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11 Best B2B Contact Databases for Sales and Marketing Leads

Written by Joe Barron | Oct 1, 2024 9:00:00 AM

1. Cognism

A global provider of company and contact information for sales, marketing and operations teams. Cognism’s accurate database includes business emails and mobile numbers for decision-makers in the US, EMEA, and APAC.

What makes Cognism’s data stand out?

  • International coverage to help you break into new markets.
  • Validated B2B emails and human-verified direct dial phone numbers (our team calls the number to ensure it connects!).
  • GDPR and CCPA compliant.

Take an interactive tour of our sales lead database 👇

Here’s why 3,000+ companies solve their data challenges with Cognism:

  • Call human-verified direct dials guaranteed to connect you with 87% of your list.
  • Message notified and compliant B2B emails in NAM, EMEA, and APAC.
  • Fully compliant with global data laws, including GDPR and CCPA compliance.
  • Offers international coverage, including the best B2B data in EMEA.
  • An AI Search feature that allows you to type (or speak!) your exact request, getting the results you need at lightning speed.
  • Cognism Chrome Extension for easy access to B2B emails and mobile numbers on LinkedIn and company websites.
  • Cognism Enrich for refreshing your CRM with high-quality B2B data.
  • Includes consent-based intent data powered by industry leader Bombora.
  • Includes sales trigger data for timely outreach.
  • Easily integrates with sales intelligence tools and CRMs such as Salesforce, Outreach, HubSpot and Salesloft.
  • Includes unrestricted access to person and company-level data. With Cognism, you never need to worry about credit limits, geographical limits or other data access restrictions.

Cognism pricing:

  • Cognism offers bespoke pricing packages personalised to your business needs and workflows.
  • It charges a flat platform access fee that covers data maintenance, set-up, onboarding, and 24-7 live chat support.
  • All users get unrestricted access to Cognism’s data (subject to fair use policy).
  • Integrations are included in every package.
  • Ask Cognism for a quote.

Here’s why customers love Cognism’s B2B database:

Michael Sibley, Digital Marketing Specialist EMEA at Protolabs:

2. Kaspr

Kaspr is a B2B contact database provider and part of the Cognism Group.

Whereas Cognism is best for large organisations and sales teams, Kaspr is best for individual contributors, including reps, recruiters and founders.

It offers an intuitive Chrome Extension that allows users to surface accurate contact data from LinkedIn profiles.

See how Kaspr works - watch this interactive demo 👇

Key features:

  • Instantly reveals verified contact info from LinkedIn profiles, including phone numbers, email addresses, and company information.
  • Integrates with HubSpot, Pipedrive, Lemlist, Salesforce, and more.
  • Supplies contact data that’s GDPR and CCPA aligned.

Pricing:

3. ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo is a comprehensive database that provides information about businesses and their contacts. It offers many key data points for building a list of contacts, including names, phone numbers, email addresses, and social media profiles.

It’s a global leader, but not all customers are happy. According to a CB Insights survey, some customers voiced dissatisfaction with ZoomInfo, particularly its contact data quality.

Key features:

  • Automates deduplication, verifies new records and cleanses data.
  • Intent signals and buying scoops to alert users to potential customers in real-time.
  • Integrates with popular CRM and marketing automation tools.

Pricing:

ZoomInfo’s pricing depends on the package/product suite you want - Sales, Marketing, or Talent. It bases its pricing on licences, credit usage, and desired features.

You’ll have to contact the company for a quote.

⚠️ See how Cognism compares to ZoomInfo.

4. Lusha

Lusha is a browser extension tool that provides businesses with verified contact info. Marketing and sales professionals use it to find contact details such as business emails and phone numbers.

Some G2 users say Lusha’s data quality could be better.

Key features:

  • Offers advanced filters to help users build precise contact lists.
  • Allows users to push contact lists to their favourite tools and enrich them with actionable data.
  • Provides instant, ideal customer profile insights based on past searches.

Pricing:

Lusha’s pricing starts at $36 per user, per month. It offers a free plan with limited features. All plans have monthly credit limits.

⚠️ See how Cognism compares to Lusha.

5. Apollo.io

Apollo.io is a reputable data provider that offers access to contact details for your potential leads. Its database includes over 65 advanced search filters, such as company size, job title and more.

