Head to head
ContactOut vs Pearch
As a ai candidate sourcing tools API, Pearch rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 62.6 to 55, a 7.6-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
62.6ABI / 100
HR-tech builders and agents that need natural-language candidate search with optional email/phone enrichment, billed in credits
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | ContactOut | Pearch |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 55.0 | 62.6 |
Specifications
| ContactOut | Pearch | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | LinkedIn-based email and phone lookup for recruiters and sales | HR-tech builders and agents that need natural-language candidate search with optional email/phone enrichment, billed in credits |
| Free tier | 5 emails, 5 phones, 5 exports/day in the app; API not included | No |
| Pricing | Credits (search, email, phone) on a quoted API plan | Prepaid credit packs; per-search and per-enrichment credits |
| Official SDKs | 4 languages | 3 languages |
Is ContactOut better than Pearch?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, Pearch rates higher (62.6 vs 55). It leads on the four weighted criteria, but price is reported separately, so the best choice still depends on your budget.
Verdict in one line
Pearch leads by 7.6 points (62.6 vs 55) and wins 2 of 4 criteria; ContactOut wins 2.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 70 | 66 | |
| Reliability | 58 | 55 | |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 50 | 62 | |
| Accessibility | 35 | 68 |
Choose ContactOut if… / choose Pearch if…
- →documentation & dx matters most to you (70 vs 66)
- →reliability matters most to you (58 vs 55)
- →you want a free tier to start (5 emails, 5 phones, 5 exports/day in the app; API not included)
- →you need broad SDK coverage (4 official SDKs vs 3)
- →your use case matches its focus: linkedin-based email and phone lookup for recruiters and sales
- →ecosystem & sdks matters most to you (62 vs 50)
- →accessibility matters most to you (68 vs 35)
- →your use case matches its focus: hr-tech builders and agents that need natural-language candidate search with optional email/phone enrichment, billed in credits
Pricing side by side
- Model
- Credits (search, email, phone) on a quoted API plan
- Free tier
- 5 emails, 5 phones, 5 exports/day in the app; API not included
- Free$0
- Email~$49-$99/mo (sources conflict)
- Email + Phone~$99-$199/mo (sources conflict)
- Team / APICustom quote
- Model
- Prepaid credit packs; per-search and per-enrichment credits
- Free tier
- No
- First purchase offer$300
- Standard$600
- Startup$1,500
- Growth$3,000
- Enterprise / annualCustom
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-10-07 (ContactOut) and 2026-10-22 (Pearch).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 1
REST API (token header auth)
Only ContactOut · 3
Webhooks for async bulk v2Third-party MCP via Composio and viaSocketNo official SDKs or OpenAPI spec found
Only Pearch · 2
MCP server (remote, OAuth or Bearer key; MIT)MCP local stdio (Python, fastmcp)
Strengths and weaknesses
- +Public API reference with auth, endpoint credit rules and per-endpoint rate limits
- +Bulk enrichment up to 1,000 profiles per v2 job with webhook delivery
- +Boolean search, decision-maker and company endpoints plus email and phone verification
- –API is not on self-serve plans; Team/API requires a custom quote
- –Free app plan (5/5/5 per day) does not include API access
- –962 outages tracked by StatusGator over the past year, with a minor outage on the verification date
- +Official remote MCP server (MIT) with OAuth or API key
- +Published credit packs and per-feature credit costs
- +Real-time profile and contact enrichment options
- –No free trial without contacting sales
- –$300 minimum purchase
- –docs.pearch.ai not retrievable and third-party prices disagree
ContactOut vs Pearch: questions
- Which has better documentation, ContactOut or Pearch?
- ContactOut scores higher on documentation and developer experience: 70 vs 66 out of 100.
- Which is more reliable, ContactOut or Pearch?
- ContactOut scores higher on reliability: 58 vs 55 out of 100.
- Do ContactOut and Pearch have a free tier?
- ContactOut: yes (5 emails, 5 phones, 5 exports/day in the app; API not included). Pearch: no free tier.
- How are ContactOut and Pearch priced?
- ContactOut: Credits (search, email, phone) on a quoted API plan. Pearch: Prepaid credit packs; per-search and per-enrichment credits.
- Which has more official SDKs?
- ContactOut lists 4 official SDKs, Pearch lists 3.