Prospecting tool comparison
LinkedIn prospecting tools compared: what each one actually does
Most 'best LinkedIn prospecting tools' lists rank products that are not trying to solve the same problem. A search tool, a contact-data provider and an outreach automation tool can all be called prospecting software, yet buying the wrong one leaves the real bottleneck untouched.
This comparison groups eight options by the job they do, with the starting price each vendor published when we checked. OutreachGenie publishes this page and is one of the tools listed, so treat it as a vendor-written comparison: every price and capability links to the vendor's own page, and the limits of our own product are stated alongside the others.
01
The eight tools at a glance
Prices are the vendors' published US or euro starting prices on monthly billing unless noted, checked between October 2 and October 9, 2026. They exclude taxes and can change; confirm the final checkout before buying.
| Tool | Main job | Where actions run | Starting price | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn search (free account) | Find people and companies with basic filters | You, manually | Free | Yes |
| LinkedIn Sales Navigator Core | Advanced search filters, saved leads and accounts, alerts, 50 InMail credits a month | You, manually | US$119.99 per license a month, or US$1,079.88 a year | No free plan |
| Apollo | Work email and phone data, plus email sequences | Email sequences in Apollo; LinkedIn steps are manual tasks | US$65 per user a month (US$49 billed annually) | Free plan with 75 credits a month |
| OutreachGenie | Capture prospects from search, profiles, post engagement or CSV; visual LinkedIn flows and campaigns | Chrome companion in your own signed-in browser | Free | Free plan, no credit card |
| Waalaxy | LinkedIn sequences, plus email on the Business plan | Cloud (since July 2026) | €19 per user a month (Pro) | 14-day trial; Freemium has no automation |
| Dripify | LinkedIn and email drip campaigns | Cloud | US$59 a month (Basic, one campaign) | 7-day trial |
| Expandi | If/then LinkedIn sequences with an email action, dedicated country IP | Cloud | US$99 a month (US$79 billed annually) | 7-day trial |
| HeyReach | Multiple LinkedIn senders in one campaign, shared inbox for agencies | Cloud | US$79 per sender a month (Growth) | Check the vendor's current trial |
02
Choose by the job you are missing
- You do not yet know who to contact: start with LinkedIn's free search, then Sales Navigator if you need saved accounts, alerts and finer filters. Neither sends invitations or follow-ups for you.
- You know the people but need verified work emails or phone numbers: a data provider such as Apollo fits. Its LinkedIn sequence steps are tasks a person completes on LinkedIn, not automatic sends.
- You have the list and the slow part is connecting, messaging and following up: that is an outreach tool. Decide next whether actions should run in your own browser or in the cloud.
- You run several LinkedIn accounts for clients: look at tools built for sender rotation and a shared inbox, such as HeyReach, and confirm what each sender costs.
03
Browser or cloud: where your outreach actually runs
Outreach tools differ less in their sequence builders than in where the LinkedIn actions happen. Cloud tools such as Waalaxy, Dripify, Expandi and HeyReach run campaigns from their servers, so work continues with your computer off. Waalaxy's help center says it removed its campaign extension from the Chrome Web Store on July 1, 2026 and now runs everything in its web app.
OutreachGenie's Chrome companion runs LinkedIn steps in your own signed-in browser session, which means the browser has to stay open while a campaign runs. In exchange, the software is free and you never hand your LinkedIn session to a third-party server. Neither architecture makes automation approved by LinkedIn.
04
Free LinkedIn prospecting tools that are actually free
LinkedIn's own search is free, and Apollo has a free plan with a monthly credit allowance. For outreach automation, the free tiers mostly disappeared: Waalaxy's help center describes its Freemium account as having no automation features, while Dripify and Expandi offer seven-day trials.
OutreachGenie's workspace is free, with no product-side quota on invitations, messages, visits, lists or flows. LinkedIn's own weekly limits and account restrictions still apply, and the trade-off is the browser requirement described above.
05
Test a prospecting tool before you pay for it
- 01
Write one real brief
Describe the role, company type and reason for contact in a sentence. If you cannot, the tool choice is premature.
- 02
Build a reviewable batch
Collect 20 to 30 people from the tool and check current role, company and duplicates by hand. Count only the ones you would genuinely contact.
- 03
Run the handoff without sending
Set up the list, the sequence and the reply-handling steps, but stop before anything is sent. Check what happens to existing connections and people who reply.
- 04
Price the whole workflow
Add seats, credits, add-ons and the time someone spends reviewing. A cheaper seat that needs more manual repair is not cheaper.
06
Account risk is the same for every automation tool
LinkedIn says third-party software and browser extensions that scrape, modify or automate activity on its website are not allowed, and accounts can be restricted. That applies to cloud tools, browser companions and anything in between. Keep batches small enough to review, respect LinkedIn's limits and stop when the account shows a warning or verification prompt.
Common questions
Questions that come up in practice
What is the best LinkedIn prospecting tool?
It depends on the missing job. Sales Navigator is strongest for finding and tracking the right people, Apollo for work contact data and email sequences, and an outreach tool for sending and following up on LinkedIn. Compare tools within the job you need rather than across categories.
Is there a free LinkedIn prospecting tool?
Yes. LinkedIn search is free, Apollo has a free plan with limited monthly credits, and OutreachGenie's prospecting and outreach workspace is free with no credit card. Paid outreach tools such as Waalaxy, Dripify and Expandi offer time-limited trials instead.
Do I need Sales Navigator for LinkedIn prospecting?
No. LinkedIn's free search, profile research and post engagement can build a good list for many audiences. Sales Navigator adds finer filters, saved accounts, alerts and InMail credits, which matter most when you track many accounts or need narrow targeting.
Are LinkedIn automation tools allowed?
LinkedIn's policy says third-party tools that scrape or automate activity on its website are not allowed, and it can restrict accounts that use them. This applies to every automation tool in this comparison, whether it runs in the cloud or in your browser.
Should I choose a cloud or browser-based LinkedIn tool?
Choose cloud if campaigns must keep running with your computer off and a monthly seat is acceptable. Choose a browser-based tool if you want the actions to run in your own session and a free plan matters more than unattended execution.
Research used for this guide
- Sales Navigator plans and starting prices | LinkedIn
- Sales Navigator account types and features | LinkedIn Sales Navigator Help
- Plans, prices and credits | Apollo
- Complete LinkedIn tasks in a sequence | Apollo Knowledge Base
- Waalaxy plans | Waalaxy
- Waalaxy subscriptions and Freemium | Waalaxy Help Center
- Waalaxy is now fully cloud-based | Waalaxy Help Center
- Dripify pricing | Dripify
- Expandi pricing | Expandi
- HeyReach pricing | HeyReach
- Prohibited software and extensions | LinkedIn Help
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