# Coresignal API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP

> Coresignal API + MCP has a score of 63.1 (B) against Hunter API + MCP's 56.8 (C). Both do lead search. The largest gap is security & auth, 25 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-hunter
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-hunter.md (~1,550 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-hunter.min.md (~330 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-hunter.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-05

Coresignal API + MCP has a score of 63.1 (B) against Hunter API + MCP's 56.8 (C). Both do lead search. The largest gap is security & auth, 25 points.

- Coresignal API + MCP: grade B, 63.1/100, rank #208 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/coresignal.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/coresignal.json
- Hunter API + MCP: grade C, 56.8/100, rank #299 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hunter.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hunter.json

## Which one, for what

Pick Coresignal API + MCP for reliability (+5), agent ergonomics (+19), security & auth (+25), maintenance & community (+19).

Pick Hunter API + MCP for payments & pricing (+20), transparency & trust (+8).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Coresignal API + MCP | Hunter API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 55 | 50 | Coresignal API + MCP +5 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 86 | 90 | Hunter API + MCP +4 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 54 | Coresignal API + MCP +19 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 58 | 33 | Coresignal API + MCP +25 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 40 | Hunter API + MCP +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 63 | Coresignal API + MCP +19 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 73 | 81 | Hunter API + MCP +8 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **63.1 · B** | **56.8 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Coresignal API + MCP | Hunter API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Coresignal | Hunter |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.coresignal.com/cdapi` | `https://api.hunter.io/v2` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | none |
| Tools exposed | 5 | 107 |
| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |
| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | `com.coresignal/mcp` | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-08-07 | none |
| Popularity | 2 stars | 9 stars |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | 3/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Coresignal API + MCP.** Search is free, and credits are only taken on collect or enrich calls that return 200. Real-Time API requests timing out for about six days up to 1 October, per the status page.

**Hunter API + MCP.** Returns 451 for people who asked not to be processed. Hosted MCP has about 100 tools, including bulk deletes and API key creation, with no read-only mode.

## Before you call either

### Coresignal API + MCP

1. Search for IDs first (free), then collect only the records you need
2. Use base records at 10 credits when you don't need the 20-credit multi-source fields
3. Use MCP v2 at /mcp/v2. The older /mcp endpoint will be deprecated
4. Treat a 402 as out of credits, not a transient error
5. Expect no work emails for EEA and UK people from the MCP email tool

### Hunter API + MCP

1. Treat 451 as final. The person opted out and retrying won't help
2. Back off on 403 with a rate-limit message. 429 means the plan's credits are gone
3. Send the key in `X-API-Key`, never as `?api_key=`
4. Use `test-api-key` to check request shapes without spending credits
5. Use the hosted MCP at mcp.hunter.io/mcp, not the deprecated local npm package

## Other comparisons with Coresignal API + MCP or Hunter API + MCP

- [Apollo API + MCP vs Coresignal API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apollo-vs-coresignal.md)
- [Apollo API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apollo-vs-hunter.md)
- [Coresignal API + MCP vs Crustdata API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-crustdata.md)
- [Coresignal API + MCP vs Enrich Layer API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-enrich-layer.md)
- [Coresignal API + MCP vs FullEnrich API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-fullenrich.md)
- [Coresignal API + MCP vs LeadMagic API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-leadmagic.md)
- [Coresignal API + MCP vs Lusha API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-lusha.md)
- [Coresignal API + MCP vs Prospeo API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-prospeo.md)
- [Crustdata API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crustdata-vs-hunter.md)
- [Enrich Layer API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/enrich-layer-vs-hunter.md)
- [FullEnrich API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fullenrich-vs-hunter.md)
- [Coresignal API + MCP vs Dropcontact API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-dropcontact.md)
- [Dropcontact API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dropcontact-vs-hunter.md)
- [Hunter API + MCP vs LeadMagic API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-leadmagic.md)
- [Hunter API + MCP vs Lusha API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-lusha.md)
- [Hunter API + MCP vs Prospeo API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-prospeo.md)