ContactOut vs SalesQL (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, ContactOut and SalesQL share a 2.6 GPA, both have a free plan, and SalesQL starts cheaper, at $29.25 a month against $39 a month.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
ContactOut grades higher on features. SalesQL grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ContactOut
Email and phone finder for recruiters and sales, priced flat
SalesQL
LinkedIn email finder with a contact database and campaigns
Which one is for you
Pick ContactOut if
- Fits if you recruit and want candidates' personal emails
- Works for one person prospecting from LinkedIn and Sales Navigator at a flat price
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you're a team wanting to sign up yourselves, as self-serve is 1 user per company and the API goes through sales
- Tight if you export a lot, with 300 exports a month on Email and 600 on Email + Phone, billed monthly
- Skip it if you need phone numbers on the cheaper plan, since Email has none
- Watch out: unlimited means a fair use cap of 2,000 emails and 1,000 phone numbers a month in the terms
- Tight if you're staying free, at 5 emails, 5 phone numbers and 5 exports a day
Pick SalesQL if
- Fits if you find emails from LinkedIn profiles
- Works for one person on a small budget
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free: 50 credits a month and no phone numbers
- Skip it if you need the API on Basic, since it starts on Professional
- Pricey if you add seats: $5 each a month, sharing the plan's credit pool
- Watch out: the daily API limits are marked proposed and pending final validation
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAContactOutGood | 2.6GPASalesQLGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | COne person pays $39 a month billed yearly for emails, or $79 with phone numbers, right at this category's middle ($39). Self-serve is one user per company, so a team of five gets a quote from sales, with no figure on record. | B$29.25 a month billed annually for 2,000 credits, $39 monthly. That's inside the cheapest quarter, which tops out at $33.25. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan for one user with 5 emails, 5 phone numbers and 5 exports a day, plus the extension and the search portal. Enough for the odd lookup, but 5 a day goes quickly. | CA free plan with 50 credits a month for 1 seat and no phone numbers. |
| Features | BWork and personal emails, phone numbers, a search portal with 20-plus filters, a LinkedIn extension, email campaigns, enrichment and recruiting integrations. It covers the whole job, though numbers need the dearer plan. | CLinkedIn extension, contact database, CSV enrichment, campaigns, API and MCP. Basic has no API, and phones are paid only. |
| Ease of use | BNo App Store rating on record, but it's a Chrome extension on the LinkedIn and Sales Navigator you already use. Open a profile and the details are there. | BA Chrome extension you install and use. No store rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and a Chrome extension, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Lever, Greenhouse, Bullhorn, Zapier and Gmail. The API comes with team plans. No desktop or phone apps. | BWeb and a Chrome extension, with four integrations, an API from Professional and MCP. |
| Best for | personal emails and numbers for recruiters | a LinkedIn email finder on a budget |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: ContactOut and SalesQL. How we grade
Price against what you get
ContactOut starts at $39 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SalesQL starts at $29.25 a month and scores 2.7.
ContactOut scores higher, and starts $9.75 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other lead and email finders on the chart, none scores higher than ContactOut for less, and none scores higher than SalesQL for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| ContactOut | SalesQL | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $39 per month, billed annually | $29.25 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 5 emails, 5 phone numbers and 5 exports a day for 1 user, with the browser extension, the search portal and a trial of premium features. | 50 credits a month for 1 seat, with the Chrome extension, 100 campaign recipients a month and limited MCP access. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | ContactOut | SalesQL Ltd |
| Price read from | contactout.com | salesql.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
ContactOut
- Paid self-serve plans allow 1 user per company; teams and API access go through sales.
- Unlimited plans fall under a fair use cap of 2,000 emails and 1,000 phone numbers per account a month in the terms of service.
- Phone numbers need the Email + Phone plan; the Email plan has no phone lookups.
- Exports are capped separately from lookups: 300 a month on Email and 600 on Email + Phone, billed monthly.
SalesQL
- The Free plan has 50 credits a month and no phone numbers; phones come with reveals on paid plans only.
- Basic has no API access; the REST API starts on Professional.
- Daily API limits are marked as proposed and pending final validation on the pricing page.
- Extra seats cost $5 per seat per month ($45 per year on annual) and share the plan's credit pool.
Key features
ContactOut
- Chrome extension
- Shows personal and work emails and phone numbers on LinkedIn and Sales Navigator profiles, and saves people to a CRM or campaign.
- Search portal
- Search people and companies with more than 20 filters, including job title, revenue, company size, skills and technologies used.
- Email campaigns
- Send outreach to saved prospects and track opens, clicks and replies, with an AI Email Writer on the Email + Phone plan.
- Data enrichment and API
- Refresh CRM and spreadsheet records with contact data, through ContactSheets, Gmail enrichment or the API on team plans.
- Recruiting integrations
- Save candidates straight to Lever, Bullhorn and Greenhouse, alongside Salesforce and HubSpot for sales teams.
SalesQL
- LinkedIn extension
- The Chrome extension reveals emails and phone numbers from LinkedIn profiles and search results, including Sales Navigator, Recruiter and Recruiter Professional Services.
- Contact database
- A Prospector searches a database the site puts at 185 million professional profiles by title, company, industry and location, then reveals or exports many contacts at once.
- CSV enrichment
- Upload a spreadsheet of names, companies or LinkedIn URLs and get verified emails, phone numbers and company data back, with file size limits that depend on the plan.
- Campaigns
- Email sequences go out from your own inbox with opens and clicks tracked per step. Each plan has a monthly recipient quota, and sending does not use credits.
- API and MCP
- A REST API comes with Professional and Premium. An MCP server lets assistants such as Claude or Cursor search and enrich contacts, using plan credits.
Plans
ContactOut
Free$0
5 emails, 5 phones and 5 exports a day, the browser extension and search portal, 1 user per company.
Email$39
per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
1 user. Unlimited emails under a fair use cap of 2,000 a month, 3,600 exports a year (300 a month billed monthly), email campaigns and list builder.
Email + Phone$79
per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
1 user. Adds unlimited phone numbers under a fair use cap of 1,000 a month, 7,200 exports a year, data enrichment and the AI Email Writer.
Team / APICustom
Team plans and API access through sales, with bulk licensing, Salesforce and ATS integrations, team reports and an account manager.
SalesQL
Free$0
50 credits a month, 1 seat, LinkedIn prospecting with the extension, 100 campaign recipients and limited MCP access.
Basic$29.25
per month for 2,000 credits, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
2,000 credits a month, 1 seat, phone numbers with each reveal, unlimited exports and CSV enrichment up to 1,000 rows.
Professional$59.25
per month for 5,000 credits, billed annually ($79 billed monthly)
5,000 credits a month, 3 seats, API access, CSV enrichment up to 5,000 rows and priority support.
Premium$89.25
per month for 12,000 credits, billed annually ($119 billed monthly)
12,000 credits a month, 5 seats, CSV enrichment up to 50,000 rows, higher API limits and priority support.
Ways to pay less
ContactOut
- Annual discount
About 20% off with annual billing
ContactOut's pricing page lists the Email plan at $39 a month billed annually ($468 a year) against $49 monthly, and Email + Phone at $79 against $99.
SalesQL
- Annual discount
25% off with annual billing
Annual plans are billed once a year ($351 Basic, $711 Professional, $1,071 Premium) with all of the year's credits granted upfront.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, ContactOut or SalesQL?
As of Nov 12, 2026, SalesQL is cheaper to start with: $29.25 a month, against $39 a month for ContactOut. ContactOut starts at $39 per month, billed annually, and SalesQL starts at $29.25 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, ContactOut or SalesQL?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both ContactOut and SalesQL have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.