PhantomBuster
- Starting price: $56/mo (annual)
- Free plan: No (14-day free trial)
- Founded: 2016
- HQ: Paris, France
Updated
PhantomBuster vs Surfe vs Derrick: Which Is Better in 2026?
- Short answer
- PhantomBuster vs Surfe vs Derrick: PhantomBuster is a cloud-based scraping and social automation, Surfe is a linkedin-to-crm chrome extension for one-click contact sync + enrichment. 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 Surfe) 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 Surfe 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 Surfe vs Derrick at a glance
Surfe
- Starting price: Free 20 emails + 5 phones · Essential $39/mo
- Free plan: Yes - 20 emails + 5 phones/yr permanently
- Founded: 2020
- HQ: Paris, France
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 Surfe
3 core reasons SDRs and ops teams switch to Derrick. Click to expand each.
01 Enrichment depth plus real-time validation without limits
Derrick addresses the limits of PhantomBuster and Surfe by delivering depth in enrichment combined with real-time validation directly within 100% native Google Sheets. Unlike PhantomBuster, which excels at extraction but often lacks deep enrichment and real-time data quality controls, Derrick adds 50+ attributes per contact with live email validation to ensure deliverability. This translates to measurable outcomes such as up to a 15-25% increase in qualified leads and reduced manual verification time, since credits are reportable and validation is instant. A typical use case: enrich a contact in Sheets and validate the email on the fly during outreach setup, eliminating separate post-processing steps.
02 Unified data layers with multi-source enrichment beyond basics
PhantomBuster and Surfe excel at extraction and basic LinkedIn data capture, but they fall short on unified, multi-source enrichment and deeper data layers. Derrick delivers 50+ enrichment attributes per contact/organization across multiple sources within 100% native Google Sheets, eliminating CSV exports and complex configs. This results in measurable gains, such as up to 20-30% faster prospect enrichment cycles and improved data completeness for targeted campaigns. Use cases like multi-source firmographic enrichment and real-time validation are streamlined directly in Derrick, without leaving your worksheet.
03 Effortless multi-source enrichment with expert data governance
PhantomBuster and Surfe excel at extraction and quick LinkedIn-focused workflows, but they fall short on multi-source enrichment and rigorous data governance. Derrick delivers effortless multi-source enrichment with centralized governance, eliminating the need for manual stitching and external validation. By tying 50+ attributes per contact with real-time validation and reportable credits, Derrick saves hours per month while improving data accuracy across sources. A typical use case: consolidate LinkedIn, company intelligence, and email verification in one native Google Sheets workflow, without complex integrations.
Honest Comparison 
derrick
What each tool does better
We're upfront - every tool has strengths. Here's where PhantomBuster, Surfe, and Derrick each genuinely win.
What PhantomBuster does better
- 150+ pre-built Phantoms across platforms
- Best LinkedIn Sales Navigator export
- Composable workflow chains
What Surfe does better
- Cleanest LinkedIn-to-CRM sync extension in the category
- Compatible with multiple CRMs (not locked to one)
- Speed + simplicity (top G2 mention pattern)
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 | Surfe | Derrick | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price (monthly) | $56/mo (annual) | Free 20 emails + 5 phones · Essential $39/mo | €0 (free) · €9/mo paid |
| Annual cost (base) | ~€672/yr | ~€240/yr | €0/yr free · ~€108/yr paid |
| Free plan? | No (14-day free trial) | Yes - 20 emails + 5 phones/yr permanently | ✓ 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 Surfe vs Derrick: full feature comparison
| PhantomBuster | Derrick App | Surfe | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 29$/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 →
LinkedIn → CRM Sync (Chrome Extension)
PhantomBuster vs Surfe vs Derrick pricing breakdown
Web Automation PhantomBuster
$56/mo (annual)
Best for: Growth hackers & ops teams
PhantomBuster offers tiered pricing with entry-level options and credits-based plans, plus a dedicated page detailing all tiers and limits. See the full pricing breakdown for complete details and plan-by-plan differences.
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.
LinkedIn → CRM Sync (Chrome Extension) Surfe
Free 20 emails + 5 phones · Essential $39/mo
Best for: SDRs whose entire workflow lives inside LinkedIn
Surfe offers a straightforward pricing structure with an entry-level plan and paid tiers, plus a free or trial option where available; see the full pricing breakdown for detailed plan names and features. View complete pricing details on the official Surfe pricing page.
