Honest comparison
The DIY stack is the favourite of UK B2B founders who like to build their own pipeline. We are the favourite of UK B2B founders who would rather not. Here is the honest comparison.
The honest verdict
The DIY stack costs more than founders expect once you include time. But it gives you total control of the pipeline, which matters if you have specific ICP needs the off-the-shelf databases miss. Business Leads is dramatically simpler, dramatically faster to launch, and removes the domain-reputation risk — but you are buying a more opinionated product with less customisation.
| the Apollo + Instantly DIY stack | Business Leads | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly software cost | £200–£500 (Apollo + Instantly + warming) | Included in £200/month |
| Setup time | 4–6 weeks (domain + warming + lists + copy) | 10 minutes |
| Founder time per week | 5–10 hours | ~1 hour |
| Sending domain | Yours (or a clone of yours) | Ours |
| Domain reputation risk | High — your problem when something breaks | None to you |
| List quality | Apollo data — solid for tech, weaker for UK SMEs | ~1M UK B2B verified contacts |
| Bot-filtering on opens | Off by default | On by default — 4-tier scoring |
| Customisation | Total — every variable in your hands | Limited — opinionated product |
Monthly software cost
Setup time
Founder time per week
Sending domain
Domain reputation risk
List quality
Bot-filtering on opens
Customisation
Yes — most customers come from a DIY stack. You bring your suppression list (existing customers, opted-out contacts) into our onboarding, and we run from our own infrastructure. Your old domains can be left to decay or kept warm for legitimate sales replies.
Apollo is excellent for global tech roles. For UK SME B2B, our data is more current and more deeply UK-specific (sourced from licensed UK providers and Companies House filings). For UK targeting, we are usually the stronger signal.
No contract, no minimum term. First charge today. If we don't deliver 50 warm UK prospects in your inbox in any week, we refund that week. Cancel in one click whenever you like.