ContactOut finds emails and phone numbers for people. Most users run it as a Chrome extension on LinkedIn profiles, or through its web search portal. Recruiters use it a lot. So do sales teams. It finds personal emails as well as work emails.

ContactOut pricing looks simple. You pay a flat price, monthly or annual. The paid plans promise "unlimited" emails and phones. That "unlimited" sits under a fair-use policy with real numbers behind it.

This guide covers the current plans, why the price you see may not match the one a colleague sees, the fair-use cap, team and API pricing, and an honest cost comparison with FullEnrich. All prices are ContactOut's list prices as of September 2026.

One disclosure. We're FullEnrich, and we sell contact data too. So we compete with ContactOut. We'll say plainly where ContactOut is the better deal.

Key Takeaways

• As of September 2026, ContactOut's global plans cost $49 a month for Email and $99 for Email + Phone, or $39 and $79 a month billed annually. Some visitors see regional plans instead, at $25 and $49 a month, with no data for the USA, Canada or the UK.
• "Unlimited" is capped. ContactOut's terms set 2,000 email credits and 1,000 phone credits per account per month. Exports are capped lower still: 300 or 600 a month.
• Almost every ContactOut price you find online is different. Crossed-out anchors, monthly vs annual mix-ups, retired 2024 plans and Google's own AI Overview all add to the confusion.
• Self-serve plans allow 1 user per company. Teams go through a sales call, or a "less than $299 monthly" offer that covers work emails only.
• One heavy user near the cap pays far less on ContactOut: $99 a month, against $499 to $720 on FullEnrich. Light users and teams pay less on FullEnrich, from $29 a month with unlimited users.

ContactOut pricing plans at a glance

ContactOut has three self-serve plans: Free, Email and Email + Phone. As of September 2026, with global coverage, Email costs $49 a month or $39 a month billed annually, and Email + Phone costs $99 a month or $79 a month billed annually. A fourth tier, Team / API, is sold through a sales call.

Here's what ContactOut's pricing page lists as of September 2026, for global coverage. The page opens on monthly billing. The annual prices come from ContactOut's own plan data on the same page.

Every self-serve plan carries a "1 user per company limit". The crossed-out prices, the word "unlimited" and the export caps all need a closer look. That's the rest of this guide.

ContactOut's default pricing cards, with global coverage and monthly billing. Source: ContactOut pricing page, September 2026.

Why every ContactOut price you see is different

Search "contactout pricing" and you'll find a new number on almost every page. As of September 2026, top search results quote $29, $49, $79, $149, even $490 a year. Most of that mess has a clear cause.

• The crossed-out anchor moves. On monthly billing, Email shows $99 crossed out above $49. Email + Phone shows $199 above $99. In ContactOut's annual plan data, the anchors shrink: $79 above $39, and $159 above $79. So the "discount" isn't one fixed discount. It depends on the cycle.
• Monthly and annual get swapped. $49 and $99 are the monthly prices. Annual is $39 and $79 a month, or $468 and $948 a year. Plenty of pages call $49 and $99 "billed annually". That's backwards.
• Old 2024 plans live on. Wayback Machine snapshots from January and July 2024 show credit-based plans at $79 and $99 a month, with 500 work emails and 50 phone numbers. The free plan then gave 4 emails and 2 phone numbers a day. Some listings still use retired plan names like "Sales $79" and "Recruiter $199". Neither matches a plan you can buy today. The current grid has been the same in every Wayback snapshot from April 2025 to September 2026.
• Google's AI Overview gets it wrong too. As of September 2026, Google's AI Overview for "contactout pricing" says "$49/month billed annually or $99/month". It adds that "Self-serve paid tiers require annual billing". Both are wrong. $49 and $99 are monthly prices, and the page opens on monthly billing.
• Some visitors get regional prices. A slice of visitors never sees $49 or $99 at all. They see $25 and $49. That's the next section.

The US, UK and Canada coverage toggle

Some visitors land on a cheaper plan by default. As of September 2026, it costs $25 a month for Email and $49 for Email + Phone, and it covers every country except the USA, Canada and the UK.

Some US visitors see a toggle above the plan cards: "Exclude US/UK Data", with a "50% off" badge, or "Include US/UK Data". It defaults to Exclude. In that view, Email costs $25 a month (crossed-out $99) and Email + Phone costs $49 (crossed-out $199).

