# RocketReach API vs ZeroBounce

> ZeroBounce scores 62.4 (B) to RocketReach's 48.8 (D) for email verification. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/rocketreach-vs-zerobounce
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/rocketreach-vs-zerobounce.md (~5,250 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-07

ZeroBounce scores 62.4 (B) on agent readiness against RocketReach API's 48.8 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. RocketReach API leads on schema & documentation. Both do email verification.

- RocketReach API: grade D, 48.8/100, rank #1115 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/rocketreach.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/rocketreach.json
- ZeroBounce: grade B, 62.4/100, rank #561 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/zerobounce.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/zerobounce.json
- Best lead, contact and company data APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/lead-data/index.md
- All 231 leads comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lead-data/index.md

## Which one, for what

### RocketReach API (D)

Good for: Teams that already hold a RocketReach plan and want an agent to search people and companies, reveal emails and phones, and verify single addresses over MCP.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 72 against 54

Watch for: The pricing page is drawn by script and was not read, and the docs tell users without a paid plan to email for an API plan

### ZeroBounce (B)

Good for: Email verification before outreach, the verification-first listing in lead-data.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 75 against 64
- Security & auth, 65 against 30
- Payments & pricing, 35 against 10
- Maintenance & community, 70 against 11

Also in its favour:
- Runs on your own machine

Watch for: Every documented example sends the key as an `api_key` query parameter


## Why the edge

### Maintenance & community: ZeroBounce +59

- RocketReach API (11): No changelog or release notes were found (9 October; rocketreach.co hosts not re-read on 4 November 2026 because the terms bar automated data collection). The 9 October note set recency at 20 on docs page update dates (8 October and 11 September 2026). Page dates that record no API change don't set recency, and a closed service's recency is its last dated API change (wrike, buttercms, everee read it so). No dated API change is on record. The Python SDK, the vendor's other dated source, read by clone on 4 November 2026, has its last code change on 26 March 2025 (a bug fix to an exception call), version 2.1.8 with no tags, and only repository housekeeping since (21 August and 5 October 2026). Over 180 days (0, 20 before). No dated changelog entries or releases in the 90 days from 6 August (0 of 20). Support by email and a status page that posts updates, per 9 October (5 of 15). The SDK isn't current, and the official MCP registry wasn't searched, since this run doesn't use its JSON API. The partial is kept pending the founder's rule on in-between values (3 of 15). The SDK repository has a Renovate configuration and states Python 3.4 or later (3 of 10). 0 + 0 + 5 + 3 + 3 = 11.
- ZeroBounce (70): Closed service. The JavaScript SDK 3.0.0 was published on 25 October 2026 (30). No API changelog; the dated changes found in 90 days are that release and status-page notices, fewer than three releases (10 of 20). Support by email and 24/7 chat per the docs, a public status page; replies not tested (10 of 15). Official SDKs in many languages and an MCP server (15). Package health not checked (5 of 10). 30+10+10+15+5 = 70.

### Security & auth: ZeroBounce +35

- RocketReach API (30): RocketReach's terms bar automated data collection on its website and services, so rocketreach.co and its subdomains were not re-read on 4 November 2026. Per the 9 October check. REST takes one key per account in the `Api-Key` header. Only one key is active at a time and generating a new one invalidates the old. The MCP server uses OAuth 2.1 with PKCE, open dynamic client registration, one-hour access tokens, 30-day refresh tokens that rotate, and a revocation endpoint. The access token carries the API key inside an encrypted envelope, and the `account` tool returns `api_key` in its response, so the key reaches the model's context (18). The docs say older clients may still send the key as an `api_key` query parameter, marked deprecated. This run settled that a query-string credential takes the checklist's fixed 10 off, where the 9 October note took 5 (8 of 30, 13 before). One scope, `rocketreach:read`, covers every tool, including lookups that spend credits and add contacts to My Contacts. No read-only mode, per-key limit or confirmation step was found. The account object has an `api_key_domain` field (4 of 20). Results are third-party profile data. No prompt-injection guidance was found (3 of 15). Usage and rate-limit counts from the account endpoint, a recent-errors panel in account settings, `RR-Request-ID` on webhooks, and MCP lookups tagged with the client name. No per-call log was found (8 of 15). security.txt is valid, with a contact address and an expiry of 8 June 2029, a reporting route with no stated acknowledgement time, which this run settled at 7. The DPA lists security measures in an annex and names a Trust Centre that we did not find linked. No certification or bug bounty was found. No advisory for the `rocketreach` PyPI package on osv.dev on 4 November 2026 (7 of 20, 6 before). 8 + 4 + 3 + 8 + 7 = 30.
- ZeroBounce (65): Several named keys besides a Master key, regeneration, deactivation and IP whitelists (25), less 10 because the documented calls carry the key in the `api_key` query string (15 of 30). Validation only reads, though file and list endpoints can delete uploads (12 of 20). Results are structured status codes with little free text (10 of 15). API usage and dashboard statistics endpoints (10 of 15). SOC 2 Type 2, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, continuous testing with Intigriti and penetration testing with BitSentinel; no public disclosure policy found (18 of 20). 15+12+10+10+18 = 65.

