The 2026 Credit
Policy Guide.
Most sales tools handle credits differently. Some allow rollovers, while others charge for every request, regardless of whether a verified email is found. This guide breaks down the fine print for 20 industry leaders.
Comparison Matrix
A side-by-side look at rollover policies and charging models.
| Tool | Rollover? | Charging Model | Catch-all | Mobile | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Findymail | Yes (2x Limit) | Success-only | Free (if verified) | 10 Credits | Bulk Email & Success-based |
| Prospeo | No (Monthly) | Success-only | 1 Credit | 10 Credits | High Accuracy Email |
| Clay | Yes (Data 2x) | Success-only | Varies | Varies | AI Orchestration |
| FullEnrich | Yes (3 Months) | Success-only | Free (if risky) | 10 Credits | Waterfall Enrichment |
| BetterContact | Yes (2x Limit) | Success-only | 1 Extra Credit | 10 Credits | Waterfall Mobile |
| Dropcontact | Yes (Plan only) | Success-only | Free | N/A | GDPR Enrichment |
| GetProspect | Yes (1 Month) | Success-only | Free | N/A | LinkedIn Prospecting |
| Smartlead | No | Success-only | Free | N/A | Outreach & Search |
| UpLead | Yes (Annual) | 95% Guarantee | Free (if invalid) | 1 Credit | Verified Lists |
| Instantly | Yes (60 Days) | Per Reveal | Paid (Risky) | 1-2 Credits | Search & Outreach |
| Hunter.io | No (Monthly) | Per Request | 0.5 Credits | N/A | Domain Search |
| Snov.io | Yes (Active) | Per Request | Paid (Verifier) | N/A | Cold Outreach |
| Kaspr | Yes (Plan only) | Per Reveal | Paid | 1 Credit | Direct Mobiles |
| Apollo.io | No | Per Reveal | Paid | 8 Credits | Large Scale Database |
| LeadIQ | No | Per Reveal | Paid | 10 Credits | Enterprise Teams |
| RocketReach | No | Per Reveal | Paid | 1 Credit | Broad Search |
| Lusha | No | Per Reveal | Paid | 1 Credit | Individual Lookups |
| Pipl | No (Annual) | Per Reveal | Paid | 1 Credit | Identity Discovery |
| Cognism | No (Fair Use) | License-based | N/A | 1 Credit | European Data |
| Clearbit | No | Per Request | Paid | N/A | Company Enrichment |
Operator Nuances
The Annual Bucket
Annual plans for tools like Hunter.io, Instantly, or UpLead provide a 12-month lump sum of credits. This removes the monthly "use-it-or-lose-it" pressure, effectively solving the rollover problem for power users who have fluctuating volume.
The "Guessed" Credit Leak
Legacy providers like Apollo.io often charge for "extrapolated" or "guessed" emails. These have a significantly higher bounce rate. Most tools refuse to refund credits for these contacts, even if the data is 100% incorrect.
Actions vs. Data (Clay)
In Clay, your Data Credits (finding emails) roll over up to a 2x cap, but your Actions (the platform compute steps) reset every month. Don't hoard data credits only to find you've run out of "Actions" to actually use them.
Why it matters for AI
"When building with Claude Code or Cowork, an agent can pull data much faster than a human operator. If you're on a 'Pay-per-Request' or 'No Rollover' plan, an agent can burn your entire monthly budget in minutes on low-quality data."
Operator Checklist
- Does my tool charge for 'Invalid' or 'Catch-all' results?
- Is there a cap on my rollover credits (e.g. 2x monthly)?
- Does my annual plan provide credits upfront or monthly?
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