Hunter

Manage domain-based contact research notes and a small compliant campaign

NOT REALLY · consider alternatives
price $49/mosubscription / year $588estimated build time closest consolation build: one sittingreplaced by 0 people

A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Hunter, manage domain-based contact research notes and a small compliant campaign. The hard boundary is proprietary web index, email verification infrastructure, and deliverability data, plus proprietary data, deliverability, and network effects.

Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability

What you give up

  • proprietary web index, email verification infrastructure, and deliverability data
  • proprietary contact database
  • inbox warm-up network
  • deliverability reputation
  • large-scale enrichment and compliance tooling

Why people still pay

People still pay for Hunter because the durable value is accurate contact data and deliverability infrastructure; a sequence editor alone is not the product. The recurring cost buys consent records, suppression lists, DNS, bounces, reputation, abuse complaints, provider limits, and changing email rules, not just the visible interface.

Your build guide

The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.

Before you start

  • legally obtained contact list
  • sending-domain authentication
  • email provider credentials
  • PostgreSQL
  • public HTTPS endpoint
01
Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and a user-chosen transactional email provider.
02
Model subscribers, consent records, campaigns, delivery attempts, and suppression state; store source IDs and timestamps for each.
03
Interface for this lead discovery and outbound sequences workflow: a local web page with input, progress, review, and export views.
engineering roadmap

Implementation plan

1

Phase 1, architecture and data

Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and a user-chosen transactional email provider. Model subscribers, consent records, campaigns, delivery attempts, and suppression state; store source IDs and timestamps for each.

2

Phase 2, implement

Show deliverability warnings, daily send totals, and a mandatory preview before activation.

3

Phase 3, implement

Import a permissioned lead list, keep domain-based contact research notes, personalize a small compliant sequence, enforce sending limits, and track replies without supplying proprietary contact data.

4

Phase 4, review and output

Manage domain-based contact research notes and a small compliant campaign.

5

Phase 5, recovery and acceptance

Record delivery failures and retries by message ID; never duplicate a send after restart. Verify this invariant with a saved fixture: An opt-out suppresses every future step; retrying a timed-out send cannot silently duplicate it. State the practical limit: proprietary web index, email verification infrastructure, and deliverability data.

the pro prompt
Build me a focused lead discovery and outbound sequences workflow for the personal core of Hunter. Requirements:

- Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and a user-chosen transactional email provider. Model subscribers, consent records, campaigns, delivery attempts, and suppression state; store source IDs and timestamps for each.
- Paid product context: Manage domain-based contact research notes and a small compliant campaign. Build only this DIY scope: Import a permissioned lead list, keep domain-based contact research notes, personalize a small compliant sequence, enforce sending limits, and track replies without supplying proprietary contact data.
- Show deliverability warnings, daily send totals, and a mandatory preview before activation.
- Import a permissioned lead list, keep domain-based contact research notes, personalize a small compliant sequence, enforce sending limits, and track replies without supplying proprietary contact data.
- Manage domain-based contact research notes and a small compliant campaign.
- Use a local web page with input, progress, review, and export views. Required input or access: legally obtained contact list; sending-domain authentication.
- Recovery: Record delivery failures and retries by message ID; never duplicate a send after restart.
- Acceptance: with one labelled sample, show the input, saved intermediate state, and exported result; verify this invariant: An opt-out suppresses every future step; retrying a timed-out send cannot silently duplicate it.
- Out of scope: proprietary web index, email verification infrastructure, and deliverability data; proprietary contact database. Keep this a personal, inspectable workflow.
- Include a README with setup, a sample input, required keys or permissions, data location, and the supported scope.

$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy AGENTS.md · generated from this app's build plan

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Alternatives to building your own

MauticContacts, notes and a small SMTP campaign fit; it will not discover email addresses for you.10kaug 2026open source↗

no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real

Hunter pricing

planmonthlyannual (per mo)what you get
free$0/workspace$0/workspace50 credits/month, 1 email account, 500 recipients/sequence, 100,000 saved leads, 10 AI searches/month, 15 proactive suggestions/month, 10 signals.
starter$49/workspace$34/workspace24,000 credits/year, 3 connected email accounts, 2,500 recipients/sequence, 2,000,000 saved leads, 50 AI searches/month, 150 proactive suggestions, 20 signals.$408 billed yearly; page showed crossed yearly total of $588.
growth$149/workspace$104/workspace120,000 credits/year, 10 connected email accounts, 5,000 recipients/sequence, 10,000,000 saved leads, 150 AI searches/month, 450 suggestions, 200 signals.$1,248 billed yearly; page showed crossed yearly total of $1,788.
scale$299/workspace$209/workspace300,000 credits/year, 20 connected email accounts, 15,000 recipients/sequence, 30,000,000 saved leads, 300 AI searches/month.$2,508 billed yearly; page showed crossed yearly total of $3,588; signals count was inconsistent on page.
enterprise——Custom credits, connected accounts and support; unlimited team members.Contact sales.
data platform bulk credits——Example package: 1,000 search credits + 200,000 verification credits valid 12 months.$6,500 one-time bulk-credit purchase; not a monthly subscription.

free tier$0; 50 credits/month, 1 email account, 500 recipients/sequence, 100,000 saved leads, 10 AI searches/month, 15 proactive suggestions/month, 10 signals.

billingmonthly + annual; annual saves about 30%; annual credits granted yearly/upfront

hidden costsAdditional email accounts from $10/mo; custom domains/email accounts from $6/mo; credit packs and managed email/inbox protection add-ons; 1 email found = 1 credit, 1 verification = 0.5 credit.

pricing sources checked 2026-08-10 · pricing source ↗

Questions about Hunter

Can you build your own Hunter with AI?

A full replacement is not the recommended project. A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Hunter, manage domain-based contact research notes and a small compliant campaign. The hard boundary is proprietary web index, email verification infrastructure, and deliverability data, plus proprietary data, deliverability, and network effects.

What does the Hunter build prompt cover?

The prompt starts with this scope: Import a permissioned lead list, keep domain-based contact research notes, personalize a small compliant sequence, enforce sending limits, and track replies without supplying proprietary contact data. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: proprietary web index, email verification infrastructure, and deliverability data; proprietary contact database; inbox warm-up network. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.

How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?

Start with the Hunter prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.

How long will this Hunter project take?

The catalogue estimate is closest consolation build: one sitting for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.

What would I give up by replacing Hunter?

proprietary web index, email verification infrastructure, and deliverability data; proprietary contact database; inbox warm-up network; deliverability reputation; large-scale enrichment and compliance tooling. People still pay for Hunter because the durable value is accurate contact data and deliverability infrastructure; a sequence editor alone is not the product. The recurring cost buys consent records, suppression lists, DNS, bounces, reputation, abuse complaints, provider limits, and changing email rules, not just the visible interface.

What price is this guide comparing against?

The recorded Starter plan is $49/mo (monthly), checked 2026-07-31. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.

What can I use instead of building Hunter?

Mautic: Contacts, notes and a small SMTP campaign fit; it will not discover email addresses for you. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.

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