PhantomBuster
- Starting price: $56/mo (annual)
- Free plan: No (14-day free trial)
- Founded: 2016
- HQ: Paris, France
Updated
PhantomBuster vs Hunter vs Derrick: Which Is Better in 2026?
- Short answer
- PhantomBuster vs Hunter vs Derrick: PhantomBuster is a cloud-based scraping and social automation, Hunter is a email finder, verifier and lightweight cold-email platform. 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 PhantomBuster or Hunter) and pricing is lower - free forever with 100 credits/month, paid plans from €9/month. Most teams pair Derrick for the data layer with PhantomBuster or Hunter for outreach.
Where PhantomBuster requires you to build pipelines outside your data, Derrick keeps the data and the logic in the same Sheet. The side-by-side comparison below pits PhantomBuster's no-code IDE, learning curve and per-execution pricing against Derrick's =DERRICK() formula that scales with usage.
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.
CURSOR Quick Facts
PhantomBuster vs Hunter 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)
Derrick
★ Recommended- Starting price: Free · Paid from €9/mo
- Free plan: Yes - 100 credits/mo permanent
- Founded: 2023
- HQ: Marseille, FR
Why Derrick wins 01
02
03
Why teams pick Derrick over PhantomBuster and Hunter
3 core reasons SDRs and ops teams switch to Derrick. Click to expand each.
01 Real-time validation without data gaps
Real-time validation gaps plague PhantomBuster and Hunter users who rely on scraping or email-first tools, often producing delayed or incomplete accuracy without a unified validation layer. Derrick delivers real-time email validation and enrichment directly inside 100% native Google Sheets, ensuring instant correctness as you build your prospect lists. Users can expect higher deliverability and fewer rejections, with immediate feedback on validation results and up-to-date contact attributes, reducing wasted outreach by up to 20-30% in typical campaigns. No data slips or export gaps: Derrick keeps validation continuous within your workflow, eliminating the need for external checks.
02 Deep Prospect Insights Without External Data Gaps
PhantomBuster and Hunter often deliver data extraction or email discovery, but they fall short on holistic, up-to-date deep prospect insights without external data gaps. Derrick delivers 100% native Google Sheets enrichment plus AI-powered scoring and multi-source context, eliminating the need for separate tools. Users gain a complete, consented view of 50+ attributes per contact with real-time validation, reducing data gaps and boosting outbound accuracy by up to 20-30% in initial campaigns. A typical use case: enrich a pipeline in Sheets with firmographics and tech insights in one place, without leaving the workspace.
03 Unified data quality at scale without manual cleanup
PhantomBuster and hunter often deliver data at scale but fall short on unified data quality without manual cleanup, leaving gaps or outdated fields in multi-source outputs. Derrick approaches this by centralizing 50+ enrichment attributes directly in native Google Sheets, with real-time validation and deduplication to ensure consistency across contacts and companies. This yields measurable efficiency: up to 20% faster cleanup time and more reliable lists for outreach, thanks to automated normalization and monthly, credit-based usage. A quick use case: run a unified profile enrichment in Derrick, then deploy via Sheets without exporting or restructuring data.
Honest Comparison 
derrick
What each tool does better
We're upfront - every tool has strengths. Here's where PhantomBuster, Hunter, and Derrick each genuinely win.
What PhantomBuster does better
- 150+ pre-built Phantoms across platforms
- Best LinkedIn Sales Navigator export
- Composable workflow chains
What Hunter does better
- Outstanding email accuracy + verification
- No charge if Hunter can't find it
- Strong free tier + simple onboarding
What Derrick does better
- Free forever - €0/mo with 100 credits permanent in Google Sheets
- 100+ data points per lead - verified emails, phones, LinkedIn, tech stack, SIRET
- Zero LinkedIn ban risk + real-time email verification built in
- Pair with any sequencer - LaGrowthMachine, Smartlead, Lemlist, HeyReach
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.
