Hunter.io (Email Finder)

Hunter.io - review

In short: Hunter is an open source platform for finding and verifying work email addresses + basic cold emailing in Campaigns. There's also a B2B Discover database, Chrome extension, Google Sheets app, integrations, and APIs.

Key features

• Domain Search & Email Finder — find addresses by domain or full name + domain. Show sources where the address was found and date of verification.

• Email Verifier — technical checks (syntax, domain, server) + reconciliation with B2B database; statuses and confidence score. There is no delivery guarantee for accept-all domains.

• Campaigns (mailings) — mailbox connection, automatic sequences, tracking of opens/replies; recipient limits per campaign depend on the plan. There is an AI Writing Assistant.

• Discover (B2B database) — company segmentation, filters; credits are debited only for opened emails.

• Signals, TechLookup — intentions/signals and selection of sites by technology.

• Chrome extension — shows addresses found by Hunter on any site; does not read page content, sources only from its own crawling.

• Google Sheets add-on — mass searches/verifications directly in spreadsheets.

• Integrations and APIs — HubSpot/Zapier/Gmail etc. + full REST API.

• Privacy and Security — Security policy, DPA, GDPR compliance (users should also comply with GDPR), crawler respects robots.txt.

How to use (quick script)

• Find company contacts: enter a domain in Domain Search → see addresses, email templates, and sources.

• Find a specific person’s email: enter their full name and company/domain in Email Finder.

• Verify a list: upload a CSV to Bulk Email Verifier or check individually.

• Launch a cold campaign: add recipients in Campaigns (taking into account the limit on the plan), set up sequences and tracking.

• Expand the funnel: use Discover to select ICPs and reveal emails only to those who need them.

• Convenience: install a Chrome extension or Sheets add-on for quick work from websites and spreadsheets.

Plans and pricing

• Free – $0/month: 50 credits/month, 1 connected Campaigns account, up to 500 recipients per campaign.

• Starter – $49/month (or $34/month when paid annually): 2,000 credits/month, auto-verification, enrichment, 3 accounts, AI Assistant, up to 2,500 recipients per campaign, priority support.

• Growth – $149/month ($104/month annually): 10,000 credits/month, up to 10 accounts, up to 5,000 recipients.

• Scale – $299/month ($209/month annually): 25,000 credits/month, up to 20 accounts, up to 15,000 recipients.

How credits are written off: 1 credit = 1 email found (Finder/Domain Search), up to 10 emails per domain in Bulk Domain Search; 0.5 credit = 1 verification; Discover is free until emails are revealed. There is a unified credit system.

How to set up

1. Registration → confirm email in Hunter.

2. Connect mail to Campaigns: Gmail/Google Workspace or Outlook/Microsoft 365; paid plans can connect via SMTP/IMAP. If you useSMTP/IMAP, enable IMAP in your provider.

3. Install Chrome extension to quickly collect contacts from websites.

4. Add Google Sheets add-on for mass operations in tables.

5. Get API key in your account if you plan integrations/scripts.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Source transparency (URL and discovery date visible)

• Full outreach cycle "in one place": search → verification → mailing.

• Convenience: Chrome, Google Sheets, integrations, API.

• Security/rules: security policy, DPA, respect for robots.txt.

• Free plan really works (50 credits + 1 account in Campaigns).

Cons

• Recipient limits per campaign (500 for Free; 2,500 for Starter, etc.).

• For accept-all domains, there is no guarantee of delivery even after verification.

• Credit model: for active scaling, you will have to upgrade your plan/purchase additional credits.

FAQ

• Is it legal to cold email with Hunter?
  Hunter claims to be GDPR/CCPA compliant and only works with public professional data; however, you must ensure compliance and legal basis for mailings yourself.

• Does Valid guarantee zero bounces?
  No; Hunter estimates that >95% of deliverable addresses are bounced, but there is no 100% guarantee, especially for accept-all domains.

• How are credits calculated?
  1 email found = 1 credit; 1 verification = 0.5; in Bulk Domain Search, 1 credit covers up to 10 emails per domain. Discover does not spend credits before revealing specific addresses.

• What about data security and respect for robots.txt?
  There is a separate Security Policy/DPA; the crawler respects robots.txt (VelenPublicWebCrawler).

• Does the Chrome extension read the content of the pages I visit?
  No. It shows the addresses that Hunter has already found with its crawler and the sources of their publication.