Find Leads Cheaply

Search first, filter for fit, enrich the shortlist, then verify addresses before outreach. Apollo people-search, Apollo or Prospeo enrichment, and ZeroBounce verification are possible steps. Each has its own price and match rate, so measure a sample batch before estimating the cost of a larger list.

• •Build the list — Search by title, seniority, location, or company domain with Apollo people-search. Filter hard before enriching so you never pay for rows you will not contact.
• •Enrich the shortlist — Enrich each prospect by email, LinkedIn URL, or name. Fall back to Prospeo when Apollo lacks a record — the same balance covers both.
• •Verify before outreach — Run emails through ZeroBounce validation to remove undeliverable and risky addresses. Verification costs far less than the bounces and domain damage it prevents.
• •Add context — Check company stack with BuiltWith or recent signals with Exa web search so every outreach line references something real.

Database plans bundle seats, credit pools, sequences, and dialers — most of which a founder or small team never fully uses. Credits often expire, seats multiply with headcount, and annual billing locks you in. Pay-per-request flips this: every cent maps to a lead you enriched, and the same balance works across every provider in the catalog.

Costs vary by operation and each endpoint publishes its current per-request price in the catalog, so check before you run. As a rule of thumb, search pages cost the least, enrichment costs a few cents per record, phone reveals cost more than emails, and verification is the cheapest step. Skipping phone reveals on cold leads and verifying every email before sending keeps the average cost per contacted lead low.

Compare your measured monthly cost with current subscription pricing, data coverage, support, integrations, and permitted use. Consistent high volume may justify direct access, but there is no universal break-even point.