Head-to-head · 2026

Surfe vs Apollo.io

Surfe is a European alternative to Apollo.io: same crm & marketing use case, headquartered in France and governed by EU GDPR, while Apollo.io is based in the United States.

By the EU Alternatives team Last updated 7 August 2026

European alternative

Surfe

France

Advanced prospecting platform with waterfall enrichment, verified emails & phones, native CRM integration. Build pipelines in minutes with 90% find rates.

Jurisdiction: EU / EEA
Primary privacy law: EU GDPR
US CLOUD Act exposure: No
Open source: No
Free tier: No

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Non-EU

Apollo.io

Apollo.io · United States

A B2B contact database wired into sequencing and dialling, so a small sales team can prospect and email without stitching three tools together. The Starter plan is free forever with capped monthly credits, and paid seats bill per user with mobile numbers metered separately. ZenLeads Inc trades as Apollo.io and is a registered data broker in California, hosting everything in the US.

Jurisdiction: United States
GDPR by default: Requires DPA + TIA
US CLOUD Act exposure: Yes

All European alternatives to Apollo.io

Surfe vs Apollo.io at a glance

	Surfe	Apollo.io
Headquarters	France	United States
Data jurisdiction	EU / EEA	United States
Primary privacy law	EU GDPR	Requires DPA + transfer assessment
US CLOUD Act exposure	No	Yes
Best for	Teams that need crm & marketing built for European data-protection requirements	Teams already invested in the Apollo.io ecosystem

Choose Surfe if…

You want a provider governed by a European privacy regime
GDPR or public-sector data-protection requirements apply to you
You'd rather back the European tech ecosystem

Stick with Apollo.io if…

You depend on integrations only available in the Apollo.io ecosystem
Your organisation has no EU data-residency constraints
Migration costs outweigh the jurisdiction benefits for now

Why choose Surfe over Apollo.io?

The decisive argument is data jurisdiction. Apollo.io is headquartered in the United States, which means personal data processed through it can be subject to non-EU legal regimes: the US CLOUD Act, FISA 702, or similar laws depending on the provider. After the 2020 Schrems II ruling, EU organisations must carry out a transfer impact assessment for every such data flow.

Surfe removes that overhead. As a France-based provider, it operates under EU GDPR, and data stays inside the EU/EEA by default. For regulated sectors such as health, public administration, and finance, that's not a nice-to-have but a requirement. For everyone else, it's concentration-risk insurance: you avoid depending on a single jurisdiction that can change the rules without warning.

Frequently asked questions

Is Surfe a good alternative to Apollo.io?

Yes. Surfe is one of the top-ranked European alternatives to Apollo.io in our directory, covering the same crm & marketing use case. It is headquartered in France, where EU GDPR applies.

What's the main difference between Surfe and Apollo.io?

The biggest difference is jurisdiction: Surfe is based in France, where EU GDPR applies, while Apollo.io is headquartered in the United States and may transfer data outside Europe. For regulated industries or organisations following Schrems II guidance, this difference is decisive.

Is Surfe GDPR-compliant?

Surfe is based in France, where EU GDPR applies. EU customers should still verify the provider's hosting and subprocessors, but the service is designed for European data-protection requirements.

How do I migrate from Apollo.io to Surfe?

Start by exporting your data from Apollo.io (most providers offer an export in their settings). Then import into Surfe using its native import tool or migration guide. Running both in parallel for a week catches any feature or workflow gaps before you fully switch.

Other European alternatives to Apollo.io