--- title: "Invenitor vs People Data Labs: an API for developers compared – Invenitor" description: "Invenitor vs People Data Labs for developers on API billing, query format, free tier and contact data, with links to PDL's own docs, checked on 2026-11-01." url: https://invenitor.com/compare/people-data-labs agents: https://invenitor.com/llms.txt mcp: https://api.invenitor.com/mcp --- [Home](https://invenitor.com/)/[Compare](https://invenitor.com/compare)/People Data Labs Comparison # Invenitor vs People Data Labs: an API for developers compared People Data Labs is a person data API billed per record and queried with SQL or Elasticsearch, while Invenitor's API takes a plain-words query and bills a flat amount per search. By Invenitor team. Updated 2026-11-01. Choose People Data Labs when you are building a data product and want records in bulk. Choose Invenitor when your app or agent needs to find people from a sentence. ## How do they compare, line by line? | Criterion | Invenitor | People Data Labs | | -------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Lowest published paid price | No subscription. Packs from 25 credits for ₹50. | Pro: starting at $98 a month, from 350 credits a month. [Source](https://www.peopledatalabs.com/pricing/person) | | Free way to start | 25 free credits on signup. No card. | Yes. Up to 100 credits a month. Emails, phones and addresses are hidden on this plan. [Source](https://www.peopledatalabs.com/pricing/person) | | Cost of one email | 1 credit (₹2), only when an email or phone comes back. | Contact data is included on Pro. Search charges per record retrieved. Premium fields are an add-on. [Source](https://docs.peopledatalabs.com/docs/reference-person-search-api) | | Cost of one phone number | 1 credit (₹2), the same price as an email. One charge covers both. | Contact data is included on Pro. Search charges per record retrieved. Premium fields are an add-on. [Source](https://docs.peopledatalabs.com/docs/reference-person-search-api) | | Cost when nothing is found | Free. A search that finds nobody costs nothing, and a contact with no email or phone costs nothing. | Search charges per record retrieved, so a search with no records has nothing to charge. [Source](https://docs.peopledatalabs.com/docs/reference-person-search-api) | | What happens to unused credits | Credits last 30 days. | Not published on the page checked. [Page checked](https://www.peopledatalabs.com/pricing/person) | | Search by describing a person in plain words | Yes. One search is 20 credits (₹40). | Not on the reference page checked. It accepts Elasticsearch or SQL queries. [Page checked](https://docs.peopledatalabs.com/docs/reference-person-search-api) | | REST API | Yes, on every account. | Yes. API first. One call returns from 1 to 100 records. [Source](https://docs.peopledatalabs.com/docs/reference-person-search-api) | | MCP for AI agents | Yes, on every account. | Not published on the page checked. [Page checked](https://www.peopledatalabs.com/pricing/person) | | Sends messages for you | No. You write to people yourself. | Not published on the page checked. [Page checked](https://www.peopledatalabs.com/pricing/person) | | Pay in rupees with UPI | Yes. UPI and cards through Razorpay. | Not published on the page checked. [Page checked](https://www.peopledatalabs.com/pricing/person) | People Data Labs facts were checked on 2026-11-01 on People Data Labs's own pages. Prices change, so open each link before you buy. Invenitor numbers come from [the live pricing list](https://api.invenitor.com/api/pricing). ## When is People Data Labs the better choice? - You build a data product and need structured records in bulk. - Your team is comfortable writing SQL or Elasticsearch queries. - You want a free tier to test record shape before you pay. ## When is Invenitor the better choice? - You want an agent or app to search from a sentence with no query language. - You want a flat search price, not a charge for each record returned. - You want contact details only for the people you pick. ## How do you move from People Data Labs? 1. Map which PDL fields your code reads. Invenitor's search results carry a name, headline, company and profile links. 2. Run the same question through both and compare what your app needs. 3. Keep PDL if you rely on fields Invenitor does not return. ## Common questions How does the billing differ for a 100 person search? PDL's reference says each person record returned counts as a credit, so 100 records is 100 credits. An Invenitor search is 20 credits a search, and contacts cost 1 credit each when you pick them. Which is easier to call from an AI agent? Invenitor has remote MCP on every account. On the PDL pages checked, MCP was not stated, so you would write your own tool around the REST API. Try one real search for free New accounts get 25 free credits, with no card. That covers one search and five contacts. [](https://invenitor.com/login?from=https%3A%2F%2Fpeople.invenitor.com%2Fsearch&x=w7&q=c5&z=s1)[](https://invenitor.com/pricing?x=w7&q=c5&z=s2) ## Related reading - [How to use a people search API: a developer's guide](https://invenitor.com/guides/people-search-api-for-developers) - [How to connect people search to an AI agent with MCP](https://invenitor.com/guides/connect-people-search-to-an-ai-agent) - [How to write a people search query that works](https://invenitor.com/guides/write-a-people-search-query) - [Contact tool pricing table](https://invenitor.com/research)