# Decision-Maker Email Finder — Cheapest & Most Reliable (`scrapersdelight/decision-maker-email-finder`) Actor

Turn a company domain into decision-maker leads — name, title, best-guess work email, detected email pattern, confidence, and MX validation. Scrapes the company's own team/leadership/about pages. No paid API, no login.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/scrapersdelight/decision-maker-email-finder.md
- **Developed by:** [Scrapers Delight](https://apify.com/scrapersdelight) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Lead generation, Agents
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 121 total users, 32 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$0.80 / 1,000 per decision-maker returneds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## 🎯 Decision-Maker Email Finder — Cheapest & Most Reliable

**Give it a company domain, get back the decision-makers — name, job title, best-guess work email, the detected email pattern, an honest confidence grade, and MX validation.** It reads the company's own team / leadership / about pages, infers the domain's email format from real addresses on the site, and permutes it per person. No paid API, no login, no seat licence.

> 🕒 Last updated: 2026-07-09 · 🧭 Domain → named decision-makers → email · 🔎 Pattern-inferred + MX-validated · 🚫 No API key or login · 💵 $0.80 / 1,000 leads

Most email finders charge $50–200/mo for a credit bucket. This one is **pay-per-lead at $0.0008 each** and shows its work: every email is labelled `observed` (derived from a real address published on the site) or `guessed` (the standard first.last pattern), MX-checked, and graded `high` / `medium` / `low` so you know exactly what you're sending to.

***

### What it does

- 🧑‍💼 **Finds the humans, not a mailbox** — pulls decision-maker **name + title** from the company's team / leadership / about pages (schema.org structured data first, then a resilient card parser).
- 🧩 **Detects the email pattern** — scans any real emails on the site and works out the format (`first.last@`, `flast@`, `first@`, …) by matching addresses to names.
- ✉️ **Builds the email per person** — permutes the detected (or standard) pattern for each decision-maker; if a person's real address is on the page, it uses that verbatim.
- ✅ **MX-validates the domain** — confirms the domain actually accepts mail (`dns.resolveMx`), and returns the mail server.
- 📊 **Grades confidence honestly** — `high` (pattern observed on-site / email published), `medium` (pattern observed but this address inferred, or valid MX), `low` (guessed pattern, no MX).
- 🎚️ **Filter by seniority** — C-suite only, all leadership (C-suite + VP + director + head), or anyone.

### 📊 Output fields

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `domain` | company domain |
| `name` / `firstName` / `lastName` | decision-maker name |
| `title` | job title as published |
| `seniority` | `c_suite` · `vp` · `director` · `head` · `other` |
| `email` | best-guess work email |
| `emailObserved` | `true` = this exact address was published on the site |
| `pattern` | email format used, e.g. `{f}{last}` |
| `patternSource` | `observed` (from a real on-site email) or `guessed` (default first.last) |
| `confidence` | `high` · `medium` · `low` |
| `mxValid` | domain has MX records (accepts mail) |
| `mailServer` | primary MX host |
| `catchAll` | `null` — **not determined** (see note below) |
| `candidateEmails` | alternative permutations to try |
| `source` | `team_page` · `jsonld` · `google_serp` |
| `sourceUrl` | page the name came from |

<details><summary>🧑‍💼 Sample record</summary>

```json
{
  "domain": "8thlight.com",
  "name": "Jenny Farver", "firstName": "jenny", "lastName": "farver",
  "title": "Chief Executive Officer", "seniority": "c_suite",
  "email": "jfarver@8thlight.com", "emailObserved": true,
  "pattern": "{f}{last}", "patternSource": "observed", "confidence": "high",
  "mxValid": true, "mailServer": "aspmx.l.google.com", "catchAll": null,
  "candidateEmails": ["jfarver@8thlight.com", "jenny.farver@8thlight.com", "jenny@8thlight.com"],
  "source": "team_page", "sourceUrl": "https://8thlight.com/team"
}
```

</details>

***

### Who it's for

- 🧲 **Sales & GTM teams** — build outbound lists straight from a domain; feed `email` + `confidence` into Clay, Instantly, Smartlead, Make, or n8n.
- 🧑‍💼 **Recruiters & agencies** — reach the hiring manager / department head, not `info@`.
- 📈 **Founders & BD** — get to the CEO/CTO of a target account in one run.
- 🛠️ **Data teams** — enrich a CRM list of domains with named contacts + inferred emails.

### How to use it

1. Click **Try for free**.
2. Add one or more **company domains** (e.g. `8thlight.com`, `stripe.com`).
3. *(Optional)* pick a **role tier** (C-suite / leadership / anyone) and a **max per domain**.
4. Click **Start**, then export from the **Dataset** tab (JSON, CSV, Excel, Google Sheets) or pull via API.

