Bring Your Own Keys (BYOK)
Deepline lets you plug in API keys you already own and use them directly through the CLI, API, and agent skills. There is no monthly platform fee, no per-call markup, and no middleman billing. You pay your providers at their published rates. Deepline handles orchestration, waterfall logic, and data normalization on top of whatever keys you connect.| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| BYOK cost | $0/month, 0% markup |
| Providers with API key support | 26 |
| Providers with OAuth support | 3 (Attio, HubSpot, Salesforce) |
| Alternative (no keys) | Managed credits from $0.08/credit |
| Key storage | AES-256 encrypted, per-workspace, never shared across workspaces |
| Mix and match | Yes — BYOK for some providers, managed credits for others |
| Setup time | Under 2 minutes per provider |
What BYOK means for your GTM budget
Not every team should use BYOK. Here is a straight breakdown of who benefits most and who should skip it. Best for teams with existing provider contracts. If you already pay Apollo, Crustdata, Hunter, or People Data Labs directly, BYOK lets you route those same keys through Deepline without double-paying. You keep your negotiated rates, your existing usage dashboards, and your billing relationship. Deepline adds waterfall logic and unified output schemas on top — nothing changes on the provider side. Best for cost-conscious operators. Clay charges 485/month on Pro before you buy any enrichment credits. ZoomInfo starts at 0/month. Your only spend is whatever you pay providers directly at their published per-call rates. For a team running 5,000 enrichments per month across 3 providers, the difference can be 4,000/year in platform fees alone. Best for testing multiple providers side-by-side. When you are evaluating whether Crustdata or People Data Labs returns better company data for your ICP, BYOK lets you run both through the same waterfall and compare hit rates without committing to either vendor’s annual contract. Connect free-tier keys from each, run a sample batch, and measure coverage before you buy. Not ideal if you have zero provider accounts. If you do not have any existing API keys and want to start enriching immediately, use managed credits instead. Managed credits start at $0.08/credit, require no provider signups, and work across all 26+ providers. You can switch individual providers to BYOK later as you negotiate direct contracts.Supported providers
All 26 API-key providers listed below accept BYOK connections. Connect any combination.Enrichment and prospecting
| Provider | Env var name | Auth type | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adyntel | ADYNTEL_API_KEY | API key | Ad intelligence |
| AI Ark | AI_ARK_API_KEY | API key | People search, email finder |
| Apollo | APOLLO_API_KEY | API key | People + company enrichment |
| ContactOut | CONTACTOUT_API_KEY | API key | Email + phone finder |
| Crustdata | CRUSTDATA_API_KEY | API key | Company + people enrichment |
| Dropleads | DROPLEADS_API_KEY | API key | Lead generation |
| Exa | EXA_API_KEY | API key | AI-powered search |
| Forager | FORAGER_API_KEY | API key | Data storage + enrichment |
| Hunter | HUNTER_API_KEY | API key | Email finder + verification |
| Icypeas | ICYPEAS_API_KEY | Custom | Email finder + verification |
| LeadMagic | LEADMAGIC_API_KEY | API key | Email + company enrichment |
| Parallel | PARALLEL_API_KEY | API key | AI enrichment |
| People Data Labs | PEOPLEDATALABS_API_KEY | API key | People + company data |
| Prospeo | PROSPEO_API_KEY | API key | Email finder |
| RocketReach | ROCKETREACH_API_KEY | API key | Contact lookup |
| ZeroBounce | ZEROBOUNCE_API_KEY | API key | Email verification |
Scraping and search
| Provider | Env var name | Auth type | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apify | APIFY_API_KEY | Bearer | Web scraping platform |
| BuiltWith | BUILTWITH_API_KEY | API key | Technographic data |
| Cloudflare | CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN | Bearer | Web crawling |
| Firecrawl | FIRECRAWL_API_KEY | Bearer | Web scraping + extraction |
| Google Search | GOOGLE_SEARCH_API_KEY | API key | Custom search API |
Outbound sequencing
| Provider | Env var name | Auth type | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| HeyReach | HEYREACH_API_KEY | API key | LinkedIn outreach |
| Instantly | INSTANTLY_API_KEY | Bearer | Email sequencing |
| Lemlist | LEMLIST_API_KEY | Basic | Email sequencing |
| SmartLead | SMARTLEAD_API_KEY | API key | Email sequencing |
CRM (OAuth)
These 3 providers use OAuth instead of API keys. Connect them through the Deepline dashboard.| Provider | Auth type | Connection method |
|---|---|---|
| Attio | OAuth | Dashboard one-click |
| HubSpot | OAuth | Dashboard one-click |
| Salesforce | OAuth | Dashboard one-click |
Internal
| Provider | Env var name | Auth type | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deepline Waterfall | WATERFALL_API_KEY | API key | Multi-provider waterfall |
How to connect a key
Option 1: CLI (recommended)
Connect a provider key in one command:Option 2: API
Set a key programmatically via the REST API:Option 3: Environment variable
For local development or self-hosted deployments, set the env var directly:Connecting multiple providers
Connect as many providers as you need. Each key is stored independently:person_search_to_email_waterfall, Deepline queries each connected provider in sequence and returns the first verified hit.
