- Lusha lists a verified email at 1 credit and a phone number at 5; Starter is $37.45 a month billed yearly for 4,800 credits a year (checked 2026-10-08).
- With both email and phone per contact, that Starter plan covers about 800 contacts a year, versus 4,800 for emails only.
- VendBuddy (our product) starts from local businesses near a ZIP and charges 1 credit per reveal of whatever is on file.
- Prospeo prices mobile numbers at 10 credits; Apollo, Hunter and RocketReach fit other jobs. Stay with Lusha for a small, readable plan on named people.
Lusha alternatives are worth comparing mainly because of one line on Lusha's pricing page: a phone number costs 5 credits and an email costs 1. If calls are how you work, that rate decides how far a plan stretches, so it is worth seeing what the other tools charge. Below are six alternatives, with every price read from the vendor's own page on 2026-10-08, and a plain note on where Lusha is the right pick.
Part of our complete guide: how to find vending machine locations.
The short answer
- Pick VendBuddy if you call or visit local businesses (apartment communities, offices, gyms, medical offices) and need the list and the contact in one place. A reveal is 1 credit and covers whatever email and phone are on file. VendBuddy is our product.
- Stay with Lusha if you have named people and want a small, easy-to-read credit plan. Starter is $37.45 a month billed yearly.
- Pick Hunter or Prospeo if email is your main channel. Pick Apollo if you want search by title plus a free plan.
- Skip a paid tool for a handful of local calls. Phone the front desk and ask, as in our guide to finding business owner contact information.
VendBuddy is our product. The button opens the free search; no card is needed and you start with 5 free credits.
Lusha's credit math, from its own page
Lusha lists these plans (checked 2026-10-08): Free with 40 credits a month, Starter at $37.45 a month billed yearly (4,800 credits a year), Pro at $52.45 a month billed yearly (7,200 credits a year), Premium at $299.95 a month billed yearly (40,800 credits a year), and a custom Scale plan. The credit rates it lists are 1 credit for a verified email, 5 credits for a phone number, 1 credit for a CSV export of 1 to 25 results, and 1 credit per buyer-intent topic.
Here is what that means in practice. On Starter, 4,800 credits a year is 400 a month. If every contact you reveal has both an email and a phone, that is 6 credits each, so about 66 contacts a month, or 800 a year. If you only want emails it is 4,800. Same plan, six times the difference. This is arithmetic from the page, not a promise about what you will get, because we have not measured how often a phone is found.
Why look elsewhere? Three reasons that follow from that page: credits are granted per year, not per month; the phone rate drains them; and Lusha is a lookup tool, so you start with people you have already named.
How we checked
On 2026-10-08 we opened each vendor's own pricing page (and, for VendBuddy, our pricing page, homepage and ZIP-search page) and copied plan names, prices and limits into the table. This is a pricing and fit comparison from those pages, not a hands-on lab test, so we give no scores and no accuracy or deliverability numbers. Where a page did not say something, we left it out. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on their page before you pay.
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Start building free →Lusha and six alternatives (checked 2026-10-08)
| Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Phone numbers | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lusha | 40 credits a month | $37.45 a month billed yearly | 5 credits each | Small plan, named people |
| VendBuddy (our product) | 5 credits, no card | $49 a month (150 credits) or packs from $32 | Included in the reveal when on file | Local businesses and who decides there |
| Prospeo | 100 credits a month | $49 a month ($37 yearly) | 10 credits each | Verified emails |
| Apollo | 900 credits per seat a year | $49 per seat a month, billed annually | Credits; see its page | Title search plus sequences |
| Hunter | 50 credits a month | $49 a month, or $34 yearly | Not listed in what we read | Email from a company website |
| RocketReach | 5 lookups | $399 a year | Lookups per plan | Flat yearly price on named people |
| Snov.io | 50 credits trial | $39 a month | Not listed in what we read | Cheap email lookup with outreach |
The alternatives
VendBuddy (our product)
Best for: a person who sells to or visits local businesses and needs the list built, then the contact for each place they choose.
