6 Best Icypeas API Alternatives for Developers (2026)

Developers leave the Icypeas API when its request model and its limits meet volume. Every lookup is asynchronous: you submit a search, get an _id, then poll a read route that allows 30 calls a minute (Icypeas API docs, September 2026). Bulk search takes 5,000 rows per call, at one call a second.

Email search also needs a first name, a last name and a domain, so you must already know who you want. Credits are 1 per found email. Hypergrowth is $499 a month for 100,000 credits. The pricing page credit selector lists bigger tiers: 500,000 for $2,245.50, 1M for $3,992 and 10M for $34,930 a month. The yearly selector runs to 120M credits for $349,300 a year (Icypeas pricing, September 2026). Phone Finder is listed as coming soon.

This page ranks six alternatives on what a developer feels: auth, schema, rate limit, bulk export, MCP and cost at 1M records. For a two-column view, read LeadOcean vs Icypeas. For UI-first tools, see Icypeas alternatives.

TL;DR

"1M records" here means 1M work-email lookups that return a result, one credit each where the vendor uses credits. Where a vendor sells no plan at 1M, the cell says so and names the top public tier. Ask each vendor for a quote at your volume.

For reference, Icypeas lists $4.99 per 1,000 found emails at Hypergrowth, which is the 100,000-credit step. Icypeas publishes 1M credits as a tier at $3,992 a month ($0.003992 a credit), or $39,920 billed yearly for 12M credits ($3,326.67 a month) (Icypeas pricing, September 2026). Icypeas is cheaper per email than every credit tool below that publishes a price. It costs more than a flat plan once you pass roughly 100,000 found emails a month.

What we evaluated

• Auth and schema: where the key goes, what a lookup takes in, and whether the answer comes back in the same call.
• Rate limits: requests per second or minute, daily caps, and what a bulk call can carry.
• Bulk export: rows per request and whether you poll for the result.
• MCP: whether an agent can look up and search through the server, and how it signs in.
• Price at volume: flat, credits or seats, and what 1M records a month costs at list price.

We read each vendor's pricing page and docs in September 2026. We ran no find-rate or accuracy test, so we quote no quality numbers.

1. LeadOcean: best for API, agent and volume pulls

LeadOcean is one dataset behind one REST API and one MCP server. It holds 693M people, 366M with an email and 166M with a phone number, plus 63M companies. Search has 50 people filters and 34 company filters, and counts are free. Auth is one x-api-key header.

Every call is synchronous. You send a request and get the record back, with no job id to poll. Pro is $499 a month with unlimited searches, enrichments and lookups, 5 API keys and 100 requests per second per key. A very large month is paced down to one request a minute until the reset, not cut off. More headroom is one email to support.

The Icypeas lookup is two calls, submit then poll. LeadOcean does not take a name and a domain on the enrich endpoint. You search by name and domain, then enrich by person_id. Both calls answer at once.

The Icypeas pair, submit then poll with the returned _id:

curl -X POST "https://app.icypeas.com/api/email-search" \
  -H "Authorization: $ICYPEAS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"firstname":"Jane","lastname":"Doe","domainOrCompany":"acme.com"}'

curl -X POST "https://app.icypeas.com/api/bulk-single-searchs/read" \
  -H "Authorization: $ICYPEAS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"id":"<_id from the first response>"}'

The LeadOcean pair, search then enrich the match:

curl -G "https://api.leadocean.io/v1/people/search" \
  -H "x-api-key: $LEADOCEAN_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "q=Jane Doe" \
  --data-urlencode "domain=acme.com" \
  --data-urlencode "limit=1"

curl -X POST "https://api.leadocean.io/v1/people/enrich" \
  -H "x-api-key: $LEADOCEAN_API_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"person_id":"<meta.source_ids.person_id from the search row>","reveal_email":true}'

For bulk, POST /v1/exports writes up to 50,000 rows per request. You poll GET /v1/exports/{id} and download the CSV, so a 1M-row pull is 20 calls over two days. The MCP server at https://api.leadocean.io/mcp signs in with OAuth 2.1 and exposes 12 tools, including count_leads, search_leads and find_phone. No key gets pasted into a chat (LeadOcean docs, September 2026).

Pros

• Synchronous calls and one schema. No submit-then-poll loop.
• 100 requests per second per key on every plan, Free included.
• Flat $499 a month at any volume, with no credit meter.
• Email status on every record, from verified to spam_trap, and free counts.

Cons

• No single name-plus-domain lookup. You search, then enrich.
• A v2 contact call such as GET /v2/people/phone costs one record even when it finds nothing.
• No standalone verifier for lists you bring, and no waterfall across other providers.
• The first paid step is $499, against $19 for Icypeas Basic.

