The Clearbit Extension Is Dead - Here's What to Use Instead
You just tried to install the Clearbit extension and hit a dead Chrome Web Store link. You're not alone. 200,000 users lost access to Clearbit Connect when HubSpot pulled the plug, and the "replacement" isn't what you think it is - there's no new Chrome extension, just a paid CRM feature buried inside HubSpot.
We've tested dozens of Connect replacements since the shutdown. Here's what actually happened, what HubSpot built instead, and which alternatives are worth your time.
What Happened to the Clearbit Extension?
HubSpot acquired Clearbit in December 2023. For over a year, nothing changed - Connect kept working, free accounts kept running, and most users didn't notice the acquisition. Then, on April 30, 2025, HubSpot pulled the plug.
Not just on Connect. They sunset the entire free Clearbit toolkit: the Free Platform, Weekly Visitor Report, TAM Calculator, Slack Integration, and free API implementations. The Logo API followed on December 8, 2025. Free Clearbit accounts are no longer being created.
At the time of removal, Connect had a 4.41 rating across 1,752 reviews. The extension gave you 10 free credits per month to look up verified emails directly in Gmail, plus ICP color-coding when you browsed company websites. It wasn't perfect - reviews frequently cited the sidebar failing to load and confusing credit limits - but it was free, fast, and embedded in the workflow where B2B prospecting teams actually live.
The r/startups thread that popped up after the shutdown captures the frustration well. Users who relied on Connect for quick email confirmation suddenly had nothing.
200,000 users lost their go-to email finder when HubSpot killed Connect. Prospeo's Chrome extension does exactly what Connect did - click, find, verify - but with 7.5x the free credits, 98% email accuracy, and data refreshed every 7 days instead of every 6 weeks.
Get the Clearbit replacement 40,000+ users already switched to.
What Replaced It? HubSpot's Answer
HubSpot replaced Clearbit Connect with Breeze Intelligence, launched at INBOUND 2024. It enriches contact and company records with 100+ B2B data points - firmographic, demographic, and technographic attributes - directly inside HubSpot CRM.
Here's the thing: there's no standalone Chrome extension. No Gmail sidebar. No browser-based email finder. Breeze Intelligence is a CRM-native enrichment tool, not a prospecting extension. HubSpot replaced a free browser tool with a paid platform feature. That's not a replacement - it's an upsell.
Pricing reflects that shift. Clearbit enrichment starts at $99/month for 1,000 credits, and the Salesforce integration runs $18,000/year. If you're not already on a paid HubSpot plan, Breeze Intelligence is irrelevant to you. Expect $500-1,500+/month for meaningful enrichment volume on a HubSpot stack.
Look, most teams that used the Clearbit Connect extension never needed CRM-level enrichment. They needed a button that said "find this person's email." HubSpot solved a problem its enterprise customers had and abandoned the 200,000 users who just wanted a quick lookup.
Best Clearbit Extension Alternatives
| Tool | Free Tier | Paid From | Key Strength | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prospeo | 75 emails + 100 ext. credits/mo | ~$0.01/email | 98% email accuracy | Direct Connect replacement |
| Hunter.io | 25 searches/mo | $49/mo | Domain search | Email-only workflows |
| Apollo.io | Limited free tier | $49/mo/user | All-in-one platform | Teams wanting everything bundled |
| Snov.io | 50 credits/mo | $30/mo | Email finder + drips | Budget outbound |
| ContactOut | Free tier available | $79/mo | Personal emails | Recruiters |
Prospeo
Prospeo is the most direct replacement for what the Clearbit extension actually did - browse a website, click the extension, get a verified email. The Chrome extension has 40,000+ users and works from any company website or professional profile in one click, pulling from a database of 300M+ professional profiles.
The free tier alone makes the comparison almost unfair: 75 emails and 100 Chrome extension credits per month, which is 7.5x what Connect offered. Email accuracy runs 98%, backed by a proprietary 5-step verification process with catch-all handling and spam-trap removal. Data refreshes every 7 days - the industry average is six weeks - which matters because more than 33% of B2B contact data goes stale within a year. The platform is also fully GDPR compliant with opt-out enforced globally, a real consideration if you're prospecting into European markets (see our GDPR compliant database checklist).
In our testing, the workflow felt almost identical to the old Connect experience: land on a company page, click the icon, get a verified email in seconds. The difference is you get far more credits and significantly better accuracy than Connect ever delivered.
Use this if you want the closest workflow match to Connect with dramatically better free limits and accuracy. Skip this if you need a full CRM and sequencing platform built in - pair it with your existing sequencer instead.
Hunter.io
Hunter is the most recognized name in email finding. The domain search feature - type in a company domain, get every email pattern and verified address associated with it - is genuinely useful for mapping out an entire org chart. Free tier gives you 25 searches per month, paid plans start at $49/month.
Where Hunter falls short is depth. It's an email finder, not a prospecting database. You won't get mobile numbers, intent data, or advanced firmographic filters. But if your entire workflow is "find me the email for this person at this company," Hunter does that well and has for years. It's a reliable single-purpose tool, and sometimes that's exactly what you need.
Apollo.io
Apollo is the everything-in-one-tab option. The free tier is generous enough to get started, and the $49/month per user paid plan bundles a contact database, email sequencing, a basic CRM, and a Chrome extension into one platform. For solo founders or early-stage teams who want to consolidate their stack, it's compelling.
The tradeoff is data accuracy. Independent tests have shown Apollo's valid-email rate around 55%, compared to 75-80% for dedicated finders. We've seen that gap translate directly into higher bounce rates on outbound campaigns. Apollo is a breadth play, not a precision play - and if your domain reputation matters (it does), that distinction is everything. A 45% invalid rate will torch your sender reputation faster than you can say "spam folder." (If you want the mechanics, start with email reputation check and how to check domain reputation.)
Snov.io
Snov.io combines an email finder with built-in drip campaigns, starting at $30/month with 50 free credits. It's a solid budget option for teams that want prospecting and basic outreach automation without juggling multiple tools. The UI won't win design awards, but the price-to-feature ratio is hard to beat at the entry level.
ContactOut
ContactOut is built for a different use case entirely. Where the other tools on this list target sales teams, ContactOut shines for recruiters who need personal email addresses and phone numbers alongside professional contacts. Free tier available, paid from $79/month. If you're in talent acquisition rather than sales, test this one first and skip the rest.
Bad data from cheaper alternatives doesn't just mean missed emails - it torches your sender reputation. Prospeo's 5-step verification with catch-all handling and spam-trap removal keeps bounce rates under 4%. At $0.01 per email, it's 90% cheaper than enterprise tools with higher accuracy than any alternative on this list.
Stop paying enterprise prices for emails that bounce.
FAQ
Is Clearbit Connect still available?
No. Clearbit Connect was removed from the Chrome Web Store on April 30, 2025. Free accounts are no longer being created, and HubSpot folded Clearbit's capabilities into its paid Breeze Intelligence platform - which has no browser extension.
Does HubSpot offer a Chrome extension for email finding?
No. HubSpot replaced Connect with Breeze Intelligence, a CRM-native enrichment tool that requires a paid subscription starting at $99/month. It works inside the CRM, not in your browser, and doesn't replicate the one-click email lookup Connect provided.
What's the best free alternative to the Clearbit extension?
Prospeo offers 75 emails and 100 Chrome extension credits per month with 98% accuracy - 7.5x Connect's old limit. Hunter.io with 25 free searches/month and Snov.io with 50 free credits/month are also worth testing, though both have lower free-tier limits and narrower feature sets.