### Payments & pricing: ZeroBounce +25

- RocketReach API (10): Per the 9 October check, not re-read on 4 November 2026, because RocketReach's terms bar automated data collection on its website and services. No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or terms (0). The docs publish credit costs per action for Universal Credits, such as 2 credits for a professional email and 6 for a phone. The pricing page is drawn by script and showed our reader only its title, so no price in dollars was read, and the docs tell users without a paid plan to email for an API plan (5 of 20). The site's description says to try for free, and the rate-limit page implies an unpaid account can call the API until throttled. What a free account gets through the API was not established (5 of 20). A person signs up in a browser, the terms say account holders warrant they are human, and MCP authorisation needs a browser login (0). Total 10. The pricing lines are scored on what could be read.
- ZeroBounce (35): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-credit prices public, from $39 for 2,000 validations (20). Freemium of 100 validations a month for business or premium domains; a card requirement isn't stated, and free webmail addresses don't qualify (15 of 20). A person signs up in a browser (0). 0+20+15+0 = 35.

### Schema & documentation: RocketReach API +18

- RocketReach API (72): Per the 9 October check, not re-read on 4 November 2026, because RocketReach's terms bar automated data collection on its website and services. Each reference page's Markdown twin carries an OpenAPI 3.1 definition for its operation, 17 operations in all. No single downloadable file was found (22 of 25). llms.txt and Markdown twins on the docs host (10). The MCP tools page states what each tool returns, what it costs and which tool to call next. REST operation descriptions are thin, and Company Lookup carries the Company Search subtitle (14 of 20). Query parameters are typed, with enums on `lookup_type` and `order_by`. No lookup parameter is marked required although one identifier is needed, and `metadata` is a free object (10 of 15). Error table, a worked 402 body, an MCP error catalogue and response examples. Every operation lists the same generic error set (11 of 15). The version sits in the path (`/api/v2`), with the Universal Credits endpoints alongside. No changelog was found (5 of 15). Total 72.
- ZeroBounce (54): No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract found; a Postman collection is linked (5 of 25). llms.txt lists marketing pages, and the docs have no Markdown twins (5 of 10). Endpoint pages explain timing, credits and when to use batch or file APIs (14 of 20). Parameter tables and listed status and sub-status values, including the ai_agent_mailbox sub-status added in July 2026 (10 of 15). Examples per endpoint, a sandbox and an error-code page (12 of 15). v2 paths, an API migration page and dated maintenance notices on the status page, with no API changelog (8 of 15). 5+5+14+10+12+8 = 54.

### Reliability: ZeroBounce +11

- RocketReach API (64): RocketReach's terms bar automated data collection on its website and services, so rocketreach.co and its subdomains were not re-read on 4 November 2026. Per the 9 October check. Hosted lines. Status page on incident.io at status.rocketreach.co with five components, among them API and MCP (20). In the last 90 days it lists eight entries. On 20 August 2026 degraded performance ran from 12:00 AM to 10:00 AM across the site, extension, API and MCP, with a second hour that afternoon, delayed webhooks and a 29-minute outage in the evening. On 27 August elevated errors lasted 61 minutes. A 71-minute maintenance window on 27 September, in which the notice said API and MCP calls would be unresponsive or throttled, was announced on 15 September. Read as one major day and a second incident of about an hour. Both remain inside the 90 days from 6 August, and the status page after 9 October couldn't be read, so the recorded award is kept, a partial pending the founder's rule on in-between values (7 of 30). Rate limits published per plan and endpoint, plus a global 10 requests a second (15). 429 carries `Retry-After` and the docs show a retry example. No idempotency keys, though repeat lookups are free (12 of 15). No SLA found in the terms, the subscription agreement or the docs (0). The API and MCP server are not marked beta (10). Total 64.
- ZeroBounce (75): Hosted lines. Statuspage at status.zerobounce.net with API, API-US, API-EU, Bulk API, website and Cloudflare components (20). The incident feed for 8 August to 6 November shows a 6-minute members platform disruption on 9 September, about 3 minutes of reduced EU API availability on 1 October, and a file upload issue on 26 October resolved within 6 minutes, all minor (20). Limits published per endpoint group with numbers and block lengths (15). 429 is documented with advice to throttle, but no Retry-After, and a block can last an hour or a day (10 of 15). No SLA found (0). Generally available (10). 20+20+15+10+0+10 = 75.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | RocketReach API | ZeroBounce | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 64 | 75 | ZeroBounce +11 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 54 | RocketReach API +18 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 69 | RocketReach API +3 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 30 | 65 | ZeroBounce +35 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 10 | 35 | ZeroBounce +25 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 11 | 70 | ZeroBounce +59 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 59 | 63 | ZeroBounce +4 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **48.8 · D** | **62.4 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | RocketReach API | ZeroBounce |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | RocketReach, LLC | Hertza L.L.C. (ZeroBounce) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.rocketreach.co/api/v2` | `https://api.zerobounce.net/v2` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Paid | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under RocketReach's Terms of Service. The Python SDK on GitHub is MIT | Proprietary service under ZeroBounce's terms of use; SDKs and the MCP server are open source |
| Tools exposed | 9 | 0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | none | 2026-10-25 |
| Terms last updated | 2024-01-31 | 2026-05-05 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-09-30 | 2026-06-30 |
| 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 | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |

## How the scores have moved

### RocketReach API

- -2.5 on 4 November 2026: correction
- -0.1 on 28 October 2026: correction
- +0.2 on 27 October 2026: checklist

### ZeroBounce

No score change since it was listed.

## Verdicts

**RocketReach API.** The hosted MCP server has nine documented tools, OAuth 2.1 with dynamic client registration and machine-readable error codes, and searches cost no credits. Plan prices were not readable, the terms require a human account holder and bar automated data collection, the `account` tool returns the API key to the model, and no dated API change is on record.

**ZeroBounce.** ZeroBounce's v2 API verifies emails with detailed status and sub-status codes, publishes per-endpoint limits, a Statuspage with short incidents only in the last 90 days, SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001, and $0.0195 per email at the smallest pack. The documented key travels in the query string, and there is no OpenAPI contract.

## Before you call either

### RocketReach API

1. Search first with `person_search` or `company_search`, which cost no credits, then look up only the profile IDs needed
2. Treat `status: "pending"` as normal. Poll `check_person_status` after at least 3 seconds, and polling is free
3. Do not echo the `account` tool's output to users or logs. It includes the account's API key
4. Send the key in the `Api-Key` header. The `api_key` query parameter is deprecated
5. Bulk lookup takes 1 to 100 queries and needs a webhook. Results arrive at the webhook, signed in `X-RocketReach-Signature`
6. Do not loop on `unknown` from `email_verify`, or on `lookup_failed` and `not_found`. The last two are terminal

### ZeroBounce

1. Use the regional host (api-us or api-eu) that matches the data, and test with the sandbox addresses, which spend no credits
2. Set `timeout` (3 to 60 seconds); slow mail servers return unknown, which is free to retry later
3. Stay under 80,000 validations per 10 seconds and avoid repeated bad requests, which block the key for an hour
4. Use the bulk file API for large lists instead of looping on /v2/validate
5. Keep the key out of logs; the API takes it only as `api_key` in the URL

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, RocketReach API or ZeroBounce?

ZeroBounce scores 62.4 (B) on agent readiness against RocketReach API's 48.8 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. RocketReach API leads on schema & documentation.

### Do RocketReach API and ZeroBounce need an API key?

RocketReach API takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. ZeroBounce needs an API key.

### Can an agent call RocketReach API and ZeroBounce without installing anything?

Yes. RocketReach API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.rocketreach.co/api/v2 and ZeroBounce at https://api.zerobounce.net/v2.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with RocketReach API or ZeroBounce

- [Apollo API + MCP vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apollo-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Clay vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Coresignal API + MCP vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Crustdata API + MCP vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crustdata-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Dievio vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dievio-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Enrich Layer API + MCP vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/enrich-layer-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Explorium AgentSource vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/explorium-agentsource-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [FullEnrich API + MCP vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fullenrich-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Fuse MCP vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fuse-mcp-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Gojiberry vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gojiberry-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [LeadMagic API + MCP vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leadmagic-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Lusha API + MCP vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lusha-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [People Data Labs vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/people-data-labs-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Prospeo API + MCP vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prospeo-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [RocketReach API vs ZoomInfo API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/rocketreach-vs-zoominfo.md)
- [Apollo API + MCP vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apollo-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [Clay vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [Clearbit vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clearbit-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Clearbit vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clearbit-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [Coresignal API + MCP vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [Crustdata API + MCP vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crustdata-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [Databar vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/databar-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Databar vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/databar-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [Dievio vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dievio-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [Dropcontact API + MCP vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dropcontact-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Dropcontact API + MCP vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dropcontact-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [Enrich Layer API + MCP vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/enrich-layer-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [Explorium AgentSource vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/explorium-agentsource-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [FullContact vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fullcontact-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [FullContact vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fullcontact-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [FullEnrich API + MCP vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fullenrich-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [Gojiberry vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gojiberry-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [Lusha API + MCP vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lusha-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [People Data Labs vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/people-data-labs-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [Prospeo API + MCP vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prospeo-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [ZeroBounce vs ZoomInfo API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/zerobounce-vs-zoominfo.md)
- [Hunter API + MCP vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-rocketreach.md)
- [Hunter API + MCP vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [Fuse MCP vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fuse-mcp-vs-zerobounce.md)
- [LeadMagic API + MCP vs ZeroBounce](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leadmagic-vs-zerobounce.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp