# Apollo.io vs Cognism: which do AI models recommend for sales intel, October 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Sales intelligence and contact data. Twelve of fourteen models named Apollo.io first on the direct prompt; zero named Cognism. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/sales/sales-intelligence-and-contact-data/apollo-io-vs-cognism/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo.io | 73% | #1 of 9 | 16% | 68 | 13 of 14 |
| Cognism | 2% | #5 of 9 | 13% | 52 | 14 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Claude Haiku 4.5: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io) (alternatives: Cognism, Lusha, ZoomInfo)
- GPT-5.4 mini: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io) (alternatives: Cognism, Lusha, ZoomInfo)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io) (alternatives: Clay, Cognism, ZoomInfo)
- Grok 4.20: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io) (alternatives: Cognism, Lusha, UpLead)
- Mistral Small: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io) (alternatives: Cognism, ZoomInfo)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io) (alternatives: Cognism, UpLead, ZoomInfo)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io, ZoomInfo) (alternatives: Clay, Cognism)
- Kimi K2: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io, Lusha) (alternatives: Cognism, ZoomInfo)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io) (alternatives: Dealfront, HubSpot Sales Hub, ZoomInfo)
- MiniMax M2.5: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io) (alternatives: Clay, Cognism, Lusha, ZoomInfo)
- GPT-6 Luna: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io) (alternatives: Cognism, ZoomInfo)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: apollo.io first (first choices: Apollo.io, ZoomInfo) (alternatives: Cognism, Lead411)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: ZoomInfo) (alternatives: Cognism, Lusha)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: ZoomInfo)

## What the models said about Apollo.io

- "Apollo's data quality issues are well-documented and compound fast, with 20-30% bounce rates being its most critical weakness" (Claude Haiku 4.5, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Both had LinkedIn pages yanked in 2024 for scraping violations and terms of service issues" (MiniMax M2.5, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Apollo.io: Best "All-in-One" Platform for Budget-Conscious Mid-Market Teams... Choose Apollo.io. It combines contact databases with sequencing at an unbeatable price point." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)
- "If you're looking for a single platform that gives you both discovery and outreach, go with Apollo.io. It's the go-to all-in-one choice for mid-market teams" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Cognism

- "and Cognism (expensive, EU-focused) if budget is your primary constraint" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt, hard negative)
- "Avoid ZoomInfo and Cognism for now" (Kimi K2, budget prompt, hard negative)
- "Cognism is particularly known for GDPR/CCPA compliance-first design and Diamond Data phone verification, making it a strong candidate if European markets are a priority." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, scale prompt, first choice)
- "Cognism: Highly rated for EMEA/UK mobile data (GDPR-compliant, human-verified "Diamond Data")" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.