PhantomBuster pricing, decoded
Where the $69 of execution hours actually goes.
How much does PhantomBuster cost?
Per workspace, not per seat. Figures from PhantomBuster's own pricing pages, checked July 27, 2026.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual rate | Execution time | Slots | AI credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 30 minutes / month | 1 | None; exports capped at 10 rows |
| Start | $69 | $56 / month | 20 hours / month | 5 | 10,000 |
| Grow | $159 | $128 / month | 80 hours / month | 15 | 30,000 |
| Scale | $439 | $352 / month | 300 hours / month | 50 | 90,000 |
There is also a 14-day trial with no card: 2 total run hours, 5 slots, and small credit allowances, with exports capped at 10 rows.
You are buying time, not results
The detail that decides whether the price is good: hours burn whether or not rows come back.
PhantomBuster meters execution time. A phantom that crawls slowly, retries, waits on rate limits, or returns nothing still spends your hours.
That is the nature of automation platforms: you rent the machine, not the outcome. The per-lead price is unknowable in advance, and a config mistake costs real money.
Pay-per-result flips that. A search that returns nothing costs nothing, and 1,000 records is always the same price.
5,000 leads, priced before the run
One meter can quote the job in advance. The other cannot.
What data do you get?
The classic PhantomBuster job, a local lead list, priced per record instead of per hour.
The leads as CSV first:
Sample rows as CSV, exactly as exported · phones unmasked in the API response
| name | category | address | phone | website | rating | reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivan and Mike Team | Luxury Real Estate Experts / Advisors | Miami, FL | Real estate agent | 2550 S Bayshore Dr Ste 208, Miami, FL 33133 | (305) 877-52•• | https://www.ivanandmike.com/ | 5 | 41 |
| Sebastian Acosta, Realtor in Miami | Real estate agency | 800 Brickell Ave Ste 525, Miami, FL 33131 | (305) 244-62•• | http://www.sebastianacosta.com/ | 5 | 53 |
| Miami Realty Solution Group | Real estate agency | 90 SW 3rd St CU3, Miami, FL 33130 | (305) 728-08•• | http://miamirealtysolution.com/ | 4.8 | 212 |
| Jose Fuentes Real Estate Broker Fortune Christie's International | Real estate agency | 1390 Brickell Ave #104, Miami, FL 33131 | (786) 439-67•• | https://beacons.ai/mrdreammaker_ | 4.9 | 67 |
| LG Realty Group Inc. Miami Luxury Real Estate | Real estate agency | 3250 NE 1st Ave Unit 305, Miami, FL 33137 | (305) 890-62•• | https://www.lgrealtygroup.com/ | 4.9 | 33 |
| Blackbook Properties | Real estate agency | 1900 N Bayshore Dr Suite 1A #103, Miami, FL 33132 | (786) 400-22•• | https://www.condoblackbook.com/ | 4.9 | 226 |
And one record as JSON:
Hours vs records
Different meters produce very different bills for the same job.
| PhantomBuster | CrustAPI | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Execution hours + slots | Records returned |
| A run that returns nothing | Still burns hours | Free |
| Entry price | $69 / month subscription | Deposits from $10; lower prices from $149 |
| Free tier | 30 min / month, exports capped at 10 rows | $6 of free usage each month |
| Automation phantoms | Yes, across many networks | No. Data API only |
| Unused volume | Hours reset monthly | Paid funds never expire |
PhantomBuster automates actions, not just data pulls: multi-step flows, social automations, scheduled sequences across networks. If you need a robot that does things, that is its real job and a data API does not replace it. If you only need the data the robot was fetching, the hours meter is the expensive way to buy rows.
How much does CrustAPI cost?
Place searches bill the Maps rate per business returned. A search that returns nothing costs nothing. Here is what real jobs cost:
| Deposit | Google Search / 1,000 requests | Maps / 1,000 businesses | LinkedIn reads / 1,000 requests | People, Jobs, Refresh / 1,000 units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10+ | $1.00 | $1.96 | $6.00 | $1.96 |
| $149+ | $0.76 | $1.49 | $4.50 | $1.49 |
| $549+ | $0.56 | $1.10 | $3.30 | $1.10 |
| $1,999+ | $0.41 | $0.80 | $2.45 | $0.80 |
| $6,500+ | $0.33 | $0.65 | $1.95 | $0.65 |
| $27,500+ | $0.28 | $0.55 | $1.65 | $0.55 |
| $50,000+ | $0.26 | $0.50 | $1.50 | $0.50 |
| $100,000+ | $0.20 | $0.40 | $1.50 | $0.40 |
Every eligible account gets $6 of free usage monthly. Each deposit keeps its prices until spent; paid funds never expire. People and Jobs bill per successful search, Refresh per accessible profile. Full profiles in People use the read rate per full profile. See all billing details.
Larger deposits unlock lower endpoint prices. Each deposit keeps its prices until spent. See the full deposit table on the pricing page. Prices in USD, ex-tax.
You can try it free with no card. Paid funds are prepaid, self-serve, and never expire.
How do you get started?
No hours to configure. From zero to a lead list in about two minutes:
- 1
Create a free account. Try it free, no card needed.
- 2
Type a search in the playground. Something like real estate agents in Miami. The businesses land in a table.
- 3
Click export. Download the CSV, or copy your key and run the curl above for JSON.
Who switches to pay-per-result?
- Lead gen teams. Price a 5,000-lead pull before running it, then export the CSV the same day.
- Agencies. Pull a fresh local business list per client city without watching an hours meter.
- Sales teams. Filter the export for businesses with no website and call that column first.
- No-code builders. Feed Clay, n8n, or Sheets at a per-record price that never surprises.
Related: PhantomBuster alternative · Business leads API · Lead scraper · Local lead generation
Common questions
Start is $69 a month for 20 execution hours and 5 slots, Grow is $159 for 80 hours and 15 slots, Scale is $439 for 300 hours and 50 slots, all per workspace. Annual billing lowers those to $56, $128, and $352. Checked July 27, 2026.
Yes, a limited one: 30 minutes of execution a month, 1 slot, and exports capped at 10 rows. There is also a 14-day trial with 2 total run hours and no card required.
You pay for runtime, not results. Slow crawls, retries, and empty runs all burn hours, so the effective per-lead price varies run to run and cannot be known in advance.
CrustAPI Maps starts at $1.96 per 1,000 businesses. Each deposit keeps its own rate, and the separate $6 free allowance resets monthly. Empty searches are free.
No. PhantomBuster runs multi-step automation flows across networks; CrustAPI is a data API. If you need the robot, keep the robot. If you only need the data, skip the hours meter.
No. PhantomBuster's hours reset each month; CrustAPI paid funds are prepaid and never expire.
Clay
Predict the bill before the run
Pull one market on the free tier and see what a known per-record price feels like. No card, no hours.
Try for free