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 Surfe if…
- You specifically need sdrs whose entire workflow lives inside linkedin
- Cleanest LinkedIn-to-CRM sync extension in the category
- Compatible with multiple CRMs (not locked to one)
- You're already invested in the Surfe 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 Surfe
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
Is Derrick better than PhantomBuster for data enrichment?
+
It depends on your specific needs. PhantomBuster excels at large-scale web automation and data extraction across multiple platforms, making it powerful for bulk scraping tasks. However, Derrick offers deeper data enrichment capabilities directly within Google Sheets with 50+ attributes per contact, real-time email validation, and integrated AI scoring without requiring external tools or CSV exports. Derrick's rollover credits and no credit card requirement for the free tier also provide more flexibility. For comprehensive B2B enrichment with minimal setup overhead, Derrick delivers a more streamlined experience, while PhantomBuster remains stronger for pure extraction automation at enterprise scale.
What’s the Derrick vs PhantomBuster difference in pricing?
+
Derrick offers significantly more transparent and flexible pricing compared to PhantomBuster. While PhantomBuster's costs scale aggressively with usage volume and can become expensive for high-frequency enrichment operations, Derrick provides rollover credits that never expire monthly, meaning you only pay for what you use without penalty. Derrick's free tier requires no credit card and includes 100 credits, whereas PhantomBuster's entry-level plans involve higher per-record costs. For teams prioritizing cost predictability and data enrichment depth, Derrick delivers better value with 50+ attributes per contact and integrated AI validation.
Can Derrick replace Surfe and PhantomBuster for outreach?
+
Derrick can effectively replace both Surfe and PhantomBuster for most outreach workflows, but with important nuances. While Surfe excels at LinkedIn extraction and PhantomBuster at automation, Derrick offers a unified solution native to Google Sheets with 50+ enrichment attributes, real-time email validation, and integrated AI for scoring and segmentation. Unlike Surfe's single-source dependency or PhantomBuster's complexity, Derrick eliminates CSV exports and technical setup. However, if you rely heavily on PhantomBuster's web scraping capabilities or need advanced LinkedIn-specific automation, combining Derrick with specialized tools may optimize your stack. For teams prioritizing simplicity, cost efficiency, and comprehensive enrichment without LinkedIn Sales Navigator dependency, Derrick provides a more streamlined alternative.
How does Derrick compare with Surfe for LinkedIn data?
+
Derrick compares favorably with Surfe for LinkedIn data by offering a broader enrichment capability directly inside Google Sheets, plus real-time email validation and AI-powered scoring, which Surfe does not natively provide. While Surfe excels at quick LinkedIn contact extraction and in-workflow prospecting via its browser extension, Derrick adds 50+ enrichment attributes per contact or company, over 3,000 integrations, and roll-over credits with a no-credit-card-free tier, enabling deeper lead intelligence and scalable outreach without leaving Sheets. For teams focused on LinkedIn-only extraction, Surfe is strong; for those needing richer data depth, validation, and seamless automation within a familiar spreadsheet environment, Derrick offers a more comprehensive solution.
Which is the better pricing option: Derrick or Surfe?
+
Derrick offers more flexible pricing with rollover credits that never expire, while Surfe operates on a fixed subscription model without credit carryover. Derrick's free tier requires no credit card and includes two hundred credits to start, whereas Surfe charges upfront regardless of usage volume. For teams with variable prospecting needs, Derrick's pay-as-you-go structure with monthly credit rollover typically proves more cost-effective than Surfe's fixed monthly commitment, especially when combined with Derrick's native Google Sheets integration that eliminates expensive tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
What are Derrick’s features versus PhantomBuster and Surfe?
+
Derrick differs from PhantomBuster and Surfe by being 100% native to Google Sheets, turning Sheets into a complete prospecting hub without CSV exports or complex setup. It offers 50+ enrichment attributes per contact, real-time email validation for deliverability, and integrated AI (Claude and ChatGPT) for scoring, segmentation, and auto-summaries, plus seamless automation through 3000+ Zapier/Make/n8n integrations. Unlike PhantomBuster, Derrick eliminates data enrichment gaps with built-in enrichment and validation, and unlike Surfe, it provides broader multi-attribute enrichment beyond LinkedIn data. Derrick also features monthly rollovers of credits, a free tier with no credit card required, and affordable tiered pricing, making it a more flexible long-term data prospecting solution for teams needing deep enrichment inside Sheets.
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-oneSurfe vs Derrick - solo duel
Drop the third-party context and see how Surfe 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
