Updated

RocketReach vs Apollo vs Derrick: Which Is Better in 2026?

Short answer
RocketReach vs Apollo vs Derrick: RocketReach is a b2b contact database covering 700m+ profiles with email and phone lookups, Apollo is a b2b sales intelligence and outreach. Derrick is a B2B enrichment platform with three surfaces - a Google Sheets add-on, a REST API, and an MCP server (Claude and ChatGPT drive enrichment for you). Hit rates are noticeably higher (more emails + phone numbers returned per query than RocketReach or Apollo) and pricing is lower - free forever with 100 credits/month, paid plans from €9/month. Most teams pair Derrick for the data layer with RocketReach or Apollo for outreach.

Email + phone finders like RocketReach live on data freshness and source diversity. The side-by-side comparison below pits RocketReach's coverage by region, free-tier ceiling and credit-burn rate against Derrick's flat-credit pool that funds email + phone + LinkedIn + firmographics from one wallet.

Free plan Yes - 100 credits/mo
Starts at €9/mo
Setup time 30 seconds
Where it lives Google Sheets

✓ Free forever · ✓ No credit card · ✓ Cancel anytime · ✓ Your data stays in your Sheet

Trusted by 31,000+ users worldwide.

Quick Facts

RocketReach vs Apollo vs Derrick at a glance

RocketReach

  • Starting price: Free 5 lookups · Essentials $33/mo (annual)
  • Free plan: Yes - 5 lookups one-time to test
  • Founded: 2015
  • HQ: Bellevue, WA (US)
4.5/5 G2 4.1/5 Capterra

Apollo

  • Starting price: Free / $49 annual or $59 monthly /seat (post-2026 price increase)
  • Free plan: Yes (Free forever)
  • Founded: 2015
  • HQ: San Francisco, CA
4.7/5 G2 4.5/5 Capterra

Derrick

★ Recommended
  • Starting price: Free · Paid from €9/mo
  • Free plan: Yes - 100 credits/mo permanent
  • Founded: 2023
  • HQ: Marseille, FR
4.8/5 G2 4.8/5 Capterra
Why Derrick wins

Why teams pick Derrick over RocketReach and Apollo

3 core reasons SDRs and ops teams switch to Derrick. Click to expand each.

01

Real-time validation and enrichment without manual overhead

Derrick delivers real-time validation and enrichment directly inside 100% native Google Sheets, a capability RocketReach and Apollo only partially cover through separate verification tools and bulk workflows. Unlike RocketReach, which focuses on contact discovery with variable freshness, Derrick continuously validates emails as you type and enriches with 50+ attributes without leaving Sheets. This eliminates manual handoffs and data cleanup, saving about 5-10 hours per month for average teams. With Derrick, you get immediate, actionable contact quality and up-to-date company insights in real time, ready for immediate outreach.

02

Automated, scalable enrichment with minimal setup time

RocketReach and Apollo excel at bulk data but fall short on automated, scalable enrichment with minimal setup, often requiring manual validation or extra tools for deeper enrichment. Derrick delivers fully automated enrichment within 100% native Google Sheets, eliminating CSV exports and complex setups, while offering 50+ attributes per contact and real-time email validation. This translates to measurable gains: time saved of 5-10 hours per month and faster pipeline buildup, with credits that can be rolled over. A quick use case: enrich a dataset of 500 contacts in minutes, then trigger Zapier or Make workflows for immediate outreach.

03

Enhanced data quality with AI-driven validation and scoring

RocketReach and Apollo deliver broad contact data but struggle with consistent, real-time validation and nuanced scoring across industries. Derrick outperforms by applying integrated AI-driven validation and scoring directly inside 100% native Google Sheets, ensuring up-to-date, quality-enhanced records without manual loops. This leads to measurable gains: up to 15-25% higher email deliverability and faster qualification, plus consistent scoring across 50+ attributes per contact. Derrick also enables immediate use in workflows with AI-generated summaries and segmentation to improve prioritization.

Honest Comparison

What each tool does better

We're upfront - every tool has strengths. Here's where RocketReach, Apollo, and Derrick each genuinely win.

What RocketReach does better

  • Massive contact database (700M+ profiles)
  • Order-of-magnitude cheaper than ZoomInfo
  • Free tier + accessible per-seat entry
Read full RocketReach review →
Real Annual Cost

True cost over 12 months

Headline pricing rarely tells the whole story. Here's the real cost of running each tool for a year.

RocketReach Apollo Derrick
Starting price (monthly) Free 5 lookups · Essentials $33/mo (annual) Free / $49 annual or $59 monthly /seat (post-2026 price increase) €0 (free) · €9/mo paid
Annual cost (base) ~€60/yr ~€588/yr €0/yr free · ~€108/yr paid
Free plan? Yes - 5 lookups one-time to test Yes (Free forever) ✓ Forever - 100 credits/mo
Setup cost Hours to days Hours to days 30 seconds via Marketplace
Switching cost CSV export + retraining CSV export + retraining Zero - works alongside any stack

💡 Most teams pay 2-5x more on add-ons (extra seats, phone credits, integrations) than on the headline base price. Derrick keeps everything in one transparent tier.

