Apollo export limits, explained
By ExportApollo founder Last verified:
Apollo.io caps how many leads you can export. On free accounts the export allowance is minimal, and every paid tier still enforces ceilings: a per-plan cap on bulk CSV exports plus per-hour and per-day rate limits that throttle how fast you can pull records. Hit a ceiling and the export stops until the window resets or you buy more export credits. This page explains what those limits are, why they slow agency work, and the three ways people get around them, including one that removes the limit entirely because it never exports through Apollo at all.
What Apollo's export caps actually mean
Apollo meters exports in two ways. First, a plan-tier cap on how many records you can push to CSV or to a connected tool over a billing period. Second, rate ceilings that limit exports per hour and per day regardless of how much of your allowance is left. The exact numbers move as Apollo revises its plans, so treat any single figure you find online as a point-in-time snapshot. The durable truth is simpler: the lower your tier, the tighter every ceiling, and free accounts get the least room of all.
Free plan versus paid plans
On a free Apollo account, the export allowance is small and built for trying the product, not for running volume. Paid tiers raise the cap and loosen the rate limits step by step, but even the higher tiers keep a bulk-export ceiling and enforce per-hour and per-day throttles. Add-on export credits exist, yet they are billed on top of the seat and still sit inside the same rate ceilings. In short, no Apollo plan hands you uncapped, on-demand CSV export.
Why the caps hurt agency workflows
For a solo user pulling a short list now and then, the ceilings rarely bite. For an agency they do. A single client campaign can need tens of thousands of matching contacts, and the per-day throttle turns that into a multi-day drip. Multiply by several clients and the math gets worse: you end up rationing exports, buying more seats, or waiting on reset windows while campaigns sit idle. The limit is not just a number on a plan page, it is lost days on the calendar.
The three ways people work around export limits
1. Upgrade seats or buy export credits. The official route. It works, but it is the most expensive per lead, the ceilings never fully disappear, and the cost scales with every new client you add.
2. Scrapers and browser extensions. A category of third-party tools reads Apollo data through your logged-in session or a browser extension. They can move past the in-app export button, but they run against Apollo's terms of service and put your Apollo account at risk of suspension, because the activity looks like automation on your login. Speed and reliability vary, and pricing is usually charged per lead.
3. An independent-database service. Instead of exporting through Apollo at all, a service like ExportApollo matches your Apollo search filters against its own maintained lead database and returns the results directly. There is no in-app export step to cap, and nothing runs on your Apollo login.
How ExportApollo sidesteps the limits entirely
ExportApollo never exports through Apollo, so Apollo's export ceilings simply do not apply. You build a search in Apollo.io with any filters, copy the search URL, and paste it into ExportApollo. We read the filters, match them against our own independently maintained database, verify the emails, and email you a CSV, typically within minutes and at about seven minutes per 1,000 leads. Pricing starts at $3 per 1,000 leads, bulk orders run up to roughly 1 million leads, and it works with a free Apollo account because we never touch that account. Any leads we cannot supply are refunded to your balance as credits, and credits never expire.
Because none of this passes through Apollo's export system, there is no per-hour throttle, no per-day cap, and no risk to your Apollo login. You get the leads your Apollo search found, as a clean CSV, without the limits.
Frequently asked questions
Still have a question? Email [email protected] and a real person will get back to you.
What are Apollo's export limits?
Apollo meters exports two ways: a per-plan cap on how many records you can send to CSV over a billing period, plus per-hour and per-day rate ceilings on top of that cap. Free accounts get the smallest allowance; paid tiers raise it but never remove the ceilings entirely. Exact figures change whenever Apollo revises its plans, so treat any single number you read as a snapshot.
Can you export unlimited leads from Apollo?
Not through Apollo directly. Every Apollo plan keeps a bulk-export cap and rate limits. To pull large volumes without those ceilings, people use an independent-database service like ExportApollo, which returns results from its own maintained database instead of through Apollo's export system.
Do Apollo export limits apply to a free account?
Yes, and most tightly. A free Apollo.io account can build searches and copy their URLs, but its in-app export allowance is minimal. ExportApollo still works with a free Apollo account because fulfillment comes from our own database, not from your Apollo export credits.
How does ExportApollo get around Apollo's export limits?
ExportApollo never exports through Apollo. It reads the filters in your Apollo search URL, matches them against its own independently maintained database, and emails you a verified CSV. Apollo's per-plan caps and rate limits do not apply, and your Apollo account is never touched.
Are scrapers a safe way to get past Apollo export limits?
Scrapers and browser extensions can move past the in-app export button, but they run against Apollo's terms of service and put your logged-in Apollo account at risk of suspension, because the activity looks like automation on your login. An independent-database service avoids that because it never connects to your Apollo account.