The CallTeam buying desk / 07
LinkedIn Sales Navigator vs Apollo.For lead generation.
Which one helps your team find the right buyers and reach them? Compare the cost, contact access and work each leaves you to do.
CallTeam verdict: Sales Navigator is a weak first purchase when your main problem is missing phone numbers. We would test a contact provider first. Pay for Sales Navigator when deeper account research improves who you approach and why.
Sources checked 8 November 2026. Official sources are linked in the reviews.
01 / What you actually get
What is Sales Navigator
good for?
Sales Navigator is LinkedIn's paid sales prospecting product. It helps you search for people and companies, track accounts and approach members. It can support lead generation when your team has a clear outreach process.
Useful research before you call.
- Finding the buying role. Search within suitable accounts and inspect the person's responsibilities. This helps when a generic title search produces too many weak matches.
- Following relevant changes. A new role or company update can prompt a useful question. Read the underlying information before building a pitch around it.
- Finding a way into an account. Shared connections and account context can help you approach people with a relevant introduction.
The work it leaves you.
A profile needs to be checked against your offer. A saved name still needs a contact route, a message and follow-up. InMail gives you another way to approach someone; it does not guarantee they will respond.
The cost also includes the time spent researching. Give that work a stopping point. Once you know why the company fits, who to approach and what to ask, prepare the outreach.
If your reps spend the week saving profiles and cannot show qualified conversations or held meetings, review the workflow before renewing.
If you already have a short target list, check whether the information you can see with your current account is enough. Upgrade when a specific search or account feature saves useful work. A paid seat alone will not fix unclear targeting.
02 / Choose around the job
Sales Navigator vs Apollo:
what changes for your team?
Apollo combines company and contact data with outreach software. Sales Navigator builds on LinkedIn's professional network. Both can help you research prospects; compare how you will reach and work those contacts.
| Your job | LinkedIn Sales Navigator | Apollo | CallTeam verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Find the buying role | Search LinkedIn people and accounts, then inspect role history and shared connections. | Search company and contact records by your target criteria. | Use the tool that finds the right person at your actual target accounts. Check the role before contacting them. |
| Follow account changes | Saved leads and accounts surface updates, including role changes and recent activity. | Research and enrichment features can update records and support prospecting; access varies by plan. | An update is useful when it gives you a relevant reason to contact the buyer. Treat it as a research cue. |
| Get phone numbers and emails | Contact details can come from member profiles, your connected CRM or information your team adds. | Email and personal phone requests use credits. Coverage and returned number types vary. | For a team missing contact data, we would test Apollo or another provider first. Inspect a sample before buying more. |
| Contact prospects | InMail reaches LinkedIn members. It does not provide a built-in cold calling dialer. | Sequences and calling features sit alongside the database. Plan access and usage charges apply. | Price the calling setup you will use, including the numbers, minutes and any required add-ons. |
| Export or connect a CRM | No native lead/account CSV or XLS export. Advanced Plus offers supported CRM Sync and lead-creation routes. | CSV exports and CRM integrations are available, with plan and operation limits. | Test the transfer of a few records. Confirm that phone types, ownership and follow-up notes remain usable. |
Sales Navigator lead information ↗LinkedIn's export and CRM limits ↗Apollo plans and workflow limits ↗
When using both makes sense.
Sales Navigator helps you identify the right person or understand an account. Apollo then supplies a missing contact route or supports the outreach. Check that each subscription adds something your team uses.
Match the person by name, current company and role before buying contact details. Check the company website or domain as well. Similar names and old job records can send you to the wrong buyer.
When we would skip a second tool.
Your current provider covers the target accounts and gives your callers enough context. The real backlog is unworked leads or missed follow-up. Fix that first.
If Apollo's phone coverage is the problem, compare a small batch from another data source. Our Apollo alternatives guide covers that decision. Sales Navigator should earn its fee through useful research.
Already have a prospect list?
Hire CallTeam to prepare the calling list, contact the buyers and handle follow-up. Bring the data you are authorised to use.
03 / Understand the bill
Sales Navigator pricing
compared with Apollo.
