AI Ark vs Lusha
The short version: Lusha is built around the browser. A rep opens a LinkedIn profile, clicks the extension, and reveals a verified email and direct dial on the spot. AI Ark is built around the export. You define an ICP, run a search, and pull ten thousand validated records into a file. Both are good products. Which one fits depends almost entirely on whether your team prospects one contact at a time or builds lists in bulk.
Last updated: August 2026.
Key takeaways
Different workflows, not different quality tiers. Lusha's strength is in-browser reveal with a Chrome extension across LinkedIn, company sites, Gmail and CRMs. AI Ark's is bulk search and export. Neither replaces the other cleanly.
Credit volume is the decisive difference. AI Ark's $49 entry plan includes 5,000 credits a month. Lusha's $399.90 Premium plan includes 3,400. That gap defines the comparison.
Both also pool credits across the team. Lusha includes 1 on Free and Starter, 2 on Pro, 5 on Premium, with more available. AI Ark includes seats in the plan with credits pooled across the team.
Export limits differ by route. Lusha's Chrome extension reveals 25 contacts at a time, CSV export from Search runs to 150, and CSV enrichment ranges from 100 rows on Free to 10,000 on Scale. AI Ark exports 10,000 per batch on any paid plan.
Lusha's compliance posture is stronger, and it isn't close. Lusha states GDPR and CCPA compliance audited by independent third parties, plus ISO 27701, ISO 27001, ISO 27018, SOC 2 Type II and TRUSTe Responsible AI certification. AI Ark publishes none of these.
Lusha claims daily refresh. Against AI Ark's 30-day cycle, that is a point in Lusha's favour on the published numbers.
Ask AI about this comparison
AI Ark vs Lusha at a glance
AI Ark | Lusha | |
Built primarily for | Bulk list building and enrichment | In-browser contact reveal by individual reps |
Database | 400M+ professional profiles, 70M+ companies | 300M+ verified contacts; 280M+ direct dials (Lusha) |
Data refresh | Full database every 30 days | Refreshed daily (Lusha) |
Stated accuracy | ~70% verified-email rate; bounce below 1.5% | 98% email accuracy; 86% global phone accuracy (Lusha) |
Email validation | Real-time at export via BounceBan; only valid addresses delivered | Verified at source, community-contributed, AI cross-checked |
Catch-all addresses | Resolved and included when confirmed valid | Not published as a separate treatment |
Bulk reveal limit | 10,000 records per batch | 25 via Chrome extension; 150 via CSV export from Search |
CSV enrichment limit | 10,000 rows | 100 rows on Free, 300 Pro, 500 Premium, 10,000 Scale |
Credit cost — email | 0.5 profile + 0.5 valid email | 1 credit |
Credit cost — mobile | 5 credits | 10 credits via web reveal (5 via API) |
Credit rollover | Yes, up to 2× plan allowance | Yes, up to 2× on Pro and above |
Seats | 3 on Starter, 5 on Builder, 10 on Scale; credits pooled | 1 on Free and Starter, 2 on Pro, 5 on Premium; more available |
Free tier | 100 credits/month, no card | 40 credits/month, 1 seat, no card |
Published pricing | Yes, twelve tiers | Yes, Free, Starter $49.90, Pro $69.90, Premium $399.90, Scale custom |
Chrome extension | No | Yes — LinkedIn, any website, CRMs, Gmail |
Native CRM sync | No | Yes — Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho, Outreach, Salesloft |
Buying signals | No | Yes — funding, hiring surges, job changes, promotions |
Lookalike search | AI Lookalike, up to 5 seed companies | AI Recommendations for lookalike contacts and accounts |
Semantic search | Yes | Flex Search natural-language prospecting |
MCP server | Yes, Cursor, Claude, Windsurf | Yes — Claude, ChatGPT and MCP-compatible agents |
Security certifications | None published | ISO 27701, ISO 27001, ISO 27018, SOC 2 Type II, TRUSTe Responsible AI |
What Teams Say About AI Ark
What is AI Ark?
