Apollo.io vs Exarich: Why You Need Both in Your Sales Stack
If you're in B2B sales, you probably already know Apollo. Maybe you're using it right now to find leads.
And you've probably noticed: Apollo is incredible at finding people. But qualifying them? That's a different story.
This isn't a "versus" article. It's an "and" article.
What is Apollo.io?
Apollo is a B2B database and sales engagement platform. It offers:
- 275+ million contacts and 60+ million companies
- Advanced search filters (industry, size, tech stack, etc.)
- Email finder and verification
- Basic enrichment data
- Sequence automation and dialer
Apollo is fantastic for the top of your funnel. You need leads? Apollo has them. Millions of them.
What is Exarich?
Exarich is a lead enrichment and intelligent qualification platform. It offers:
- Deep website scraping and parsing
- AI-powered business summaries
- Context-based filtering that goes beyond basic fields
- Bulk lead processing with real business intelligence
Exarich doesn't find leads. It makes sure the leads you found are actually worth reaching out to.
Why Apollo Alone Isn't Enough
Don't get me wrong—Apollo is powerful. But here's what we hear from sales teams over and over:
"I exported 5,000 leads from Apollo. Half of them aren't actually in my ICP."
This happens because Apollo's filtering, while extensive, is still limited to:
- Firmographic data (company size, revenue, location)
- Technographic data (known tech stack)
- Job titles and seniority
- Industry categories
This data is useful. But it misses critical context:
Apollo doesn't tell you:
- What does this company's website actually say about what they do?
- Do they have signals on their site that indicate they need your product?
- What's their actual business model beyond "SaaS" or "eCommerce"?
- Are they positioned in a way that aligns with your solution?
These are the questions that determine whether a lead is worth your time. And they require website-level intelligence that Apollo doesn't provide.
The Apollo + Exarich Workflow
Here's how the best teams use both:
Step 1: Build your list in Apollo
- Use Apollo's powerful search to find potential leads
- Filter by industry, size, tech stack, etc.
- Export 5,000-10,000 contacts
- You now have a broad list of "possible fits"
Step 2: Enrich and qualify with Exarich
- Upload your Apollo export to Exarich
- We scrape each company's website
- Our AI analyzes their business model, positioning, and needs
- You set up intelligent filters based on real context
- Export 800-1,200 highly qualified leads
Step 3: Engage back in Apollo (or your tool of choice)
- Import your qualified leads into Apollo sequences
- Or use Instantly, Smartlead, Salesloft, etc.
- Reach out with context-driven personalization
- Actually convert because you're talking to the right people
What Each Tool Does Best
Think of Apollo and Exarich as solving different problems in your pipeline:
Apollo excels at:
- Discovery: Finding leads that match basic criteria
- Scale: Accessing a massive database quickly
- Verification: Confirming contact info is accurate
- Engagement: Sending outreach via sequences
Exarich excels at:
- Qualification: Determining which leads truly fit your ICP
- Context: Understanding what a company actually does
- Intelligence: AI-powered insights beyond basic data
- Filtering: Smart, nuanced lead selection
Together, they create a complete prospecting system.
The Filtering Gap
Let's talk about Apollo's filters. They're good—really good. You can filter by:
- Employee count
- Revenue range
- Tech stack
- Industry
- Location
- And dozens more fields
But here's the problem: These filters are pre-defined categories.
You can't filter for:
- "Companies whose website mentions 'workflow automation'"
- "Businesses that serve enterprise clients but position as SMB-friendly"
- "Companies that have a blog indicating they care about [specific problem]"
- "Sites that show clear signs of [specific business model]"
This kind of filtering requires actually reading the website. Apollo doesn't do that.
Exarich does.
Real-World Example
Let's say you sell marketing automation software to B2B SaaS companies.
In Apollo, you filter for:
- Industry: SaaS
- Employees: 20-200
- Tech stack: Uses Salesforce
- Revenue: 2M-20M
You get 8,000 results. You export them.
But when you actually look at these companies, you find:
- 30% are B2C SaaS (not your ICP)
- 20% are horizontal SaaS tools for consumers (not your ICP)
- 15% are SaaS infrastructure companies (not your ICP)
- 35% are actually B2B SaaS companies in your sweet spot
You just wasted 65% of your list.
Now add Exarich:
- Upload those 8,000 leads to Exarich
- Set a filter: "B2B SaaS companies targeting businesses, not consumers"
- Our AI reads each website and identifies business model
- You export 2,800 qualified B2B SaaS companies
- Your list is 65% smaller, but 100% qualified
You just 3x'd your conversion rate and saved your team from wasting time on 5,200 bad leads.
The Personalization Advantage
Here's a bonus benefit: Exarich's summaries make personalization easy.
When you export from Apollo, you get:
- Name: John Doe
- Title: VP of Marketing
- Company: Acme Corp
- Industry: SaaS
When you export from Exarich (after enriching your Apollo list), you get:
- Name: John Doe
- Title: VP of Marketing
- Company: Acme Corp
- Industry: SaaS
- Summary: "Acme Corp is a B2B SaaS platform helping e-commerce brands optimize checkout flows. Their website emphasizes integration ease and revenue impact. Current tech stack includes Stripe, Shopify partnerships."
Which one lets you write a better cold email?
Cost Efficiency
Let's do the math on wasted outreach:
Without Exarich:
- 8,000 leads from Apollo
- 65% aren't actually in your ICP
- Your SDRs spend time researching, emailing, following up
- 5,200 leads × 3 minutes of wasted time each = 260 hours
- At $30/hour, that's $7,800 in wasted SDR time
- Plus email credits, sequence costs, damaged deliverability
With Exarich:
- 8,000 leads from Apollo → Exarich
- Auto-filtered to 2,800 qualified leads
- SDRs focus on leads that actually fit
- 5,200 leads × 3 minutes saved = 260 hours saved
- Plus better response rates, better deliverability, more deals closed
Exarich pays for itself in saved time alone.
Do You Need Both?
Short answer: Yes, if you're serious about outbound.
Use Apollo to:
- Find leads at scale
- Access verified contact information
- Filter by firmographic and technographic data
- Manage outreach sequences
Use Exarich to:
- Qualify those Apollo leads deeply
- Get website-level business intelligence
- Filter based on real context, not just categories
- Ensure you're only reaching out to true fits
Use both to:
- Build a complete, qualified pipeline
- Maximize ROI on every outreach dollar
- Give your SDRs lists they can actually convert
The Bottom Line
Apollo is your lead source. Exarich is your lead qualifier.
Apollo casts the wide net. Exarich identifies which fish are actually worth keeping.
Trying to choose between them is like asking: "Should I use a fishing net or a cooler to store my fish?"
You need both. They solve different problems.
Apollo finds the leads. Exarich makes sure they're worth your time.
Start with Apollo. Qualify with Exarich. Win more deals.
Ready to turn your Apollo exports into qualified pipelines? Try Exarich free and see what deep qualification looks like.