Best for: developers and agents that need volume, sync calls and a fixed bill.

Pricing: Free is 1,000 records, one-off, no card. Pro is $499 a month, flat (LeadOcean pricing, September 2026).

2. LeadMagic: best for cheap valid emails over a simple API

LeadMagic is a credit-based enrichment API for email, mobile and company data. Its Find Work Email route is POST /v1/people/email-finder. It takes a name and a domain, and every email found is validated (LeadMagic docs, September 2026). Failed lookups cost nothing.

Auth is an X-API-Key header. The email finder allows 600 requests a minute, about 10 a second. That matches Icypeas on email search, and it is far below a flat-price API.

Credits cost from $0.0198 on Essential billed monthly down to $0.0085 on Ultimate, which is $849 for 100,000 credits (LeadMagic pricing, September 2026). The page states credits from $0.007. A valid email costs 1 credit and a mobile 5. Searching in the app spends no credits on any paid plan. The search API bills about 1 credit per returned person on Essential and Growth, and nothing when no one comes back. Professional and Ultimate get zero-credit search at 5 and 10 requests a second (LeadMagic docs, September 2026). Export is capped per day, from 10,000 rows on Essential. No plan sells 1M credits a month. Extending Ultimate's rate gives $8,490, which is arithmetic and not a public price. The hosted MCP server uses OAuth (LeadMagic docs, September 2026).

Pros

• Name and domain in, email out, in one request.
• Zero charge on a failed lookup.
• API and MCP access on every plan, with search included.

Cons

• Self-serve plans stop at 100,000 credits, so there is no public price at 1M a month.
• Daily export caps by plan slow a bulk pull.
• Credits still scale in a straight line with volume.

Best for: teams that enrich a few hundred thousand valid emails a month and want the lowest credit price.

Pricing: Essential $99 a month. Ultimate $849 a month for 100,000 credits (LeadMagic pricing, September 2026).

3. Findymail: best for verified emails with a guarantee

Findymail is an email finder that verifies each address when you ask for it. POST /api/search/name takes a name and a domain, and it uses one credit only if a verified email is found (Findymail API docs, September 2026). Pass a webhook URL and it answers asynchronously. Leave it out and it answers in the call.

Auth is a Bearer token. The docs state one limit: 300 simultaneous requests on all endpoints. That is concurrency, not a rate, so a fast client needs little pacing. Its MCP server has 14 tools and signs in through the browser or a bearer token (Findymail plugin, September 2026).

Findymail's pricing page blocks automated reading, so no price is quoted here. See Findymail's pricing page for current plans. Phones cost 10 credits each and return US numbers only (Findymail API docs, September 2026). Search is a plain-language query, not a set of structured filters.

Pros

• Only verified emails are returned, and a miss is free.
• A bounce guarantee, advertised on its pricing page.
• A high concurrency ceiling and a choice of sync or webhook answers.

Cons

• No price is published here, so check its pricing page for your volume.
• Phone numbers are US only at 10 credits each.
• No structured filters, so you cannot segment by function or seniority.

Best for: outbound teams that want verified emails and a bounce guarantee.

Pricing: not published here. See Findymail's pricing page.

4. Prospeo: best for name and domain lookups in one call

Prospeo is an email and mobile finder with a REST API, priced per user. POST /enrich-person takes a first name, last name and company website and answers in the same call. Auth is an X-KEY header, and every endpoint is POST except account info (Prospeo API docs, September 2026).

One email found costs 1 credit and a mobile costs 10. A miss is free, and re-enriching the same record within 90 days is free (Prospeo API docs, September 2026). Bulk enrich takes up to 50 records per request. The MCP server has 8 tools and signs in with OAuth 2.0 or an API key.

No add-on reaches 1M in a month. The cheapest public path is 44 Pro seats at $249 plus the 350,000-credit add-on at $3,500, which is $14,456 a month for 1,010,000 credits. Billed yearly, 3 Pro seats plus the 500,000-credit yearly add-on come to $11,223 once for 1,040,000 credits (Prospeo pricing, September 2026).

Limits depend on the plan. Enrich allows 5 calls a second on Starter and Growth, and 30 on Pro. Daily caps are 2,000, 5,000 and 500,000 enrich requests (Prospeo rate limits, September 2026). Search is slower, at 1 to 5 calls a second.

Pros

• Name and domain in, email out, in one synchronous call.
• A only_verified_email switch, and no charge on a miss.
• Free re-enrichment for 90 days.

Cons

• Low daily caps on lower plans: 2,000 enrich requests a day on Starter.
• Plans are per user, and the pricing page add-ons stop at 350,000 credits a month or 500,000 a year.
• Bulk enrich is 50 records per request.

Best for: small teams that want a simple synchronous finder and pay per verified email.