| PhantomBuster | Hunter | Derrick | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price (monthly) | $56/mo (annual) | Free 50 credits/mo · Starter €34/mo (annual) | €0 (free) · €9/mo paid |
| Annual cost (base) | ~€672/yr | ~€600/yr | €0/yr free · ~€108/yr paid |
| Free plan? | No (14-day free trial) | Yes - 50 credits/mo, 500 recipients/sequence | ✓ 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
PhantomBuster vs Hunter vs Derrick: full feature comparison
| PhantomBuster | Derrick App | hunter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Works natively in Google Sheets | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Requires LinkedIn Sales Navigator ($100/month) | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Sales Navigator 1-click import | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Email finder with real-time validation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Phone finder from LinkedIn | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Company tech stack lookup | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SimilarWeb & G2 insights integrated | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| AI integration (Claude & ChatGPT) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Automatic AI Lead Scoring | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Data cleaning & normalization | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-platform scraping (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Zapier, Make, n8n integrations | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Public API available | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Native CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce) | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Entry price (paid plan) | 69$/mois | 9€/mois | 49$/mois |
| Permanent free plan | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Rollover credits to next month | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Simple and transparent credit system | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Simple setup & onboarding | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Complete documentation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Pricing in a nutshell Web Automation derrick
best value for money
Results first.
Discover Derrick →
Email Finder + Light Outreach
PhantomBuster vs Hunter vs Derrick pricing breakdown
Web Automation PhantomBuster
$56/mo (annual)
Best for: Growth hackers & ops teams
PhantomBuster offers tiered pricing with a free plan and paid options starting at accessible levels for small teams; detailed pricing varies by usage and plan. For exact breakdown and all features, see the full pricing page.
Results first.
Complexity removed.
Free · Paid plans from €9/mo
While other tools pile on features, complex setups, and pricing tiers that grow faster than your results, Derrick focuses on what actually matters:
getting usable leads, directly in Google Sheets.
No heavy workflows, No endless configuration. No learning curve.
Email Finder + Light Outreach Hunter
Free 50 credits/mo · Starter €34/mo (annual)
Best for: Solo SDRs and small teams doing email-first outbound
Hunter offers an entry-level plan with credits and paid tiers starting at competitive monthly pricing; a free tier is available where possible. See full pricing breakdown for complete details and plan options.
Migration Guide
How to switch from PhantomBuster 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 PhantomBuster, 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 PhantomBuster if…
- You specifically need growth hackers & ops teams
- 150+ pre-built Phantoms across platforms
- Best LinkedIn Sales Navigator export
- You're already invested in the PhantomBuster ecosystem
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
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
What teams say after switching from PhantomBuster vs Hunter
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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"This app is fantastic. Brilliantly created to help small and mid sized businesses."
Dan Hughes
Founder/CEO, AlmanacIO
"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
"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
"Have tested over 10+ LI scraper apps, Derrick beats them all. Simple to use, accurate data, and affordable price."
AJ Alexander
Opportunity Prospector
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the main difference Derrick vs PhantomBuster for automation?
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Derrick operates as a native Google Sheets platform, eliminating the need for external tools and CSV exports, whereas PhantomBuster focuses primarily on web automation and data scraping without deep enrichment capabilities. Hunter specializes in email discovery but lacks comprehensive prospect data enrichment. Derrick differentiates itself by combining 50+ enrichment attributes, real-time email validation, integrated AI scoring with Claude and ChatGPT, and rollover credits-all within Google Sheets. For teams seeking unified enrichment without switching platforms, Derrick streamlines workflows more efficiently than either alternative.
Is Derrick a good alternative to PhantomBuster?
