Agent data tools · Updated
Crustdata review (2026): live B2B data built for agents
Crustdata is an API for company and people data that agents can call directly: headcount, hiring, funding, web traffic, and contacts, with live lookups when cached data isn't fresh enough.
pipe0 buys data from Crustdata and uses it in its waterfalls. The scores come from our own benchmark, not from that relationship. How we review
Our score for Crustdata, the average of four criteria
The best company and people data API we have used for agents: broad, fresh, and fast, with one of the most complete MCP setups in the category. Opaque pricing and tight rate limits are the catch.
Best for
- Teams building agents or products on top of B2B data
- Account research that needs hiring, headcount, and funding signals
- Signal-based outbound that watches companies for changes
Skip it if
- You want a prospecting app with a UI for reps
- You need thousands of lookups a minute on a self-serve plan
- You only need emails and phone numbers
An API, not an app. Through its MCP server, though, anyone with Claude or ChatGPT can query it in plain language in minutes.
Deep company data (headcount, hiring, funding, web traffic, tech stack) with live lookups on request, and 78% mobile coverage in our benchmark.
Searches cost 0.03 credits a result and misses are cheap, but plan prices aren't published and contact data needs an Enterprise plan.
The most agent-ready data API we have used: MCP for every major client, a dry-run mode that spends nothing, watchers with webhooks, and agent-readable docs. Default rate limits are low.
Crustdata at a glance
- Founders
- Abhilash Chowdhary, Manmohit Grewal, and Chris Pisarski Source
- Headquarters
- San Francisco Source
- Accelerator
- Y Combinator, Fall 2024 Source
- Funding
- $6M seed led by Y Combinator and A Capital, October 2025 Source
- Dataset
- 1B+ people and 60M+ companies, according to Crustdata Source
- Freshness
- Refreshed every 14 to 28 days, with live lookups on request Source
- Signals
- Watchers for companies, people, jobs, and posts, delivered by webhook Source
- MCP server
- OAuth or API key; Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, and Codex Source
Crustdata in our benchmark
We ran the same records through every provider we test and counted who returned a result. These are Crustdata's numbers from August 2026.
| Test | Records | Coverage | Median time |
|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn URL to mobileLinkedIn profiles | 150 | 78% | 0.9 s |
How fast Crustdata answers
LinkedIn URL to mobile. Median response time per lookup, lower is faster.
Crustdata
Surfe
Amplemarket
Premium
Crustdata answered in 0.9 s, 21x faster than Amplemarket on this test.
- Of the three providers above 75% mobile coverage, Crustdata answered fastest: a median of 0.9 seconds, against 4.4 and 18.6 seconds for the other two.
- This benchmark measures contact data only. Crustdata's company and people data, which is what most teams buy it for, is not part of it.
- Samples are small, 150 records per test, so treat a few points of difference as noise.
- The LinkedIn profile set passed one vendor's resolvability filter, so absolute rates run higher than on a typical list. Comparisons between providers stay fair.
Run ids: 20260804T202803Z-237d. How we test
What is Crustdata?
Crustdata is a B2B data API, and it was designed for software to read rather than for people to click. You give it a company or a person and get back a structured record: for a company, headcount and how it is trending, funding rounds, open jobs, web traffic and where it comes from, the tech stack, news, reviews, and the leadership team; for a person, their profile, career, and on Enterprise plans their email and phone number.
Abhilash Chowdhary, Manmohit Grewal, and Chris Pisarski built it in San Francisco and went through Y Combinator in fall 2024. It raised a $6 million seed in October 2025, and its customers include YC itself.
Company data that stays current
The difference between Crustdata and most data providers is what a record contains and how old it is. A company lookup does not stop at industry and size. It shows whether headcount grew over the last six months, which roles the company is hiring for and where, and whether its web traffic jumped after a launch. Those are the facts outbound actually runs on.
Its dataset refreshes every 14 to 28 days. When that is too old, live endpoints fetch a person or company at request time. Watchers go one step further: you register the companies or people you care about, and Crustdata sends a webhook when something changes, such as a new job posting, a funding round, or a leadership move. For signal-based outbound, that replaces a pile of scrapers.
Contact data
Crustdata also sells emails and phone numbers, through a contact endpoint on Enterprise plans. We benchmarked it: across 150 LinkedIn profiles, Crustdata found a mobile number for 78%, within two points of the best single premium source we tested. It was also the fastest of the high-coverage providers, with a median response of 0.9 seconds against 4.4 and 18.6 seconds for the other two. Speed like that matters when an agent is waiting on the answer.
Built for agents
Crustdata describes itself as a data provider for AI agents, and the tooling
backs that up. The MCP server installs in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code,
and Codex and signs in with OAuth. A dry-run mode shows what a call would
cost before it spends anything, which is exactly what you want when an agent
is deciding what to look up. The docs publish an llms.txt index, and your
account's own prices can be read from the API for free.