Pricing: Free, 100 credits a month. Starter from $49 a month per user (Prospeo pricing, September 2026).

5. FullEnrich: best for waterfall emails and mobiles behind an API

FullEnrich queries 25+ sources per contact and bills what it finds (FullEnrich pricing, September 2026). Icypeas is one source. FullEnrich is many, which helps on mobiles. Bulk enrichment is asynchronous, with a webhook or a poll for the result (FullEnrich docs, September 2026).

Credits are the meter. A work email costs 1 credit, a personal email 3 and a mobile 10. Pro starts at $29 a month for 500 credits ($0.058 each). The 1,000-credit tier is $55 a month ($0.055 each), and the top monthly tier is 100,000 credits for $3,500 a month (FullEnrich pricing, September 2026; FullEnrich docs, September 2026). Above that, contact sales. The yearly toggle lists 1,200,000 credits a year for $37,800 billed yearly. One contact with an email and a mobile is 11 credits.

The API allows 60 calls a minute, with up to 100 contacts in one bulk request. That is 6,000 contacts a minute at best. Each workspace queues 100 concurrent enrichments (FullEnrich docs, September 2026). The MCP server can search, enrich and export (FullEnrich help, September 2026).

Pros

• Waterfall across 25+ sources, so one call covers several vendors.
• Search, enrichment and export through MCP.
• SOC 2 Type II listed on the pricing page.

Cons

• Mobiles cost 10 credits, so phone-heavy pulls get expensive fast.
• 60 calls a minute by default, and an async bulk flow.
• No public price at 1M work emails. The top monthly tier is 100,000 credits for $3,500.

Best for: teams that want waterfall mobiles and emails and can live with a credit meter.

Pricing: Pro from $29 a month for 500 credits, up to 100,000 credits for $3,500 a month. Above that, contact sales (FullEnrich pricing, September 2026).

6. Hunter: best for finding emails by domain, with outreach attached

Hunter is an email finder with sequences and a Chrome extension. GET /v2/email-finder takes a domain, a first name and a last name. The key goes in the api_key query parameter, the X-API-KEY header or a Bearer header (Hunter API docs, September 2026).

Email Finder and Domain Search allow 15 requests a second and 500 a minute. One quirk matters in code. Hunter returns 403 when you hit the rate limit and 429 when you hit your usage limit. Many clients treat 429 as the rate limit, so handle both.

One credit is one email found, and a verification costs half a credit. Scale is $209 a month billed yearly for 25,000 credits a month, and it is the top self-serve plan (Hunter pricing, September 2026). The MCP server is included on every plan (Hunter MCP, September 2026).

Pros

• A plain GET with three parameters, and three ways to send the key.
• MCP on every plan, using your plan credits.
• A free plan that renews 50 credits a month.

Cons

• 25,000 credits a month at most on self-serve, so 1M is an Enterprise quote.
• The 403 and 429 meanings are swapped from what most clients assume.
• Built around a domain you already know, not a search of the market.

Best for: teams that find emails by domain and send from the same tool.

Pricing: Free. Starter $34 a month billed yearly. Scale $209 a month billed yearly (Hunter pricing, September 2026).

Comparison table

Sources are linked in each tool section, all checked in September 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on the pricing page before you buy. The 1M column covers email lookups. Findymail's pricing page blocks automated reading, so its cells are not published here. Hunter's cell is its Data Platform price for 1,000,000 Search credits, bought once and valid 12 months. LeadMagic and FullEnrich sell no plan at 1M, so their cells name the top public tier. Prospeo's figure stacks public Pro seats and add-ons. Icypeas is not in the table, and its 1M tier is $3,992 a month.

How to choose

• You pull data in code or with an agent, at volume: LeadOcean. Synchronous calls, one flat price, 100 requests per second.
• You only have a name and a domain, and you want the cheapest credits: LeadMagic, at $0.0085 a credit on Ultimate.
• You want verified emails with an advertised bounce guarantee: Findymail.
• You want a plain synchronous finder for a small team: Prospeo, and watch the daily cap.
• You need waterfall mobiles: FullEnrich, and budget 10 credits per mobile.
• Your reps already send from the tool: Hunter.
• You find under 100,000 emails a month and only need emails: stay on Icypeas. Its $4.99 per 1,000 beats every flat plan at that size.

Verdict

LeadOcean wins for developers who pull data at volume or through an agent. It has synchronous calls, 100 requests per second and one flat price. LeadMagic wins for cheap valid emails and Findymail for verified emails with a bounce guarantee. Prospeo wins for a simple synchronous finder, FullEnrich for waterfall mobiles and Hunter for domain lookups with outreach. Stay on Icypeas if your volume is low and your list already exists. Otherwise start on the free plan and run the same lookups against your own data.

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