ApolloThe AI GTM System for Go-to-Market Teams
vs
CloseThe CRM that does the work
Comparison · Sales Engagement · weekly run Nov 3
Apollo vs Close
Which one do AI engines recommend, and how do they differ on price, fit and features?
The short answer
Apollo is the stronger AI pick in Sales Engagement: it has a visibility score of 51 versus 2.8 for Close, and ranks ahead in 83% of the answers that name both.
Choose Apollo if…
- You want the brand AI engines rank higher (51 vs 2.8)
- You want a free plan to start
- You need more native integrations (200+ vs 100+)
- AI answers describe it more positively (60% vs 52% positive)
Choose Close if…
- You need SOC 2 Type II coverage
- Best for high-velocity and outbound sales teams
- Straightforward, predictable per-seat pricing
- All-in-one calling, SMS, and email cadences
AI visibility side by side
Latest weekly run · Nov 3
| Metric | Apollo | Close |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 51% | 2.8% |
| Change vs last week | down−2.8% | down−0.6% |
| Rank in Sales Engagement | #4 | #26 |
| Share of voice | 9.4% | 1% |
| Mentions this run | 59 | 6 |
| Positive in AI answers | 60% | 52% |
The stronger value in each row is marked with a ✓.
Visibility score trend
Weekly runs over the last 60 days
Apollo −2.799999999999997pp · Close −0.5pp over 1 weekly runs.
Engine by engine
Apollo leads on 3 of 3 engines
ChatGPT
AI Mode
Perplexity
ApolloClose
Head to head in AI answers
6 engine answers name both brands
5Apollo ranked higher
1Close ranked higher
| Prompt | Engine | Apollo | Close |
|---|---|---|---|
| How do companies run outbound sales sequences without a dedicated tool? | ChatGPT | #3 | #9 |
| What are the best Sales Engagement tools in 2026? | ChatGPT | #3 | #9 |
| Which sales engagement platform has the best reviews? | Perplexity | #3 | #5 |
| Which sales engagement platform has transparent pricing? | AI Mode | #4 | #3 |
| Which Sales Engagement tools offer annual discounts? | AI Mode | #1 | #6 |
| Which Sales Engagement tools offer annual discounts? | Perplexity | #3 | #9 |
Features, pricing & fit
| Dimension | Apollo | Close |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per seat | Per seat |
| Entry price | Contact sales | $19 per seat / mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No · 14-day trial |
| Deployment | Cloud platform | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Integrations | 200+ | 100+ |
| Compliance | GDPR, SOC 2, CCPA, ISO/IEC 27001, CASA Tier 2, CPRA, EU-US DPF, PCI DSS | SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, CCPA |
| Support | Email support at support@apollo.io, Dedicated support on Custom plans, Sales team for Custom plan discussions | Knowledge base, Email support |
| Founded | 2015 | 2013 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, CA | Austin, Texas, United States |
| Employees | 501–1,000 | 51–200 |
| Funding | Series D · $250M raised | Angel |
| Best for | Sales and go-to-market teams that run prospecting, outreach and dialing and want data, AI and execution in one system | Founders, small businesses and sales teams that sell through calls, email and SMS |
Plans side by side
Close
Solo$19per user / month (billed monthly; $9 billed annually)
Essentials$49per user / month (billed monthly; $35 billed annually)
Growth$109per user / month (billed monthly; $99 billed annually)
Scale$149per user / month (billed monthly; $139 billed annually)
Pros and cons
Themes from the AI answers that mention each brand
Apollo
- Large B2B contact database combined with prospecting and email sequencing
- Transparent self-serve per-user pricing with a free tier
- Strong all-in-one value for prospecting and outreach
- Affordable, reliable choice for small teams and startups
- Widely used and highly rated by reviewers
Close
- Best for high-velocity and outbound sales teams
- Straightforward, predictable per-seat pricing
- All-in-one calling, SMS, and email cadences
- Strong customer satisfaction in recent reviews
- Frequently included in CRM shortlists
Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 98.8%·next run
Cite as: SlateIndex, “Apollo vs Close”, https://slateindex.ai/compare/apollo-vs-close, data of Nov 3, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.