B2B contact database free: six free options, their credit limits and the first paid plan

B2B contact database free: the six options

Six free B2B contact database options are Apollo.io, Lusha, Prospeo, Hunter, Snov.io and Seamless.AI, each with a limited credit allowance. UpLead is not one of them, because its 7-day trial is not a free plan. These allowances are as read on October 30, 2026, with the first paid plan at each vendor.

Free credits buy fewer phone numbers than emails at Lusha and Prospeo. UpLead has no free plan: its 7-day trial gives 5 credits, and the help center says an account not canceled by day 7 is billed for the Essentials annual plan.

How far each free allowance goes

• Lusha: 1 credit for a verified email and 5 for a phone number, out of 40 a month.
• Prospeo: 1 credit for a verified business email and 10 for a direct mobile number, out of 100 a month. It charges only when a valid result is returned.
• Hunter: 1 credit finds an email and 0.5 credit verifies one, out of 50 a month.
• Apollo.io: Email, Mobile and Export credits, with 75 credits per seat a month.
• Snov.io: 1 credit for each prospect or email verification, out of 50 a month.

When a free plan is enough, and when it is not

A free plan is enough for a solo founder who emails a short list each month and needs emails only. It stops being enough once a team needs many direct dials, which cost 5 credits each at Lusha and 10 at Prospeo.

Seat rules differ. Apollo.io's free credits are per seat, and Lusha Free is 1 seat. Hunter's free plan lets unlimited team members share its credits. Snov.io offers a renewable free Trial plan with 50 credits a month.

For emails only, see best email finder tool. For a team that needs phone numbers too, best B2B contact database for small business compares the paid options.

UpLead's trial is not a free plan

UpLead's pricing page shows a 7-day trial with 5 credits and no free plan. The help center says the trial needs payment details at activation, with no immediate charge, and the card is not billed until after day 7 unless you cancel. An account not canceled by day 7 is billed $890 annually for the Essentials Plan. The pricing page itself says nothing about a card or day-7 billing.

Picture a founder whose trial ends in two days. The 5 credits unlocked at most 5 contacts. With payment details already entered, day 7 bills the Essentials annual plan unless the founder switches to Plus Annual, Professional Annual or a monthly plan, or cancels under Profile, Billing, Cancel Plan. The UpLead free trial guide has the full sequence.

The first paid step at each vendor

Credits at the first paid step, on monthly billing:

• Apollo.io Basic: 2,500 credits per seat a month.
• Lusha Starter: 400 credits a month, 1 seat.
• Prospeo Starter: 2,000 credits per user a month.
• Snov.io Starter: 1,000 credits.
• Hunter Starter: 2,000 credits a month, with the price on Hunter's pricing page.
• Seamless.AI: no price or credit count printed; its sales team takes over after the first 50 credits.
• UpLead Essentials: 170 credits a month at $99 a month, billed monthly, for one user.

UpLead's 7-day trial belongs in a different column from these plans: 5 credits, then a charge on day 7 unless canceled.