Updated

Hunter vs EmailSearch.io vs Derrick: Which Is Better in 2026?

Short answer
Hunter vs EmailSearch.io vs Derrick: Hunter is a email finder, verifier and lightweight cold-email platform, EmailSearch.io is a email finder + verification + drip campaigns + data enrichment with api access. Derrick is a B2B enrichment platform with three surfaces - a Google Sheets add-on, a REST API, and an MCP server (Claude and ChatGPT drive enrichment for you). Hit rates are noticeably higher (more emails + phone numbers returned per query than Hunter or EmailSearch.io) and pricing is lower - free forever with 100 credits/month, paid plans from €9/month. Most teams pair Derrick for the data layer with Hunter or EmailSearch.io for outreach.

Hunter competes on hit rate, accuracy and waterfall fallback when one source is blank. The side-by-side comparison below isolates Hunter's per-find cost (email vs mobile vs direct-dial), real-world deliverability of what comes back, and how it fits into Derrick's 10-source waterfall enrichment workflow.

Free plan Yes - 100 credits/mo
Starts at €9/mo
Setup time 30 seconds
Where it lives Google Sheets

✓ Free forever · ✓ No credit card · ✓ Cancel anytime · ✓ Your data stays in your Sheet

Trusted by 31,000+ users worldwide.

Quick Facts

Hunter vs EmailSearch.io vs Derrick at a glance

Hunter

  • Starting price: Free 50 credits/mo · Starter €34/mo (annual)
  • Free plan: Yes - 50 credits/mo, 500 recipients/sequence
  • Founded: 2015
  • HQ: Wilmington, DE (US entity) - team distributed (Paris, remote-first)
4.4/5 G2 4.4/5 Capterra

EmailSearch.io

  • Starting price: No free trial · Basic $29/mo (1K searches)
  • Free plan: No (paid plans only - 100% money-back guarantee)
  • Founded: 2019 (estimated)
  • HQ: London, UK (328 Chester Road, NW39 8YK)
3.5/5 G2 3.6/5 Capterra

Derrick

★ Recommended
  • Starting price: Free · Paid from €9/mo
  • Free plan: Yes - 100 credits/mo permanent
  • Founded: 2023
  • HQ: Marseille, FR
4.8/5 G2 4.8/5 Capterra
Why Derrick wins

Why teams pick Derrick over Hunter and EmailSearch.io

3 core reasons SDRs and ops teams switch to Derrick. Click to expand each.

01

Real-time validation and deep enrichment without multi-tool overhead

Real-time validation and deep enrichment without multi-tool overhead is a pain point when using hunter or EmailSearch.io, which focus on email discovery or verification but lack integrated, multi-attribute enrichment. Derrick delivers real-time email validation and 50+ enrichment attributes directly within Google Sheets, removing the need for separate tools or exports. Teams can improve deliverability and stance in one stroke, saving 5-10 hours per month on workflow cleanup. With Derrick, you gain native, continuous validation and rich prospect profiles without switching apps or juggling multiple platforms.

02

Comprehensive enrichment without extra tools and complexity avoided

Hunter and EmailSearch.io both center on email discovery, but neither提供 comprehensive enrichment within a single workflow, limiting deeper prospect profiling. Derrick solves this by delivering 50+ enrichment attributes per contact and company directly inside 100% native Google Sheets, avoiding multi-tool overhead. Users save time and money, with measurable gains like up to 5-10 hours per month reclaimed and more accurate targeting from integrated firmographic data. A practical use case is rapid, in-Sheets enrichment for ABM lists without exporting to separate tools.

03

Unified CRM-ready workflows with 3,000+ integrations

Hunter and EmailSearch.io both highlight email discovery but fall short of unified CRM-ready workflows with 3,000+ integrations. Derrick delivers a native Google Sheets experience that connects to 3,000+ integrations via Zapier/Make/n8n, enabling seamless multi-tool orchestration without exporting data. This reduces setup time and frees teams to automate end-to-end prospecting directly inside their existing CRM workflows, saving hours per month. For example, Derrick eliminates manual data handoffs by delivering real-time enrichment and validation within your CRM-ready processes.

