# ContactOut vs SignalHire : side-by-side breakdown for 2026 buyers

> **TL;DR** Side-by-side breakdown of ContactOut (linkedin recruiter email + phone finder, from Free 4 emails/day · Email $49/mo (annual)) and SignalHire (b2b contact data, from $39/month). Plus how Derrick App's Sheet-native enrichment fits the same job at $10/mo flat.

*Canonical: https://derrick-app.com/vs/contactout-vs-signalhire-vs-derrick-app*

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## Why choose Derrick against ContactOut or SignalHire

### Built for teams whose pipeline runs in Sheets
If your B2B data ends up in Google Sheets anyway (most teams' do), running it through ContactOut or SignalHire first means two unnecessary hops : platform → CSV → Sheets. Derrick removes both hops. One add-on, one formula, results in the next column. The unit-of-work shrinks from "run the export" to "drag the formula down".

### Transparent $10/mo : no credit caps, no seat fees
ContactOut starts at Free 4 emails/day · Email $49/mo (annual) ; SignalHire starts at $39/month. Both stack credits, seats, and feature unlocks per tier — your actual bill depends on usage you can't always predict upfront. Derrick is $10/month flat, unlimited rows enriched. That's the entire pricing page : one tier, one number, no overage exposure.

### MCP-ready for AI workflows in 2026
The AI-agent stack in 2026 looks different : Claude calls MCP-enabled tools directly, no glue code. Derrick was built MCP-native from day one. Pairing ContactOut or SignalHire with an AI agent still means setting up Zapier flows, parsing JSON responses, and handling rate limits manually.

## Comparison : ContactOut vs SignalHire vs Derrick

|  | [ContactOut](/tools/contactout-review) | Derrick App | [SignalHire](/tools/signalhire-review) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Entry price | Free 4 emails/day · Email $49/mo (annual) | $10/mo flat | $39/month |
| Free plan | Yes (limited) | 14-day full trial | 5 credits trial |
| Best for | Recruiters needing personal emails from LinkedIn at scale | Sheet-native enrichment | Tech + sales recruiters |
| Category positioning | LinkedIn Recruiter Email + Phone Finder | Spreadsheet-native B2B data | B2B contact data |
| G2 rating | 4.4/5 | — | 4.3/5 |
| Founded | 2015 | 2022 | 2015 |
| Email accuracy / verification | Best in category | Real-time, included | Standard |
| Phone-number coverage | Available via providers | Via integrated providers | 30-45% on tech roles |
| Works natively in Google Sheets | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Per-row pricing (no credit caps) | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| MCP-ready for AI / LLM agents | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |

## ContactOut vs SignalHire vs Derrick App pricing in a nutshell

### ContactOut pricing (Recruiters needing personal emails from LinkedIn at scale)
LinkedIn Recruiter Email + Phone Finder category : ContactOut entry tier is Free 4 emails/day · Email $49/mo (annual). Best-for : recruiters needing personal emails from linkedin at scale. See the complete ContactOut pricing page for tier comparison, credit cap behaviour, and annual-vs-monthly delta.
[Visit pricing](/tools/contactout-pricing)

### Derrick App
Results first. Complexity removed. Native Google Sheets workflow, 100+ data points, AI-powered scoring, €9/month entry plan, 100 free credits.
[Discover Derrick](https://derrick-app.com/)

### SignalHire pricing (Tech + sales recruiters)
SignalHire pricing entry sits at $39/month (b2b contact data). Sized for tech + sales recruiters. The detailed SignalHire pricing breakdown (tier-by-tier feature matrix + true TCO) is on the dedicated pricing page.
[Visit pricing](/tools/signalhire-pricing)

## Frequently Asked Questions

### ContactOut vs SignalHire: when does each fit best?
ContactOut is positioned as linkedin recruiter email + phone finder for recruiters needing personal emails from linkedin at scale. SignalHire is positioned as b2b contact data for tech + sales recruiters. These are different category bets — ContactOut for its niche, SignalHire for B2B contact data. Most teams either pick one based on primary use case or stack both for adjacent workflows. G2 reviewers rate ContactOut at 4.4/5 and SignalHire at 4.3/5 — both products work, the deciding factor is workflow fit, not product quality.

### How do ContactOut and SignalHire pricing actually compare in 2026?
ContactOut entry-paid tier : Email (Sales annual) at $49/mo (annual) / $79 monthly. Next tier up is Email + Phone ($99/mo (annual)). ContactOut's free tier : Yes - 5 emails + 5 phones + 5 exports per day. SignalHire entry-paid tier : Lead Generation at $39/month. Next tier up is Recruiter Pro ($79/month). SignalHire's free tier : 5 credits trial. For comparison : Derrick App skips the credit + seat model entirely with $10/month for unlimited enrichment, billed directly in the Sheet.

### What's the biggest reason to pick ContactOut over SignalHire?
Best personal email coverage in the category. Recruiting teams on r/Recruitment specifically picked ContactOut over Apollo, Lusha, RocketReach, Cognism and Airscale for personal email coverage and lower bounce rates. Personal Gmail/Outlook addresses are notoriously hard to find at scale; ContactOut's data acquisition has built genuine differentiation here. (Source : Verified G2 user, Talent Acquisition Lead, G2 review (Q1 2026).) If this single capability maps to a real pain in your sales motion, ContactOut is the right pick over SignalHire.

### What's the biggest reason to pick SignalHire over ContactOut?
Multi-platform coverage beyond LinkedIn. GitHub, AngelList, Stack Overflow, and personal websites are all supported in the Chrome extension. For technical recruiters sourcing engineers, this materially expands the addressable pool — most candidates' best public signal lives outside LinkedIn. (Source : Mei C., Technical Recruiter, G2 review (Feb 2026).) If this is the differentiator that matters most for your stack, SignalHire is the right pick over ContactOut.

### Can Derrick replace both ContactOut and SignalHire?
ContactOut (linkedin recruiter email + phone finder) and SignalHire (b2b contact data) cover different category needs, so the question depends on which one Derrick maps against. Derrick is a Sheets-native enrichment + search layer at $10/mo flat — it directly substitutes for the data layer of either tool. For the platform-specific features (sequencing, intent, automation), Derrick complements ContactOut and SignalHire rather than replacing them outright.

### Beyond ContactOut and SignalHire, what other tools should I evaluate?
Four other tools in the same competitive set worth evaluating : RocketReach, Lusha, Apollo, Hunter. Each has its own positioning trade-off versus ContactOut and SignalHire — RocketReach typically appears as a direct competitor on G2 review pages, with Lusha, Apollo, Hunter as adjacent picks for different team sizes or use cases. Each tool's full review on this site has the deep trade-off matrix — start there before shortlisting.