The 30-second summary
Waterfall enrichment is how Apollo finds an email or phone number for a contact when the first data source comes back empty. It tries multiple providers in a defined order and stops as soon as it gets a match. You pay credits only for what it actually checks.
You have a weekly credit budget. This page tells you what waterfall costs, when to use it, when to skip it, and how to check your remaining credits.
Waterfall amplifies your hit rate but it also amplifies credit spend if you point it at the wrong list. Knowing when to use it is half the skill.
How the waterfall actually works
When you ask Apollo to enrich a contact, Apollo does not just check one database. It checks several providers in sequence.
The cascade order
- Apollo's own database (the baseline).
- A secondary provider if the first comes back empty.
- A tertiary provider if the second comes back empty.
- And so on through the configured stack.
The "waterfall" is the order in which Apollo tries providers. You stop paying the moment one returns a valid result. So a contact whose email is in Apollo's own database costs you one credit. A contact who needs three providers checked costs three.
What it returns
Waterfall is being re-enabled for your team on emails this week. Phones are not currently in scope. If you want phones added later, ping Angelo or me.
When to use it (and when to skip)
Two columns. Read the right one before you run a bulk enrichment.
- A contact's email or phone is missing from Apollo's default lookup
- You're enriching a list pulled from Sales Navigator, an event scan, or another external source
- You're chasing a high-value contact at a new account and the first lookup failed
- You're processing a job-change list (like the New Hire Workflow we built)
- You're working a high-priority account and reachability matters more than spend
- The contact already has a valid email in Apollo (standard enrichment is enough)
- You're enriching a list of hundreds of cold contacts where most are unlikely reachable
- Your weekly credit counter is already at 70 percent and the week isn't done
- The list quality is unverified and could be full of dead records
- You're testing or experimenting (use a smaller sample first)
Bulk enriching 200 contacts that each waterfall through 3 providers can spend 600 credits in a single run. Read the credit estimate Apollo shows before clicking Run. Always.
How credits work
You have a personal weekly credit budget. The current cap is 1,000 credits per user per week. Your admin or Apollo GTME can confirm if this is still accurate for your seat.
Two rules of thumb
How to check your remaining credits
- In the Apollo app. Open your profile (top right) > Account > Usage. Look for "Credits used this week" and "Weekly credit limit."
- On the enrichment screen. Before running a bulk enrichment, Apollo shows an estimate of credits the job will consume. Read this before you click run.
- Ask Angelo. He has visibility into the whole team's usage and can tell you whether you're tracking high relative to your peers.
What happens when you hit the cap
Enrichments fail until the cap resets on Monday. If you're working a high-priority list and need the cap lifted before then, escalate to Angelo. He can request an uplift from Apollo.
Nick is pulling the whole team's weekly usage. If anyone is bumping the cap, he'll make the case for an uplift on your behalf. If nobody is close, you'll get the numbers anyway for visibility.
Common questions
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What does waterfall do? | Checks multiple providers in order. Stops at first match. |
| What does it cost? | Usually 1 to 3 credits per enrichment. |
| What's my weekly cap? | 1,000 credits per user (confirm with Angelo). |
| Where do I check usage? | Apollo > Profile > Account > Usage. |
| When should I use it? | External lists, missing contacts, high-value chases. |
| When should I skip it? | Already has email, huge low-quality list, cap near max. |
| Who do I ask first? | Angelo. |