Modern sales and recruitment teams are under pressure to do more with less: source better leads, automate outreach, protect deliverability, and manage pipeline.
All this without juggling six tools.
Zileo and Apollo both aim to simplify this process, but they’re built for very different use cases.
Zileo is an all-in-one business development platform designed for recruitment agencies and B2B sales teams that rely on live job leads, verified contacts, automated LinkedIn outreach, and airtight deliverability.
Apollo, on the other hand, is a data-first AI sales platform built around one of the largest B2B contact databases in the market, combined with outbound sequencing, enrichment, and CRM integrations.
In this comparison, we break down where each platform excels and where it doesn’t, so you can choose the right tool for your workflow.
What do Zileo and Apollo offer?
Zileo
Zileo is a complete business development platform built by recruiters for recruiters and sales teams who need speed, accuracy, and automation in one place.
It pulls live job leads from all major job boards, filters out recruitment agencies automatically, finds verified contacts in real time, and runs fully automated LinkedIn and email sequences via API. Email deliverability, warmup, and mass mailing are built in, so teams can scale without burning domains.
Everything, which includes sourcing, outreach, sequencing, and lead management, happens inside a single platform.
Apollo
Apollo is an AI-powered sales platform built around a massive global B2B data network used by over thousands of companies.
Its core strengths are contact and company data, advanced filtering, enrichment, email sequencing, analytics, and CRM integrations. Plus, it supports outbound and inbound workflows, AI-assisted deal execution, and reporting for sales and marketing teams.
While Apollo covers a broad range of sales activities, it is primarily optimized for data-driven outbound sales, not recruitment-specific workflows like job lead monitoring or automated LinkedIn execution.
Zileo vs Apollo: Side-by-side comparison
Core Product
Zileo: End-to-end business development platform for recruitment and B2B sales. This includes sourcing, outreach, and lead management in one system.
Apollo: Data-centric sales platform combining contact data, enrichment, sequencing, and CRM integrations.
Lead Generation
Zileo: Live job leads pulled from all major job boards, updated every minute.
Apollo: No live job leads; focuses on company and contact discovery from its database.
Job Filtering
Zileo: Automatically excludes recruitment agencies for cleaner, higher-quality live job leads.
Apollo: No live job leads; focuses on company and contact discovery from its database.
Contact Data
Zileo: Real-time LinkedIn-based live contact discovery inside the platform.
Apollo: Massive global B2B contact database with advanced filters and enrichment.
Sequencing & Outreach
Zileo: Fully automated multi-channel sequences combining email and LinkedIn actions. Sequences run end-to-end without manual steps, which helps to manage outreach at scale from a single workflow.
Apollo: Strong email sequencing with task-based workflows. LinkedIn actions are supported, but typically rely on manual tasks or reminders rather than full automation.
LinkedIn Automation
Zileo: Fully automated via API. You don’t have to run tasks manually.
Apollo: Relies on manual tasks or reminders for LinkedIn actions.
Email Deliverability
Zileo: Uses dedicated mass-mailing infrastructure with managed IPs to support higher send volumes. Sending IPs are warmed and rotated regularly to maintain deliverability and inbox placement, rather than relying solely on individual user inboxes.
Apollo: Emails are sent through connected Gmail or Outlook accounts with built-in guardrails. Deliverability performance depends primarily on the health, reputation, and limits of each connected domain.
Email Warmup & Mass Mailing
Zileo: Includes built-in email warm-up and native mass-mailing capabilities designed for higher-volume outbound. This setup allows teams to scale outreach without being constrained by personal inbox limits.
Apollo: Does not provide native mass-mailing infrastructure. Email volume is typically constrained by Gmail or Outlook sending limits, making it better suited for lower-volume, inbox-based outbound.
CRM & Lead Management
Zileo: Built-in lead and pipeline management for BD and recruitment workflows.
Apollo: Integrates deeply with CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot; also offers lightweight internal CRM functionality.
Tech Stack Efficiency
Zileo: Replaces sourcing tools, LinkedIn automation, sequencing, deliverability, and lead management in one platform.
Apollo: Replaces data providers and email sequencers, but recruitment teams need additional tools.
Who should choose which tool?
Where Apollo works best
Apollo is an excellent choice for sales-led organizations that prioritize data depth, segmentation, enrichment, and analytics. The platform should be a consideration when:
- You need access to a massive global B2B contact database
- Your team runs structured outbound sales motions
- You already rely on Salesforce or HubSpot
- You want strong reporting and RevOps visibility
- Your team doesn’t need fresh data for outbound
Best for: Sales teams, SDR orgs, RevOps teams, and founders running data-heavy outbound sales motions.
Where Zileo works better
Zileo is built for teams that need better opportunities. It’s the better choice for recruiters and B2B sales teams when:
- Live job leads are critical
- You want automated LinkedIn outreach without manual steps
- Deliverability at scale matters
- You don’t want to stitch together 4–6 tools
- Your team works in recruitment or service-led sales
Best for: Recruitment agencies and B2B sales teams that want an all-in-one platform to source, engage, and manage leads without complexity.
Best Apollo alternatives for teams
Apollo is a strong sales platform, especially for data and enrichment. But depending on your needs, other tools may be a better fit:
- Zileo: All-in-one platform combining live job leads, automated LinkedIn outreach, mass email, deliverability, and lead management.
- Lusha: Contact data enrichment tool, often paired with other platforms.
Make an informed choice
Apollo is a powerful choice for teams that want data-first outbound sales, advanced filtering, and CRM-driven workflows. However, they will need additional tools to make sure the data’s fresh and not stale.
But if you’re a B2B sales team (or a recruiter) who depends on real-time job leads, fully automated LinkedIn outreach, high-volume email with protected deliverability, and everything in one place, Zileo is the stronger, more purpose-built solution.
Frequently Asked Questions
All your questions - answered here.
Is Apollo a CRM?
Apollo is not a full traditional CRM, but it offers CRM-like features and deep integrations with platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot.
Does Apollo include live job leads?
No. Apollo focuses on company and contact data, not live job postings.
What’s the best alternative to Apollo for recruitment teams?
For recruitment teams that need live job leads, automated LinkedIn outreach, and deliverability at scale, Zileo is a better fit.