AI Ark is a B2B data platform for teams that build lists at volume, outbound agencies, GTM engineers and in-house prospecting teams. It covers company search, people search, AI Lookalike search, semantic search and an enrichment API, with pricing published at every tier.
The workflow assumption is bulk. You define an ICP once, refine it with filters most databases don't carry, and export up to 10,000 validated records in a batch. Every email is checked through BounceBan at the moment of export, including catch-all domains, so the file loads straight into a sending tool without a separate verification pass.
What is Lusha?
Lusha is a B2B contact intelligence platform best known for its Chrome extension, which overlays verified emails and direct dials onto LinkedIn profiles, company websites, Gmail and CRM records. It has been one of the most recognisable names in the category for years and holds around 4.3/5 on G2 across roughly 1,600 reviews.
Lusha states its database covers more than 300 million verified contacts, refreshed daily, with 280M+ direct dials, 98% email accuracy and 86% global phone accuracy. Data is sourced from first-party contributions, a community network and partner vendors, then cross-checked by AI.
Its compliance work is unusually thorough for this category. Lusha states GDPR and CCPA compliance validated by independent auditors, and holds ISO 27701, ISO 27001, ISO 27018, SOC 2 Type II and TRUSTe Responsible AI certification.
Recent releases include AI Recommendations for lookalike contacts and accounts, Flex Search for natural-language prospecting, named and dated buying signals such as funding rounds and hiring surges, and an MCP integration exposing Lusha data to Claude, ChatGPT and other AI agents.
See how AI Ark handles your ICP.
Free tier, 100 credits a month, no card and no time limit.
The real difference: credit volume
Most comparisons in this category argue about database size or accuracy percentages. Between AI Ark and Lusha, that's the wrong axis. Both hold hundreds of millions of records, both verify, and both publish their prices. What separates them is how many contacts those prices buy.
How Lusha is designed to be used
A rep is on a LinkedIn profile. They click the extension, a verified email and direct dial appear, and the contact syncs to the CRM. That loop is fast, well-built and genuinely pleasant to use, it's why Lusha has the reviews it does.
Where it strains is volume. Lusha's top self-serve plan, Premium at $399.90 a month, includes 3,400 credits. AI Ark's entry plan at $49 includes 5,000. For a rep working named accounts, Lusha's allowance is ample. For a team building a 10,000-record TAM map, it runs out in the first week.
How AI Ark is designed to be used
You build a search once, filters for headcount growth, employees by department, time in role versus time at company, technologies, funding stage, economic zones and export up to 10,000 records in a batch. Credits are pooled across every seat on the plan, so one person can build a list the whole team uses.
There is no Chrome extension and no native CRM sync. If your workflow is a rep revealing contacts while browsing, AI Ark is the wrong shape for that and Lusha is the right one.
Being fair about data quality
Lusha's published numbers are strong: 98% email accuracy, 86% global phone accuracy, refreshed daily. AI Ark refreshes its full database every 30 days and reports bounce rates below 1.5%, with roughly 70% of contacts in an export returning a verified email.
These measure different things and neither substitutes for a test against your own ICP. Where AI Ark's approach differs concretely is catch-all domains, which it resolves through BounceBan and includes when confirmed valid, relevant because catch-all configurations are common at larger enterprises. Lusha does not publish a separate treatment for these.
How to settle it: run the same search in both. Both offer free tiers, so this costs nothing but an afternoon.
True cost and credit economics
A caveat on Lusha's pricing
Lusha publishes its pricing, which makes this the most straightforward comparison in the set.
Lusha (2026, billed monthly): Free $0 for 40 credits and 1 seat. Starter $49.90 for 400 credits and 1 seat. Pro $69.90 for 600 credits and 2 seats, adding API, CSV enrichment, signals and webhooks. Premium $399.90 for 3,400 credits and 5 seats, adding advanced API, team management and credit allocation. Scale is custom, with credits granted upfront and a stated 50%+ discount on price per credit. Credits roll over up to 2× on Pro and above. Annual billing is available.
