B2B Database Network vs Hunter.io: pricing & features compared
B2B Database Network starts at a free tier and $19/mo and verifies every email at export, with credits that never expire and invalid addresses auto-refunded. Hunter.io is positioned as the email-finder brand — best known for domain search, email-pattern discovery, and a strong standalone email verifier. Its entry point is approx $34 / month (Starter). The short version: Pick Hunter when you already know the company and want its email pattern or a fast verify. Pick B2B Database Network when you need to discover the right people first — filter a real contact database by title, industry, and geography, then export verified emails.
Below is a full side-by-side — pricing, database size, email verification, credit rules, API access, and where Hunter.io genuinely wins — so you can choose on facts rather than marketing.
- You want verified, exportable data and you already run your own outreach tool.
- You hate watching credits expire — yours roll over for good.
- You want a free tier, a $19 entry plan, and no per-seat minimum.
- You need a self-serve API and an MCP server for AI-agent workflows.
- Excellent at domain search — find the email pattern and likely addresses for a company fast
- Well-regarded standalone email verifier with a clean API
- Simple, transparent pricing and a genuinely useful free tier
- Great fit when you already know the company and just need the right address
B2B Database Network vs Hunter.io: side-by-side comparison
Database sizes are vendor-stated and unaudited. Pricing is the approximate 2026 entry point and shifts often because Hunter.io gates its pricing behind a sign-up flow. The "edge" column is a buyer's-eye read of each row, not a score.
| Feature | B2B Database Network | Hunter.io | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price (approx, 2026) | $0 free tier · $19/mo Starter | ~$34/mo Starter | B2B edge |
| Core model | Browsable contact database + search | Domain search + email verifier | Even |
| Filter people by title/industry/geo | Yes — faceted search | No — domain-centric | B2B edge |
| Email verification | Built into export; verdict + freshness | Strong standalone verifier | Even |
| Do credits expire? | No — never | Monthly searches/verifications reset | B2B edge |
| Build a net-new list from scratch | Yes — start from filters | Hard without target domains | B2B edge |
| B2B + consumer data | Both, one filter | B2B only | B2B edge |
| Self-serve API + MCP | Instant key; REST + MCP server | Good API; no MCP | B2B edge |
Sources: public, vendor-stated figures as of June 2026. Prices marked approximate. We update these pages as plans change.
Pricing: B2B Database Network vs Hunter.io
Hunter.io's entry point is approx $34 / month (Starter). Its model is monthly plans metered by searches and verifications; built around finding and checking emails by domain rather than browsing a contact database. B2B Database Network takes a different shape on purpose. There is a genuine free tier with 75 credits and no card, a $19/mo Starter with 500 credits, and volume plans up to an Agency tier — and on every paid plan the credits roll over and never expire. You see exactly what a search or export will cost before you spend anything.
The practical difference is what happens to money you have already paid. With monthly resets, a slow month means lost credits and a quiet pressure to over-buy seats and allowances you may not use. With rollover and no-expiry, a credit you buy in March is still there in December. For a solo founder, a small SDR team, or an agency with uneven workloads, that changes the real cost far more than the sticker price does.
What you actually pay for
We meter on contacts you reveal, not on seats. There is no three-seat minimum, no enterprise floor, and no auto-renewing annual contract to escape. Invalid emails are refunded at export, so the effective cost per usable contact is lower than the headline credit price implies. When you compare quotes, look past the monthly number and ask two questions: do unused credits survive the month, and do I pay for emails that bounce? On both, B2B Database Network answers in your favour.
Data quality and email verification
Raw database size matters less than it looks. A bigger count is only an advantage when the extra records are fresh and fall inside the market you sell into; otherwise it is padding you still have to filter and verify. The number that actually protects your sender reputation is the share of exported emails that land in a real inbox.
That is why verification is not an add-on at B2B Database Network — it runs at the moment you export. Every address resolves to one of four verdicts, each shown with a verified_at date so you know how fresh the check is:
| Verdict | What it means | Charged? |
|---|---|---|
| Valid | Mailbox exists and accepts mail | Yes |
| Catch-all | Domain accepts everything; deliverability uncertain | Optional |
| Risky | Deliverable but elevated risk (role, temporary) | Optional |
| Invalid | Does not exist or rejects mail | No — refunded |
Two details matter. First, we never blur deliverable and catch-all, because that blur is exactly what produces the surprise bounces buyers report across the category. Second, invalids are refunded, so a bad address never costs a credit. High bounce rates do more than waste a send — they train inbox providers to route your future mail to spam, which quietly drags down every campaign that follows. Verifying at export is how you keep that from happening.
