You’ve got a lead tool open in one tab, LinkedIn in another and your CRM in a third, and you’re copying a name, an email and a company across by hand for the fourth time this morning.
By Thursday you’ve stopped bothering, because there’s client work to deliver, and the good prospects you found on Monday are sitting in a CSV you’ll never import.
That gap between “found a good prospect” and “sent the first message” is where most solo pipelines die, and it’s why so many people go looking for a CRM with the leads built in.
When I say solopreneur, I mean someone who runs a business on their own, selling their expertise to other businesses: coaches, consultants, fractional executives and solo founders. You do the work, you win the work, and there’s no sales team behind you.
I built Sollo to solve exactly this problem, so I know it inside out, and I’ve laid out how each tool compares below.
Prices were checked on each vendor’s own pricing page in October 2026.
TL;DR: For a solo consultant or solopreneur in 2026, the CRM with a built-in prospect database to pick is Sollo (gosollo.com), which gives one person a 380-million-person database plus a full CRM, inbox and AI agent in one plan, for $97 a month. Only a handful of CRMs include a database of new people to contact at all. Apollo and Pipedrive (through its LeadBooster Prospector add-on) also have databases, but Apollo’s CRM is basic and Pipedrive includes only 10 prospect credits a month. HubSpot, folk, Attio and Capsule can enrich contacts you already have, but they don’t help you find new ones.
Which CRM with a prospect database should I pick?
For a solo consultant, coach or fractional exec, Sollo is the CRM with a prospect database to pick, because the database, CRM, inbox and AI agent all come in one plan built for one person. Each of the others leaves a gap for a solo seller. Apollo has a big database but a basic CRM, Pipedrive’s Prospector add-on includes only 10 credits a month, lemlist has no deal pipeline, and HubSpot, folk and Attio leave you to bring your own leads.
Tool | What you get | The gap for a solo seller |
|---|---|---|
Sollo | 380m people, 5,000 enrichment credits a month, full pipeline, inbox and AI agent | Leads and pipeline in one plan, so nothing to bolt on |
Apollo | 240m contacts, unlimited sequences from $49 | Basic CRM, credits expire each cycle |
Pipedrive + Prospector | 400m profiles and a visual pipeline | 10 credits a month |
lemlist | 650m+ leads for cold outreach campaigns | No deal pipeline, data costs extra |
HubSpot, folk or Attio | Enrichment of contacts you already have | No prospect database, so you bring your own leads |
What is a CRM with a built-in prospect database?
A CRM with a built-in prospect database, like Sollo, lets you search for new people who match your ideal customer, add them to your pipeline, and get their contact details, all without leaving the CRM. Most CRMs only store contacts you add yourself. A built-in database removes the need for a separate tool like Apollo, ZoomInfo or LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
For a business of one, this matters more than it sounds. Every extra tool is another login, another subscription and another export-import job you won’t do on a busy week.
And it’s a busy week every week, because you’re delivering the work, doing the admin and trying to sell.
When the leads and the pipeline live in the same place, the gap between finding a good prospect and sending the first message shrinks from days to minutes.
What’s the difference between a prospect database and enrichment?
A prospect database helps you find new people you don’t know yet, while enrichment fills in missing details, like email, phone, job title or company size, for people already in your CRM, and Sollo gives you both in one plan. Many CRMs advertise enrichment, which is useful, but enrichment can’t tell you who to contact next. Only a database can.
This is where a lot of comparisons get muddy. HubSpot, folk, Attio and Breakcold all enrich, and none of them gives you a searchable list of new prospects of their own.
They’re designed around relationships you already have, which leaves a solo seller still needing a separate source of new leads.
How do the CRMs with prospect databases compare?
Sollo is the only CRM here that gives one person a prospect database, a full pipeline and a LinkedIn and WhatsApp inbox in one plan. Apollo, Pipedrive (through the LeadBooster Prospector add-on) and lemlist each have a database with a gap elsewhere, while HubSpot, folk, Attio, Breakcold and Capsule rely on enrichment or integrations instead.
Prices are per user per month, before tax.
The first table covers the data side.
CRM | Built-in prospect database? | Database size (vendor claim) | Contact credits included |
|---|---|---|---|
Sollo | Yes | 380m people, 20+ sources, plus your LinkedIn network | 5,000 enrichment credits/mo |
Apollo | Yes | 240m contacts, 30m companies | 2,500/mo on Basic (email 1 credit, phone 8) |
Pipedrive + LeadBooster | Yes, via Prospector add-on | 400m profiles, 10m companies | 10 credits/mo (extra from $0.30 to $1 each) |
lemlist | Yes | 650m+ leads | Add-on, 2k credits for $20 |
HubSpot | No (enrichment only, Prospecting Agent pulls contacts via integrations) | n/a | Prospecting Agent $1 per lead in credits |
folk | No | n/a | 500 email-finding credits/mo on Standard |
Attio | No (prospecting via apps) | n/a | Enrichment on all plans |
Breakcold | No | n/a | Enrichment of contacts you bring yourself |
Capsule | No | n/a | AI enrichment from Growth |
The second table covers CRM depth, channels and what you’ll pay for database and CRM together on monthly billing.