Price (checked 2026-10-08): Free account with 5 credits and no card. Starter is $49 a month for 150 credits, or $39 a month billed yearly ($470, with 240 bonus credits). Pro is $79 a month for 300 credits ($63 a month yearly). Credit packs are $32 for 50, $119 for 200 and $295 for 500 (plus 100 bonus), and pack credits never expire.
With Lusha you bring the person. With VendBuddy you bring a ZIP. The free search returns local businesses with address, category and website, and the usual decision-maker title for that type of building (a property manager at an apartment community, a general manager at a hotel, a facilities lead at an office). One credit reveals the best contact on file, with whatever name, title, email and phone exist. We do not publish how often a phone number is found, so we will not quote it; test with the 5 free credits.
Skip it if: you search by job title nationwide, need intent data or technographics, or sync to an outside CRM.
Prospeo
Best for: verified emails with a free plan that does not expire.
Price (checked 2026-10-08): Free with 100 credits a month, no time limit. Paid plans are listed at $49, $99 and $249 a month, or $37, $74 and $187 a month on yearly billing.
Prospeo's page puts mobile numbers at 10 credits each, double Lusha's phone rate, so it suits email-first work. The Free plan has no time limit.
Skip it if: phones are the whole point.
Apollo
Affiliate link: VendBuddy may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Best for: search by title across companies, with a free plan and sequences.
Price (checked 2026-10-08): Free at $0 (900 credits per seat a year, granted monthly; 1 mailbox; 250 emails a day). Basic is $49 per seat a month billed annually (30,000 credits a year). Professional is $79 (48,000 credits). Organization is $119 with a 3-seat minimum (72,000 credits).
Apollo's Free plan gives 900 credits per seat a year, granted monthly. See Apollo.io alternatives.
Skip it if: you are one person who wants to pay per contact, not per seat.
Hunter
Best for: email from a company website, with a free plan of 50 credits a month.
Price (checked 2026-10-08): Free with 50 credits a month. Starter is $49 a month, or $34 a month billed yearly (2,000 credits a month). Growth is $149 ($104 yearly, 10,000 credits). Scale is $299 ($209 yearly, 25,000 credits). Enterprise is custom.
Hunter's listed strengths are email, signals and sequences. Compare more in Hunter.io alternatives.
Skip it if: you need phone numbers first.
RocketReach
Best for: one flat yearly price for lookups.
Price (checked 2026-10-08): Free with 5 lookups and no card. Essentials is $399 billed annually (shown as $33 a month). Pro is $899 a year ($75 a month). Ultimate is $1,699 a year ($142 a month).
Essentials lists 1,200 exports a year; Pro and Ultimate list CRM integrations and more. See RocketReach alternatives.
Skip it if: you want to start from places, not people.
Snov.io
Best for: a low-cost plan that combines lookup and outreach.
Price (checked 2026-10-08): Trial at no cost (50 credits, 100 recipients, 1 warm-up slot). Starter is $39 a month (1,000 credits). Pro is $99 a month (5,000 credits). Custom Ultra starts at 200,000 credits.
The trial includes 100 recipients and one email warm-up slot.
Skip it if: you need a large credit pool at the entry price.
When you should stay with Lusha
Lusha's plan page is the easiest to read in this group. The credit rates are on one page and you can work out cost per contact in a minute. If you are a recruiter or a rep with a list of named people and the occasional need for a direct dial, Starter at $37.45 a month billed yearly is a small commitment. It also lists buyer-intent topics at 1 credit each and a notetaker for recorded meetings, if you grow into those. Do not switch just to switch.
Cost per contact, worked out
For a stated case of 100 contacts a month with both email and phone, using only the credit rates on each page:
- Lusha: 100 x (1 + 5) = 600 credits a month, which is more than a 400-a-month average on Starter. At Pro (7,200 a year, 600 a month) it fits exactly, at $52.45 x 12 = $629.40 a year.
- Prospeo: 100 x (1 + 10) = 1,100 credits. The Free plan has 100 a month, so this would need a paid plan.
- VendBuddy: 100 reveals = 100 credits, whatever is on file for each. Starter is $49 for 150 credits.
