How to find someone's email address
Six ways to find a person's work email, from free searches to paid tools, in the order we'd try them. They all end the same way: check the address before you send.
Updated by the Resolvary team
Start with a web search for the person's name and the company's domain. If that fails, enter the name and domain into an email finder, or use a browser extension on their LinkedIn profile. Check the address with a verifier before you send, because a plausible address may not exist.
1. Search the web
Try these in a search engine, swapping in the real name and domain:
"Jane Smith" "@acme.com"site:acme.com "Jane Smith""Jane Smith" acme email
Look at team pages, press releases, conference speaker pages, podcast notes and author bios. An address published there is one the person chose to make public.
2. Check LinkedIn's Contact info
Open the profile and click Contact info. You'll see an email only if the person added one and their settings let you view it, which is more common once you're connected.
3. Work out the company's address format
Find any real address at the company: a press contact, a job ad, a colleague's signature. Then apply the same format to your person. The usual formats are first.last@, first@, flast@ and firstl@.
This gives you a candidate and nothing more. A matching format doesn't tell you the mailbox exists, so check it before you send.
4. Use an email finder
An email finder takes a name and a company domain and returns the address. It's the fastest route when you have more than a couple of people to look up. Hunter, Anymail Finder and Resolvary all work this way. When you compare them, ask three things:
- Do you pay for addresses that weren't confirmed?
- What happens on catch-all domains, where the server accepts everything?
- Do you have to buy a subscription, or can you pay per result?
Resolvary shows an address only when the mail server confirms it and charges 3¢ for it. You can try 2 lookups a day for free with no account.
5. Use a browser extension on LinkedIn
If you start from LinkedIn, an extension saves you from retyping the name and company. With the Resolvary extension you open the profile and click Find email.
6. Ask
A mutual contact can introduce you or share the address. A company's general inbox can often forward a short, specific request. This takes longer, but your message arrives with some context attached.
Check the address before you send
Run any address you found by hand through an email verifier. It tells you whether the mail server confirms the mailbox and sends the person nothing.
If the result says the domain accepts all mail, the check can't prove that mailbox exists. Our guide to catch-all emails explains what to do next.
What about personal addresses?
These methods are for work addresses. Writing to someone's private address about business is less welcome and, in the EU and UK, can raise data protection questions that a work address may not.
Questions
How can I find someone's email for free?
Start with a web search and the person's LinkedIn Contact info. If you can find another address at the company, you can work out the format by hand. Most email finders also have a free tier, including 2 lookups a day on this site.
How do I find a work email from just a name and company?
Enter the name and company domain into an email finder. If you only have the company name, find its website first, since the domain is what the lookup needs.
Will the person know I looked for their email?
Web searches and email finders don't notify anyone. Resolvary never sends a message to the person. Opening a LinkedIn profile can show up under Who viewed your profile, depending on your settings.
Is it legal to look up someone's work email?
Looking up a work address is generally not the issue. Rules apply to what you send: CAN-SPAM in the US, and data protection and e-privacy rules in the EU and UK. This isn't legal advice, so check what applies to you.