Searchbase vs Lusha (2026 Comparison)
2026-09-08
Quick answer: Searchbase searches B2B contact databases (Apollo alone: 240M+ people and 30M+ companies, as Apollo states; plus Hunter and more) and the open web from one prompt, so a single request returns companies or people with email and phone where a provider has them, plus the ads they run, the jobs they post and the social profiles they keep. Describe your ideal customer. Searchbase finds them across Europe in one prompt, with the source on every cell. It works in English and Italian, bills in euros from a European entity, and charges per action rather than per seat, so a ten-person team pays what one person pays (€0 to €199 a month). Lusha is the better pick if your next step is a phone call and you want direct dials sold by the reveal, with a browser extension on top ($0 to $399.90 a month, or $37.45 to $299.95 a month on annual billing). Both start free, but the free tiers are not comparable: Lusha gives 40 credits a month, Searchbase 150.
What each tool actually does
Lusha (lusha.com) is a B2B data and intelligence platform for go-to-market teams. It sells access to a contact database: Lusha states 290 million or more verified contacts across 77 verified fields, 29 million or more companies, and coverage across 77 countries. You search or filter for the people you want, spend credits to reveal their details, and push them into your CRM. Lusha claims 98% accuracy on emails and 86% on direct dials. On top of the raw records it layers buying signals, 24 types of them, refreshed continuously, including funding events, hiring surges and leadership changes. It integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, monday.com and Zoho CRM, with Clay, Make, n8n and Zapier for automation, and exposes an MCP connector so Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity can query it directly. A Chrome extension puts the same reveal button on the pages you browse. Lusha is heavily certified: GDPR compliant with an ePrivacyseal certificate, CCPA compliant audited by TrustArc, ISO 27001, ISO 27701 and SOC 2 Type II.
Searchbase (searchbase.org, Europe) puts the contact databases and the open web behind one sentence. You describe the leads you want in plain words, "every digital agency in Milan with an email and a website", "heads of marketing at Italian furniture manufacturers", "creators in the running niche with over 10k followers and a contact email", "companies advertising kitchen furniture on Meta in Italy", and the agent decides where to look. For standard B2B contacts it queries contact databases, Apollo (240M+ people and 30M+ companies, as Apollo states) and Hunter among them, and enriches companies against Crunchbase and the Italian company registry. For everything a database does not hold it searches, reads the pages, extracts the rows and streams them into a spreadsheet while you watch. Every cell carries a link to the page or provider it came from, a badge with when it was collected and the extraction method, and emails carry the provider's status. If a value cannot be verified it stays n/a rather than being guessed. Coverage runs from those databases to any public web page, 12 social platforms, 3 ad libraries and 9 job boards, across roughly 33 extraction methods. From the people it finds, the agent drafts personalised email and LinkedIn sequences that you approve before anything launches.
Side by side
| Searchbase | Lusha | |
|---|---|---|
| Input | plain-language prompt | search filters, or the browser extension on a profile |
| Coverage | B2B contact databases (Apollo alone: 240M+ people and 30M+ companies, as Apollo states; plus Hunter and more) plus any public web page, 12 social platforms, 3 ad libraries (Meta, Google, TikTok), 9 job boards, the Italian company registry, Crunchbase | 290M+ contacts, 29M+ companies, 77 countries, 77 fields |
| Output | table of companies or people: email and phone where a provider has them, website, LinkedIn, any column you ask for; source link on every cell | contact records with email and direct dial |
| Verification | source link, collection time and method on every cell; provider status on emails; unknown = n/a, never guessed | verified fields, 98% email accuracy claimed |
| Ad intelligence | yes, the Meta, Google and TikTok ad libraries | no |
| Creators and social | yes, 12 platforms | no |
| Signals | ads running, jobs posted, funding, social presence | 24 buying signal types, funding, hiring, leadership changes |
| Languages | English, Italian | English |
| Pricing model | per action, no seats: a 10-person team pays the same as one | per seat, credits per reveal |
| Pricing | €0 / €29 / €79 / €199 per month, billed annually; 150 to 12,000 credits | $0 / $49.90 / $69.90 / $399.90 per month, or $37.45 / $52.45 / $299.95 annually |
| Free tier | 150 credits every month | 40 credits a month, 1 seat |
| CRM and export | HubSpot push; CSV, JSON, API, webhooks | Salesforce, HubSpot, monday.com and Zoho, API, Chrome extension |
| Outreach | drafts personalised email and LinkedIn sequences per lead; you approve before launch | no sending, it feeds your CRM and sequencer |
| Best for | any team that needs a list a single database cannot give: B2B sales, agencies, recruiters, marketers, European and Italian teams | B2B sales teams working a known account list by phone |
Where Lusha is stronger
- Phone-data depth, sold by the reveal. Direct dials are the product, with a stated 86% accuracy and 5 credits per reveal, and 290 million records behind them. Searchbase returns a phone number where a provider has one or a public page publishes one, which is a narrower promise than a database built around the dial.
