UpLead is a verified-contact database you buy in credits, with a real-time email check and a 95% accuracy claim. LeadOcean is a bigger dataset at one flat price, over REST and MCP. If you search in a web app and send a few hundred contacts a month, UpLead fits. If you pull data in code or through an agent, LeadOcean is cheaper and has no meter.
Why teams switch from UpLead
Credits are the meter, and extra ones are capped
Essentials is $99 a month for 170 credits. Plus is $199 for 400. Extra credits cost $0.60 on Essentials and $0.50 on Plus (UpLead pricing, September 2026). UpLead caps extra credit purchases at $2,000 a day (UpLead help center, September 2026).
The API is tied to the plan
API access is on Professional only. The pricing comparison ticks the Enrichment API, Prospector Pro API and Full API Access only on that plan (UpLead pricing, September 2026). The docs say the Prospector Pro, Quick Search, Industries and Lists APIs are for Professional, Elite and Enterprise plans (UpLead API docs, September 2026). Professional is custom-priced and annual only.
A minute-based rate limit and one seat
The API allows 500 requests per minute (UpLead API docs, September 2026). Essentials and Plus include one user (UpLead pricing, September 2026). Teams need a Professional quote.
No first-party MCP server
UpLead's homepage and API docs do not mention MCP (UpLead, September 2026). Zapier and Pipedream sell third-party MCP connectors for UpLead (Zapier, September 2026; Pipedream, September 2026). An agent then goes through a middleman.
LeadOcean vs UpLead
| LeadOcean | UpLead | |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Flat monthly fee. No credits, no per-record price, no overage invoice. | Monthly or annual plan with a fixed credit allowance. One credit per contact or company record (UpLead API docs). |
| Entry price | Free plan, 1,000 records one-off, no card. | 7-day free trial with 5 credits (UpLead pricing). |
| What $499 a month buys | Pro: unlimited searches, enrichments and lookups, whole database, 5 API keys. | Plus at $199 includes 400 credits. Another $300 at $0.50 is 600 credits, so about 1,000 contacts in all. Extra purchases are capped at $2,000 a day (UpLead pricing; UpLead help center). |
| Credits | None. | Essentials 170 a month, Plus 400 a month. Extra credits $0.60 and $0.50 (UpLead pricing). |
| Unused credits | Nothing to expire. | Not stated by UpLead. Remaining credits roll to a new plan on downgrade (UpLead help center). |
| API access | REST on every plan, including Free. | API access on Professional only. Enrichment, Prospector Pro and full API are ticked only there (UpLead pricing; UpLead API docs). |
| MCP server | Yes, OAuth 2.1, on every plan. 12 tools. | None from UpLead in its docs. Third-party connectors via Zapier and Pipedream (Zapier). |
| Rate limit | 100 requests per second per key, every plan. | 500 requests per minute (UpLead API docs). |
| Records | 693M people, 63M companies, one dataset. | 200M+ leads (UpLead). UpLead states 200M+ contacts and 19M+ companies (UpLead data page). |
| Email status on every record | Yes. 13 status values, from verified to spam_trap. | Real-time verification. Credit only charged for Valid or Accept All emails (UpLead API docs). |
| Accuracy claim | No accuracy percentage claimed. Status tells you what to send. | 95% data accuracy guarantee (UpLead). |
| Bounce refunds | No credits to refund. | Credits refunded for bounces and poor data (UpLead). |
| Search filters | 50 people filters, 34 company filters. | Over 50 search filters (UpLead). |
| Search page size | Up to 100 per page. | Up to 100 per page, default 25 (UpLead API docs). |
| Bulk CSV export | POST /v1/exports, 50,000 rows per request. | No bulk export endpoint in the API docs (UpLead API docs). |
| Company lookup | POST /v1/companies/enrich, 63M companies. | Company API by domain or name (UpLead API docs). |
| Phone numbers | 166M people with a phone number. | Mobile direct dials, included in the same credit (UpLead pricing). No phone count published. |
| Technology data | 105 tech categories across about 7.8M crawled sites. | 16K+ technology data points, Plus and up (UpLead; UpLead pricing). |
| Buyer intent data | No. Filters for funding and tech instead. | Yes, on Professional (UpLead pricing). |
| Chrome extension and CRM sync | No. API, MCP and CSV export. | Chrome extension and CRM integrations on all paid plans (UpLead pricing). |
| Seats | 5 API keys on Pro. | One user on Essentials and Plus. Teams on Professional (UpLead pricing). |
| Miss on a lookup | A 404 that costs nothing on /v1/people/enrich. | No charge for an email that is not Valid or Accept All (UpLead API docs). |
| Cost of a very large month | Same $499. Paced down past the fair-usage line. | Professional, custom quote (UpLead pricing). |
| Who it suits | Engineers, RevOps and agents that need volume and a fixed bill. | Reps who prospect in the app and value its accuracy guarantee. |
UpLead figures come from uplead.com, docs.uplead.com and the sources linked in each cell, checked in September 2026. UpLead changes plans often, so check the pricing page before you buy.