Mix and match: BYOK + managed credits
You do not have to choose one model for all providers. Deepline supports mixing BYOK and managed credits at the provider level within the same workspace. Example setup:| Provider | Mode | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Apollo | BYOK | Already on an annual contract |
| Crustdata | BYOK | Using their free tier for testing |
| Hunter | Managed credits | No existing account, low volume |
| People Data Labs | Managed credits | Evaluating before committing |
| LeadMagic | BYOK | Negotiated bulk rate |
| ZeroBounce | Managed credits | Only need occasional verification |
Cost comparison for a typical workflow
Consider a monthly workflow of 2,000 email enrichments using a 3-provider waterfall:| Model | Platform fee | Enrichment cost | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full BYOK (3 keys) | $0/mo | Provider rates only (~200) | ~200/mo |
| Full managed credits | $0/mo | ~320 at 0.16/credit | ~320/mo |
| Mixed (2 BYOK + 1 managed) | $0/mo | ~240 | ~240/mo |
| Clay Explorer (comparable) | $185/mo | + Clay credits | $185+/mo |
Key storage and security
Every API key stored through Deepline is:- Encrypted at rest using AES-256 encryption
- Scoped to your workspace — keys are never shared across workspaces or tenants
- Never logged — keys are redacted from all application logs and error traces
- Deletable on demand — remove a key instantly via CLI (
deepline keys delete apollo) or API
Frequently asked questions
What happens if my BYOK key hits a rate limit?
What happens if my BYOK key hits a rate limit?
Deepline respects provider rate limits. If your Apollo key is rate-limited, the waterfall moves to the next provider in the chain (e.g., Hunter or LeadMagic). If all BYOK providers are exhausted, the enrichment returns a partial result with a clear status code. Deepline does not retry rate-limited requests automatically — it moves forward to avoid wasting your quota.
Can I use BYOK and managed credits for the same provider?
Can I use BYOK and managed credits for the same provider?
No. For a given provider, your workspace uses either your BYOK key or managed credits — not both simultaneously. If you connect a BYOK key for Apollo, all Apollo calls use your key. Remove the key to fall back to managed credits. This prevents ambiguous billing where you cannot tell which key was charged.
Do I need BYOK keys for waterfall enrichment to work?
Do I need BYOK keys for waterfall enrichment to work?
No. Waterfall enrichment works with managed credits, BYOK keys, or any combination. The waterfall engine is agnostic to how each provider is authenticated. If you have zero keys connected, managed credits handle everything. If you have 3 BYOK keys and 2 managed-credit providers, the waterfall uses all 5 in the configured priority order.
How do I know which providers my key was used for in an enrichment?
How do I know which providers my key was used for in an enrichment?
Every enrichment response includes a
provider_chain array showing which providers were called, in what order, and which one returned the final result. For BYOK providers, the response shows auth_mode: "byok". For managed credits, it shows auth_mode: "managed". You can audit exactly where every credit or API call went.Related pages
Quick Start
Install Deepline and run your first enrichment in 60 seconds.
Pricing Schedule
Full per-endpoint pricing for managed credits across all providers.
API Reference
REST API documentation for keys, enrichment, and waterfall endpoints.
Waterfall Enrichment
How multi-provider waterfall logic works under the hood.