#### Examples

Leadership at three companies:

```json
{ "domains": ["8thlight.com", "stripe.com", "andela.com"], "roleTier": "leadership" }
```

Only the C-suite, capped at 5 per company:

```json
{ "domains": ["8thlight.com"], "roleTier": "c_suite", "maxContactsPerDomain": 5 }
```

Pull via API (run-sync):

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/scrapersdelight~decision-maker-email-finder/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "domains": ["8thlight.com"], "roleTier": "leadership" }'
```

***

### ❓ FAQ

**Do I need an API key or a paid email-finder subscription?** No. It reads public company web pages and does a DNS MX lookup. No account, no key, no credits bucket.

**How accurate are the emails?** Every record is labelled. `emailObserved: true` means the exact address was published on the site (as accurate as it gets). `patternSource: observed` means we saw the company's real email format on the site and applied it to this person (high accuracy). `patternSource: guessed` means we fell back to the standard `first.last@` format (verify before sending).

**Do you verify the email actually exists (SMTP)?** No — Apify blocks outbound port 25, so we do **not** SMTP-probe. We validate the domain's MX records (that it accepts mail) and grade confidence honestly. `catchAll` is returned as `null` because it cannot be determined without SMTP. Run a deliverability check before a large send.

**How much does it cost?** $0.80 per 1,000 leads ($0.0008 each) — pay only for decision-makers returned. Domains with no contacts found (or blocked) are returned free.

**What if a company has no team page?** Turn on the optional Google fallback (`useGoogleFallback`) to pull names from LinkedIn search results — best-effort and paced. Google blocks the shared proxy pool, so pick the **RESIDENTIAL** group in the Proxy input before switching it on.

**Which proxy should I use?** Leave it alone. With the default (Apify Proxy, automatic) the Actor connects to each company site directly first and sends a site through Apify's **shared** proxy pool only if that site refuses the direct request; on measured runs that returned the same decision-makers and emails, faster. Residential is *not* required for the normal path; it is there as a one-click escalation if a specific target sits behind an aggressive WAF (and for the Google fallback). Pick a proxy group such as RESIDENTIAL and that group is used instead of the shared pool for the sites that refuse a direct request, and for the Google fallback; switch the proxy off and every request goes direct. The Actor never silently upgrades you to a paid proxy lane, and the run log prints the lane it used and how many requests went each way.

**What happens if I run it with no input?** It runs a small built-in sample (`8thlight.com`) so you get real example rows instead of an empty dataset, and says so in the run status.

**Which pages does it read?** The company's own `/team`, `/about`, `/leadership`, `/our-team`, `/people` and similar pages, discovered from the homepage.

**Can I schedule it?** Yes — schedule the Actor over a list of domains to keep your contact data fresh.

### Notes & fair use

This Actor reads publicly available company web pages and performs a DNS MX lookup. Emails are **inferred** from the domain's public pattern, not verified deliverable. You are responsible for complying with each site's Terms of Service and with all applicable email/outreach and data-protection law (CAN-SPAM, GDPR, ePrivacy, etc.) in the recipient's jurisdiction.

# Actor input Schema

## `domains` (type: `array`):

One or more company domains (or any URL on the company's site). The Actor finds the team/leadership/about pages, extracts each decision-maker's name + title, and returns a best-guess work email. Examples: "stripe.com", "8thlight.com", "https://andela.com".

## `roleTier` (type: `string`):

Which seniority to keep. 'c_suite' = CEO/CTO/CFO/founder/president only. 'leadership' = C-suite plus VP / director / head-of roles. 'any' = every named person found on the page.

## `maxContactsPerDomain` (type: `integer`):

Cap on decision-makers returned per company. 0 = every matching person found.

## `useGoogleFallback` (type: `boolean`):

If a company has no usable team/about page, search Google (site:linkedin.com/in) for decision-maker names. Best-effort and paced. Needs the RESIDENTIAL group in the Proxy input (Google blocks the shared proxy pool); without it the fallback is skipped. Off by default so runs stay fast.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Overall cap on records returned this run across all domains. 0 = no limit.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings. DEFAULT (Apify Proxy, automatic) = each company site is fetched directly first and switched to Apify's shared proxy pool only if it refuses the direct request. Pick a group such as RESIDENTIAL to use that group instead for the sites that refuse, and for the Google fallback (Google blocks the shared pool). Custom proxy URLs send every request through your proxies; switch the proxy off to send every request direct.

## `requestConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many company domains to process in parallel.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "domains": [
    "8thlight.com"
  ],
  "roleTier": "leadership",
  "maxContactsPerDomain": 25,
  "useGoogleFallback": false,
  "maxItems": 0,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  },
  "requestConcurrency": 5
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `decisionMakers` (type: `string`):

The dataset of decision-makers (one item per person: name, title, best-guess email, pattern, confidence, MX).

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "domains": [
        "8thlight.com"
    ],
    "roleTier": "leadership",
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("scrapersdelight/decision-maker-email-finder").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "domains": ["8thlight.com"],
    "roleTier": "leadership",
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("scrapersdelight/decision-maker-email-finder").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "domains": [
    "8thlight.com"
  ],
  "roleTier": "leadership",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call scrapersdelight/decision-maker-email-finder --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,scrapersdelight/decision-maker-email-finder"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/bYIkP2Dk4g9ecGvm6/builds/2qBlouQFLo1Vj9ORO/openapi.json