The label says US/UK. The tooltip says more. Here it is, word for word:

"Exclude US/UK Data: Covers contact details for profiles in all countries excluding USA, Canada and UK. Include US/UK Data: Covers contact details for profiles in all countries globally."

So Canada is out too. The label doesn't tell you that. If you sell into North America, the $25 plan isn't your plan.

The regional plans have annual prices in ContactOut's plan data: Email at $19 a month ($228 a year) and Email + Phone at $39 a month ($468 a year). Export caps match the global plans, at 300 or 600 a month.

Not everyone sees the toggle. Some visitors, in the US and elsewhere, get no toggle at all, just the global $49 and $99. ContactOut doesn't explain who sees which version.

Here's where ContactOut wins big. If your prospects sit outside those three countries, regional Email costs 49% less than global Email on monthly billing. Regional Email + Phone costs 51% less than global.

The regional view some US visitors get by default, with the toggle set to Exclude US/UK Data. Source: ContactOut pricing page, September 2026.

Monthly vs annual billing

Annual billing is cheaper. As of September 2026, monthly billing runs $49 for Email and $99 for Email + Phone; billed annually, those drop to $39 and $79 a month. ContactOut shows the discount as a lower monthly price, not as a percentage off.

Here's the yearly cost as of September 2026:

• Global Email: $588 a year paying monthly, or $468 on annual ($39 a month). You save $120, or 20%.
• Global Email + Phone: $1,188 paying monthly, or $948 on annual ($79 a month). You save $240, or 20%.
• Regional Email: $300 paying monthly, or $228 on annual ($19 a month). You save $72, or 24%.
• Regional Email + Phone: $588 paying monthly, or $468 on annual ($39 a month). You save $120, or 20%.

Annual plans list exports as a yearly number: 3,600 on Email and 7,200 on Email + Phone. That's the same 300 or 600 a month.

One more detail. The pricing page opens on monthly billing, with no visible switch to annual. The annual prices sit in ContactOut's plan data. So annual isn't required. Monthly is the default. If you want the annual rate, ask ContactOut how to buy it before you pay monthly.

What "unlimited" actually means

"Unlimited" is a label. As of September 2026, ContactOut's terms set the real number: 2,000 email credits and 1,000 phone credits per account per month. Call it the fair-use asterisk.

Each "Unlimited" on the pricing page has a small tooltip. One reads "Unlimited emails are subject to our fair use policy", the other "Unlimited phones are subject to our fair use policy". Both link to that policy. It never states the number.

The fair-use tooltip next to "Unlimited emails" on the Email + Phone card. Source: ContactOut pricing page, September 2026.

The number lives in section 10 of ContactOut's terms, titled "Unlimited plans":

"ContactOut's paid unlimited plans operate under a fair use policy. The credit limit is 2,000 email credits per account per month and 1,000 phone credits per account per month unless we enter into a separate agreement with you..."

That's 24,000 emails and 12,000 phones a year.

Exports are the tighter limit. Email allows 300 exports a month. Email + Phone allows 600. On annual Email + Phone, that's 7,200 exports a year against 36,000 reveals. Exports cover 20% of the cap.

Section 10, "Unlimited plans", where the fair-use numbers are defined. Source: ContactOut terms of service, September 2026.

Two gaps. ContactOut doesn't publish what happens when you hit the cap. It doesn't publish whether unused credits roll over either.

Users notice. A 1-star G2 reviewer in April 2025 wrote: "They claim on their website that you receive unlimited phone and email credits with their $100/mo plan, but then under their fair limits restrictions on their t&cs, they claim that the maximum for email is 2,000...". Their "$100/mo plan" is Email + Phone at $99.

Be fair about it, though. The cap is generous for one person. Use all 2,000 emails on the global Email plan and each one costs about 2.5 cents ($0.0245). Use the full Email + Phone cap and each reveal costs $0.0330.

ContactOut's free plan

The free plan is real: as of September 2026, it's $0 for 5 emails, 5 phones and 5 exports a day. It's also labeled temporary.

It includes the browser extension, the search portal and a "Trial of premium features". Like the paid plans, it has a "1 user per company limit".

The card says "Limited time only". ContactOut doesn't publish when that ends. It doesn't say what happens to free users afterward either.

Free users also accept a data-licence clause in ContactOut's terms. More on that in the legitimacy section below.

Team plans and the "less than $299" offer

Self-serve ContactOut is built for one person per company. A real team goes through sales.

