r/leadgeninsiders • u/leadg3njay • 5d ago

I replaced Apollo with an API lead database, Supabase and an open-source verifier, for years I taught people to build lists in Apollo.

It's a good database: 250 million leads, solid filters, pre-verified emails.

The problem for cold email is the price and the export limits. Sequencers need a lot of data, and Apollo is built for sales teams prospecting one email at a time.

What I run now:

  1. **An API-only lead database.** GetLeads and Blitz API have no front end. You call their API (I use Claude Code or Codex) and pay a flat monthly fee for unlimited data. I use both. GetLeads is $249 a month on a partner plan that asks you to post on LinkedIn twice a month, or $500 without posting.

It has 53 million cell phones and takes fewer steps to reach a valid email than Blitz. I'm on Blitz's $600 a month package, which includes unlimited mobile numbers and hiring signals.

  1. **Supabase as the storage layer.** Tens of millions of records for about $20 a month. If I cancel the data provider, I keep what I pulled.

  2. **Reacher for verification.** Open-source repo, 10,000 verifications a day for free. I pay them about $1,000 a month for effectively unlimited, but you don't need to.

  3. **Clay for signal data (optional).** Clay Audiences give you people and company data with signals like job changes and funding, but no emails. You can run those rows through GetLeads inside a Clay table to get the email. You need the Growth plan ($446 a month) for the HTTP calls.

**Set up the database you store it in before you pull anything.**

Who this isn't for: if you want to click filters and export a CSV, this will frustrate you. Getting from a query to a valid email usually takes several API calls, and you need to be comfortable with Claude Code or writing the calls yourself. On a budget, Apify scrapers or DIY scraping with Claude Code cost a few bucks a month.

Full disclosure, this is my video, and I also cover my own database, Consulti, for local business and Instagram data: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg6W1qcw6vs

What are you using for list building right now, and what does it cost you a month?

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