Linkedin search API alternatives
LinkedIn remains the default sourcing tool for recruiters. It owns the data and the network, but its API is closed. That means HR tech builders cannot embed LinkedIn search into their products. And now, as dozens of AI recruiting automation tools enter the market, the industry urgently needs alternatives to the LinkedIn search API.
When we say “build on”, we mean more than just fetching candidate data. We mean powering entire products. An ATS can integrate sourcing directly into its workflow, so recruiters never need to leave the platform. An AI recruitment tool can connect our API to automate the pipeline — sourcing, reaching out, and engaging candidates at scale — solving the problem of insufficient applicants once and for all. A professional networking platform can embed people search as a native feature, expanding users’ networks with the most relevant professionals and unlocking the power of weak ties.
With our MCP integration and recent UI vibe-coding solutions, this is not a multi-week project — it can be done in a day, often with just a few prompts. And because our pricing model is designed for mid- and large-scale use cases, products can scale with no limits, paying up to 10x less the more they use.
The result: platforms don’t just bolt on candidate data; they own the full experience. By embedding sourcing at the infrastructure level, they keep users inside their product, increase engagement, and solve more of their customers’ problems.
When we say “build on”, we mean more than just fetching candidate data. We mean powering entire products. An ATS can integrate sourcing directly into its workflow, so recruiters never need to leave the platform. An AI recruitment tool can connect our API to automate the pipeline — sourcing, reaching out, and engaging candidates at scale — solving the problem of insufficient applicants once and for all. A professional networking platform can embed people search as a native feature, expanding users’ networks with the most relevant professionals and unlocking the power of weak ties.
With our MCP integration and recent UI vibe-coding solutions, this is not a multi-week project — it can be done in a day, often with just a few prompts. And because our pricing model is designed for mid- and large-scale use cases, products can scale with no limits, paying up to 10x less the more they use.
The result: platforms don’t just bolt on candidate data; they own the full experience. By embedding sourcing at the infrastructure level, they keep users inside their product, increase engagement, and solve more of their customers’ problems.
Candidate Sourcing Backend Comparison
Pearch is built as sourcing infrastructure for HR tech. Think of it as the difference between PayPal and Stripe: PayPal is a household name for consumers, while Stripe powers the payments backbone of some of the world’s largest businesses. We are building the “Stripe of candidate sourcing” — a deeply integrated engine that products can rely on at scale.
We built and maintain our own search engine and global dataset. Profiles could be refreshed in real time. The API is fully customizable and our team is fully hands-on — so our clients can scale and grow without being locked into a constrained UI or rigid tooling.
We built and maintain our own search engine and global dataset. Profiles could be refreshed in real time. The API is fully customizable and our team is fully hands-on — so our clients can scale and grow without being locked into a constrained UI or rigid tooling.
Why Focus Matters
Most companies in this space try to do everything at once: sourcing, outreach, CRM, enrichment. In practice, that means spreading thin — and competing with their own customers.
We learned the hard way over 2.5 years of R&D that building a truly high-quality search engine is not “just another feature.” It’s a massive, standalone problem. And it’s the one problem the industry needs solved.
By our own internal benchmarks we rate our engine 4/10 — but based on our research, that’s already the best relevance score on the market.
That’s why we don’t chase a polished UI or end-user SaaS. Our entire focus is on the technology itself and on making it radically accessible. We are not the tool recruiters log into — we are the infrastructure their tools build on.
We learned the hard way over 2.5 years of R&D that building a truly high-quality search engine is not “just another feature.” It’s a massive, standalone problem. And it’s the one problem the industry needs solved.
By our own internal benchmarks we rate our engine 4/10 — but based on our research, that’s already the best relevance score on the market.
That’s why we don’t chase a polished UI or end-user SaaS. Our entire focus is on the technology itself and on making it radically accessible. We are not the tool recruiters log into — we are the infrastructure their tools build on.