# Hunter API + MCP vs LeadMagic API + MCP

> LeadMagic API + MCP has a score of 60.5 (C) against Hunter API + MCP's 56.8 (C). Both do email finder. The largest gap is security & auth, 27 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-leadmagic
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-leadmagic.md (~1,500 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-leadmagic.min.md (~330 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-leadmagic.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

LeadMagic API + MCP has a score of 60.5 (C) against Hunter API + MCP's 56.8 (C). Both do email finder. The largest gap is security & auth, 27 points.

- 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
- LeadMagic API + MCP: grade C, 60.5/100, rank #247 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/leadmagic.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/leadmagic.json

## Which one, for what

Pick Hunter API + MCP for payments & pricing (+20), transparency & trust (+15).

Pick LeadMagic API + MCP for reliability (+5), agent ergonomics (+7), security & auth (+27).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Hunter API + MCP | LeadMagic API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 50 | 55 | LeadMagic API + MCP +5 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 90 | 93 | LeadMagic API + MCP +3 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 54 | 61 | LeadMagic API + MCP +7 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 33 | 60 | LeadMagic API + MCP +27 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 20 | Hunter API + MCP +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 65 | LeadMagic API + MCP +2 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 81 | 66 | Hunter API + MCP +15 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **56.8 · C** | **60.5 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Hunter API + MCP | LeadMagic API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Hunter | LeadMagic |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.hunter.io/v2` | `https://api.leadmagic.io` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | none |
| Tools exposed | 107 | 48 |
| 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 | not listed |
| Last release | none | 2026-09-17 |
| Popularity | 9 stars | none |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | 3.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**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.

**LeadMagic API + MCP.** RFC 9457 problem-details errors with `request_id`, and Retry-After on 429. No free tier or trial credits, plans from $99 a month.

## Before you call either

### 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

### LeadMagic API + MCP

1. Call `preview_cost` before bulk work. It's free
2. Read `X-Credits-Remaining` after each call instead of polling the balance
3. Treat 402 as out of credits and wait out Retry-After on 429
4. Keep credit-free search under 13,333 calls a day per account
5. Retry `unknown` validations later. They cost nothing

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