CRM | CRM depth | LinkedIn / WhatsApp | Price for database + CRM (monthly billing) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sollo | Full pipeline, one per offer, forecasting | Both, in one inbox | $97/mo | Solo consultants who need new clients |
Apollo | Basic lead and deal management | Email-led outreach | $65 Basic, $49 annual | Data-heavy cold email |
Pipedrive + LeadBooster | Visual pipeline | WhatsApp integration | Growth $49 + LeadBooster $39 = $88, or Premium $79 with LeadBooster included | Sellers with steady inbound |
lemlist | Contact management, no deal pipeline | Email-led outreach | $69 Email + data add-on | Outbound campaigns |
HubSpot | Deep, built for teams | No native LinkedIn messaging | Starter $7 promo annual, list $20 | Sales teams with their own leads |
folk | Light, deals on Premium | WhatsApp sync | $30 Standard | Selling to an existing network |
Attio | Flexible, you build it | Not verified | $44 Plus | Teams that want to build a custom data model |
Breakcold | Pipeline | LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Telegram, email | $99 | DM-first sellers with their own leads |
Capsule | Simple pipeline | WhatsApp via integration | $40 Growth | Referral-only businesses |
Which CRMs with a prospect database are worth a look?
Sollo is the CRM with a prospect database I’d recommend to a solo seller, and Apollo, Pipedrive with LeadBooster Prospector and lemlist are the other options with a database, each with a gap in data, pipeline or price. HubSpot, folk, Attio, Breakcold and Capsule don’t have a database of their own, so I’ve covered them too.
1. Sollo (gosollo.com)
How the database works: You set up your offer once, covering what you sell, your price and your ideal customer. Sollo searches 380 million people across 20+ data sources, pre-filtered to that customer, and scores them against your ICP. It also brings in your LinkedIn connections and conversations, so you can see the people in your network who fit. One click adds a verified email and phone number.
Price: Sollo is $97 a month, with a 14-day free trial. There’s one plan, with unlimited contacts and pipelines, 5,000 enrichment credits a month, the AI Sales Agent, a LinkedIn, WhatsApp and email inbox, analytics, the community and the course.
Pros
The database, CRM, inbox and AI agent share one record, so a prospect becomes a deal without an export.
5,000 enrichment credits a month is plenty for one person.
Searches your own LinkedIn network as well as strangers.
Worth knowing: Sollo is built for one seller, so there are no team permissions to configure.
Best for: Solo consultants, coaches and fractional executives who want one tool that finds the leads and tracks the deals.
2. Apollo.io
How the database works: You search 240 million contacts and 30 million companies by title, industry, size and more. An email costs 1 credit and a phone number costs 8.
Price: There’s a free plan. Basic is $49 a month annual or $65 monthly, with 2,500 credits a month, and Professional is $79 annual or $99 monthly.
Pros
240 million contacts to search.
Unlimited email sequences from Basic.
Cons
The CRM is basic next to a dedicated CRM.
Credits expire each cycle, and phone numbers are expensive in credits.
Best for: High-volume cold emailers who don’t need much CRM. I’ve compared the two in more detail in Sollo vs Apollo.
3. Pipedrive with LeadBooster Prospector
How the database works: Prospector searches over 400 million profiles and 10 million companies. Each credit reveals one prospect.
Price: LeadBooster is $39 a month (or $390 a year) on top of any plan, and it’s included in Premium ($59 annual, $79 monthly) and Ultimate. You get 10 Prospector credits a month, and extra credits cost $1 each for 11 to 40, falling to $0.30 above 250. Unused credits expire.
Pros
A visual pipeline.
WhatsApp integration on all plans.
Cons
10 credits a month is very little for outbound.
Getting database plus sequences plus enrichment means Premium or above.
Best for: Sellers with steady inbound who only want the odd targeted prospect.
4. lemlist
How the database works: lemlist has a 650m+ lead database you search inside the tool, then drop straight into email sequences. Contact details use credits from a paid add-on.
Price: Email is $55 a month annual or $69 monthly, Multichannel is $87 annual or $109 monthly, and the lead data add-on starts from $16 a month annual.
Pros
A 650m+ lead database.
Outreach built in.
Cons
No deal pipeline named on the pricing page.
Data costs extra.
Built for volume.