Honest Comparison

What each tool does better

We're upfront - every tool has strengths. Here's where Hunter, EmailSearch.io, and Derrick each genuinely win.

What Hunter does better

  • Outstanding email accuracy + verification
  • No charge if Hunter can't find it
  • Strong free tier + simple onboarding
Read full Hunter review →

What EmailSearch.io does better

  • Cheapest meaningful email finder + drip campaigns bundle
  • LinkedIn email extraction + 92% accuracy claim
  • 100% money-back guarantee
Read full EmailSearch.io review →
Real Annual Cost

True cost over 12 months

Headline pricing rarely tells the whole story. Here's the real cost of running each tool for a year.

Hunter EmailSearch.io Derrick
Starting price (monthly) Free 50 credits/mo · Starter €34/mo (annual) No free trial · Basic $29/mo (1K searches) €0 (free) · €9/mo paid
Annual cost (base) ~€600/yr ~€348/yr €0/yr free · ~€108/yr paid
Free plan? Yes - 50 credits/mo, 500 recipients/sequence No (paid plans only - 100% money-back guarantee) ✓ Forever - 100 credits/mo
Setup cost Hours to days Hours to days 30 seconds via Marketplace
Switching cost CSV export + retraining CSV export + retraining Zero - works alongside any stack

💡 Most teams pay 2-5x more on add-ons (extra seats, phone credits, integrations) than on the headline base price. Derrick keeps everything in one transparent tier.

Feature-by-Feature

Hunter vs EmailSearch.io vs Derrick: full feature comparison

hunter Derrick App EmailSearch.io
Works natively in Google Sheets
Requires LinkedIn Sales Navigator ($100/month)
Sales Navigator 1-click import
Email finder with real-time validation
Phone finder from LinkedIn
Company tech stack lookup
SimilarWeb & G2 insights integrated
AI integration (Claude & ChatGPT)
Automatic AI Lead Scoring
Data cleaning & normalization
Multi-platform scraping (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook)
Zapier, Make, n8n integrations
Public API available
Native CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce)
Entry price (paid plan) 49$/mois 9€/mois 29$/mois
Permanent free plan
Rollover credits to next month
Simple and transparent credit system
Simple setup & onboarding
Complete documentation
Pricing in a nutshell

Hunter vs EmailSearch.io vs Derrick pricing breakdown

Email Finder + Drip Campaigns

EmailSearch.io

No free trial · Basic $29/mo (1K searches)

Best for: Solo SDRs needing affordable email finder + drip campaigns bundle

EmailSearch.io offers affordable entry-level pricing with a free tier for basic email discovery, followed by paid plans that scale with monthly searches and verifications; see full pricing breakdown for all limits and enterprise options.

Migration Guide

How to switch from Hunter to Derrick in 3 steps

Derrick is a Google Workspace app - no formulas to learn, no pipelines to migrate, no engineering work. Add it to Google Sheets and you're enriching in under a minute.

1
~30 sec

Install Derrick from Google Workspace Marketplace

Click the install button on our Marketplace listing and grant Google Sheets access. No credit card required - you start with 100 free credits per month.

2
~30 sec

Open any Google Sheet → Extensions → Derrick

Open a Sheet with your prospect list (paste a CSV from Hunter, scrape from LinkedIn Sales Navigator, or import from your CRM). Click Extensions → Derrick and the sidebar opens with all enrichment features ready to use.

3
~1 min

Enrich your list with one click

Select the column with names, LinkedIn URLs, or company domains. Pick what you want - emails, phone numbers, LinkedIn data, company info, tech stack - and click "Enrich". Derrick fills the columns directly in your Sheet. No exports, no pipelines, no waiting.

