Hunter.io is one of the most recognized names in email finding, built on its signature domain search feature and a widely-used Chrome extension. With a free tier offering 50 credits per month and paid plans starting at $49/month for 2,000 credits, Hunter makes it easy for individual reps to get started with B2B prospecting. The platform works by indexing publicly available web pages to find email addresses and using pattern-based logic to guess others. While this approach is fast and convenient, it comes with trade-offs: accuracy hovers around 90% because many results are pattern-based guesses rather than verified deliverable addresses. G2 reviewers frequently note that Hunter returns generic emails (info@, contact@) alongside personal addresses, and its aggressive upselling from the free tier has drawn criticism.
LeadMagic takes a fundamentally different approach to email finding, prioritizing real-time verification over pattern matching. Every email lookup goes through live SMTP checks, delivering 97%+ accuracy and ensuring that the addresses you receive are actually deliverable. Beyond email, LeadMagic provides mobile phone numbers — a capability Hunter.io completely lacks — making it the platform of choice for teams running multi-channel outbound. Credits roll over on Essential plans and above, there are no team size limits, and the pay-per-result model means you only pay for verified results. As the top-rated enrichment provider in the Clay marketplace, LeadMagic is built for modern sales teams that need reliable data at scale.
Feature Comparison
The fundamental difference between LeadMagic and Hunter.io is verification methodology. Hunter relies on web indexing and pattern guessing — fast, but it produces more bounces and generic results. LeadMagic performs real-time SMTP verification on every single lookup, meaning the 97%+ accuracy rate is verified, not estimated. This gap becomes critical at scale: a 7% difference in accuracy across 10,000 emails means 700 fewer bounces, directly protecting your sender reputation.
Hunter's strengths lie in its domain search tool (showing all known emails at a company) and its Chrome extension for quick lookups. These features make it popular with individual reps who need quick access while browsing. However, Hunter offers zero mobile number coverage, which limits teams to email-only outreach.
Pricing
Hunter.io offers a free tier with 50 credits per month, then scales through paid plans: Starter at $49/month (2,000 credits), Growth at $149/month (10,000 credits), and Scale at $299/month (25,000 credits). Annual plans offer a discount but credits still reset at the end of the billing period — unused searches are lost. Hunter separates "searches" and "verifications" in its credit system, which can make the true cost per verified lead higher than it initially appears.
LeadMagic offers pay-per-result plans starting at $59.99/mo (2,500 credits) with no annual contracts. Credits roll over on Essential plans and above, you only pay for verified results, and mobile numbers are included at standard credit pricing. For teams doing consistent prospecting, the cost per verified contact is significantly lower than Hunter's subscription model, especially when factoring in Hunter's bounce rate and the need for secondary verification.