Get Started
Apollo alternative

Alternative to Apollo for Small Business: Machinence

Apollo sells contact data to sales teams. Machinence finds the customers most likely to buy from you, anywhere in the world, tells you why to contact each one now and writes the email for you. Then it runs the rest of your business from the same login.

Find my first customers See Machinence vs Apollo ↓
3 free sample leads · Any country · No sales call · From £3.25 a day for the whole platform
In short

Machinence is the Apollo.io alternative built for small businesses and startups. Instead of a database to dig through, you get a short list of businesses that fit what you sell, each scored, with the gap you can fill, a dated reason to get in touch and the first email, call script and LinkedIn note written. Your CRM, website, invoicing and 26 AI tools come in the same plan, from £3.25 a day.

Customers in any country A reason to contact each one Email and call script written Only good leads count CRM built in 26 AI tools in one plan
Find Customers

Everything It Takes to Win Your Next Customer.

Not a list of names. A list of businesses worth your time, with everything you need to win them.

Anywhere

Customers in any market

Search up to 5 countries at once, or narrow it to a city or region with a radius. The page shows exactly where it searched.

Real businesses

Only real, working businesses

Every result is checked first: its website, or its booking page if it has none, must load. Competitors, suppliers, agencies and directories are left out.

Scored

Hot, Good or Possible

Every lead is labelled and scored out of 100. Weak leads are never shown and never counted against your allowance.

The opening

The gap you can fill

Each lead shows its opportunity, read from its own website, such as no online booking, so you know what to offer before you call.

Why now

A reason to get in touch today

A dated public reason from the last 6 months, such as hiring, a new location or a new company, with the link to its source. The freshest are marked Ready now and listed first.

Written for you

Email, call script and LinkedIn note

AI writes a short first email around the lead's reason, a call script and a LinkedIn note. The address is checked before you send and an unsubscribe line is added.

Brand-new companies

Reach them first in the UK

A Companies House tab finds newly registered companies by area and industry, with their directors, and writes a letter to post to them.

Fair

Never pay twice for a lead

A business you have already been shown never comes back, only leads actually returned count, and a bad lead reported within 14 days is given back.

Connected

Straight into your CRM

One click adds a lead to your Customer Manager, ticked leads export to CSV, and a saved search can email you new businesses every week.

Why small businesses switch

Stop Digging Through Data. Start Talking to Buyers.

Apollo.io is a well-known sales tool with a very large contact database. Sales teams use it to pull lists of people, reveal their emails and phone numbers and send email sequences at volume.

A small business owner needs something sharper. You do not have time to mine millions of records. You need to know which businesses are likely to buy from you, why now, and what to say, and you need to say it today. That is what Find Customers in Machinence does.

Tell it what you sell and who you sell to, and choose where: up to 5 countries, or a city with a radius. Machinence searches the web, throws out any business whose website does not load, and any competitor, supplier or directory, and hands you a scored list of real businesses. Each one shows the gap you can fill and, where there is one, a dated reason to get in touch now with its source. Then it writes the email, the call script and the LinkedIn note, checks the address, and puts the lead in your CRM.

And because Machinence is a complete business platform, the same plan builds your website or online store, sends your invoices, keeps your books, runs your email marketing and answers your customers with a 24/7 chatbot.

Machinence vs Apollo

Apollo Gives You Contacts. Machinence Gives You Customers.

Side by side on finding and winning customers. Apollo's side is taken from Apollo's own pricing page and website on 16 October 2026.

What you getMachinenceApollo
Finding customers
What you get✓ A customer to approachA business that could buy from you, checked today, with its opportunity, a score out of 100 and a reason to contact it.Contact recordsPeople and companies from a database, revealed with credits.
Where you can search✓ Any countryUp to 5 countries in one search, or a city or region with a radius.✓ YesA global database of 240M+ contacts and 30M+ companies.
Contact detailsBusiness contactsThe contact route each business publishes, never guessed personal emails. UK companies also show their directors from Companies House.✓ YesNamed people's email addresses (1 credit) and phone numbers (8 credits).
A reason to contact them now, with its source✓ YesA dated public reason from the last 6 months with the link to its source; the freshest are marked Ready now and listed first.Intent topics1 buying-intent topic on the free plan, 6 on Basic.
The gap you can fill✓ YesThe specific gap you can fill, read from the business's own website.Not on its pricing page
Brand-new companies✓ UKCompanies newly registered with Companies House by area and industry, with their directors, and an AI letter to post to them.Not on its pricing page
Only good leads count✓ YesScored out of 100; weak leads are never shown or counted, and a bad lead reported within 14 days is given back.Credits per revealCredits are used when you reveal an email or number.
No repeats✓ YesA business you were already shown never comes back.Not on its pricing page
Winning them
First email, call script and LinkedIn note✓ YesA first email built around the lead's reason, plus a call script and a LinkedIn note.AI AssistantAI Assistant and AI research on every plan.
Email checked before you send✓ YesDomain and mailbox checked before you send, shown as Verified or Not verified.✓ YesVerified emails and waterfall enrichment.
Automatic follow-up sequences✕ Not yetComing after launch. Today you send each email yourself, already written.✓ Yes2 sequences on the free plan, unlimited from Basic, and a US dialler.
CRM and lead alerts✓ Built inOne click into the Customer Manager (CRM), CSV export, and weekly lead alerts by email.Lead and deal managementWith CRM integrations.
Running your business
Website, store, invoicing, bookkeeping, marketing✓ All 26 AI toolsWebsite or online store, CRM, invoicing, bookkeeping, email marketing, social, chatbot, HR, legal and more.✕ NoNot part of Apollo.
Price, checked on 16 October 2026
Try it free✓ Free search and free trialOne free search shows 3 sample leads in full. Then a 7-day free trial with 10 leads and every tool.✓ Free plan$0 with 75 credits a month (monthly billing).
What the monthly price buys✓ The whole platform, from £99 a monthFrom £3.25 a day: all 26 AI tools to run your business, with 60 leads a month included. Enterprise, £150 a month: 150 leads, 2 sites and up to 5 times the resources.$65 per user a monthBasic, about £49 billed monthly, for sales data and outreach only ($49, about £37, billed annually). Professional $99, about £75. Each extra user pays again.
Extra leads✓ From 40p a leadTop-up packs of 50, 100 or 150 leads for £25, £45 or £60. They never expire, and only leads actually returned count.CreditsBasic billed monthly gives 2,500 credits a month: an email address costs 1, a phone number 8.
How you buy✓ Monthly, cancel any timePrices on the website and no sales call. Cancel in two clicks.Monthly or annualOrganization plan annual only, at least 3 users.

