ContactOut vs SignalHire (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, ContactOut grades higher than SignalHire: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
ContactOut grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, 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
SignalHire
Contact lookup for recruiters and sales, with unlimited seats
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 SignalHire if
- Fits if you recruit and want unlimited seats
- Works for sales or hiring teams sharing one credit pool
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free: 5 credits, or 10 with the extension
- Skip it if you want unlimited to mean unlimited, as fair use caps it at 2,000 credits a month
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $69 against $57 yearly
- Watch out: the credit counts differ between the monthly and annual views
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAContactOutGood | 2.4GPASignalHireFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | C$57 a month billed annually, $69 monthly. That's in the dearer half of lead-finding tools, below the $74 dearer quarter. |
| 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 of 5 credits, or 10 a month with the extension. It's a taste, not a plan to live on. |
| 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. | CBrowser extension, a profile database, unlimited users, ATS and CRM export and an API. Unlimited packages are held to a fair-use 2,000 credits a month. |
| 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 browser 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 browser extension, with five integrations, an API and MCP. |
| Best for | personal emails and numbers for recruiters | contact lookups for recruiters and sales |
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 SignalHire. 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. SignalHire starts at $57 a month and scores 2.7.
ContactOut scores higher and starts $18 a month lower. Of the other lead and email finders on the chart, none scores higher than ContactOut for less, and 1 scores higher than SignalHire 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
- ContactOut also covers web clipper and email campaigns.
- SignalHire also covers email verification.
At a glance
| ContactOut | SignalHire | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $39 per month, billed annually | $57 per month for the Emails plan, billed annually ($69 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. | 5 credits, or 10 a month with the extension installed. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | ContactOut | SignalHire Sp. z o. o. |
| Price read from | contactout.com | signalhire.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.
SignalHire
- The pricing page lays out two packages per plan; the credit counts differ between monthly and annual views.
- Unlimited packages are limited by a fair-use policy of 2,000 credits a month.
- A credit is used only when a contact detail is returned, per the FAQ.
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.
SignalHire
- Browser extension
- Reveals contacts on social sites and most web pages; the vendor names Chrome and Firefox.
- Profile database
- Searches a database of 900M+ profiles by name, title, company and location.
- Unlimited users
- The vendor says it does not charge per seat, and contacts are shared across the team.
- ATS and CRM export
- Sends contacts to Salesforce, Zoho Recruit, Pipedrive, Recruitee and ActiveCampaign, among others.
- Unlimited packages
- Each plan has an Unlimited package option, with a fair-use cap of 2,000 credits a month.
- API and MCP server
- API access is listed on paid plans, with an MCP server in the navigation.
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.
SignalHire
Free$0
5 credits, no card needed; 10 credits every month with the browser extension.
Emails$57
per month, billed annually ($69 billed monthly)
1,000 credits a month on monthly billing; annual shows 12,000 credits.
Phones$57
per month, billed annually ($69 billed monthly)
435 credits on monthly billing; annual shows 5,400 credits.
Emails & Phones$57
per month, billed annually ($69 billed monthly)
Same credit amounts as Phones: 435 monthly, 5,400 on annual.
ScaleCustom
Bulk license and custom contact details; sold through sales.
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.
SignalHire
- Annual discount
Yearly billing saves up to 74%
The pricing page tags yearly billing with savings of up to 74% against the crossed-out list prices.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, ContactOut or SignalHire?
As of Nov 12, 2026, ContactOut is cheaper to start with: $39 a month, against $57 a month for SignalHire. ContactOut starts at $39 per month, billed annually, and SignalHire starts at $57 per month for the Emails plan, billed annually ($69 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, ContactOut or SignalHire?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both ContactOut and SignalHire 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.