All three self-serve plans carry the "1 user per company limit". A second rep at your company can't just buy a second Email + Phone plan.

The Team / API tier is "Contact Us". ContactOut lists a team plan, API access, "Bulk license", Salesforce + ATS integrations, team management and reports, and a dedicated account manager. No price is published.

ContactOut's sales-users page pitches another route: "Only pay for credits consumed, not seats. Get your entire sales team on a prospecting tool for less than $299 monthly." The fine print reads "*For work emails only. Conditions apply." ContactOut doesn't publish a credit allotment or a per-user cap for that offer.

Team accounts run on a shared credit pool. ContactOut's help center says "Only Admins have access to set credit limits for members."

The single-user rule frustrates happy customers too. A 5-star G2 reviewer in April 2026, invited by G2, wrote: "The biggest drawback is the rigid single-user limit on the standard plans, which makes it difficult for a small team to collaborate or share folders without moving to a custom enterprise contract."

ContactOut API and MCP pricing

ContactOut doesn't publish an API price. You book a call. The credit rules are public, though.

ContactOut's API page says "Book a call now to get an API token". ContactOut's API docs say the same: "You can request an API key by booking a meeting."

Rate limits, as of September 2026:

• People Search API: 60 requests per minute
• Contact Checker APIs: 150 requests per minute
• Other APIs: 1,000 requests per minute

The credit rules are clear. LinkedIn enrichment "Consumes 1 email credit if email is found and 1 phone credit if phone number is found." When a profile has nothing, it "Consumes 1 search credit if profile_only is set to true or if there is no contact information available for the requested profile."

So on the API, a miss still costs a search credit.

What about the app? ContactOut doesn't publish whether the app charges anything when a profile has no contact info. Don't assume either way.

ContactOut also runs an MCP server, described on its MCP integration page. It says "Sign up free, you'll get 600+ MCP credits and your API key to start." Searches, company lookups and People Count queries "that don't unlock new contact information do not consume credits". The same page names "Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, n8n, Make" as clients, all through one MCP URL.

What ContactOut users say about price and credits

As of September 2026, ContactOut holds 4.5 out of 5 on G2. The praise is about the product. The complaints are about credits.

Users like the Chrome extension. An organic G2 reviewer in August 2025 praised the LinkedIn extension: "so I can grab verified emails and phone numbers in just one click" Even the 1-star reviewer quoted above admitted "The personal emails and mobile phones are mostly accurate...". Personal emails are a real ContactOut strength.

Credits are the sore spot. A 3.5-star reviewer invited by G2 in December 2025 wrote: "The credit system can also be restrictive, particularly when handling high-volume sourcing that requires numerous lookups each day." That's the fair-use cap showing up in practice.

Phones trail emails. A 5-star reviewer in April 2026, invited by G2 and incentivized, put it simply: "phone number are not accurate then email". Keep that in mind if calling is your main channel.

G2's own review tags tell the same story. Pros: Contact Information (5), Ease of Use (4), Data Accuracy (4). Cons: Limited Credits (4), Credit Limitations (3), Slow Loading (2), Plan Limitations (2). And the single-user complaint from the team section above comes from a 5-star review.

Is ContactOut legit?

It's a real product with public terms: it names its data sources, runs an opt-out and states its compliance claims. A few details are worth reading before you sign up.

• Where the data comes from: ContactOut's privacy page says "We use a variety of data that we obtain from various sources, including publicly available sources such as websites and government records; our Customers, their users and third party providers..."
• Opt-out: Its opt-out page promises "We'll use your details only to identify your record and delete your profile within the next 24 hours."
• Compliance: ContactOut's API page says "SOC 2 Certified" and "CCPA & GDPR Compliant". Those are ContactOut's own claims. Its privacy page also covers the CCPA right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your data.
• Free users license their data: Section 5 of the terms covers free or subsidized users. If you submit contact data, you grant ContactOut "a perpetual and irrevocable license" to use it in aggregated form. That includes "the perpetual and irrevocable right to sublicense, make available, copy, display, publish or distribute the Submitted Data to any third party, including our customers". Read that before you upload a contact list on the free plan.
• Database size: ContactOut's own pages disagree. The sales page says 350M professionals. The API page says 800M profiles. The MCP page says 600M+. The Team card says 700million+. No single number is safe to quote.

ContactOut vs FullEnrich: cost per usable contact

This is the classic flat vs metered tradeoff. ContactOut's price doesn't move with usage, up to the cap. FullEnrich's does.

