Key takeaways
- Hunter works from a domain: Domain Search, Email Finder and Email Verifier, plus sequences and an API.
- Lusha works from a person: a browser extension and CRM integrations reveal emails and phone numbers.
- Choose by the detail you need: a checked email address points to Hunter, a phone number to Lusha.
- Pebbles Ai returns work emails with a confidence score and a catch-all flag, and no phone numbers.
Hunter io vs Lusha: what each tool is for
Hunter is for finding and checking email addresses, while Lusha is for revealing a person's contact details wherever you meet them. Hunter's pricing page puts Domain Search, Email Finder and Email Verifier at its core, so the work starts from a company domain or a named person. Sequences, Discover for finding companies and an API sit around that core.
Lusha begins from the profile or record in front of you. Its browser extension and CRM integrations show emails and phone numbers, and its API and MCP access let other systems and AI tools request the same data.
Email finder vs contact database: where each is stronger
Hunter is stronger when the address itself is the job. A dedicated verifier lets you check addresses before a campaign rather than after it, the free plan lets a founder test it without a purchase, and the public API suits teams that want lookups inside their own scripts or forms.
Lusha is stronger when a rep wants more than an email. Phone numbers sit beside emails, lookups happen inside the browser and the CRM the team already uses, and a free tier makes a small test easy to arrange.
Hunter or Lusha: which team should pick which
Pick Hunter if your team writes email to companies it has already chosen and wants each address checked; pick Lusha if reps prospect profile by profile and call as well as email. Marketers enriching a list of sign-up domains usually fit Hunter's domain-first model.
An illustrative contrast: a two-person agency pitching website redesigns to local firms has domains, not names, so Domain Search answers its question directly. An SDR team booking meetings with operations heads by phone wants Lusha's numbers in the extension while viewing each profile.
Where Pebbles Ai fits instead of a finder
Pebbles Ai fits when finding the address is only the first of several steps you want handled together. You give an assistant up to ten companies, a role and a location, and Find fresh leads returns people from Pebbles Ai's own growing B2B contact database, GDPR compliant, as contacts in the Pebbles Ai CRM, labelled Beta, with a work email where one is found, a confidence score and a catch-all flag. The assistants can then save emails as drafts in your connected Gmail or Outlook mailbox and draft LinkedIn messages for you to send.
It is not a drop-in replacement for either. Pebbles Ai has no domain search and no standalone verifier for addresses you already hold, and it has no phone numbers, so a calling team still needs a tool like Lusha.
What to try on a free plan before you decide
Try both on the same short list of real targets, because coverage varies by country, industry and company size more than any feature list shows.
- Run ten people you already know through each tool and compare what comes back.
- Decide whether you need phone numbers at all; if not, the comparison narrows to email quality.
- See how each tool marks uncertain or catch-all addresses.
- Check how found contacts reach your CRM: export, integration or API.
- Read each vendor's pricing page for how lookups are counted.
Hunter, Lusha and Pebbles Ai side by side
How each tool finds a contact and what it hands back, in its own terms.
| Hunter | Lusha | Pebbles Ai | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starts from | A company domain or a named person | Browser extension and CRM integrations | Named companies, a role and a location in chat |
| Details returned | Professional email addresses | Emails and phone numbers | Work emails with a confidence score and catch-all flag; no phone numbers |
| Checking addresses | Email Verifier | See their site | Confidence score and catch-all flag on each lead |
| Outreach | Sequences | See their site | Drafted email and LinkedIn touches, up to seven |
| Developer and AI access | An API | API and MCP | API keys on Team plans and above |
| Getting started | Free plan, then paid tiers | Free tier, then credit plans | Paid seat plans; see the pricing page |
Facts for the two named products were checked on 2 November 2026 on their own public pages. A cell reads See their site where those pages say nothing on the point.
The products compared
Hunter
Email finder and verifier
An email finding and verification tool with domain search, an email finder, a verifier, simple sequences, company discovery and an API, with a free plan.
Best for: Anyone who needs to find and verify professional email addresses quickly, with a free start.
Pricing model: Free, Starter, Growth, Scale and Enterprise; yearly billing at a discount. Source: Hunter pricing
Lusha
B2B contact data and enrichment
A B2B contact data tool for finding emails and phone numbers through a browser extension, CRM integrations, API and MCP, on credit-based plans with a free tier.
Best for: Sellers who want email and phone lookups in the browser and CRM with simple credit pricing.
Pricing model: Free, Starter, Professional, Premium and Scale, by monthly credits. Source: Lusha pricing
We make Pebbles Ai. Facts about other products come from their own public pages, checked on .
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsFind fresh leads returns 1 to 100 leads a run at companies you name, each with a work email where found, a confidence score and a catch-all flag.
- CapabilityOutreach contentThe assistants write email and LinkedIn touches from your brand voice; emails are saved as drafts in your connected mailbox.
Common questions
Does Hunter find phone numbers?
Hunter's pricing page lists Domain Search, Email Finder and Email Verifier, all built around email; check its site for anything beyond that. Lusha lists phone numbers beside emails, and Pebbles Ai offers no phone numbers.
Can Pebbles Ai verify an email list I already have?
Not as a standalone tool. Pebbles Ai scores the work emails it finds for its own leads, with a confidence score and a catch-all flag; for checking a list you bring, use a dedicated verifier.
Which is easier to try, Hunter or Lusha?
Both list a free option on their pricing pages, so a small side-by-side test is easy to set up. Pebbles Ai has no free plan; Pro and Team start with a 1-month free trial.
Can leads from Hunter or Lusha go into Pebbles Ai?
Yes. Export them as a CSV and import the file into the Pebbles Ai CRM, where the assistants can research each contact and draft outreach.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