Prices checked on 16 October 2026. Dollar prices converted at the European Central Bank rate of 15 October 2026 ($1 = £0.755) and rounded. Sources: Apollo pricing · Apollo website · Machinence pricing.

Apollo is a powerful database for sales teams. Machinence is built for the owner who has to find the customers and run the business: fewer, better leads, the outreach written, and every tool you need in one plan.

More than leads

One Plan Runs Your Whole Business.

Apollo stops at the lead. With Machinence, the customers you find land in the same place you build your website, send invoices and market to them.

From £99 a month, or £3.25 a day, you get all 26 AI tools with 60 leads a month included. Nothing to connect and no extra apps to pay for.

AI website builderOnline storeCRMInvoicingBookkeepingEmail marketingSocial publisherSEO and blog24/7 website chatbotSmart calendarHRLegal documents
An honest answer

Who Should Choose Which

Both are good at different jobs. Here is how to tell which one fits you.

Choose Machinence if

  • You run a small business or startup, anywhere in the world
  • You want customers ready to buy, not a database to dig through
  • You want a reason to contact each lead and the email, call script and LinkedIn note written for you
  • You want your CRM, website, invoicing and marketing in the same plan
  • You want published prices and to try it free first

Choose Apollo if

  • You run a sales team sending outreach at volume
  • You need named people's direct emails and mobile numbers
  • You want automated email sequences and a dialler today
Getting started

Already Using Apollo? Start Today.

No data contract and no migration. See real customers for your business before you sign up.

1

Try the free search

Run one free search on machinence.io and see 3 real businesses that could buy from you, in full.

2

Start your free trial

Your 7-day free trial includes 10 leads, each with a reason to contact it, an AI email and a call script, plus every tool.

3

Win your first customers

Send the emails, make the calls, track every lead in your CRM and let a weekly alert bring you more.

See every plan on the pricing page, or go straight to Find Customers if you already have an account.

Your Next Customers Are Out There. Machinence Finds Them.

Run the free search and see 3 businesses that could buy from you, in full, in about a minute.

Find my first customers Start your free trial

Prices and features of Apollo checked on 16 October 2026 from Apollo's own website and may have changed since; check them with Apollo. Sources: Apollo pricing · Apollo website · Machinence pricing. Apollo is a trademark of its owner; Machinence is independent, not affiliated with or endorsed by Apollo, and names it for comparison only.

Apollo alternative FAQ

Apollo Alternative: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best Apollo alternative for small business?

For a small business or startup, Machinence. Instead of a contact database, Find Customers gives you scored businesses that fit what you sell, a dated reason to contact each one and the first email, call script and LinkedIn note written, and the same plan includes your CRM, website, invoicing and 26 AI tools.

Is Machinence a cheaper Apollo alternative?

For most small businesses, yes overall. From £99 a month (£3.25 a day) you get the whole platform with 60 leads a month included, where Apollo's Basic plan is $65 a user a month for sales data and outreach alone, before a CRM, website or invoicing. Extra Machinence leads start at 40p. Apollo's credits do cost less per raw contact. Prices checked on 16 October 2026.

Does Machinence work outside the UK?

Yes. Machinence is for small businesses anywhere. Each search covers up to 5 countries, or a city or region with a radius, and the page shows exactly where it looked. The Companies House tab for brand-new companies is a UK extra.

How is a Machinence lead different from an Apollo contact?

An Apollo contact is a record from a database. A Machinence lead is a business checked on the web today: it is open, it is not a competitor or a directory, it is scored out of 100, it shows the gap you can fill and, where there is one, a dated reason to contact it now, with the email already written.

Does Machinence give me email addresses and phone numbers?

Yes, the contact details each business publishes, such as the email and phone on its own website, checked before you send. It never guesses personal emails. If you need named employees' mobile numbers, Apollo is built for that.

Can Machinence send email sequences like Apollo?

Automatic sequences and follow-up emails are coming after launch. Today Machinence writes the first email, call script and LinkedIn note for every lead and checks the address, and you send it yourself.

Is it legal to email the businesses Machinence finds?

Email rules depend on the country. In the UK you can usually email limited companies about relevant products if you say who you are and offer an easy opt-out, which Machinence adds to every email; sole traders and some partnerships need consent first, and Machinence flags them. Elsewhere, check your local rules before sending.

Can I try Machinence before paying?

Yes. The free search on machinence.io shows 3 sample leads in full, with nothing to pay. The 7-day free trial then gives you 10 leads and every one of the 26 AI tools.

Hi 👋 I'm Machinence AI. I'm here to help you.