Head to head
Crustdata vs Explorium
As a data enrichment API, Crustdata rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 95.7 to 77.4, a 18.3-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Crustdata | Explorium |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 95.7 | 77.4 |
Specifications
| Crustdata | Explorium | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Real-time data for AI agents and sourcing | Agent-driven company and prospect enrichment |
| Free tier | Free trial credits + free-forever tier | 100 free credits, valid 90 days (not recurring) |
| Pricing | Per credit (additive) | Prepaid credit packages |
| Official SDKs | 5 languages | 7 languages |
Is Crustdata better than Explorium?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, Crustdata rates higher (95.7 vs 77.4). It leads on the four weighted criteria, but price is reported separately, so the best choice still depends on your budget.
Verdict in one line
Crustdata leads by 18.3 points (95.7 vs 77.4) and wins 4 of 4 criteria.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 96 | 82 | |
| Reliability | 95 | 70 | |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 95 | 74 | |
| Accessibility | 97 | 84 |
Choose Crustdata if… / choose Explorium if…
- →documentation & dx matters most to you (96 vs 82)
- →reliability matters most to you (95 vs 70)
- →ecosystem & sdks matters most to you (95 vs 74)
- →accessibility matters most to you (97 vs 84)
- →your use case matches its focus: real-time data for ai agents and sourcing
- →you need broad SDK coverage (7 official SDKs vs 5)
- →your use case matches its focus: agent-driven company and prospect enrichment
Pricing side by side
- Model
- Per credit (additive)
- Free tier
- Free trial credits + free-forever tier
- Free tier$0/mo
- Real-time API AccessCredit-based / not publicly listed
- Flat File DatasetsCustom
- EnterpriseCustom (contact sales)
- Model
- Prepaid credit packages
- Free tier
- 100 free credits, valid 90 days (not recurring)
- Free trial$0
- Lite$29.99
- Starter$149.99
- Growth$749.99
- Scale$7,499.99
- EnterpriseCustom
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-06-27 (Crustdata) and 2026-10-07 (Explorium).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 1
REST API (HTTP, primary interface)
Only Crustdata · 4
Official MCP server (Model Context Protocol)crustdata-mcp (community pip package)crustdata-screener-mcp (community package)Composio toolkit (Claude Code, Vercel AI SDK, OpenAI Agents SDK, Mastra AI)
Only Explorium · 6
OpenAPI specification (/openapi.json)AgentSource MCP server (remote, Bearer auth)explorium-mcp-server (Python, pip)Python MCP SDK, LangGraph and OpenAI implementation guidesllms.txt documentation indexNo first-party REST language SDKs
Strengths and weaknesses
- +Genuine real-time / live web indexing, returns data for untracked companies within minutes rather than serving stale batch data
- +Watcher API + webhooks push change signals (job changes, funding, promotions) the moment they're detected
- +Clean, fast, well-documented REST API that reviewers say makes integration 'almost effortless'
- –Paid plan pricing is opaque, no named tiers or list prices published; heavier endpoints gated behind enterprise/demo requests
- –Credit-based model can create unpredictable costs without active monitoring
- –No first-party SDKs, integration is raw REST (client libraries are community/third-party only)
- +Self-serve free account and public prepaid packages from $29.99, no sales call needed
- +OpenAPI spec and llms.txt published alongside the API reference
- +Documented rate limit (200 queries/min) with X-RateLimit-* headers and Retry-After
- –No public status page or independent uptime history found; 99.999% uptime is a vendor claim
- –No first-party REST language SDKs; Python path uses the generic MCP SDK
- –Free credits are a one-time 100-credit, 90-day grant
Crustdata vs Explorium: questions
- Which has better documentation, Crustdata or Explorium?
- Crustdata scores higher on documentation and developer experience: 96 vs 82 out of 100.
- Which is more reliable, Crustdata or Explorium?
- Crustdata scores higher on reliability: 95 vs 70 out of 100.
- Do Crustdata and Explorium have a free tier?
- Crustdata: yes (Free trial credits + free-forever tier). Explorium: yes (100 free credits, valid 90 days (not recurring)).
- How are Crustdata and Explorium priced?
- Crustdata: Per credit (additive). Explorium: Prepaid credit packages.
- Which has more official SDKs?
- Explorium lists 7 official SDKs, Crustdata lists 5.