VendBuddy's pay-per-reveal model is the main difference. On Starter, 150 credits for $49 works out to about 33 cents a reveal; the packs run from 64 cents a credit (50 for $32) down to 49 cents (500 plus 100 bonus for $295), and pack credits do not expire. There is no seat licence. The 7-day money-back guarantee applies to a first subscription payment if you have not used a credit, and renewals and credit packs are not refundable, per the pricing page.
The last line is the catch: VendBuddy charges a credit per reveal, but "whatever is on file" means some reveals will have an email and no phone. Lusha charges per item. Which is cheaper depends on how often both exist for the businesses you pick. Test it on 5 free credits.
Once you have a number
A direct dial is only useful if the call goes well. Use a separate business line so the property manager who calls back is not ringing your personal cell. Quo is a business phone app (affiliate link; not tested by us, so use the trial to judge it). We compare options in business phone for vending business.
Affiliate link. We earn a commission if you sign up through it, at no extra cost to you. It does not change which tool we recommend.
Where VendBuddy fits, and who should not use it
VendBuddy is our product. For calls and visits it works backwards from Lusha: you choose a US ZIP and property types (apartment communities, offices, gyms, medical offices and 75 more), see the businesses and the title to ask for, and reveal a contact only for the ones you will actually call. Searching and exporting the company list is free, and one credit reveals the best contact on file for one business you pick (see the pricing page).
Whether a phone number comes back depends on what is on file for that business; we publish no hit rate. Reveals draw on outside data providers; we do not own a contact database and we publish no accuracy rate, so judge it on the 5 free credits. The product was built for vending operators, so the revenue rating and the pitch extras are vending-specific.
Who should not use VendBuddy:
- Anyone who needs a guaranteed direct dial for every contact.
- Enterprise sales teams that need intent data, technographics, 100,000-contact exports or an outside CRM sync (the pricing page lists a built-in pipeline CRM only).
- Anyone searching by job title nationwide, or outside the US: search starts from a US ZIP and a distance.
Related reading
The wider field is in our best lead generation tools for small business guide. More alternatives pages:
- Apollo.io alternatives
- ZoomInfo alternatives for small business
- RocketReach alternatives
- Seamless.AI alternatives
- Hunter.io alternatives
- How to find business owner contact information: the free and manual methods that work before you pay for any tool.
- Cost per lead: vending locator vs lead list: what a contact really costs across the options.
- How to find apartment complex owner contact info and how to find a hotel general manager: two common local targets.
- Cold email scripts for vending contracts: what to write once you have the name.
VendBuddy is our product. 5 free credits, no card.
Sources (all checked 2026-10-08)
- Lusha pricing
- Prospeo pricing
- Apollo.io pricing
- Hunter pricing
- RocketReach pricing
- Snov.io pricing
- VendBuddy pricing
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best alternative to Lusha?
It depends on the job. For local businesses near a ZIP and the decision-maker at each, VendBuddy (our product) charges 1 credit per reveal. For emails, Hunter or Prospeo. For title search with sequences, Apollo. Prices checked on each vendor's page on 2026-10-08.
How much does Lusha cost?
Per its pricing page on 2026-10-08: Free at 40 credits a month, Starter $37.45 a month billed yearly (4,800 credits a year), Pro $52.45 a month billed yearly (7,200 credits), Premium $299.95 a month billed yearly (40,800 credits), and a custom Scale plan.
How many credits does a phone number cost on Lusha?
Lusha lists 5 credits for a phone number and 1 credit for a verified email. A contact with both therefore costs 6 credits. On Starter, 4,800 credits a year covers about 800 such contacts.
Is there a free Lusha alternative?
Yes: Prospeo (100 credits a month), Hunter (50 credits a month), Apollo (900 credits per seat a year), RocketReach (5 lookups) and VendBuddy (5 credits, no card).
Can VendBuddy find phone numbers?
A reveal returns the best contact on file, with whatever name, title, email and phone exist for that business. We publish no figure for how often a phone is found, so test it with the 5 free credits.
What is selling, which buildings say yes, and the numbers before you buy a machine. Free, confirm from your inbox, unsubscribe in one click. Refer one friend and get 25 VendBuddy credits.
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change, so check the official source. Revenue and income figures are examples, not promises. See our terms.