Best Lusha Competitors: 7 Alternatives That Actually Work
Lusha is a solid B2B contact finder, but it's not perfect. The credit-based pricing gets expensive fast, data accuracy hovers around 81% according to some users, and the free plan only gives you 70 credits per month. If you're prospecting at scale, those limitations add up quickly.
I've tested the major Lusha alternatives and compared them on what actually matters: pricing, data accuracy, database size, and real-world usability. Here's what you need to know to make the right choice.
Quick Comparison: Lusha vs Top Competitors
Before diving into each tool, here's how they stack up:
| Tool | Starting Price | Database Size | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lusha | $22.45/mo (annual) | 100M+ contacts | Quick LinkedIn lookups |
| Apollo.io | $49/user/mo | 700M+ contacts | All-in-one prospecting + outreach |
| RocketReach | $48/mo (annual) | 700M+ profiles | Email-focused prospecting |
| ZoomInfo | $14,995/year | 321M+ contacts | Enterprise teams |
| Cognism | Custom pricing | 700M+ contacts | EMEA coverage + compliance |
| UpLead | $74/mo | 155M+ contacts | Real-time verification |
| Kaspr | Free tier available | N/A | LinkedIn prospecting |
Understanding Lusha's Pricing First
Before comparing alternatives, you need to understand what you're working with. Lusha uses a credit-based system with emails costing 1 credit and phone numbers costing 5-10 credits depending on your plan.
Here's the current Lusha pricing breakdown:
- Free Plan: 70 credits/month, 1 user
- Pro Plan: $22.45/user/month (annual) or ~$20/month (monthly), 3,000 credits/year
- Premium Plan: $52.45/user/month (annual), 7,200 credits/year
- Scale Plan: Custom pricing for enterprise
The catch? Those credits burn fast when you're revealing phone numbers, and premium features like bulk search and CSV enrichment are locked behind higher tiers. Check out our full Lusha pricing breakdown for more details.
1. Apollo.io – Best All-in-One Alternative
Apollo is the most direct Lusha competitor for teams that want prospecting AND outreach in one platform. It combines a massive contact database with email sequencing, A/B testing, and CRM functionality.
What Apollo Does Better
Apollo's database includes over 700 million contacts from 60 million companies, significantly larger than Lusha's 100+ million. The platform includes built-in email automation with unlimited sequences on paid plans, so you're not just finding contacts—you're reaching them directly.
The free plan is genuinely useful: you get unlimited email addresses (with fair use limits around 10,000/month for corporate emails), basic filters, and access to the full database. That's a massive upgrade from Lusha's 70 credits/month.
Apollo Pricing
- Free: Unlimited emails, limited mobile credits
- Basic: $49/user/month (annual) or $59/month monthly
- Professional: $79/user/month (annual) or $99/month monthly
- Organization: $119/user/month (annual), minimum 3 users
The Downsides
Apollo's interface can feel overwhelming—there's a learning curve if you just want simple contact lookups. Data accuracy can also fluctuate in niche industries, and credits for phone numbers and exports still apply even on paid plans. Some users report the credit system leads to unexpected costs when prospecting at scale.
Verdict: Best for teams that want to consolidate their sales stack. If you're currently using Lusha + a separate email tool, Apollo could replace both.
2. RocketReach – Best for Email-Heavy Prospecting
RocketReach focuses primarily on email and phone lookups with a cleaner, simpler interface than Apollo. It's a more direct 1:1 replacement for Lusha's core functionality.
What RocketReach Does Better
The platform offers access to 700 million professional profiles with advanced search capabilities. RocketReach claims 90-98% deliverability on verified emails, which is solid. The Chrome extension works seamlessly with LinkedIn, and CRM integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, and others are included on higher tiers.
RocketReach Pricing
- Free: 5 free lookups (no credit card required)
- Essentials: $48/month (annual) or $69/month monthly – email only, 1,200 exports/year
- Pro: $108/month (annual) or $119/month monthly – email + phone, 3,600 exports/year
- Ultimate: $249/month (annual) or $209/month monthly – full features, API access
The Downsides
RocketReach is pricier than Lusha for equivalent functionality. The Essentials plan is email-only—if you need phone numbers, you're looking at $108+/month. There's also no built-in outreach, so you'll still need a separate email tool.
Verdict: Good for sales reps who primarily use email and want reliable data. Not ideal if phone outreach is your main channel. See our full RocketReach pricing breakdown.
3. ZoomInfo – Best for Enterprise Teams
ZoomInfo is the 800-pound gorilla of B2B sales intelligence. It offers the most comprehensive data, but at a price that puts it out of reach for most small businesses.
What ZoomInfo Does Better
ZoomInfo's database spans 321 million active professionals at 104 million companies with some of the most detailed firmographic and technographic data available. Intent data, org charts, company insights, and real-time alerts are all included. The platform goes far beyond contact lookups into full go-to-market intelligence.
ZoomInfo Pricing
ZoomInfo doesn't publish pricing, but here's what we found from user reports:
- Professional Plan: ~$14,995/year for 5,000 credits and 3 users
- Advanced Plan: ~$24,995/year for 10,000 credits
- Elite Plan: ~$39,995/year with full features
Yes, you read that right. ZoomInfo starts at $15K/year minimum with annual contracts only. Additional users cost $1,500-$2,500 each. There's a free "ZoomInfo Lite" tier with 10-25 monthly credits, but it's extremely limited.
