RocketReach Free Trial: What You Actually Get (And What You Don't)
Let's cut to the chase: RocketReach doesn't offer a traditional "free trial" of their paid plans. Instead, they give you a free account with 5 lookups per month, no credit card required. It's enough to test data quality, but not enough to run any real prospecting campaign.
If you're searching for "RocketReach free trial," you probably want to know if the tool is worth paying for before committing. Here's exactly what you get with the free tier, what's locked behind paid plans, and whether the upgrade makes sense for your situation.
What RocketReach's Free Account Includes
When you sign up for RocketReach without paying anything, here's what you actually get:
- 5 free lookups per month - These are contact reveals (email or phone), not just searches
- No credit card required - You won't get surprise charges
- Access to the Chrome extension - Works on LinkedIn and other sites
- Basic person search functionality - You can search the 700M+ profile database
- Personal and professional email results - When you do use a lookup
The important distinction: you can search as much as you want, but you only get 5 contacts revealed per month. After those 5 lookups, you're stuck until next month rolls around.
Also worth noting: unused credits do not roll over. If you only use 2 lookups in January, you don't get 8 in February. You're back to 5.
What's NOT Included in the Free Tier
Here's where RocketReach locks things down on the free account:
- No phone numbers - Mobile and direct dials are Pro plan and above only
- No bulk lookups - You can't upload a list and enrich it
- No CRM integrations - Salesforce, HubSpot, etc. require paid plans
- No exports - You can't download CSV files of your contacts
- Limited emails per day - The outreach features are heavily restricted
- No API access - That's Ultimate tier only
- No intent data or technographics - Advanced filtering is paid
Basically, the free tier lets you verify that RocketReach can find contacts for your target market. That's it. Any actual workflow is going to require a paid subscription.
RocketReach Paid Plans: Quick Overview
If you decide the free tier confirms RocketReach has the data you need, here's what upgrading costs:
| Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $69/month | $399/year (~$33/mo) | Email only, 1,200 exports/year, Chrome extension |
| Pro | $119/month | $899/year (~$75/mo) | Email + phone, 6,000 exports/year, CRM integrations |
| Ultimate | $209/month | $2,099/year (~$175/mo) | Email + phone, 20,000 exports/year, API access |
The annual plans come with "unlimited lookups" - but read the fine print. There's actually a fair usage cap of around 10,000 lookups per month, which is generous but not truly unlimited. For most users, this won't be an issue.
For a deeper breakdown, check out our full RocketReach pricing guide.
Is 5 Free Lookups Actually Useful?
Here's my honest take: 5 lookups per month is really only useful for two things:
- Testing data accuracy - Look up 5 people you already know. Do their emails match what you have? Are the phone numbers real? This tells you if RocketReach's data is reliable for your industry.
- One-off emergency lookups - Need to find a specific decision-maker's contact info right now? The free tier can handle occasional urgent needs.
What 5 lookups is not useful for:
- Building prospect lists
- Ongoing sales outreach
- Recruiting campaigns
- Any kind of systematic prospecting
If you need more than a handful of contacts per month, you're looking at a paid plan. There's no way around it.
How to Maximize Your Free Lookups
Since you only get 5, make them count:
- Search first, reveal second - Use the search functionality to find the right people before burning a lookup credit
- Test your ideal customer profile - Don't waste lookups on random contacts. Search for the exact type of prospect you'll be targeting
- Verify accuracy - If possible, look up contacts where you can independently verify the email works
- Check coverage for your niche - RocketReach has 700M+ profiles, but coverage varies by industry and region
Is RocketReach Legit?
Yes, RocketReach is a legitimate B2B data provider used by sales and recruiting teams. The company claims 90-98% deliverability on verified emails, though real-world accuracy varies based on how recently the contact was updated.
Common complaints from users include:
- Some data appears to be scraped from LinkedIn
- Phone numbers can be hit-or-miss, especially for mobile
- Cancellation policies have frustrated some users
- The "unlimited" lookups claim has a fair-use cap that's not immediately obvious
That said, many users find RocketReach significantly cheaper than competitors like ZoomInfo while delivering comparable results. It's not perfect, but it's a solid mid-tier option.
For more details, read our Is RocketReach Legit? breakdown.
RocketReach Alternatives with Free Options
If RocketReach's 5 lookups per month isn't enough (and let's be honest, it probably isn't), here are some alternatives worth considering:
Apollo.io
Apollo offers a more generous free tier with 50 email credits per month. Their database has 220+ million contacts, and the free plan includes basic search and CRM features. Paid plans start at $49/user/month billed annually.
Lusha
Lusha has a free plan with 5 credits per month (similar to RocketReach), but their Chrome extension is particularly well-regarded for LinkedIn prospecting. Paid plans start around $22.45/month, making it cheaper than RocketReach for basic needs. Check out our Lusha pricing breakdown for details.
Findymail
If you're specifically looking for email finding and verification, Findymail is worth checking out. It's focused specifically on accurate email discovery rather than trying to be an all-in-one platform.
Should You Sign Up for RocketReach's Free Account?
Yes - there's no downside. You don't need a credit card, so there's zero risk of getting charged. Use the 5 lookups to:
- Test if RocketReach has coverage for your target market
- Verify data quality against contacts you already know
- Get familiar with the interface before committing
But go in with realistic expectations. Five lookups per month is a demo, not a working tool. If RocketReach looks promising after your test, you'll need to budget for at least the Essentials plan ($399/year) to do anything meaningful.
Bottom Line
RocketReach's "free trial" is really just a permanently free tier with severe limitations. You get 5 lookups per month with no credit card required - enough to test the platform, but not enough to actually use it for prospecting.
If you just need occasional contact lookups, the free tier might actually work for you. If you're doing any kind of systematic outreach, plan to pay at least $399/year for the Essentials plan, or $899/year for Pro if you need phone numbers.
The good news: RocketReach's data quality is generally solid, and it's priced significantly below enterprise options like ZoomInfo. Just don't expect to build a real pipeline with 5 free lookups per month.