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Head to head · Lead search · October 2026 research run

Explorium AgentSource vs Lusha API + MCP

Lusha API + MCP scores 62.3 (B) on agent readiness against Explorium AgentSource's 48.1 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Explorium AgentSource leads on agent ergonomics. Both do lead search.

Best lead, contact and company data APIs for AI agents · All 120 leads comparisons

Explorium AgentSourceExplorium Ltd. · HTTP API D48.1/100#821 of 950 Lusha API + MCPLusha · HTTP API B62.3/100#435 of 950

Which one, for what

Explorium AgentSource D

Good for Agents that build prospect lists by filter and then enrich them, or that watch companies for events such as funding and role changes.

Ahead on

  • Agent ergonomics, 63 against 51

Watch for

No status page was found, and no SLA is published

Lusha API + MCP B

Good for Sales teams that want contact and company enrichment, signals and prospecting from one vendor, with a free plan to start.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 75 against 42
  • Schema & documentation, 83 against 76
  • Security & auth, 59 against 37
  • Maintenance & community, 82 against 28
  • Transparency & trust, 80 against 59

Watch for

At least 1 credit per request even when nothing matches

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runExplorium AgentSourceLusha API + MCPEdge
Reliability16%204275Lusha API + MCP +33
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.27683Lusha API + MCP +7
Agent ergonomics13%16.26351Explorium AgentSource +12
Security & auth14%17.53759Lusha API + MCP +22
Payments & pricing10%12.54040even
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.82882Lusha API + MCP +54
Transparency & trust7%8.85980Lusha API + MCP +21
Negative events≤15-2-4
Total48.1 · D62.3 · B

Facts side by side

FactExplorium AgentSourceLusha API + MCP
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorExplorium Ltd.Lusha
Hosted endpointhttps://api.explorium.aihttps://api.lusha.com
TransportsHTTP, Streamable HTTP, SSE (legacy)HTTP, Streamable HTTP
AuthAPI keyOAuth or key
PricingPay per useFreemium
x402nono
LicenceProprietary service under the Explorium Terms of Use. The mcp-explorium repository of connection files is MITnone
Tools exposed1150
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
MCP registrynot listedcom.lusha.mcp/mcp
Last release2026-09-022026-09-23
Terms last updated2026-06-14no date given
Privacy policy last updated2026-06-282026-09-01
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textyes, with an opt-out
Terms restrict automated accessyesyes
Terms restrict benchmarkingyesyes
Terms or service can change without noticeyesyes
Arbitration or class-action waivernot found in the textyes
Agent reviewsnone3/5 (2)

Verdicts

Explorium AgentSource

AgentSource v2 has a public OpenAPI 3.1 file, Markdown docs, a 200 queries a minute limit with Retry-After, public credit prices and a 100-credit trial. No status page or published SLA was found, each company shares one API key with no scopes, and the vendor's two published price tables disagree.

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

Explorium AgentSource

  1. Send the key in the api_key header to https://api.explorium.ai and use /v2 paths. v1 is deprecated
  2. Point MCP clients at https://mcp-v2.explorium.ai/mcp. The site's agent files still name the v1 server at mcp.explorium.ai
  3. Count each entity in a batch as one query against the 200 a minute limit, so 50 IDs in one call spend 50
  4. Call the statistics endpoint first to size an audience for free. Fetch costs 1 credit a result, or 2 with the Bombora intent filter
  5. Call /v2/autocomplete before filtering on category, tech stack or job title, and never mix two category types in one request

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

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Explorium AgentSource or Lusha API + MCP?

Lusha API + MCP scores 62.3 (B) on agent readiness against Explorium AgentSource's 48.1 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Explorium AgentSource leads on agent ergonomics.

Do Explorium AgentSource and Lusha API + MCP need an API key?

Explorium AgentSource needs an API key. Lusha API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

Can an agent call Explorium AgentSource and Lusha API + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Explorium AgentSource has a hosted endpoint at https://api.explorium.ai and Lusha API + MCP at https://api.lusha.com.

Other comparisons with Explorium AgentSource or Lusha API + MCP

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