- Reveal in context, and buying signals. The Chrome extension surfaces contact data while you are already on a profile, and 24 continuously refreshed signal types are real intent infrastructure. Searchbase has no browser extension.
- Procurement paperwork. GDPR with an ePrivacyseal certificate, CCPA audited by TrustArc, ISO 27001, ISO 27701 and SOC 2 Type II, plus native Salesforce, monday.com and Zoho integrations. If your buyer needs a certificate list, Lusha has one ready.
Where Searchbase is stronger
- One prompt, every source. Lusha can only return what it already holds. Searchbase asks the B2B contact databases and then keeps going into the open web, 12 social platforms, 3 ad libraries, 9 job boards, Crunchbase and the Italian company registry. Local businesses, creators, agencies and companies identified by the ads they run or the jobs they post are outside a contact database and inside this one.
- You can check every value. An accuracy percentage is a statistic about a database. A Searchbase cell is a claim with a link to the page or provider it came from, a freshness badge, the extraction method and, on emails, the provider's status. When a client asks where a value came from, you click.
- Unverifiable stays empty. Searchbase writes
n/ainstead of guessing. A database that quotes 98% accuracy is also telling you that some records are wrong and you cannot tell which. - Competitor ads. Searchbase reads the Meta, Google and TikTok ad libraries, so "who is advertising this in Italy right now" is a table. Lusha has no ad library.
- Creators and social. Twelve platforms, with follower counts and contact details where they are public. Lusha does not cover creators.
- Per action, no seats, and built for Europe. Searchbase Business is €199 a month with the whole team on it, against Lusha Premium at $399.90 a month, or $299.95 annually at $3,599.10 a year for a seated plan. You write a sentence instead of learning which filters express your idea. Prompts, interface and results are in English and Italian, billing is in euros from a European company, and the agent reads European sources natively, including the Italian company registry. Lusha covers 77 countries and is GDPR certified with an ePrivacyseal certificate, which is genuinely strong, but the product itself is English only and prices in dollars.
How credits work in Searchbase
You pay per action, not per seat. Reading a page costs about 1 credit, a social profile about 3, a Deep Research report 20 to 40. The Free plan renews 150 credits every month with no card. Starter (€29) gives 1,000, Pro (€79) 4,000 with API access and rollover, Business (€199) 12,000 with webhooks, and contacts push straight into HubSpot. Lusha's credits work differently and it is worth understanding the difference: one credit reveals one email, five credits reveal one phone number, and the plans give 40, 400, 600 and 3,400 credits a month. A Searchbase credit buys research, a Lusha credit buys a lookup.
Frequently asked questions
Is Searchbase a Lusha alternative? For building a list of companies and people from a description, yes, and it is the wider tool, because it queries the contact databases and then reads everything they do not hold. For direct phone numbers on known B2B accounts, revealed one at a time from the browser, Lusha is built for that and Searchbase is not.
Does Searchbase give phone numbers? Yes, where a provider has them or a public page publishes them, with the source recorded on the cell. Lusha sells direct dials from its own database at 5 credits each, with a stated 86% accuracy.
Which one is cheaper? Both have a free tier, Searchbase with 150 credits a month and Lusha with 40. Paid plans start at €29 for Searchbase and $49.90 a month for Lusha, or $37.45 on annual billing. At the top, Searchbase Business is €199 for the whole workspace and Lusha Premium is $399.90 per seat.
Is Lusha GDPR compliant?
Lusha states GDPR compliance with an ePrivacyseal certificate, plus CCPA, ISO 27001, ISO 27701 and SOC 2 Type II. Searchbase is a European company, records the source on every cell, and leaves anything it cannot verify as n/a.
Can I export to my CRM? Searchbase pushes contacts straight into HubSpot and exports JSON on every plan, CSV from Starter, an API from Pro and webhooks on Business. Lusha pushes directly into Salesforce, HubSpot, monday.com and Zoho, and has an API and a Chrome extension.
Where does the data come from? Searchbase: B2B contact databases including Apollo and Hunter, plus company sites, 12 social platforms, 3 ad libraries, 9 job boards, Crunchbase, the Italian company registry, reviews and press, each linked from the cell. Lusha: its own database of 290M+ contacts across 77 countries.
Prices and features checked on 2026-09-08 from https://www.lusha.com/ and https://www.lusha.com/pricing/. Tell us if something changed.