The Downsides
The price tag is the obvious barrier. ZoomInfo requires annual contracts with no monthly option, and users frequently report 10-30% price hikes at renewal. The platform also has a steep learning curve and some users complain about CRM sync errors.
Verdict: Only makes sense for enterprise teams with $15K+ budgets who need the deepest data and intent signals. Everyone else should look elsewhere.
4. Cognism – Best for European/EMEA Data
Cognism positions itself as the GDPR-compliant alternative with particularly strong coverage in Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions.
What Cognism Does Better
Cognism offers phone-verified mobile numbers with a combination of AI and human verification, which translates to lower bounce rates than many competitors. The platform is built with GDPR and CCPA compliance in mind, including Do Not Call list checking—important if you're doing phone outreach in regulated markets.
Cognism Pricing
Cognism uses custom pricing based on team size, regions, and features. There's no free plan. Based on user reports, expect enterprise-level pricing similar to or slightly below ZoomInfo for comparable functionality.
The Downsides
Some users report a 25-lead export limit that can slow down larger campaigns. U.S. coverage isn't as strong as European data. And without transparent pricing, you're going into sales calls blind.
Verdict: The go-to choice if you're prospecting heavily in EMEA markets and need compliant, verified phone data. Less compelling for U.S.-focused teams.
5. UpLead – Best for Real-Time Verification
UpLead differentiates itself with real-time email verification—every contact is verified at the moment you reveal it, not pulled from a static database.
What UpLead Does Better
The platform offers 155 million contacts with real-time verification, meaning you should see significantly lower bounce rates. UpLead includes 50+ search filters including intent data on higher tiers, and consistently ranks high for ease of use. They claim to cost about one-third of leading sales intelligence platforms.
UpLead Pricing
- Free Trial: 5 credits
- Essentials: $74/month – 2,040 credits/year
- Plus: $148/month – 4,800 credits/year + enrichment
- Professional: $299/month – 12,000 credits/year + intent data
The Downsides
The database is smaller than Apollo or RocketReach (155M vs 700M+ contacts), so coverage in niche industries may be limited. The real-time verification adds latency to bulk lookups.
Verdict: Great middle-ground option if you value data quality over raw database size. The pricing is transparent and reasonable.
6. Kaspr – Best Free Alternative
Kaspr is a LinkedIn-focused prospecting tool that offers a genuinely useful free tier—making it attractive for individual contributors and small teams testing the waters.
What Kaspr Does Better
Kaspr provides unlimited free B2B email addresses and includes campaign management features. The Chrome extension integrates tightly with LinkedIn for quick prospecting directly from profiles. It's simple, focused, and has a lower learning curve than most alternatives.
Kaspr Pricing
- Free: Unlimited emails, limited phone credits
- Paid Plans: Scale based on phone credits needed
The Downsides
Kaspr works best for LinkedIn-centric prospecting. If you need comprehensive database access outside of LinkedIn, you'll hit limitations. Phone credit costs can add up if that's your primary outreach channel.
Verdict: Perfect for individual sales reps who live on LinkedIn and want free email access. Less suitable for teams needing a full sales intelligence platform.
7. Clay – Best for Data Enrichment Workflows
Clay takes a different approach—it's more of a data enrichment and workflow automation platform than a traditional contact database. It connects to multiple data providers and lets you build custom prospecting workflows.
What Clay Does Better
Clay aggregates data from multiple sources (including Lusha, Apollo, and others) and lets you build automated enrichment workflows. If you need to combine data from multiple providers or run complex prospecting logic, Clay is uniquely powerful.
The Downsides
Clay has a steeper learning curve than any tool on this list. It's more of a platform than a plug-and-play solution, so expect setup time. Pricing can also get complex as you add data provider credits.
Verdict: Best for ops-minded teams who want to build sophisticated prospecting workflows. Overkill for simple contact lookups.
Which Lusha Alternative Should You Choose?
Here's my honest take based on different use cases:
- Replacing Lusha 1:1 on a budget: Kaspr (free tier) or Apollo (free plan with upgrade path)
- All-in-one prospecting + outreach: Apollo.io
- Email-focused with high accuracy: RocketReach or UpLead
- European/EMEA markets: Cognism
- Enterprise with $15K+ budget: ZoomInfo
- Advanced workflow automation: Clay
What About Findymail for Cold Email?
If your primary use case is cold email outreach, Findymail deserves a mention. It focuses specifically on email finding with extremely low bounce rates (under 2%), making it ideal for cold email campaigns where deliverability is critical.
Final Thoughts
Lusha isn't a bad tool—it's just not the only option anymore. The market has matured significantly, with competitors offering larger databases, better pricing transparency, and integrated outreach capabilities.
If you're paying for Lusha Pro or Premium and finding the credits restrictive, Apollo's free plan might give you more runway to test. If you need the absolute best data quality and have the budget, ZoomInfo remains the enterprise standard. And if GDPR compliance keeps you up at night, Cognism is worth the conversation.
Whatever you choose, don't just look at the sticker price. Calculate your actual cost per contact based on how you prospect, and factor in whether you need separate tools for outreach. Sometimes a slightly more expensive all-in-one platform costs less than stacking multiple cheaper tools.
Looking for more sales tools? Check out our guides to CRM software for small business and email marketing platforms.