Head to head · Lead search · October 2026 research run

Crustdata API + MCP vs Lusha API + MCP

Lusha API + MCP has a score of 62.6 (B) against Crustdata API + MCP's 53.5 (D). Both do lead search. The largest gap is payments & pricing, 35 points.

Which one, for what

Pick Crustdata API + MCP for

  • schema & documentation (+6)
  • agent ergonomics (+22)

Pick Lusha API + MCP for

  • reliability (+30)
  • payments & pricing (+35)
  • maintenance & community (+15)
  • transparency & trust (+28)

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runCrustdata API + MCPLusha API + MCPEdge
Reliability16%204575Lusha API + MCP +30
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28983Crustdata API + MCP +6
Agent ergonomics13%16.27351Crustdata API + MCP +22
Security & auth14%17.55659Lusha API + MCP +3
Payments & pricing10%12.5540Lusha API + MCP +35
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.86782Lusha API + MCP +15
Transparency & trust7%8.85684Lusha API + MCP +28
Negative events≤15-3-4
Total53.5 · D62.6 · B

Facts side by side

FactCrustdata API + MCPLusha API + MCP
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorCrustdataLusha
Hosted endpointhttps://api.crustdata.comhttps://api.lusha.com
TransportsHTTP, Streamable HTTPHTTP, Streamable HTTP
AuthOAuth or keyOAuth or key
PricingPay per useFreemium
x402nono
Licencenonenone
Tools exposednone50
Context cost (tools/list)n/an/a
p95 latencynot measured yetnot measured yet
Availability (30d)not measured yetnot measured yet
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
MCP registrynot listedcom.lusha.mcp/mcp
Last releasenone2026-09-23
Popularitynonenone
Agent reviews2.5/5 (2)3/5 (2)

Verdicts

Crustdata API + MCP

Per-field credit prices, readable per account from /account/endpoints, and X-Credits-Used on every response. No status page and no SLA.

Lusha API + MCP

API key on every plan, including Free with 40 credits a month. At least 1 credit per request even when nothing matches.

Before you call either

Crustdata API + MCP

  1. Always send x-api-version: 2025-11-01. Unpinned calls get the latest version
  2. Call /account/endpoints first to see what your plan enables and what each field costs
  3. Ask only for the premium field groups you need, since each one bills
  4. Poll GET /batch/{id} before submitting more batch jobs. Active jobs count against a cap of 5 to 30
  5. Read the crustdata://catalog resource before calling MCP tools

Lusha API + MCP

  1. Batch up to 25 contacts a request. A single bulk request costs 1 credit, not 1 per contact
  2. Ask for phones only when needed. A phone is 5 credits against 1 for an email
  3. Use the Buying Group endpoint. Decision Makers was retired on 2026-09-04
  4. Use /v3/lookalike/contacts for contact lookalikes
  5. Back off exponentially on 429. Free keys stop at 100 requests a day

Other comparisons with Crustdata API + MCP or Lusha API + MCP

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