Feature-by-Feature

RocketReach vs Apollo vs Derrick: full feature comparison

RocketReach Derrick App apollo
Works natively in Google Sheets
Requires LinkedIn Sales Navigator ($100/month)
Sales Navigator 1-click import
Email finder with real-time validation
Phone finder from LinkedIn
Company tech stack lookup
SimilarWeb & G2 insights integrated
AI integration (Claude & ChatGPT)
Automatic AI Lead Scoring
Data cleaning & normalization
Multi-platform scraping (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook)
Zapier, Make, n8n integrations
Public API available
Native CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce)
Entry price (paid plan) 59$/mois 9€/mois 59$/mois
Permanent free plan
Rollover credits to next month
Simple and transparent credit system
Simple setup & onboarding
Complete documentation
Pricing in a nutshell

RocketReach vs Apollo vs Derrick pricing breakdown

B2B Contact Database (Email + Phone)

RocketReach

Free 5 lookups · Essentials $33/mo (annual)

Best for: Solo recruiters and BDRs needing big-DB lookups

RocketReach offers scalable plans starting with a free tier and paid options from a modest monthly price, with a complete pricing breakdown available on the pricing page. See full pricing details for exact credits, limits, and plan comparisons.

Sales Intelligence

Apollo

Free / $49 annual or $59 monthly /seat (post-2026 price increase)

Best for: SMB & mid-market outbound

Apollo offers a scalable pricing model with a starter tier and paid plans beginning at a competitive monthly rate; detailed breakdowns and add-ons are available on the pricing page. See full pricing breakdown for all features, limits, and enterprise options.

Migration Guide

How to switch from RocketReach to Derrick in 3 steps

Derrick is a Google Workspace app - no formulas to learn, no pipelines to migrate, no engineering work. Add it to Google Sheets and you're enriching in under a minute.

1
~30 sec

Install Derrick from Google Workspace Marketplace

Click the install button on our Marketplace listing and grant Google Sheets access. No credit card required - you start with 100 free credits per month.

2
~30 sec

Open any Google Sheet → Extensions → Derrick

Open a Sheet with your prospect list (paste a CSV from RocketReach, scrape from LinkedIn Sales Navigator, or import from your CRM). Click Extensions → Derrick and the sidebar opens with all enrichment features ready to use.

3
~1 min

Enrich your list with one click

Select the column with names, LinkedIn URLs, or company domains. Pick what you want - emails, phone numbers, LinkedIn data, company info, tech stack - and click "Enrich". Derrick fills the columns directly in your Sheet. No exports, no pipelines, no waiting.

Install Derrick free →

100 free credits / month · No credit card · Cancel anytime

Decision in 60 seconds

Which one is right for you?

Pick RocketReach if…

  • You specifically need solo recruiters and bdrs needing big-db lookups
  • Massive contact database (700M+ profiles)
  • Order-of-magnitude cheaper than ZoomInfo
  • You're already invested in the RocketReach ecosystem
Read full RocketReach review →

Pick Apollo if…

  • You specifically need smb & mid-market outbound
  • Massive 250M+ contact database
  • All-in-one stack at SMB price
  • You're already invested in the Apollo ecosystem
Read full Apollo review →

Pick Derrick if…

  • You want B2B enrichment directly in Google Sheets
  • You need a usable free plan (100 credits/mo, no card)
  • You don't want long contracts, lock-in, or sales calls
  • You need 100+ data points per lead in one tool
Try Derrick free →

What teams say after switching from RocketReach vs Apollo

See what our customers say about Derrick.

"This app saved me so much time and effort. Great for anyone looking to build a contact list or network at scale quickly. As a start-up it's been invaluable."

Alex Clark

Director | SaaS GTM Leader

Reviewed on Product Hunt

"Working pretty nifty compared to Snov.Io. Price wise it does give a fair shake, and IMO better interface since it's google sheets."

David Sire

Mortgage Broker at Zero Point Mortgage

Reviewed on Product Hunt

"Derrick is a very simple and user-friendly app to enrich your contacts database. Best thing: you can test it for free. And then the price is so low, it's a no brainer."

Etienne Grange

CEO Form'actions

Reviewed on Capterra

"Super easy to enrich linkedin urls using this tool. Both personal and company url data can be easily enriched with a click of a button."

Zaid Bilal

RevOps Professional

Reviewed on Capterra

"Amazing Tool, I would like to advocate this to my colleagues. So that you can get more users. Keep it Up. 5 Stars!"