What 1M, 5M and 25M records cost
UpLead sells data per credit, so cost scales with volume. LeadOcean Pro stays at $499 a month. UpLead publishes no price at these volumes, so the UpLead column says so. Professional is a custom quote, so ask UpLead for a price at your volume.
| Records a month | UpLead at list price | LeadOcean |
|---|---|---|
| 1M | No public price. Highest public tier is Plus, extra credits capped at $2,000 a day. | $499 a month. |
| 5M | No public price. Same cap. | $499 a month. |
| 25M | No public price. Same cap. | $499 a month. Past fair use, one email raises the headroom. |
The highest public tier is Plus at $199 a month with 400 credits. Extra credits cost $0.50, and purchases are capped at $2,000 a day, about 124,000 extra credits in a 31-day month (UpLead pricing, September 2026; UpLead help center, September 2026). At list rate, if sold at that volume, 1M credits would be $500,000. That needs $16,129 of purchases a day, over the cap.
UpLead publishes no Professional price. It is a custom annual quote with custom seats and credits (UpLead pricing).
A credit is only spent on a valid or accept-all email, so your real UpLead number depends on your hit rate. The $2,000 a day purchase cap makes a full 1M pull impossible through public self-serve purchases.
Where LeadOcean wins
A flat bill at any volume
Pro is $499 a month. Every person or company returned counts as a record, but there is no credit balance to watch and no overage invoice. A very large month is paced down to one request a minute until the reset, not cut off. One email to support gets you more headroom.
A larger dataset and a faster API
LeadOcean holds 693M people and 63M companies in a single database. UpLead's homepage states 200M+ leads. The API takes 100 requests per second per key on every plan, against 500 a minute on UpLead. That is 6,000 a minute per key.
Built for code and agents
The same data is reachable over REST and over MCP, and the Free plan includes both. Send one request and get a profile, email status and, with reveal_email, every email and phone number we hold, for one record.
curl -X POST "https://api.leadocean.io/v1/people/enrich" \
-H "x-api-key: $LEADOCEAN_API_KEY" \
-H "content-type: application/json" \
-d '{"linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-doe","reveal_email":true}'For Claude or Cursor, add the MCP URL https://api.leadocean.io/mcp and sign in with OAuth. No key gets pasted into a chat, and there is no connector in between.
Export at database scale
Search people with 50 filters and companies with 34, across 254 countries and 534 industries. Counts are free. Export up to 50,000 rows per request with POST /v1/exports, so a 1M-row pull is 20 calls over two days.
Where UpLead wins
Accuracy claims and refunds
UpLead verifies emails in real time, backs a 95% accuracy guarantee and refunds credits for bounces (UpLead, September 2026). LeadOcean returns a status on every record, but it makes no accuracy guarantee and has no refund system because it has no credits. Pick UpLead if a written guarantee matters to your buyer.
An app reps can use today
UpLead has a Chrome extension, CRM integrations on every paid plan and a search interface built for one rep (UpLead pricing, September 2026). LeadOcean has no web prospecting UI. A sales team with no engineer should stay on UpLead.
Technographics and intent data
UpLead tracks 16K+ technology data points, and Professional adds buyer intent data (UpLead, September 2026; UpLead pricing, September 2026). LeadOcean filters by 105 tech categories but has no intent feed. If you score accounts on intent, UpLead has the signal.
Use both: LeadOcean for volume, UpLead for the rep's last mile
You do not have to choose. Run the large pulls through LeadOcean, where volume costs nothing extra. Keep a small UpLead plan for reps who want the Chrome extension and the guarantee on a short list.
- Create a free LeadOcean key at app.leadocean.io/register. The free plan needs no card.
- Use
count_leads(free) to size the audience, then pull it withPOST /v1/exportsorsearch_leadsover MCP. - Send only the accounts a rep will work by hand to UpLead's extension, so its credits go to contacts you have already chosen.
FAQ
Is LeadOcean a full UpLead replacement?
For code and agents, yes. For a rep who prospects in a browser, no. LeadOcean has no Chrome extension, no CRM sync app and no accuracy guarantee. If you only need people, companies and emails through an API or MCP, it is enough.
How much does UpLead cost?
Essentials is $99 a month for 170 credits, or $74 a month billed annually. Plus is $199 for 400 credits, or $149 billed annually. Professional is a custom annual quote (UpLead pricing, September 2026).
Does UpLead have an API or an MCP server?
It has an API, but access is on Professional only, which is a custom quote. Essentials and Plus do not list it. UpLead's docs do not mention MCP, but third-party connectors exist on Zapier and Pipedream (UpLead API docs, September 2026).
Does UpLead have more data than LeadOcean?
No on people. LeadOcean holds 693M people. UpLead's homepage states 200M+ leads. On companies, LeadOcean holds 63M and UpLead's data page states 19M+ (UpLead data page, September 2026).
What does LeadOcean cost, and is there a limit?
Free gives you 1,000 records, one-off, with no card. Pro is $499 a month, flat, with no credits and no per-record price. Past the fair-usage line a very large month is paced down instead of cut off, and support can raise the headroom.
Do I need a credit card to try it?
No. The free plan needs a work email and no card, and it has the same API and MCP server as Pro. Your 1,000 records last until you spend them.
Related: Swordfish alternative, SalesIntel alternative, Ocean.io alternative, pricing. Back to all alternatives.
Stop counting UpLead credits. Start free.
Free to start. No credit card. 1,000 records to spend whenever you like.
Get your free API key →