Apollo.io
Large (~800)
Cognition
Medium (~300)
Best For
Apollo.io
Best for: Product builders who want strong PMF and competitive comp at a sales-tech leader
Cognition
Best for: Elite engineers who want to build frontier AI coding agents and own a meaningful equity stake
Ratings
Apollo.ioCognition
4.0
3.8
Overall
3.6
3.2
Work-Life Balance
4.0
3.9
Culture & Values
4.1
3.8
Comp & Benefits
3.6
3.6
Senior Mgmt
4.1
3.6
Career Opps
👍 77% Recommend
👤 81% CEO Approval (Matt Curl)
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Scott Wu)
Culture Values
Apollo.io only
🌐 Remote-Friendly🌱 Learning & Growth
Cognition only
💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Shared
🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate⚙️ Engineering-Driven🎯 Direct Product Impact
Pros & Cons
Apollo.io
- Strong product-market fit — best-in-class sales intelligence platform
- Competitive compensation with RSUs, performance bonuses, and paid health insurance
- Some reports of leadership involvement in granular decisions and frequent pivots
- Work-life balance challenges under high-growth pressure
Cognition
- Elite engineering team with strong equity
- Cutting-edge AI agent work
- High-intensity startup pace
- In-person SF expectations
Bottom Line
Apollo.io
Choose Apollo.io if you want best-in-class sales intelligence with competitive comp — but leadership can be hands-on.
Cognition
Choose Cognition if you want world-class AI agent research (makers of Devin) with strong equity upside — but expect top-tier intensity and mandatory in-person in San Francisco.
Open Roles
Apollo.io — 45 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
16
💻 Engineering
9
📣 Marketing
4
👤 HR / People
3
📋 Product
3
📊 Data
1
🎨 Design
1
💰 Finance
1
⚖️ Legal
1
🎧 Support
1
Cognition — 62 jobs
💻 Engineering
21
💼 Sales / GTM
10
📊 Data
3
⚖️ Legal
2
⚙️ Operations
2
💰 Finance
1
👤 HR / People
1
📣 Marketing
1
🧠 ML / AI
1
Summary
Apollo.io scores 4.0/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.6 work-life balance rating. Cognition scores 3.8/5.0 overall with a 3.2 WLB. That’s a 0.2-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Ship Fast & Iterate, Engineering-Driven, Direct Product Impact. Apollo.io also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Learning & Growth. Cognition also emphasizes Strong Comp & Equity.
On the hiring front, Apollo.io has 45 open roles and Cognition has 62 open roles.