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Comparing Apollo.io and Instantly.AI for Email Campaigns | Clay

Discuss Anything

Comparing Apollo.io and Instantly.AI for Email Campaigns

·Nov 03, 2025 07:09 AM·

Apollo.io VS Instantly.AI

I'm looking to connect several domains (6 in total)
I will want 2-4 email addresses/accounts per domain, and want to send emails from all of these
I also want to do email warmup on all of these
I will send email sequences after they're warmed up

I'm considering tradeoffs between cost and features. Any suggestions as to what's best?

5 comments

· Sorted by Oldest

Pranav S.
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Apollo isn’t really known for its email sequencing - it’s primarily a data platform. I’d recommend going ahead with Instantly, or comparing it with other tools like Smartlead.
Amit S.
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Apollo’s strength is prospecting (they started there first), while Instantly’s is emailing. A few more comparable options to Instantly are Lemlist and Smartlead (both affiliate links). See this page for more options for cold emailing and other features you’re looking for.
Daksh K.
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You should go with Instantly. Apollo isn't the best tool for sequencing. If you're planning to use a lot of automations, Smartlead.ai would be better than instantly.ai
Kabeer A.
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Hey Yash! For what you described multi-domain sending + warmup + sequencing Instantly.AI is the better fit. It’s built for scalable outbound (multi-domain rotation, native warmup, unified analytics), whereas Apollo.io is primarily a data/enrichment + sequencing tool with limited sending flexibility. If you’re already sourcing contacts in Apollo, you can just push them to Instantly for outreach. ✅ Use Apollo for leads ✅ Use Instantly for sending + warmup
Yash P.
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But if I'm using my own domains and email inboxes (that I have setup with Google Workspace), then I don't see the benefit of Instantly.ai over Apollo. They seem the same (more or less) when it comes to the email sequencing. In fact, what I find annoying about Instantly is that I can't add email sequence steps that are a reply to a previous email step (the way I can do in Apollo). So just for sequencing, any specific reasons/features that make Instantly better if I'm using my own domain + email inboxes?