On price per credit that works out at roughly $125 per 1,000 on Starter, $117 on Pro and $118 on Premium.
AI Ark publishes twelve tiers from 5,000 credits a month at $49 up to 5,000,000. Annual billing saves 20% and allocates all credits on day one. Seats are included, 3 on Starter, 5 on Builder, 10 on Scale with credits pooled and rollover up to 2× the plan allowance. Credits cost 0.5 for a profile, a further 0.5 when a valid email is found, 5 for a verified mobile, 0.1 for a company record. Re-exporting a contact you already own is free.
AI Ark's entry plan works out at roughly $10 per 1,000 credits about a twelfth of Lusha's rate, and it includes more monthly credits than Lusha's $399.90 tier.
Where the models diverge
AI Ark | Lusha | |
Credits belong to | The account, pooled across seats | The account, shared pool by default |
Adding a team member | Included up to the plan's seat allowance | Seats included by tier; more can be added |
Cost of a mobile number | 5 credits | 10 credits via web reveal |
Unused credits | Roll over to 2× allowance | Roll over up to 2× on Pro and above |
Contacts per bulk operation | 10,000 | 25 via extension; up to 10,000 on Scale |
Published prices | Every tier | Every self-serve tier |
The credit allowance is the part worth understanding. Lusha's pricing suits a rep revealing a few hundred contacts a month. Above that, the per-credit rate is roughly twelve times AI Ark's, and the largest self-serve allowance is smaller than AI Ark's smallest.
Being straight about the comparison
For a single rep doing browser-based prospecting on named accounts, Lusha is likely the better buy and the credit maths barely matters. The extension is excellent, the CRM sync is native, and the compliance posture is the strongest in the category.
The comparison shifts when volume enters. At a few hundred contacts a
Work out your own number.
Compare pooled credits and 10,000-record exports against what per-seat licensing costs you today.
Features side by side
Finding the right accounts
AI Ark | Lusha | |
Firmographic company search | Yes | Yes |
Lookalike search | AI Lookalike, up to 5 seed companies, matched on description, products and keywords | AI Recommendations for lookalike contacts and accounts |
Natural-language / semantic search | Yes | Flex Search |
Headcount growth filters | Yes — 6mo / 1yr / 2yr thresholds | Limited |
Employees by department | Yes | Limited |
Technographics | Yes | Yes |
Buying signals | No | Yes, funding, hiring surges, leadership changes |
Finding the right people
AI Ark | Lusha | |
Title, seniority, function | Yes | Yes |
Person location separate from company HQ | Yes | Limited |
Time in role vs time at company | Yes | No |
Profile badges (Premium, Open to Work) | Yes | No |
Economic zone filters (EU, G7, G20) | Yes | Country and region filters |
Match modes (Smart / Word / Strict) | Yes | Standard filters |
Direct dials | 100M+ profiles, 5 credits each | 280M+ direct dials, 10 credits via web |
Job change and promotion alerts | No | Yes |
Getting data out and using it
AI Ark | Lusha | |
Bulk reveal per operation | 10,000 | 25 via extension; up to 10,000 on Scale |
CSV enrichment per file | 10,000 rows | 100 Free, 300 Pro, 500 Premium, 10,000 Scale |
Credits pooled across team | Yes | Yes, shared pool by default; per-user limits optional |
Duplicate protection | Net New filter and Saved Records; re-export free | Plan-dependent |
Exclude lists | Yes, stackable, unlimited size | Limited |
Unbranded CSV for client work | Yes | Not published |
API | All plans, 300 requests/minute | Yes; phone reveals cost 5 credits via API rather than 10 |
Chrome extension | No | Yes |
Native CRM sync | No | Yes, six named platforms |
MCP server | Yes | Yes |
Compliance and data sourcing
We're a B2B search engine and data provider. For data you upload, you're the controller and we're your processor; for our own database, we're an independent controller. We process publicly sourced data under legitimate interests, GDPR Article 6(1)(f), with opt-out at ai-ark.com/opt-out. We don't scrape gated platforms or require access to your inbox.
