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What is Hunter.io?
Hunter.io is an all-in-one email outreach platform designed to help businesses find verified B2B contacts and launch targeted cold email campaigns. Operating for 10+ years with 7M+ users, it combines email discovery, verification, CRM integrations, and cold email automation with an MCP interface for AI agents.
Hunter.io news
Added MCP integration with Claude and ChatGPT
Hunter now accessible via AI agents with human-in-loop guardrails and structured planning tools
Launched Signals (intent data) and Inbox Protection
Added monitoring for funding, acquisitions, job openings; introduced email warmup service at $7.50/month per inbox
Continues to dominate email-finder category reviews
Rated 4.4/5 on G2 (634+ reviews), 4.6/5 on Capterra (700+ reviews), 4.2/5 on Trustpilot (345 reviews)
Key features
Email Finder
Find specific person's email address by name and company domain, or discover emails at domain level using pattern inference
Email Verifier
Verify email accuracy individually or in bulk; integrated verification with finder at no extra credit cost
Domain Search
Returns list of emails associated with a company domain, averaging 11 verified contacts per company in testing
Discover
B2B database searchable by industry, location, company size; includes buying signals and intent data
Sequences
Cold email campaign builder with automation; basic features, text-only emails (no A/B testing or multichannel)
Signals
Intent data monitoring for funding, acquisition events, job openings, and company updates with 48-hour notifications
Chrome Extension
Lightweight browser extension for finding and verifying emails directly from company websites and LinkedIn
AI Writing Assistant
Built-in AI-powered email composition tool
MCP Integration
Works with Claude and ChatGPT; includes guardrails restricting destructive operations and requiring explicit user approval for campaign starts
CRM & Tool Integrations
Native integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zapier, and other platforms
Hunter.io pricing
Credit-based model: 1 credit finds and verifies an email via Email Finder; 0.5 credit for verification-only. Monthly credits expire at month end. Prices in GBP for all-in-one plans, USD available for API.
| Plan | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Free | £0 | 50 credits/month, basic Discover filters, AI Assistant, 1 email account, 500 recipients per sequence |
| Starter | £28/month (yearly) or £41/month (monthly) | 2,000 credits/month (24,000 annually), auto-verification, lead enrichment, advanced filters, 3 email accounts, AI Writing Assistant, priority support |
| Growth | £87/month (yearly) or £125/month (monthly) | 10,000 credits/month (120,000 annually), Starter features plus 10 email accounts, 5,000 recipients per sequence |
| Scale | £175/month (yearly) or £251/month (monthly) | 25,000 credits/month (300,000 annually), Growth features plus 20 email accounts, 15,000 recipients per sequence, account manager |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom credits and email accounts, all premium features, account manager |
| Data Platform (API) | From $6,500 for initial credit bundle | 1,000 search credits + 200,000 verification credits with 12-month validity; flexible credit-based pricing for API access |
Pros & cons
Pros
- + Clean, simple, intuitive UI with minimal learning curve — considered the cleanest interface in the email-finder space
- + Reliable domain search and email finder trusted by category as a staple for years
- + Unified credit pool (1 credit finds + verifies, 0.5 credit for verification only) — efficient pricing compared to tools that bill find and verify separately
- + Built-in verification with ~97% accuracy catches most invalid addresses before sending; bounce rates under 3% in real outreach testing
- + Fast setup and quick email discovery
- + Free plan with 50 credits/month allows genuine product testing before paid commitment
- + Responsive customer support
- + Native CRM integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive
- + Lightweight, functional Chrome extension that remains stable across site updates
- + Operates on publicly sourced data with GDPR-conscious practices
- + MCP integration includes human-in-loop guardrails: destructive operations restricted, campaign starts require explicit user approval
- + AI Writing Assistant for email composition
- + 7M+ users including Fortune 500 companies (Canva, Semrush, Vimeo)
Cons
- − No phone numbers — cannot serve phone-first outbound teams
- − Data quality drops significantly for small companies (under 50 employees ~60% accuracy vs 85% for 200+ employees) and fast-growing startups with limited public footprint
- − Limited campaign features compared to competitors: text-only emails, no A/B testing, no multichannel sequences
- − Some long-time users report reduced volume and quality in domain search results after recent changes
- − Database coverage uneven outside English-speaking markets; weak coverage for German SMBs, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia
- − Free plan limited to 25 searches/month — low compared to competitors like Snov.io for genuine testing
- − Unused monthly credits expire at month end; no rollover
- − Some users report inaccurate or missing data and recurring glitches
- − Platform criticized as feeling outdated compared to newer competitors like Apollo
- − Inbox Protection email warmup service costs $7.50/month per inbox (additional fee)
- − Bulk verification limited to 10 emails per domain on some plans
- − Signals is single-user research tool, not shared across team accounts
Who is Hunter.io best for?
- • SDRs and sales teams running email outreach at moderate scale
- • Recruiters finding professional contacts
- • Bootstrapped founders and solo entrepreneurs needing verified B2B email
- • Agencies requiring accurate email discovery for client campaigns
- • Teams focused on English-language markets with strong public web presence (US, UK, Canada, Australia)
- • Solo prospectors with 1-3 dedicated email accounts
- • AI agents via MCP integration needing structured email discovery and verification
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is Hunter.io?
Email finder accuracy ~97% in verification testing; bounce rates under 3% in real outreach campaigns. Accuracy varies by company size: 85% for 200+ employees, drops to ~60% for companies under 50 employees.
Does Hunter.io have phone numbers?
No. Hunter.io is email-only and does not include phone number discovery. Competitors like Apollo and Snov.io offer phone data.
What happens to unused credits?
Monthly credits expire at the end of the month with no rollover. API credits have 12-month validity.
Can I use Hunter.io outside English-speaking markets?
Yes, but data coverage is significantly weaker for German SMBs, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia compared to US/UK/Canada/Australia coverage.
Does Hunter.io work with AI agents?
Yes, via MCP integration with Claude and ChatGPT. The MCP includes guardrails that restrict destructive operations and require explicit user approval before starting campaigns.
How does the credit model work?
1 credit finds and verifies an email via Email Finder. 0.5 credit for verification-only on existing addresses. No charge if Email Finder returns no result.
Is there a free plan?
Yes: 50 credits/month, basic Discover filters, AI Assistant, 1 email account, 500 recipients per sequence. Free tier includes full platform access to test before upgrading.
