Compare/Head to head

Datamagnet vs Firecrawl

Same facts, side by side: starting price, free tier, MCP, API and what each one is actually built for.

Starting price

Datamagnet

$39/mo

Developer API that pulls public professional profiles and company pages live at request time, so titles and headcounts are current rather than last quarter's, with email and phone included where they are publicly available. Plans start at $39/mo for 1,000 credits, a basic profile costs 1 credit, and a hosted MCP server lets Claude or ChatGPT call it directly. Best for teams that can wire an API, not recruiters who want a point and click search screen.

Where Datamagnet fits

  • Recruiting tech teams building sourcing or enrichment into their own product or ATS
  • Ops people running Clay or n8n workflows that need current titles, job changes and contact details
  • Recruiters who want to query profiles and ICP searches from inside Claude or ChatGPT
  • Agencies tracking past placements and hiring managers for job moves

Firecrawl

$16/mo Free tier

Web scrape, crawl, search and interact API with a hosted MCP server, and now Directory: more than 240 million professional profiles your AI agent can search for free inside ChatGPT or Claude. Free plan available; Hobby is $19/mo, or $16/mo billed yearly.

Where Firecrawl fits

  • Recruiters sourcing candidates by title, company and location from inside ChatGPT or Claude
  • Builders who need markdown or JSON from URLs
  • Agents that call Firecrawl over MCP
  • Teams that will grow into Standard at $83/mo yearly

At a glance

DetailDatamagnetFirecrawl
Starting price$39/mo$16/mo
Free tier–No✓Yes
MCP server✓Yes✓Yes
Public API✓Yes✓Yes
Listed underSourcing, Email finders, Lead generationLead generation, Sourcing

Where they pull apart

Datamagnet

Stands out: Data is fetched from the live profile at the moment you ask rather than from a stored snapshot, and the credit price per call is published endpoint by endpoint, down to 1 credit for a basic person or company profile. The MCP server is unusually complete for a data vendor: 17 tools, OAuth sign in so no key is pasted into the AI app, and every tool states its credit cost before it runs.

Watch out: This is an API, not an app: there is no search interface or sourcing workflow, so someone has to build on it or use it through Clay, n8n or an AI assistant. Rate limits are low on self serve plans (10 to 30 requests a minute), and the richer calls such as post engagement, activity and ICP search pages cost 10 credits each, so a search heavy month burns credits ten times faster than plain enrichment. Emails and phone numbers come back only where they are publicly available, and the vendor does not describe a deliverability check.

Not the right fit for

  • Recruiters who want a ready made search screen and sequencing
  • Teams that need a verified, deliverability checked email on every contact
  • High volume bulk jobs on a self serve plan capped at 30 requests a minute

Firecrawl

Stands out: Directory searches across 240M+ professional profiles cost no credits, so a recruiter can explore and refine a candidate search in ChatGPT or Claude and spend credits only when pulling full profile and work contact details. Every account gets 1,000 free credits a month with no card, shared with the scrape, crawl and search API.

Watch out: Hobby is 5,000 credits a month. Search costs 2 credits per 10 results, Directory profile and contact lookups also draw on credits, and extra credits come in $5 increments. Directory finds and researches people; it has no outreach sequencing or ATS of its own.

Not the right fit for

  • Non-technical users who will not use an AI assistant or an API
  • Recruiters who want a point and click search screen with sequences built in
  • Crawl jobs that need millions of pages on day one

Pros and cons

Datamagnet

  • Profiles fetched live at request time, not from a stale database
  • Published per endpoint credit costs, with only successful calls charged
  • Full featured MCP server with OAuth and upfront credit pricing per tool
  • API only, with no search screen or outreach tools
  • Self serve rate limits top out at 30 requests a minute
  • Search, activity and engagement calls cost 10 credits each

Firecrawl

  • Free Directory searches across 240M+ profiles
  • Works inside ChatGPT and Claude via the Firecrawl plugin
  • Free 1,000 credits a month, no card
  • Hosted MCP plus REST API
  • Profile and contact lookups spend credits
  • Search uses 2 credits per 10 results
  • Hobby allows 5 concurrent requests
  • Credits roll over only on Scale and up

What each one costs

Datamagnet

$39/mo

Starter is $39/mo for 1,000 credits at up to 10 requests a minute, Pro $99/mo for 10,000 credits at 20 a minute, and Scale $199/mo for 25,000 credits at 30 a minute, with 20% off on yearly billing. Enterprise is quoted with custom credits, rate limits, SLA and invoicing, and a pay-as-you-go option covers pilots. A basic person or company profile costs 1 credit, while activity, post engagement and ICP search pages cost 10, and only successful requests are charged. New accounts get 10 free credits with no card. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 4 Nov 2026

Firecrawl

$16/mo

Free includes 1,000 credits a month. Hobby is $16/mo billed annually, or $19 monthly, for 5,000 credits. Standard is $83/mo billed annually ($99 monthly), Growth $333/mo ($399 monthly) and Scale $599/mo ($749 monthly). Enterprise is custom. Paid plans can top up credits in $5 increments. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 4 Nov 2026

Common questions

Is Datamagnet cheaper than Firecrawl?
Firecrawl starts lower, at $16/mo against $39/mo for Datamagnet. That is the entry plan on each side, so the real number depends on seats and the tier you land on.
Can you try Datamagnet or Firecrawl for free?
Firecrawl carries a free tier on our listing.
Does Datamagnet or Firecrawl have an MCP server?
Datamagnet and Firecrawl ship a first party MCP server, so an AI assistant can work the product directly.

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Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 4 Nov 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?