Lusha holds ISO 27701, ISO 27001, ISO 27018 and SOC 2 Type II certification, plus TRUSTe Responsible AI verification, with GDPR and CCPA compliance independently audited. Its database is expanded partly through community contributions from its user base; we don't operate a contributory model.
Where Lusha is ahead, and it isn't close. We hold none of those certifications. If procurement runs a security questionnaire, Lusha meets it and we don't.
Choose Lusha if
Your reps prospect in the browser, revealing contacts on LinkedIn and company sites as they research
Native two-way sync with Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho, Outreach or Salesloft is a requirement
Direct dials are central to your motion and you want the largest phone database available
Buying signals, funding rounds, hiring surges, job changes, drive how you time outreach
Procurement requires ISO 27701, ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II or equivalent before signing
Your volume is modest: named accounts and targeted lists rather than thousands of records
You want job-change and promotion alerts on contacts you already track
Daily data refresh matters more to you than any other single attribute
Lusha is a mature, well-reviewed product with the strongest compliance posture in this category. For browser-based prospecting by individual reps, it is difficult to beat.
Choose AI Ark if
You build lists in bulk and 3,400 credits a month wouldn't cover a week
Several people need data access and per-seat licensing is the cost you're trying to avoid
You want thousands of credits a month rather than hundreds
Exports run to thousands of records, TAM maps, client campaigns, enrichment batches
Catch-all domains are common in your target market
Filters like headcount growth, time in role versus time at company, or employees by department are how you segment
You're an agency or GTM engineer piping data into Clay, n8n, Instantly or Smartlead
You want published pricing at every tier rather than a sales conversation
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can AI Ark replace Lusha?
It depends on how your team works. If you use Lusha to build lists and export them, AI Ark covers that with far higher volume limits. If your reps rely on the Chrome extension to reveal contacts while browsing LinkedIn, AI Ark has no equivalent and would not replace it.
2. Which has the bigger database?
AI Ark holds 400M+ professional profiles and 70M+ companies. Lusha states 300M+ verified contacts with 280M+ direct dials. Lusha's phone coverage is substantially larger; AI Ark's overall profile coverage is larger. Coverage in your specific segment matters more than either headline figure.
3. Why is AI Ark cheaper per contact?
Different volume assumptions. Lusha prices for individual reps revealing a few hundred contacts a month, its Premium plan at $399.90 includes 3,400 credits. AI Ark prices for bulk list building, with 5,000 credits at $49. That works out at roughly $118 per 1,000 credits against $10.
4. How do credits compare?
Mobile numbers differ: AI Ark charges 5 credits, Lusha charges 10 for a web reveal, up from 5 earlier in 2026. Lusha's phone reveals cost 5 credits through its API rather than the web interface.
5. Do credits work the same way?
Largely, yes. Both roll unused credits over up to 2× the allowance, though Lusha's rollover starts on Pro. The difference is how many credits you get for the money.
6. Is Lusha's data fresher?
On published claims, yes. Lusha states its data is refreshed daily; AI Ark refreshes the full database every 30 days. AI Ark's validation happens at the moment of export rather than in the database, which addresses a different part of the same problem, but on refresh cadence alone, Lusha's stated figure is better.
7. What about compliance?
Lusha is ahead. It holds ISO 27701, ISO 27001, ISO 27018, SOC 2 Type II and TRUSTe Responsible AI certification, with GDPR and CCPA compliance independently audited. AI Ark processes B2B data under legitimate interests, GDPR, and handles opt-out requests, but publishes no security certifications. If certification is a procurement requirement, Lusha meets it and AI Ark does not.
8. Does AI Ark have a Chrome extension?
No. AI Ark is a search-and-export platform with an API. If in-browser reveal is central to how your reps work, Lusha is built for that and AI Ark is not.
9. Can I try both?
Yes. Both offer free tiers with no card required, AI Ark's provides 100 credits a month indefinitely. Running the same ICP through both will tell you more than any comparison page.
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