All amounts in this table are USD per licence or seat, before tax and extras. An annual monthly equivalent requires the annual purchase. Confirm the final offer at checkout.
| Plan | Annual purchase | Monthly billing | Check before paying |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Navigator Core | USD 1,079.88/yearUSD 89.99/month equivalent. | USD 119.99/month | 50 InMails/month. Check contact coverage and CRM access before buying. |
| Sales Navigator Advanced | USD 1,799.88/yearUSD 149.99/month equivalent. | USD 159.99/month | Also 50 InMails/month. Buy the team features only if the team will use them. |
| Sales Navigator Advanced Plus | Custom quote | Ask for the available term. | Supported CRM Sync and lead creation. Confirm compatibility and the full contract. |
| Apollo Basic | USD 588/yearUSD 49/seat/month equivalent. | Confirm current checkout rate. | Published annual allowance: 30,000 credits per seat. Phone requests and other operations consume the allowance. |
| Apollo Professional | USD 948/yearUSD 79/seat/month equivalent. | Confirm current checkout rate. | Published annual allowance: 48,000 credits per seat. Confirm the calling options, usage and add-ons you need. |
For Canada, LinkedIn lists Core from CAD 144.99/month or CAD 1,199.88/year. Apollo figures above stay in USD. Apollo's annual figures come from its published guide. We have not verified its current monthly checkout price.
LinkedIn's prices and plan comparison ↗Apollo's published annual prices and credits ↗Apollo's checkout and add-on guidance ↗
Phone credits need their own budget.
Apollo publishes an eight-credit phone lookup in its current credit guidance. Other lookups, enrichment and calling can consume credits too. Check the deduction for your chosen action and plan before running a batch.
Apollo distinguishes mobiles, work-direct, home and other personal numbers. Keep the returned type attached to the record. A paid lookup does not establish that you have a current mobile for the intended buyer.
Apollo's published lookup costs ↗ · Phone types and HQ-number access ↗
Check the path out of Sales Navigator.
LinkedIn does not offer native CSV or XLS export of lead and account information. Advanced Plus supports specific CRM routes. Confirm that the route you need exists on the plan you are buying.
Contact information can appear on a lead page, including details from a profile or connected CRM. Check its source. Buying Sales Navigator does not guarantee complete contact coverage for your list.
For contact-provider choices, use our lead generation database comparison. Teams reviewing a larger data contract can use the ZoomInfo alternatives guide.
Sales Navigator is hard to justify if its research rarely changes your outreach. Apollo is poor value if paid contacts do not fit your market or nobody works them. Test useful coverage and the team's follow-through before adding seats.
04 / Put the research to work
How to generate leads
with Sales Navigator.
Use the research to prepare a relevant approach. Here is the process we would give a small sales team.
Exporting or enriching your prospect research? Compare PhantomBuster, Evaboot, Clay and other alternatives by the work you need done.
Planning automated follow-ups? Compare LinkedIn automation tools, sender costs and reply handling before choosing the software.
Define the accounts worth calling.
Choose the territory, company type, size and problem your offer addresses. Write down exclusions. Start with a manageable batch so you can inspect the results and follow up properly.
Find the person who owns the issue.
Search relevant roles inside those accounts. Check responsibilities and location. A senior title can still belong to someone with no authority over your offer.
Find a business reason to approach them.
Use a company update, an operating need or a clear fit with your service. Save the source. A job change gives you something to investigate; ask about the situation before assuming there is a budget.
Obtain a usable contact route.
Check existing records first. Fill a missing phone or email through a suitable source, then confirm the person and company match. Keep stop requests out of the outreach queue. Our mobile vs company numbers guide helps you choose what to call.
Prepare the first question and call.
Introduce yourself, give a short reason for calling and ask about the issue. Keep the research relevant to the business. Log a wrong number separately from a call that went unanswered.
Make the next action clear.
Record the outcome, callback time and owner. Send useful follow-up when appropriate. Use a CRM that keeps the calling work organised; compare dialers when the calling setup becomes a bottleneck.
Illustrative example / commercial cleaning
Turn a company search into a relevant call.
Worked example: a commercial cleaning company prospecting in its service area.
- Company search
- Office-based businesses in the territory you can serve. Exclude sites outside your service area and businesses that do not fit your contract size.
- Buying-role search
- Facilities, office management or operations within those accounts. Check who manages cleaning for that location.
- Reason to approach
- A confirmed office move, or a straightforward question about how the current cleaning arrangement is reviewed.
- Contact handoff
- Buyer name, location, source, suitable number and the question the caller will ask.
“Hi, it's Alex with [company]. We handle commercial cleaning in [area]. Who looks after the cleaning contract for your office?”
If you have confirmed the right person, ask them directly: “How are you reviewing the cleaning arrangement this year?” Adapt the question to what your business actually provides.
05 / CallTeam's approach
Where calling, email
and LinkedIn fit.
