ConnectSafely gives away a free Apollo scraper Chrome extension as a lead magnet for its main product, and its one long page ranks on page one for most Apollo scraper searches. If you found it, you found a working zero-cost tool. This page compares it with Apollo Exporter (apolloexporter.com) on what each publishes, as of 7 October 2026, so you can decide whether free is enough for the list you need.
The short answer
- ConnectSafely’s Apollo scraper is free, runs inside your own Apollo account, and publishes no cap, no verification step and no support commitment, as published on 7 October 2026.
- Apollo Exporter is a paid web app. You paste an Apollo search URL, the export runs through your own logged-in session via the Apollo Exporter Chrome extension, every email is verified with BounceBan before download, and rows without an email are not charged. Sign-up includes 500 free credits.
- Pick ConnectSafely for occasional small lists where you will verify emails yourself and can restart a run if Apollo blocks it.
- Pick Apollo Exporter when the file must match the search you built, emails must be verified before you pay, and you want per-row billing with live job status.
ConnectSafely at a glance
ConnectSafely is a sales tooling company whose main product is unrelated to Apollo. Its Apollo scraper is a free Chrome extension offered as a lead magnet, with about 602 users as published on 7 October 2026. The page that promotes it is the longest in the niche at roughly 4,970 words, carries FAQPage, HowTo and SoftwareApplication schema, and in our 7 October 2026 snapshot it appeared on page one for 17 of the 23 Apollo scraper and export queries we checked, though rarely in the top three. The extension injects itself into Apollo’s search page and pages through results inside your logged-in browser. The page states no row cap per search, describes no email verification step, and makes no support commitment, which is reasonable for a free tool. It also warns, in its own copy, that extraction is restricted by Apollo’s terms. That candor is unusual and worth crediting; most vendors leave the sentence out.
Side by side
| ConnectSafely | Apollo Exporter (apolloexporter.com) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per 1,000 | Free (ConnectSafely) | $3 per 1,000 BounceBan-cleaned emails, $0.50 per 1,000 rows without emails, pay as you go (pricing); no subscription |
| Where it runs | Chrome extension inside your own Apollo account | Web app; export runs through your own logged-in Apollo session via the Apollo Exporter extension |
| Data source | Live Apollo search, page by page in your browser | Live Apollo search, page by page from the same search you see |
| Email verification | Not published | Every email verified with BounceBan before download |
| Delivery | In your browser as it runs; no cap stated | Page by page as the job runs; live status in the dashboard; measured times on methodology |
| Refunds | Not published | Failed exports are not charged and rows without an email are free; terms on pricing |
| Free trial | The whole tool is free | 500 free credits on sign-up |
| Reviews | None captured on the page; about 602 users | Measured figures under a named author on methodology |
ConnectSafely figures as published on 7 October 2026.
Where ConnectSafely is the better pick
If the budget is zero, ConnectSafely wins by definition. A few hundred rows for a one-off campaign, a quick check of what a search returns before you commit Apollo credits, or a student project all fit a free extension with no sign-up beyond the Chrome install. It is also the right choice for anyone who already runs their own verification pipeline. If you push every list through a verifier before it reaches an outreach tool, you are paying for verification once already, and a tool that bundles it adds cost without adding value for you. ConnectSafely’s page is also, to its credit, a thorough how-to: the HowTo section walks through filters, pagination and export in more detail than most paid vendors manage. Finally, if you are evaluating the whole extension category before paying anyone, a free tool is the cheapest way to see what in-session scraping looks like, including what happens when Apollo serves an empty “No Results” page mid-run.
Where Apollo Exporter is the better pick
The gap opens when the list has to be right. Apollo Exporter (apolloexporter.com) verifies every email with BounceBan before you download, and rows without an email are not charged, so the price you pay is for rows you can use. ConnectSafely publishes no verification step, which means a list exported with it carries whatever share of invalid and catch-all addresses Apollo’s database carries; the data accuracy guide covers what third-party studies found. Billing is per row through one-time credit packs priced per 1,000 on the pricing page, with 500 free credits on sign-up so you can check the file before spending anything. The dashboard shows live status for each job, and an API with keys exists for teams that trigger exports from a workflow. Delivery is CSV or XLSX with the 25 standard Apollo people fields, and the export runs through your own session via the bridge extension, so there are no shared accounts and no credentials handed over. Measured validity and delivery figures are on the methodology page rather than quoted here.
Switching from ConnectSafely
- Open the Apollo search you want in Apollo.io and copy the URL from the address bar. If the link uses Apollo’s newer “Filters 2.0” format, run it through the free search URL parser first to confirm it is readable.
- Sign up at dashboard.apolloexporter.com and install the Apollo Exporter Chrome extension. It is a bridge to your own session, not a second scraper, so disable ConnectSafely on the Apollo tab while a job runs to avoid two tools paging the same search.
- Paste the URL, start the job, and watch the live status. Rows are collected page by page from the same search you see on screen.
- Download the CSV or XLSX once verification finishes. The 500 free credits cover the first list; compare its columns with your last ConnectSafely export to confirm the 25 standard fields map cleanly.
- Read the legal guide before running anything larger. The terms ConnectSafely warns about apply to every in-session tool, including ours, and the best Apollo scrapers comparison shows the cloud options if you would rather not use your own account at all.