Hard numbers
Primitives
Everything on this page is derived from these numbers. Updated March 2026.
| Attribute | Value | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Providers in default chain | 6 | Dropleads, Hunter, LeadMagic, Deepline Native, Crustdata, PDL |
| Total production providers | 30 | All callable individually or via waterfall |
| Waterfall playbooks | 6 | Name+Company, LinkedIn+Name, LinkedIn-only, Email-to-Person, Cost-aware, Company+Role |
| Email coverage | Multi-provider | each provider fills gaps the previous ones miss |
| Cost per email found | $0.016-$0.048 | 0.2-0.6 credits at managed rates |
| BYOK support | Yes | Zero markup -- bring your own API keys, pay providers directly |
| Validation included | Yes | ZeroBounce validation on every waterfall result |
| Pay model | Pay only on hit | Providers that miss are not billed |
What this means
Primitives mapped to your search
No single email provider has complete coverage.B2B contact data decays at roughly 20-25% per year (per industry estimates from HubSpot, ZoomInfo, and Dun & Bradstreet), so any single source goes stale fast. The 6-provider waterfall cross-references Dropleads, Hunter, LeadMagic, Deepline Native, Crustdata, and PeopleDataLabs in real time. Each additional provider fills gaps the previous ones missed, meaning more contacts reached per campaign.
Waterfall logic tries the cheapest provider first (Dropleads at 0.3 credits) and stops at the first valid hit. Most lookups resolve on provider 1 or 2 at $0.016-$0.048. The cost-aware variant tries 3 deterministic email patterns via validation (near-zero cost) before calling any finder, saving 50-70% on lists where common patterns are prevalent.
One CLI command or a natural language prompt. No spreadsheet UI, no column wiring, no template configuration. The agent reads your CSV headers, selects the right waterfall variant, and enriches every row. The entire loop runs inside your IDE or terminal, composable with scraping, scoring, CRM sync, and outreach sequencing.
If you need data from one specific provider (only Apollo people search, only Crustdata company data), use a direct tool call instead. Waterfalls are for outcome-based queries where the source does not matter -- only the result. For provider-specific queries, Deepline exposes all 30+ providers as individual tools.
Under the hood
How waterfall enrichment works
Analyze input data
Deepline inspects your payload fields or CSV column headers to select the right waterfall variant. Name + company + domain routes to the default 6-provider chain. LinkedIn URL activates a LinkedIn-optimized chain. Name + domain without company triggers the cost-aware variant with pattern guessing.
Compile the provider chain
The selected play compiles into an ordered list of provider steps, each with a tool ID, payload template with variable interpolation, and an extraction function. The chain is ordered by cost: cheapest providers run first.
Execute the first provider
Deepline sends the request to the lowest-cost provider in the chain (Dropleads at 0.3 credits for the default email waterfall). Execution time per provider is typically 1-3 seconds.
Validate the result
If the provider returns data, Deepline extracts the target field and validates it. For email waterfalls, this includes checking that the address is not a catch-all, not a bounce, and not syntactically invalid. The cost-aware variant uses LeadMagic email validation to verify pattern-guessed addresses.
Fall through or stop
If validation fails or the provider returned no data, Deepline moves to the next provider. If validation passes, the waterfall stops immediately. Providers below the stopping point never fire and are not billed. Most lookups stop at provider 1 or 2.
Return structured output
The result includes the found value, the provider that resolved it, the number of providers attempted, and the total credits consumed. This output feeds directly into downstream enrichment steps, CSV columns, or CRM updates.
Try it
One command. Full waterfall.
# Single email lookup
deepline tools execute name_and_company_to_email_waterfall \
--payload '{"first_name":"Sarah","last_name":"Chen","company_name":"Stripe","domain":"stripe.com"}'
# Bulk CSV enrichment
deepline enrich --input leads.csv --output enriched.csv \
--with '{"alias":"email","tool":"name_and_company_to_email_waterfall"}'
# Or just ask in plain language (Claude Code / Codex)
# "Find work emails for everyone in leads.csv"Common questions
FAQ
How much does waterfall enrichment cost per email?
Most lookups resolve on the first or second provider at 0.2-0.6 credits ($0.016-$0.048). The cost-aware variant tries 3 free email pattern guesses first and can resolve for as little as 0.1 credits ($0.008). In BYOK mode, waterfall lookups are free through Deepline -- you pay providers directly at their rates.
How does Deepline choose which waterfall variant to use?
Deepline inspects your input fields (payload keys or CSV column headers) and selects the variant that matches your available data. Name + company + domain uses the default 6-provider chain. LinkedIn URL activates a LinkedIn-optimized chain. Name + domain without company triggers the cost-aware variant. You can also specify the exact waterfall by tool ID to override automatic selection.
What happens when no provider finds an email?
The waterfall tries every provider in the chain. If none returns a valid result, the output is null for that row. You are charged only for providers that executed. Deepline does not fabricate results. A null result means the contact could not be resolved from any of the 30+ production providers.
Can I customize the provider order or exclude providers?
The built-in waterfall plays use a fixed cost-ordered chain optimized for price-performance. For custom chains, break the waterfall into individual tool calls and orchestrate them yourself using deepline tools execute or deepline enrich with multiple --with steps. You can also use the plays API (/api/v2/plays/compile) to inspect and modify the compiled chain programmatically.
How does waterfall enrichment compare to single-provider lookups?
No single provider has complete email coverage. B2B contact data decays at roughly 20-25% per year (per industry estimates from HubSpot, ZoomInfo, and Dun & Bradstreet research), so any single source goes stale fast. The 6-provider waterfall cross-references multiple sources in real time, and each additional provider fills gaps the previous ones missed. That incremental coverage translates directly to more contacts reached per campaign.
Try waterfall enrichment in 30 seconds
Install the CLI and enrich your first contact. Free with your own API keys.
curl -s "https://code.deepline.com//api/v2/cli/install" | bash