Install Derrick free →

100 free credits / month · No credit card · Cancel anytime

Decision in 60 seconds

Which one is right for you?

Pick Hunter if…

  • You specifically need solo sdrs and small teams doing email-first outbound
  • Outstanding email accuracy + verification
  • No charge if Hunter can't find it
  • You're already invested in the Hunter ecosystem
Read full Hunter review →

Pick EmailSearch.io if…

  • You specifically need solo sdrs needing affordable email finder + drip campaigns bundle
  • Cheapest meaningful email finder + drip campaigns bundle
  • LinkedIn email extraction + 92% accuracy claim
  • You're already invested in the EmailSearch.io ecosystem
Read full EmailSearch.io review →

Pick Derrick if…

  • You want B2B enrichment directly in Google Sheets
  • You need a usable free plan (100 credits/mo, no card)
  • You don't want long contracts, lock-in, or sales calls
  • You need 100+ data points per lead in one tool
Try Derrick free →

What teams say after switching from Hunter vs EmailSearch.io

See what our customers say about Derrick.

"This app saved me so much time and effort. Great for anyone looking to build a contact list or network at scale quickly. As a start-up it's been invaluable."

Alex Clark

Director | SaaS GTM Leader

Reviewed on Product Hunt

"Working pretty nifty compared to Snov.Io. Price wise it does give a fair shake, and IMO better interface since it's google sheets."

David Sire

Mortgage Broker at Zero Point Mortgage

Reviewed on Product Hunt

"Derrick is a very simple and user-friendly app to enrich your contacts database. Best thing: you can test it for free. And then the price is so low, it's a no brainer."

Etienne Grange

CEO Form'actions

Reviewed on Capterra

"Super easy to enrich linkedin urls using this tool. Both personal and company url data can be easily enriched with a click of a button."

Zaid Bilal

RevOps Professional

Reviewed on Capterra

"Amazing Tool, I would like to advocate this to my colleagues. So that you can get more users. Keep it Up. 5 Stars!"

Asif Hanzala

Lead Generation Specialist at IdeaPeel

Reviewed on Capterra

"This app is fantastic. Brilliantly created to help small and mid sized businesses."

Dan Hughes

Founder/CEO, AlmanacIO

Reviewed on Product Hunt

"I have been using other expensive apps or freemium like phantombuster, but Derrick has replaced them all. I love the simplicity of the Google sheet add-in, but what is best is the efficiency it delivers."

Julien Walon Cohen

CEO & Co-founder @ Diffly | B2B Sales Advisor

Reviewed on G2

"The LinkedIn scraping and email finder combo is incredibly powerful. I can build a complete prospect list with contact info in under an hour. Absolute must-have for outbound."

Michael Kim

SDR Team Lead at CloudScale

Reviewed on Capterra

"Have tested over 10+ LI scraper apps, Derrick beats them all. Simple to use, accurate data, and affordable price."

AJ Alexander

Opportunity Prospector

Reviewed on Capterra

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Derrick vs hunter compare on data enrichment accuracy?

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Derrick delivers strong data enrichment accuracy with real-time email validation that reduces bounce rates and improves deliverability, comparable to Hunter's email verification strengths. Unlike Hunter, which focuses primarily on email discovery, Derrick provides 50+ enrichment attributes per contact and company within Google Sheets, eliminating manual data compilation. EmailSearch.io offers similar email-focused accuracy but lacks comprehensive enrichment depth. Derrick's integrated AI with Claude and ChatGPT enables intelligent data scoring and segmentation directly in your workflow, giving you richer prospect intelligence than either competitor while maintaining simplicity and cost efficiency through rollover credits and no upfront card requirements.

Is Derrick a better alternative to hunter for small teams?

