# 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. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-05

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.

- Crustdata API + MCP: grade D, 53.5/100, rank #331 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/crustdata.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/crustdata.json
- Lusha API + MCP: grade B, 62.6/100, rank #215 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lusha.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/lusha.json

## 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

| Category | Weight | Crustdata API + MCP | Lusha API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 45 | 75 | Lusha API + MCP +30 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 89 | 83 | Crustdata API + MCP +6 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 51 | Crustdata API + MCP +22 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 56 | 59 | Lusha API + MCP +3 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 5 | 40 | Lusha API + MCP +35 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 67 | 82 | Lusha API + MCP +15 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 56 | 84 | Lusha API + MCP +28 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | -4 | |
| **Total** | | **53.5 · D** | **62.6 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Crustdata API + MCP | Lusha API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Crustdata | Lusha |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.crustdata.com` | `https://api.lusha.com` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | none |
| Tools exposed | none | 50 |
| 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 | not listed | `com.lusha.mcp/mcp` |
| Last release | none | 2026-09-23 |
| Popularity | none | none |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (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

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