PredictLeads vs Exa for finding similar companies (lookalike APIs), benchmarked
Both PredictLeads and Exa return companies that resemble a seed account — PredictLeads via similar companies via shared tech / news / jobs co-signals, Exa via neural web search with a 'similar to this URL' endpoint. Here is how they compare on identical B2B seed companies, scored by the same LLM judge.
PredictLeads vs Exa, scored on the same seeds
Same input, same judge, same seed companies — so the gaps below reflect relevance, not different test sets. See the full methodology and matrix →
| Metric | PredictLeads | Exa | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precision@10 (top-of-list quality) | 93.8% | 77.9% | PredictLeads |
| Precision@50 | 38.8% | 47.7% | Exa |
| Precision@100 (long-list quality, headline) | 19.4% | 25.8% | Exa |
| Relevant companies returned | 465 | 619 | Exa |
| Cost per relevant company | — | <$0.01 | — |
Verdict: Exa wins long-list quality (Precision@100 25.8% vs 19.4%). But PredictLeads edges the top of the list (Precision@10 93.8% vs 77.9%) — better if you only act on the first handful of results. There is no universal winner — pick on the axis that matches your workflow.
How PredictLeads and Exa find lookalikes
| PredictLeads | Exa | |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | similar companies via shared tech / news / jobs co-signals | neural web search with a 'similar to this URL' endpoint |
| Agent can self-serve a key | human signup | self-serve · email OTP |
| Docs / MCP | API docs ↗ · MCP ↗ | API docs ↗ · MCP ↗ |
| Full profile | PredictLeads benchmark → | Exa benchmark → |
Comparing other vendors? See all five on the full benchmark → · What is a company lookalike API? →