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Yes, Derrick is a strong alternative to Hunter for small teams, particularly if you're already using Google Sheets for prospect management. Unlike Hunter, which focuses solely on email discovery, Derrick operates natively within Sheets and provides fifty-plus enrichment attributes per contact including real-time email validation, company intelligence, and integrated AI scoring with Claude and ChatGPT. Small teams benefit from Derrick's rollover credits, no credit card requirement for the free tier, and elimination of expensive LinkedIn Sales Navigator subscriptions, making it more cost-effective than Hunter while delivering broader data enrichment in a unified workflow.

What’s the main difference Derrick vs Hunter pricing?

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Derrick offers significantly more flexible pricing with rollover credits that don't expire monthly, meaning you only pay for what you actually use. Hunter operates on a subscription model with fixed monthly costs regardless of usage volume, which can be wasteful for teams with variable prospecting needs. EmailSearch.io provides competitive per-lookup pricing but lacks credit rollover flexibility. Derrick's free tier requires no credit card and includes 100 credits, while Hunter and EmailSearch.io typically require paid plans to access full functionality, making Derrick more accessible for teams testing the platform before committing financially.

Which one has better review momentum: Derrick or hunter?

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Based on the available reviews, Derrick appears to have stronger review momentum for a different reason: it combines broad enrichment capabilities with native Google Sheets integration and flexible crediting, which tends to generate positive user sentiment as teams scale. Hunter and EmailSearch.io emphasize core email discovery and verification, with limited deep enrichment, which keeps their momentum more steady but less explosive in reviews as teams seek multi-attribute insights. Derrick’s unique advantages-100% native Sheets, AI-driven scoring and segmentation, 50+ enrichment attributes per contact, and roll-over credits-often drive favorable feedback and rapid adoption, especially among teams looking to streamline prospecting without leaving Sheets. In short, Derrick tends to show stronger momentum thanks to its broader value proposition, while Hunter and EmailSearch.io remain solid for focused email discovery.

Can Derrick replace both hunter and EmailSearch.io?

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Derrick can complement both Hunter and EmailSearch.io rather than fully replace them, depending on your workflow. Derrick excels as a native Google Sheets platform offering 50+ enrichment attributes, real-time email validation, and integrated AI scoring without leaving your spreadsheet. While Hunter specializes in email accuracy and EmailSearch.io focuses on quick email discovery, Derrick provides broader data enrichment directly in Sheets, eliminating CSV exports and manual data entry. If you're already using Google Sheets for prospecting, Derrick consolidates email verification, company intelligence, and AI-driven segmentation in one place, reducing tool switching and saving significant time monthly.

What are Derrick’s key features vs EmailSearch.io pricing}

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Derrick’s key features differentiate from EmailSearch.io primarily through enrichment depth, native integration, and AI-powered capabilities. Derrick is 100% native to Google Sheets, turning Sheets into a full prospecting hub with 50+ enrichment attributes per contact, real-time email validation, and built-in AI (Claude and ChatGPT) for scoring, segmentation, and automatic summaries. It also offers 3000+ integrations via Zapier/Make/n8n and credits that can be rolled over monthly, with a free tier that does not require a credit card. In contrast, EmailSearch.io focuses on fast email discovery and real-time verification with straightforward, standalone search and basic integration support but lacks the multi-attribute enrichment, AI tooling, and native Google Sheets workflow you get with Derrick. Pricing-wise, Derrick provides labeled credit tiers (Free 100 credits; Small 4000; Medium 10000; Large 25000; XL 100000) with credits that carry over, while EmailSearch.io presents its own plans and pricing for its email discovery service. If you need deeper firmographic data, AI-driven segmentation, and a fully embedded Google Sheets workflow, Derrick offers stronger value; for pure email discovery at a potentially lower upfront cost, EmailSearch.io remains a solid alternative.
Hunter vs EmailSearch.io vs Derrick - Free · 100 credits/mo Hunter vs EmailSearch.io vs Derrick - Derrick is Product of the Day on Product Hunt Try Derrick free →