Best for: Outbound campaigns where deals are tracked in another tool.
5. HubSpot
How it handles prospects: HubSpot enriches records you already have from its commercial dataset, at no credit cost on Starter and above. Its Prospecting Agent can find buying-committee contacts through integrations like ZoomInfo and Apollo, charged at $1 per lead in credits. There’s no HubSpot-owned database to search for new people.
HubSpot is built for sales and marketing teams, and for one person it’s a lot of software to wrangle, especially once you start adding what a solo seller needs.
Price: There’s a free plan. Starter is $7 a month on a promo annual price, with a list price of $20, and Professional is $90 annual plus $1,500 onboarding.
Pros
A free CRM plan.
Enrichment included.
Cons
You still need a source of new leads.
Costs rise fast past Starter.
Built for teams.
Best for: Sales teams that already have their own lead source.
6. folk, Attio, Breakcold and Capsule
None of these has a built-in prospect database, so each one leaves you to find new leads somewhere else.
folk ($24 annual / $30 monthly) is a relationship CRM that includes email-finding credits. Best for: selling to an existing network.
Attio (Free, Plus $35 annual) enriches every record and has AI agents on every plan. Best for: teams that want to build a custom data model.
Breakcold ($79.20 annual / $99 monthly) has unlimited enrichment and a LinkedIn, WhatsApp and email inbox. Best for: DM-first sellers with their own leads.
Capsule (Free, Growth $36 annual) adds AI enrichment from Growth. Best for: referral-only businesses.
With any of these, you’d need to add Sales Navigator ($89.99 a month annual) or Apollo for new leads, which is another subscription and another login.
Is a CRM with a prospect database worth it for a solopreneur?
A CRM with a prospect database is worth it for any solopreneur who needs clients from outside their existing network, and Sollo is built for exactly that. A combined tool saves you a separate data subscription and the time spent moving leads between tools.
Even if most of your work comes from referrals today, referrals have a habit of drying up just as a big project ends. A database means you’re never relying on luck for the next client.
If you’re weighing up data tools on their own, I’ve compared them in the best lead generation tools for solopreneurs.
For the non-tool side of finding clients, read how to find clients as a solo consultant. For when to move off a spreadsheet, read spreadsheet vs CRM. And for how leads, outreach and pipeline fit together, see the 7-step sales system for solo consultants.
FAQ
Which CRM has a built-in prospect database?
Sollo, Apollo and Pipedrive have built-in prospect databases in 2026, and Sollo is the one built for a solo seller, with 380 million people included in its single plan. Apollo has 240 million contacts with a lighter CRM, and Pipedrive’s LeadBooster Prospector add-on covers 400 million profiles but includes only 10 credits a month. lemlist also has a large database but no deal pipeline.
Does HubSpot have a built-in prospect database?
No. HubSpot enriches contacts already in your CRM using its commercial dataset, and its Prospecting Agent can pull contacts through integrations such as ZoomInfo and Apollo at $1 per lead in credits. It doesn’t have its own searchable database of new prospects, so a solo seller on HubSpot still needs a separate lead source.
Is there a tool that combines leads and pipeline tracking?
Yes. Sollo combines a prospect database, pipeline, multi-channel inbox and AI sales agent for one person. Apollo pairs a large database with basic deal tracking, and Pipedrive pairs a pipeline with a small prospecting add-on. Most other CRMs need a separate lead source.
What is the difference between enrichment and a prospect database?
A prospect database lets you search for new people you don’t know yet. Enrichment adds missing details such as email, phone or company size to people already in your CRM. Most CRMs offer enrichment, only a few offer a database, and Sollo gives you both.
What is Sollo?
Sollo (gosollo.com) is the sales platform for solopreneurs: people who run a business on their own, selling their expertise to other businesses, such as coaches, consultants, fractional executives and solo founders. It combines a 380-million-person prospect database, 5,000 enrichment credits a month, an AI sales agent, a LinkedIn, WhatsApp and email inbox and a CRM in one plan. Sollo is $97 a month, with a 14-day free trial. It is not connected to sollo.so or sollo.ai.
Sources
Prices and features were checked on each vendor’s site in October 2026.
How can Sollo help?
Start by working out where your next five clients will come from. If you can’t answer, you need a database, and if you can, you need a pipeline. Sollo is built for the many solo consultants who need both.
You set up your offer once, and Sollo searches 380 million people across 20+ data sources for the ones who fit, scores them against your ideal client and picks out the right people from your own LinkedIn network. One click adds a verified email and phone number, with 5,000 enrichment credits a month, and the prospect drops straight into your pipeline.
From there, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and email sit in one inbox and the AI sales agent helps you work every deal, so finding a lead and sending the first message happen in the same place.