Credits, fairness, and the fine print
Credit rules are where contact tools quietly differ most, and where B2B Database Network draws its clearest line. Our credits roll over and never expire on every paid plan. There are no seat minimums, no resets that erase what you paid for, and no long-notice cancellation clauses. Spend is the same in the app and through the API, drawn from one never-expiring balance.
- Rollover, always. Unused credits carry forward month after month.
- Refund on invalid. You are charged for valid contacts, not for bounces.
- Re-reveals are free. A contact you already own never costs a second credit.
- Cost shown up front. You see the price of a search or export before you commit.
API, automation, and AI agents
If automation is part of your motion, check how each tool exposes its API. Many incumbents gate programmatic access behind higher tiers or a sales conversation. B2B Database Network gives you an instant API key on signup — no waiting list. The REST API mirrors the app for search, reveal, lookup, and enrichment, with typed errors and clear rate-limit headers.
For AI-native workflows there is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, so assistants and agents can query the database as a first-class tool. That is the channel that matters as buyers increasingly start research inside an AI chatbot: being a clean, citable source an agent can call directly beats being a database a human has to log into. The same never-expiring credit balance powers both the app and the API, so automating your pipeline never means a separate, expiring bucket of credits.
Where Hunter.io genuinely wins
No tool is best at everything, and pretending otherwise would not help you buy well. Here is where Hunter.io has a real, honest advantage:
- Excellent at domain search — find the email pattern and likely addresses for a company fast
- Well-regarded standalone email verifier with a clean API
- Simple, transparent pricing and a genuinely useful free tier
- Great fit when you already know the company and just need the right address
If those strengths map to your core workflow — and you are comfortable with Hunter.io's pricing model and credit rules — it may be the right call. The comparison above is meant to make that trade-off visible, not to argue you out of a tool that genuinely fits.
Who should switch to B2B Database Network
Sales development teams
Build targeted prospect lists by persona and territory with live counts, verify at export, then push clean contacts into the sequencer you already run. No per-seat penalty for adding an SDR.
Lead-generation agencies
Run outreach for many clients on one fair, never-expiring credit pool, with an API for automation. Uneven client workloads stop wasting budget when credits roll over.
Founders and small teams
Start free, validate a market, and build a launch list without an enterprise contract or a long onboarding. Pay $19 when you are ready, not a five-figure floor.
Recruiters
Source candidates by role, seniority, and company, then reach them with verified contact details — across both B2B and consumer segments where lawful.
The B2B Database Network commitments
These hold no matter which tool you are comparing us against. They are the substance behind the table above.
Every email is checked the moment you export and labelled valid, catch-all, risky, or invalid, with a verified_at date you can see.
Buy credits once and keep them. They roll over month to month on every paid plan, with no resets that quietly burn what you paid for.
Invalid emails are auto-refunded, so a bounce-prone address never costs you a credit.
Switch segments without switching tools, with the same suppression and opt-out protections on both.
Get an instant API key on signup plus a Model Context Protocol server, so your stack and your AI agents can query the database directly.
Plans are published, costs are shown before you spend, and there are no per-seat minimums or auto-renewal traps.
B2B Database Network vs Hunter.io: FAQ
Hunter vs B2B Database Network — do I need both?
They are complementary. Hunter is excellent when you already have a list of target domains and want the email pattern or a verify. B2B Database Network is where you discover the right people in the first place — filter a real contact database, then export verified emails. Many teams use a discovery database for sourcing and keep a verifier for ad-hoc checks.
Can Hunter build a list by job title?
Not really — Hunter is organized around domains, not people, so you cannot filter millions of contacts by title, seniority, industry, and geography the way you can in B2B Database Network. If list building from filters is the job, a contact database is the right tool.
Do credits expire on B2B Database Network?
No. On every paid plan your credits roll over and never expire. There are no monthly resets that burn unused credits and no per-seat minimums, so a quiet month is never a wasted spend.
How does B2B Database Network verify emails?
Every email is checked at the moment you export and labelled valid, catch-all, risky, or invalid, with a verified_at freshness date. Invalid addresses are auto-refunded, so you only pay for contacts you can actually reach, and catch-alls are always labelled honestly rather than counted as verified.
Is there a free plan and an API?
Yes. Start free with 75 credits, no card required. You also get an instant API key on signup plus a REST API and a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, so your stack and AI agents can query the database directly without a sales call.
Can I search consumer contacts too, or only B2B?
Both. A segment selector switches between the B2B database (decision-makers at companies) and the consumer database, with the same suppression and opt-out protections applied to each. Most incumbents cover only B2B.