there are no automatic overages | Not stated. Credits are granted each cycle and reset with no rollover. Add-on credits are charged at once and renew each cycle |
| Reruns | Hourly to yearly. Each row comes back labeled changed, unchanged or no longer matching. A changed or new row costs half its rate, an unchanged row 1¢ | Not stated |
| API and delivery | MCP server, REST API, Python and TypeScript SDKs, a CLI and A2A. Rows go to Google Sheets, Excel, Airtable, Notion, monday.com, HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Attio, Slack, Teams, Zapier, Make, n8n and signed webhooks | API access stated on Custom plans only. Calls over the rate limit get a 429 reply |

## Why Apollo buyers move to SpecStream

### A fixed price for every row

Apollo's API pricing puts a waterfall phone at 8 to 25 credits, and sometimes more than 45, and its pricing page does not say what a credit costs in dollars. SpecStream adds 15¢ for a phone and 5¢ for an email to a row rate of 5¢, 15¢ or $1. The rate is the same on every plan.

Before a run starts you see the most it can cost, and nothing runs until you approve it. Duplicates, rows you already own and rows a page contradicts are not charged.

### Accounts that meet every condition

Your best accounts share a trait no filter lists. Describe it, and every account that has it reaches your CRM with its buying committee and a link to where the trait shows.

Write the request as you would brief an analyst, for example software companies in Germany with 50 to 500 employees that are hiring salespeople, with the job post and a contact email. SpecStream checks each condition on the live web and keeps the page where it read each value.

### Rows that stay up to date

Set a request to rerun from hourly to yearly. Each row comes back labeled changed, unchanged or no longer matching. A changed or new row costs half its rate, and an unchanged row costs 1¢.

SpecStream also reads public databases every morning and tracks funding rounds, new executives and layoffs at [specstream.ai/signals](https://specstream.ai/signals?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=apollo), so a new trigger at an account reaches you the day it shows.

## How SpecStream scores

The same numbers as the benchmarks page, from the official tasks and scorers.

ResultsWideSearchCostSimpleQA Verified

|  | SpecStream | ![](https://specstream.ai/images/benchmarks/parallel.svg)Parallel | ![](https://specstream.ai/images/benchmarks/exa.svg)Exa | ![](https://specstream.ai/images/benchmarks/tavily.svg)Tavily | ![](https://specstream.ai/images/benchmarks/perplexity.svg)Perplexity |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Web research**WideSearch, GPT-5.6 Luna | 60.9 | 45.5 | 53.0 | 47.9 | 47.0 |
| **Factual accuracy**SimpleQA Verified, GPT-5.6 Luna | 96 | 94 | 91 | 94 | 94 |
| **Factual accuracy**SimpleQA Verified, GPT-5.6 Sol | 99 | 97 | 91 | 92 | 95 |

## How to switch from Apollo

Export your Apollo list and import it, up to 20,000 rows, and SpecStream fills in or checks each row and shows where it read each value. Or write the accounts you want in plain words. Sign up and you get $10 of credit for your first 30 days, no card. At 5¢ a row, that is up to 200 rows.

Or send the request from code. This call spends nothing: the `402` reply shows how SpecStream read the request, the columns and the most it can cost.

```
curl -i https://api.specstream.ai/v1/agent/lists \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"request": "Software companies in Germany with 50 to 500 employees that are hiring salespeople. Include the job post and contact email.", "count": 25}'
```

[Describe your data](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-apollo&utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=apollo)

## Frequently asked questions

Something we didn't answer? [Talk to a human](https://specstream.ai/talk-to-a-human.md)

Is SpecStream cheaper than Apollo?

Apollo sells what its database holds, by credits whose dollar value its pricing page does not state, and through its API a person with a mobile number costs 9 of them. SpecStream checks each account against your conditions, shows where it read each value and bills only rows delivered, under a maximum you approve: 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, plus 5¢ for an email and 15¢ for a phone.

Do I need a yearly contract?

No. New accounts start with $10 of credit for 30 days and no card, and plans run by the month from Pro at $19. Apollo's yearly plans are paid upfront and committed for 12 months, and its downgrades take effect at once with no refund.

Can SpecStream enrich my Apollo export?

Yes. Import a CSV of up to 20,000 rows for free. SpecStream matches each row to one identity, shows any namesakes beside it, and fills in or checks the row. A row that matches pays its rate, and a row that does not costs 5¢.

How accurate is SpecStream?

SpecStream leads two public benchmarks: WideSearch, at 60.9 on the low-cost model, where the best other API scores 57.6 even on the larger model, and SimpleQA Verified, at 99. The scores and their sources are on [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=apollo). Every value in a row carries the source URL and the time it was read.

What else does a SpecStream account include?

The same account runs the Search API at $5 per 1,000 searches and the Extract API at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, where a page with no text is not charged. Your agent can use all of it through the MCP server at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp`.

### Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each rival figure comes from that company's own page.

1.  [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing)specstream.ai/pricing, read Nov 8, 2026
2.  [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md)specstream.ai/agents.md, read Nov 8, 2026
3.  [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks)specstream.ai/benchmarks, read Nov 8, 2026
4.  [Apollo pricing](https://www.apollo.io/pricing)apollo.io/pricing, read Nov 8, 2026
5.  [Apollo API pricing](https://docs.apollo.io/docs/api-pricing)docs.apollo.io/docs/api-pricing, read Nov 8, 2026