# Fuse MCP vs Hunter API + MCP

> Hunter API + MCP scores 56.5 (C) on agent readiness against Fuse MCP's 47.9 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Fuse MCP leads on security & auth. Both do lead search. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fuse-mcp-vs-hunter
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fuse-mcp-vs-hunter.md (~2,250 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fuse-mcp-vs-hunter.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fuse-mcp-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: 2026-10-08

Hunter API + MCP scores 56.5 (C) on agent readiness against Fuse MCP's 47.9 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Fuse MCP leads on security & auth. Both do lead search.

- Fuse MCP: grade D, 47.9/100, rank #543 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/fuse-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/fuse-mcp.json
- Hunter API + MCP: grade C, 56.5/100, rank #435 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hunter.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hunter.json

## Which one, for what

### Fuse MCP (D)

Good for: Suited to a salesperson or founder who wants an assistant to build prospect lists, enrich them and run email and LinkedIn outreach inside one Fuse account.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 45 against 33

Watch for: The only OAuth scope is `mcp:tools`, so a connection can do everything its user can, including sending email and LinkedIn messages

### Hunter API + MCP (C)

Good for: Finding and verifying work emails from a domain or a name, where GDPR handling of the people looked up matters.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 50 against 40
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 72
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 30
- Maintenance & community, 63 against 35
- Transparency & trust, 78 against 49

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: Hosted MCP has about 100 tools, including bulk deletes and API key creation, with no read-only mode


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Fuse MCP | Hunter API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 40 | 50 | Hunter API + MCP +10 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 90 | Hunter API + MCP +18 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 57 | 54 | Fuse MCP +3 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 45 | 33 | Fuse MCP +12 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 40 | Hunter API + MCP +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 35 | 63 | Hunter API + MCP +28 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 49 | 78 | Hunter API + MCP +29 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **47.9 · D** | **56.5 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Fuse MCP | Hunter API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | FuseAI, LLC | Hunter |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.fuseai.com` | `https://api.hunter.io/v2` |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary hosted service under FuseAI's terms of service. No public source repository found | none |
| Tools exposed | 290 | 107 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-07 | none |
| Terms last updated | 2026-07-01 | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-07-01 | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |
| Popularity | none | 9 stars |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Fuse MCP.** The server documents 290 tools with read-only and destructive annotations, OAuth with PKCE and dynamic client registration, and published limits of 60 requests a minute. The single `mcp:tools` scope grants everything the user can do, sends happen at once with no undo, and no status page, changelog or security contact was found.

**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

### Fuse MCP

1. Keep the client's approval prompt on for every tool that is not read-only. Sends, CRM pushes and Slack posts run at once with no undo
2. Launch a campaign only on an explicit request. Creating one makes a draft, and `update_campaign_status_tool` starts real outreach
3. Call `get_credits_balance` and `get_credit_prices` first. Every call needs at least 100 credits, and searches cost 2 credits a result
4. Resolve filter values with `lookup_filter_values` or `get_company_search_enums` before `search_people` or `search_companies`
5. Start long work with `deep_research_start`, then poll `deep_research_status`. A tool call has 60 seconds, and runs take 5 to 20 minutes

### 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

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Fuse MCP or Hunter API + MCP?

Hunter API + MCP scores 56.5 (C) on agent readiness against Fuse MCP's 47.9 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Fuse MCP leads on security & auth.

### Do Fuse MCP and Hunter API + MCP need an API key?

Fuse MCP uses an OAuth sign-in. Hunter API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Fuse MCP and Hunter API + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Fuse MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.fuseai.com and Hunter API + MCP at https://api.hunter.io/v2.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fuse-mcp-vs-hunter.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fuse-mcp-vs-hunter.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "fuse-mcp", "b": "hunter"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare fuse-mcp hunter`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/fuse-mcp.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hunter.json

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