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:

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:

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:

PlanMonthly PriceAnnual PriceKey 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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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:

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:

  1. Search first, reveal second - Use the search functionality to find the right people before burning a lookup credit
  2. Test your ideal customer profile - Don't waste lookups on random contacts. Search for the exact type of prospect you'll be targeting
  3. Verify accuracy - If possible, look up contacts where you can independently verify the email works
  4. 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:

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:

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.

Try RocketReach Free →

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.