Simpleads vs Lusha: Full Pipeline vs Chrome-Extension Contact Reveal
Lusha is built around a simple, effective core: a Chrome extension that reveals verified emails and direct dials while you browse LinkedIn or a company website, backed by a 300M+ contact database. Simpleads is built differently — a guided pipeline where you filter first (title, seniority, company, hiring signals) and then export a scored list, rather than revealing contacts one profile at a time. Independent testing has also flagged a real gap between Lusha's claimed accuracy and its actual lookup coverage — in one March 2026 test of 300 B2B contacts, Lusha returned an email for only 31% of lookups, even though the emails it did find were accurate. That's a coverage problem, not just an accuracy one, and it's worth factoring into a credit-based pricing decision.
Simpleads
- Filter-first pipeline: People, Company, Jobs, Scoring, Export
- Firmographic + hiring-signal filtering built in
- Plan-based pricing, not per-credit lookup
Lusha
- Chrome extension reveals contacts on LinkedIn/company sites
- 300M+ contact database, credit-based pricing ($37-$300/user/mo)
- 31% email-lookup coverage in independent March 2026 testing
At a Glance
Lusha's strength is a fast, browser-based reveal workflow for contacts you've already found one at a time. Simpleads' strength is filtering a large pool of leads down to the right ones — by title, company, and hiring activity — before you ever spend a credit or an export.
| Category | Simpleads | Lusha |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Filter-first pipeline: build and score a targeted list before export | Chrome-extension contact reveal, one profile at a time |
| Core workflow | Set filters across People/Company/Jobs, then export a scored list | Browse LinkedIn or a website, click reveal on a specific profile |
| Firmographic filtering | Industry, employee count, domain, keywords built into Company step | Limited firmographic filtering vs. contact-reveal focus |
| Hiring-signal cross-referencing | Built-in Jobs step: filter by title, location, recency | Not a core, built-in feature |
| AI lead scoring | Scores leads against your company description and target roles | Not offered — Lusha reveals contacts, it doesn't rank them |
| Local business / Google Maps search | Dedicated Google Maps Search workflow included | Not offered |
| Pricing model | Plan-based (Starter/Pro/Enterprise), unlimited filtering within plan limits | Credit-based per contact reveal ($37-$300/user/mo) |
| Independently tested coverage | N/A — filter-based results, not per-lookup reveal | 31% email-lookup success rate in a March 2026 independent test |
Contact Discovery: Filter-First vs. Reveal-One-at-a-Time
The two tools solve the “who do I contact” problem in fundamentally different orders.
Simpleads
- Set People Search filters (title, seniority, contact status) once
- Get a full filtered list with a Live Estimator showing size before you commit
- No per-contact credit spend just to see if a lookup will succeed
Lusha
- Reveal contacts one at a time via the Chrome extension while browsing
- Credits spent per successful reveal — unsuccessful lookups still cost time
- Independent testing found only 31% of lookups returned an email at all
Firmographic and Company-Level Filtering
Simpleads treats company targeting as a first-class step; Lusha's core product is contact-focused.
Simpleads
- Dedicated Company Intelligence step: industry, employee count, domain, keywords
- Exact/Phrase and Strict/Contains match modes for precise account targeting
Lusha
- Some company data included, but firmographic filtering is not the core product focus
- Better suited to contact-level lookup than building a filtered account list
Hiring Signals and AI Scoring
Neither of Lusha's core strengths (extension speed, phone accuracy) extends into buying-intent signals or lead ranking.
Simpleads
- Jobs step cross-references leads against live job postings
- AI Scoring ranks leads by relevance to your company and target roles
Lusha
- No built-in hiring-signal cross-referencing
- No lead-scoring or ranking mechanism — contacts are revealed, not ranked
Pricing Predictability
Credit-based pricing can work well for light, occasional lookups, but gets expensive and unpredictable at volume, especially with a documented ~31% success rate on lookups.
Simpleads
- Plan-based pricing with clear monthly lead limits
- No per-lookup credit risk — filtering doesn't cost credits the way a failed reveal does
Lusha
- Credit-based, $37-$300/user/month depending on tier
- Credits can be spent on lookups that return no usable data
Choose Simpleads If...
- You want to filter a large list down to the right leads before spending any credits or time
- Hiring-signal cross-referencing and firmographic filtering matter to your targeting
- You're prospecting local businesses as well as B2B contacts (Google Maps Search)
- Predictable, plan-based pricing matters more than per-lookup credits
Filter first. Stop paying credits on failed lookups.
Plan-based pricing, no per-reveal credit risk.
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