The limits are on throughput. By default, enrichment allows 15 requests a minute and search 30, and contact data needs an Enterprise plan. Larger jobs go through batch endpoints that run asynchronously. For an agent doing account research, that is plenty; for bulk enrichment of a million rows, talk to Crustdata first.
Crustdata and pipe0
We buy data from Crustdata. It runs in pipe0's default mobile and work email waterfalls, and it powers pipe0's people and company searches, job search, and company matching. We chose it for the freshness and depth of its company data and for the speed of its contact lookups.
If you want Crustdata's data without a separate contract, pipe0 is one way to get it: the same searches and enrichments sit next to 50+ other providers, behind one API and MCP server, billed per result.
Who should buy Crustdata
Buy Crustdata if you are building an agent or a product that needs current company and people data, or if your outbound runs on signals like hiring, headcount, and funding. It is the most agent-ready B2B data API we have worked with.
Look elsewhere if your team wants a prospecting app with a UI, or if you only need contact details. For mobile numbers at the highest coverage, Surfe led our benchmark.
Crustdata pros and cons
Pros
Company data with real depth
A company record carries headcount and its trend, funding, job postings, web traffic and its sources, technographics, news, reviews, and the leadership team. Few APIs return that much from one call.
Fresh when it matters
The standard dataset refreshes every 14 to 28 days, and live endpoints fetch a person or company on request when that isn't fresh enough.
Fast, high-coverage mobile numbers
In our benchmark Crustdata found a mobile number for 78% of 150 LinkedIn profiles, within two points of the best single premium source, with a median response of 0.9 seconds.
Built for agents from the start
Its MCP server works in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, and Codex, signs in with OAuth, and has a dry-run mode that shows what a call would cost without spending credits.
Cons
Pricing you have to ask about
Crustdata publishes credit costs per endpoint but not what a credit costs. Its own blog puts the lowest tier at $95 a month.
Contact data is Enterprise-only
Emails and phone numbers come from the contact enrichment endpoint, which self-serve keys can't call.
Tight rate limits
Person and company enrichment allow 15 requests a minute and search 30, by default. Large jobs go through batch endpoints instead.
No app for reps
There is no prospecting UI, Chrome extension, or sequencer. Sales teams reach it through an agent, a spreadsheet tool, or their own code.
Crustdata pricing
Crustdata has no free plan. Paid plans start at $95/mo for the lowest self-serve tier, according to Crustdata's blog.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Self-serve API | From $95/mo | Credits for search, enrichment, web, and watcher endpoints. One-time or automatic top-ups by card. Free trial on request. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Contact enrichment (emails and phones), live endpoints, and higher rate limits. |
| Datasets | Custom | Flat files of company and people data, refreshed monthly. |
- People and company search cost 0.03 credits per result. A person enrichment costs 1 to 7 credits depending on what comes back, a company enrichment 2 to 4.
- Contact enrichment costs 1 credit per work email, 2 per personal email and 2 per phone, up to 5.5 per person with verification.
- Watchers that track companies or people for changes cost 0.5 to 5 credits per record on a 30-day cycle, or 150 on a one-day cycle.
- Your account's own prices are free to read from the API, and the MCP server can dry-run any call at zero cost.
Prices as of Oct 6, 2026, from Crustdata's pricing page.
Crustdata alternatives
| Alternative | Pick it when |
|---|---|
| pipe0 | You want Crustdata's data alongside 50+ other providers through one API and MCP server, without a separate contract. |
| Surfe | Contact coverage is the priority, especially mobile numbers, and your reps work from LinkedIn into a CRM. |
| Clay | You want company research and enrichment in a table people can edit, and someone on the team will build it. |
| Apollo | You want a prospecting app with sequences rather than an API. |
Frequently asked questions
What is Crustdata?
Crustdata is a B2B data API for company and people data, built for AI agents and products. It returns firmographics, headcount trends, hiring, funding, web traffic, and contact details, with live lookups when cached data isn't fresh enough.
How much does Crustdata cost?
Crustdata sells credits. Searches cost 0.03 credits per result, person enrichment 1 to 7 credits, and company enrichment 2 to 4. It doesn't publish what a credit costs; its blog puts the lowest tier at $95 a month. Contact data needs an Enterprise plan.
Does Crustdata have email and phone data?
Yes, through its contact enrichment endpoint on Enterprise plans. In our benchmark it found a mobile number for 78% of 150 LinkedIn profiles, with a median response of 0.9 seconds.
Does Crustdata have an MCP server?
Yes. It works in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, and Codex, signs in with OAuth or an API key, and bills at normal credit prices. A dry-run mode shows what a call would cost without spending credits.
How fresh is Crustdata's data?
Crustdata refreshes its dataset every 14 to 28 days. Its live endpoints fetch a person or company on request, for cases where that isn't recent enough.
What are Crustdata's rate limits?
By default, person and company enrichment allow 15 requests a minute, search 30, and live endpoints 10. Batch endpoints handle larger jobs asynchronously.
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