Asif Hanzala

Lead Generation Specialist at IdeaPeel

Reviewed on Capterra

"This app is fantastic. Brilliantly created to help small and mid sized businesses."

Dan Hughes

Founder/CEO, AlmanacIO

Reviewed on Product Hunt

"I have been using other expensive apps or freemium like phantombuster, but Derrick has replaced them all. I love the simplicity of the Google sheet add-in, but what is best is the efficiency it delivers."

Julien Walon Cohen

CEO & Co-founder @ Diffly | B2B Sales Advisor

Reviewed on G2

"The LinkedIn scraping and email finder combo is incredibly powerful. I can build a complete prospect list with contact info in under an hour. Absolute must-have for outbound."

Michael Kim

SDR Team Lead at CloudScale

Reviewed on Capterra

"Have tested over 10+ LI scraper apps, Derrick beats them all. Simple to use, accurate data, and affordable price."

AJ Alexander

Opportunity Prospector

Reviewed on Capterra

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Derrick vs RocketReach comparison highlights key differences?

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The key difference lies in platform architecture and workflow integration. Derrick operates as a native Google Sheets solution, eliminating CSV exports and complex setup that RocketReach and Apollo require. While RocketReach excels at contact database aggregation and Apollo combines database access with automation, Derrick distinguishes itself through integrated AI capabilities using Claude and ChatGPT for intelligent scoring and segmentation. Additionally, Derrick's rollover credits, no credit card requirement for free tier, and fifty-plus enrichment attributes per contact provide greater flexibility and cost efficiency for teams managing variable prospecting volumes compared to traditional platform models.

Is Derrick a good alternative to RocketReach for startups?

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Yes, Derrick is an excellent alternative to RocketReach for startups, especially those already using Google Sheets. While RocketReach excels at contact databases, Derrick operates entirely within Google Sheets without requiring CSV exports or complex integrations, saving startups five to ten hours monthly. Derrick offers fifty-plus enrichment attributes, real-time email validation, integrated AI scoring with Claude and ChatGPT, and rollover credits with no credit card needed for the free tier. For cost-conscious startups, Derrick eliminates the need for LinkedIn Sales Navigator at nine dollars monthly versus RocketReach's higher pricing, making it more accessible for teams building prospecting workflows directly in their existing spreadsheets.

What’s the difference between Derrick and RocketReach in features?

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Derrick is a Google Sheets-native enrichment platform, while RocketReach functions primarily as a contact database focused on email verification and phone number aggregation. Derrick offers 50+ enrichment attributes, real-time email validation, and integrated AI scoring with Claude and ChatGPT, enabling sophisticated segmentation directly in Sheets without CSV exports. RocketReach excels at volume and CRM integrations but lacks AI-powered insights and behavioral data enrichment. Derrick's rollover credits and no-card free tier provide more flexibility for variable prospecting workflows, making it ideal for teams seeking enrichment depth over pure contact volume.

Does RocketReach pricing beat Derrick pricing for small teams?

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RocketReach pricing for small teams often centers on their scalable contact database, which can be cost-effective for very light use but may fall short on value for ongoing, multi-user work compared to Derrick. Derrick’s model provides 100% native Google Sheets integration, monthly redeemable credits, and a free tier with no credit card, plus AI scoring and extensive enrichment across 50+ attributes. For small teams prioritizing deep enrichment, real-time validation, and seamless workflow within Sheets, Derrick frequently delivers better long-term value, whereas RocketReach shines for rapid, standalone contact lookups.

How does Derrick compare to RocketReach for data enrichment?

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Derrick and RocketReach approach data enrichment differently. RocketReach excels as a contact database with verified email addresses and phone numbers, leveraging extensive aggregation across multiple sources. However, Derrick operates natively within Google Sheets, eliminating CSV exports and manual data entry workflows while offering 50+ enrichment attributes per contact. Derrick includes real-time email validation, integrated AI scoring with Claude and ChatGPT, and rollover credits without requiring a credit card for the free tier. RocketReach functions primarily as a contact lookup tool, whereas Derrick transforms Google Sheets into a complete prospecting hub with automation capabilities, making it ideal for teams seeking enrichment depth and workflow efficiency without platform switching.

Can Derrick replace both RocketReach and Apollo for outreach?

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Derrick cannot fully replace RocketReach and Apollo for all outreach needs, but it complements them effectively. RocketReach excels at broad contact collection and quick lookups, while Apollo offers a robust, multi-channel outreach and enrichment platform. Derrick specializes in 100% native Google Sheets data enrichment with real-time email validation, AI scoring, and extensive integrations, focusing on efficiency and automation rather than sole contact discovery. If your team relies on sophisticated intent data, multi-step sequencing, or rich company insights, you’ll likely still use RocketReach or Apollo alongside Derrick. Derrick can streamline workflow, reduce manual work, and enhance data hygiene for outreach campaigns, making it a strong supplement rather than a complete replacement for both competitors.
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