• Billing model: ContactOut Email + Phone is a flat $99 a month ($79 on annual), however much of the cap you use. FullEnrich charges credits per result found: 1 credit per work email, 3 per personal email, 10 per mobile.
• Misses: ContactOut's API charges 1 search credit when a profile has no contact info. The app's rule isn't published. On FullEnrich, not found costs nothing, and a landline found instead of a mobile costs nothing too.
• Seats: ContactOut self-serve allows 1 user per company. FullEnrich has unlimited users on every plan, free trial included.
• Exports: ContactOut caps exports at 300 or 600 a month. FullEnrich includes bulk CSV enrichment and exports on every plan, billed per result found.
• Rollover: FullEnrich credits roll over for 3 months on monthly plans and 12 months on annual plans. ContactOut doesn't publish a rollover rule.

Here's what one user pays per month in four scenarios, counting contacts found, as of September 2026:

Where ContactOut wins

• Heavy single users: One person running near the cap pays $99 a month flat. The same volume on FullEnrich costs $499 to $720.
• Per email at the cap: On the global Email plan, a fully used cap works out to about 2.5 cents an email. FullEnrich's 500-credit tier costs $0.058 per work email.
• Regional plans: If your market sits outside the USA, Canada and the UK, the regional plans cut the flat price to $49 a month for Email + Phone.
• Personal emails and the LinkedIn extension: G2 reviewers praise both.

Where FullEnrich wins

• Light usage: 100 emails and 20 mobiles a month costs $29 on FullEnrich, against $99 on ContactOut's global plan.
• Teams: Every rep can share one credit pool, with no seat fee. ContactOut self-serve stops at one user.
• Misses and rollover: You pay only for results found, and unused credits carry over.
• Coverage: Each lookup runs through a waterfall of 25+ sources instead of one database.

The mid scenario is close: $79.50 against $99. Past that, ContactOut's flat price pulls ahead for a solo user. Every tier is on FullEnrich's own pricing page.

ContactOut alternatives

If ContactOut's limits don't fit, three tools are worth comparing: Apollo, Lusha and SignalHire. Our guide to ContactOut alternatives covers the wider field.

For head-to-heads, see Apollo vs. ContactOut, Lusha vs. ContactOut and SignalHire vs. ContactOut.

For their prices, we break down Apollo's pricing, Lusha's pricing and SignalHire's pricing. One pattern to watch: SignalHire's "Unlimited" email package is capped too. Its own wording is "your spending is limited to 2,000 credits per month".

ContactOut pricing FAQ

Is ContactOut free?

Yes, for now. The Free plan gives 5 emails, 5 phones and 5 exports a day, for 1 user per company. ContactOut labels it "Limited time only" and doesn't say when that ends.

How much does the ContactOut API cost?

ContactOut doesn't publish an API price. You book a call to get an API token. The docs do publish the rules: 1 email credit per email found, 1 phone credit per phone found, and 1 search credit when a profile has no contact info.

How do I cancel my ContactOut subscription?

ContactOut's help center says: "Click on 'Cancel Subscription' to immediately cancel the subscription." ContactOut doesn't publish a refund policy, so ask before you cancel mid-term.

Is ContactOut legit?

Yes. It publishes its data sources, offers a 24-hour opt-out and claims SOC 2, GDPR and CCPA compliance. Free users should read section 5 of the terms first. It licenses the contact data they submit to ContactOut, including the right to share it with customers.

Is ContactOut's "unlimited" plan really unlimited?

No. The terms cap paid plans at 2,000 email credits and 1,000 phone credits per account per month. Exports stop sooner, at 300 or 600 a month. ContactOut doesn't publish what happens when you hit the cap.

Does ContactOut require annual billing?

No. The pricing page opens on monthly billing, at $49 and $99. Annual prices of $39 and $79 a month exist in ContactOut's plan data, but the page shows no switch to them.

Bottom line

ContactOut is a flat price with a cap. As of September 2026, Email costs $49 a month and Email + Phone costs $99, or $39 and $79 billed annually. Regional plans start at $25 if your prospects sit outside the USA, Canada and the UK.

Watch three things. "Unlimited" means 2,000 emails and 1,000 phones a month. Exports stop at 300 or 600. And self-serve means 1 user per company.

If one person reveals contacts all day, ContactOut is hard to beat on price. If several people need data now and then, a usage-based tool fits better. You can start free on FullEnrich with 50 credits and no card.