We build outreach around calling suitable prospects. A conversation lets the caller check responsibility, understand the objection and agree on a next step while the buyer is there.
Call when the account and number fit.
Expect unanswered calls, voicemail and screening. A useful calling process includes retry decisions, company-number fallbacks and callbacks. The caller still has to earn the conversation.
Use email to send the detail someone requested, support a call or follow up with a relevant reason. Keep messages tied to the buyer's situation.
Give LinkedIn a specific job.
Use it to check the buyer, understand the account or find an introduction. Message people when you have a relevant approach and evidence that the channel works for your market.
Cut back on activity that consumes time without producing useful conversations. Track the channels that helped a meeting happen, including research and earlier touches.
What the published calling research shows.
Gong reports these email reply rates in its guide based on more than 300 million calls recorded on its platform. The figures support testing calls alongside email. These are observed reply rates. The report does not rank phone, email and LinkedIn across all markets.
For a small batch, record research time, suitable contacts with usable numbers, qualified conversations and held meetings. Keep the offer, caller and follow-up approach consistent enough to interpret the results. Use the findings to decide what to keep, improve or cancel.
06 / Free resource, no email required
From profile
to first call.
Copy this brief into your CRM notes or working document. Fill it in for the next account, then update the last line after the call.
Company and buyer: [Company, name, role and profile or website] Reason they fit: [One fact that connects them to our offer] Business issue to ask about: [A relevant question, with any trigger and its source] Contact route: [Number, number type, source and date checked] Opening question: [What we will say when they answer] Next action: [Caller, planned time and outcome or callback after the call]
Prepare what you will say.
Use a script that fits your buyer, then check the opening before the calling session.
Find words for your next call.
Choose a B2B script by industry or situation. Adapt the opening, questions and replies to your buyer.
Browse free cold calling scripts → Free script checkerCheck your opening before you dial.
Paste your draft, review the wording and edit an opening you can practise. No email required.
Check my cold call opening →07 / Direct answers
Questions about
Sales Navigator lead generation.
Is LinkedIn Sales Navigator worth it for lead generation?
It earns its cost when better targeting, account updates or introductions improve your outreach. It is a weak purchase when you mainly need phone numbers and already know your buyers. Test a small set of real accounts and record useful contacts, qualified conversations, held meetings and research time.
What is the difference between Sales Navigator and Apollo?
Sales Navigator focuses on LinkedIn-based prospect research and relationships. Apollo combines contact data with outreach software. Both help with prospecting, but their contact access, exports and costs differ. Choose around the part of your sales process that needs work.
How do you generate leads with Sales Navigator?
Define suitable companies, find the relevant buying role and check a business reason to approach them. Save useful prospects and review changes that affect your offer. Then obtain a contact route, reach out, qualify the conversation and record the next action in your CRM.
Does Sales Navigator give you phone numbers and email addresses?
It can display contact details from a member's profile, a connected CRM or information added by your team. That does not guarantee a usable phone number or email for each person. Check the available details and use a suitable contact provider to fill gaps.
Can you export Sales Navigator leads to CSV?
LinkedIn does not offer native CSV or XLS export of Sales Navigator lead and account information. Advanced Plus provides supported CRM Sync and lead-creation options. Check your plan and CRM compatibility before buying around an export workflow.
How much does LinkedIn Sales Navigator cost?
LinkedIn lists Core from USD 119.99 per licence on monthly billing or USD 1,079.88 per year. Advanced starts at USD 159.99 monthly or USD 1,799.88 annually; Advanced Plus requires a quote. Prices were checked on 8 November 2026. Region, tax and checkout terms can change the amount.
Do you need both Apollo and Sales Navigator?
Use both when Sales Navigator adds account knowledge or useful relationships and Apollo supplies the contact data or outreach tools you need. Start with a small shared account sample. If the second subscription adds little useful information, keep the simpler setup.
Can CallTeam call the prospects we find on LinkedIn or Apollo?
Yes. Bring your target market and the list you are authorised to use. CallTeam can check the campaign fit, prepare the calling list, make the calls, follow up and arrange qualified appointments. We can also discuss list-building support if contact details are missing.
Use the prospect brief for your next account. Return to the comparison when your team is buying seats, adding a data source or reviewing a renewal.
Put someone on the phones
Let CallTeam
make the calls.
Keep Sales Navigator, Apollo or the tools that serve your team. We can prepare the calling list, approach suitable buyers, handle follow-up and qualify the next step.
Need contact research too? Bring your offer and target market. We will discuss the list, calling approach, reporting and appointment handoff.