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Yes, Derrick is an excellent alternative to PhantomBuster, especially if you prioritize seamless workflow integration and cost efficiency. While PhantomBuster excels at large-scale web automation and data extraction, Derrick operates natively within Google Sheets, eliminating CSV exports and complex setup processes. Derrick provides 50+ enrichment attributes per contact with real-time email validation, integrated AI scoring via Claude and ChatGPT, and rollover credits that never expire. For teams already working in Sheets seeking faster prospecting without steep learning curves or aggressive pricing scaling, Derrick delivers comparable enrichment depth with significantly lower operational overhead and monthly flexibility.
Derrick vs PhantomBuster vs hunter: which is best?
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The best choice depends on your specific needs. PhantomBuster excels at web automation and data scraping at scale, making it ideal for teams needing workflow automation without coding. Hunter specializes in email discovery with strong verification accuracy, perfect for straightforward prospecting. Derrick stands out as the only 100% Google Sheets native platform, eliminating CSV exports and complex setup while offering 50+ enrichment attributes, real-time email validation, and integrated AI with Claude and ChatGPT. For teams already using Google Sheets who want comprehensive enrichment without leaving their spreadsheet, Derrick saves 5-10 hours monthly and requires no credit card for the free tier, making it the most efficient all-in-one solution for B2B prospecting workflows.
Which tool offers better pricing: PhantomBuster or hunter?
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When comparing pricing between PhantomBuster and Hunter, PhantomBuster generally offers more scalable options for large-scale automation and data extraction, with pricing that scales with usage and can become costly for high-volume campaigns. Hunter, by contrast, centers on affordable, straightforward email discovery and verification, often feeling cost-effective for teams focused on clean email lists. Derrick App positions itself as a cost-efficient, fully native Google Sheets enrichment platform with rollover credits and no credit card required for the free tier, which can yield savings for ongoing prospecting in the long run. If you need broad automation beyond emails, PhantomBuster might be more attractive; if your primary need is accurate emails at scale, Hunter wins on simplicity and cost, while Derrick offers a compelling, integrative alternative for spreadsheet-centered workflows with flexible credits and AI-assisted scoring.
PhantomBuster vs hunter: which is the better review?
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PhantomBuster excels at web automation and data extraction, making it ideal for scraping LinkedIn and social platforms at scale, while Hunter focuses specifically on email discovery and verification with strong accuracy rates. PhantomBuster offers broader automation capabilities but requires more technical setup, whereas Hunter provides simplicity but limited enrichment depth beyond emails. For teams needing comprehensive B2B data enrichment directly within Google Sheets without complex integrations or CSV exports, Derrick delivers native spreadsheet functionality with 50+ enrichment attributes, real-time email validation, integrated AI scoring, and rollover credits-eliminating the need for multiple tools while saving significant time and cost compared to both platforms.
Is Derrick a better replacement for both PhantomBuster and hunter?
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Yes, Derrick can serve as a better replacement for both PhantomBuster and Hunter in many B2B use cases, but with nuance. Compared to PhantomBuster’s web automation and data extraction, Derrick offers 100% native Google Sheets integration, no exports or complex setups, and 50+ enrichment attributes per contact, plus real-time email validation and AI-powered scoring-all within a familiar sheet-based workflow. Against Hunter, Derrick provides deeper multi-attribute enrichment beyond emails, integrated AI for segmentation and summaries, and a scalable credits system with rollover, all without requiring additional tools for richer prospect profiles. While PhantomBuster excels in template-driven automation and large-scale scraping, Derrick reduces friction, lowers operational overhead, and consolidates enrichment, validation, and scoring in one native platform. For teams prioritizing ease of use, cost predictability, and richer data within Google Sheets, Derrick often offers a more comprehensive, cohesive solution.
One-on-one
PhantomBuster vs Derrick - solo duel
Drop the third-party context and see how PhantomBuster compares to Derrick alone.
Open the head-to-head → One-on-onehunter vs Derrick - solo duel
Drop the third-party context and see how hunter compares to Derrick alone.
Open the head-to-head → Curated stackAll B2B sales tools we reviewed in depth
Step back from the duel - see our hand-picked sales-tool selection and how every category fits together.
See the full curation → Keep Exploring
