Quick verdict: Both find work emails and mobile numbers from a LinkedIn profile, and both live in a Chrome extension. The pricing models are the real difference. SignalHire starts at $57 per month billed annually and charges nothing per seat, so a whole team can share one plan and its credits. ContactOut is published at $99 per month for unlimited emails and $199 per month once you add unlimited phone numbers, with monthly export caps of 300 and 600. Small teams usually save with SignalHire. Heavy individual users often prefer ContactOut’s unlimited lookups.
Pick SignalHire if: several recruiters need access, you want email sequences in the same tool, and you would rather budget by credits than by seat.
Pick ContactOut if: one or two heavy users want unlimited reveals without watching a credit balance, and mobile numbers are the point.
How do SignalHire and ContactOut compare at a glance?
| SignalHire | ContactOut | |
|---|---|---|
| Published entry price | $57 per month billed annually | $99 per month, email only |
| Phones included | On the Phones and Emails plus Phones plans | $199 per month plan |
| Seats | Unlimited users on every paid plan | Per user, team plan quoted |
| Free plan | Yes, 5 credits, 10 with the extension installed | Yes, 5 emails, 5 phones and 5 exports a day |
| Export limits | Unlimited exports, credits per plan differ | 300 exports monthly on email, 600 with phones |
| Database | More than 850 million profiles, 30 million companies | Bulk licence of more than 700 million profiles on the team plan |
| Sequences | Built in email sequences | Email campaigns and a cloud dialer |
| MCP and API | MCP server and REST API | MCP and API |
| Capterra score | 4.3 | 4.4 |
Which is cheaper for a recruiting team?
SignalHire, and it is not close once you have more than one recruiter. Every paid SignalHire plan includes unlimited users, so four recruiters share one $57 per month subscription and draw from the same credit pool. Four ContactOut users on the email plan is $396 per month at the published rate, or $796 with phones.
The trade is that SignalHire meters reveals through credits while ContactOut sells unlimited emails and, on the higher plan, unlimited phone numbers. If your team reveals a few hundred contacts a month, the credit model is cheaper. If one person reveals thousands, unlimited wins.
How should you compare credits to unlimited?
Count your reveals for one real week and multiply by four. Then check that number against the credit allowance on the SignalHire plan you would buy, remembering that credit allowances differ between the emails, phones, and emails plus phones plans. If you are comfortably inside the allowance, pay the lower price. If you are anywhere near it, the unlimited plan removes a monthly decision you should not have to make.
Also check exports rather than reveals. ContactOut caps exports at 300 a month on the email plan and 600 with phones, while SignalHire advertises unlimited exports. For list building work that distinction matters more than the reveal count.
Where does SignalHire win?
Team economics first. Unlimited seats at every paid tier is unusual in this category and turns a per recruiter cost into a shared one.
The second win is that outreach is built in. SignalHire includes email sequences that send from your own connected mailbox, so a small agency can find a contact and start a campaign without a separate sequencing tool. The catch is that deliverability then rests on your mailbox rather than on the vendor, so warm the account properly.
It also ships both an MCP server and a REST API, which makes it straightforward to wire into an AI workflow or an ATS.
Where does ContactOut win?
Depth on individual lookups. The $199 plan gives unlimited emails and unlimited phone numbers, so a heavy sourcer never stops to count. Recruiters who live in the Chrome extension tend to rate it highly for exactly that reason, and it carries a slightly higher Capterra score at 4.4.
The team and API plan adds around 20 percent more data coverage, a bulk licence of more than 700 million profiles, Salesforce and ATS integrations, team management and reporting, and a dedicated account manager. That is the tier to ask about if you are comparing against SignalHire for a larger team.
What are the catches on each?
SignalHire runs on credits, so heavy months need planning, and its sequences depend on your own mailbox reputation. ContactOut charges per user and caps exports, so a growing team’s bill grows in steps and list building work hits the export ceiling before the reveal ceiling.
Which should you choose?
Two or more recruiters sharing lookups: SignalHire, for the unlimited seats and the built in sequences. One heavy sourcer who needs mobile numbers all day: ContactOut at $199, because unlimited removes the friction entirely.
If the choice is close, run both free tiers on the same twenty profiles in your niche and compare hit rates. Contact data quality varies more by industry and region than any feature table can capture, and a vendor that wins for engineering roles in the United States may lose for field sales in Europe.
Quick answers
Does SignalHire charge per seat?
No. Every paid plan includes unlimited users and the credits are shared across the team.
How much is ContactOut?
The published plans are $99 per month for unlimited emails with 300 exports, and $199 per month for unlimited emails and phones with 600 exports. Team and API access is quoted.
Do both have free plans?
Yes. SignalHire gives 5 credits, rising to 10 a month with the browser extension installed. ContactOut gives 5 emails, 5 phones and 5 exports a day.
Which has more profiles?
SignalHire states more than 850 million profiles and 30 million companies. ContactOut states a bulk licence of more than 700 million profiles on its team plan. Coverage in your niche matters more than either number.
Can either send outreach?
Both can. SignalHire has built in email sequences and ContactOut offers email campaigns and a cloud phone dialer.
What are the alternatives?
Wiza, Prospeo and Tomba all publish lower entry prices. They are compared in the contact finder alternatives guide.
The bottom line
SignalHire is priced for teams and ContactOut is priced for individuals. That single difference decides most of these purchases before any feature comparison starts.
Share lookups across a desk and SignalHire is the cheaper tool by a wide margin. Put one sourcer on mobile numbers all day and ContactOut’s unlimited plan is worth the premium. Test both free tiers on your own roles first, because hit rate in your niche beats every number in the table above.
Sources: SignalHire pricing, ContactOut pricing