Some G2 users have expressed disappointment that Apollo’s emails and numbers are outdated most of the time.

Key features:

  • Identifies prospects actively researching solutions, providing insights and talking points.
  • Access contact information, work histories and activity timelines.
  • Integrates with popular sales tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

Pricing:

Apollo’s pricing starts at $49 per user, per month. It offers a free version. All plans have unlimited email credits but limited mobile and export credits.

⚠️ See how Cognism compares to Apollo.

6. Clearbit

Clearbit is a B2B data company that offers an extensive database of decision-makers and other data products. Its data helps companies reach new target markets and launch cold email campaigns.

According to some G2 users, Clearbit's data contains lots of inaccuracies and duplications.

Key features:

  • Uses AI and machine learning to clean and refresh company records.
  • Includes website visitor identification, lead enrichment features, and lead scoring.
  • Offers an IP-to-domain dataset to identify website traffic from target contacts.

Pricing:

Clearbit’s pricing is no longer listed online. HubSpot acquired the tool, so you’ll have to contact them for a quote.

⚠️ See how Cognism compares to Clearbit.

7. D&B Hoovers

D&B Hoovers is a provider of B2B contact and company info. It helps sales and operations teams find qualified leads and new business opportunities. Its data covers existing customers, high-value prospects, and legacy data.

Some G2 reviewers have called out D&B Hoovers for its out-of-date or incorrect information.

Key features:

  • Includes advanced search functions for concepts, technology, and trends.
  • Provides alerts for business movements.
  • Has an intuitive interface with automated workflow features.

Pricing:

D&B Hoovers offers monthly and annual pricing plans, both of which come with credit limits. You can also sign up for a free trial.

⚠️ See this list of D&B Hoovers alternatives.

8. 6sense

6sense offers a variety of features to help business development teams find and engage with potential customers. It uses AI to provide insights into customer behaviour, intent, and interest.

Some G2 users dislike 6sense’s data quality and UX navigation.

Key features:

  • Notifies sellers of recent account activity, buying momentum, and changes in engagement levels.
  • Provides a variety of attributes for each contact, including firmographic, technographic, and psychographic data.
  • Deanonymises website visitor behaviour and maps it back to accounts.

Pricing:

6sense offers a variety of packages, from Free to Enterprise plans. You can book a demo through its website.

⚠️ See how Cognism compares to 6sense.

9. LeadIQ

LeadIQ is a B2B database that finds and captures prospect data, including emails and direct dial phone numbers. Its core features can help sales, customer success, and marketing teams.

Some G2 reviewers are dissatisfied with LeadIQ’s contact info, in particular its hit-or-miss phone numbers.

Key features:

  • Offers a prospecting workflow for identifying, capturing, and pushing leads into sequences.
  • Provides AI recommendations for personalised email outreach.
  • Enriches contacts with location, email, mobile, job title, and social profiles.

Pricing:

LeadIQ offers several pricing plans, from Free to Enterprise plans. Prices start at $36 per user, per month. You can compare plans or book a demo on its website.

⚠️ See how Cognism compares to LeadIQ.

10. RocketReach

RocketReach is an extensive database of professional and company contact information. It includes over 100 advanced filters, including firmographic filters like annual revenue, number of employees, and geographic location.

Some G2 users rate RocketReach as so-so for data accuracy.

Key features:

  • Features over 700 million professional profiles and 35 million company profiles.
  • Integrates with your workflows through an API and a range of custom integrations.
  • Tracks and measures the performance of your cold email campaigns.

Pricing:

RocketReach’s pricing plans are designed for individuals or teams. Prices start at $29 per month, per user, making it one of the more low-cost B2B contact databases.

⚠️ See how Cognism compares to RocketReach.

11. Seamless.AI

Seamless.AI uses artificial intelligence and a real-time contact data search engine to help businesses find potential leads. Its tools help B2B companies improve their prospecting efforts.

Some reviewers on G2 complain that Seamless’s data accuracy rate is not very high.

Key features:

  • Automate lead management tasks, such as locating contacts, importing data, and converting leads.
  • Integrates with third-party apps like HubSpot, Google Sheets, and LinkedIn.
  • Offers buyer intent data to identify leads interested in products or services.

Pricing:

Seamless.AI’s pricing is divided into several plans from Free to Enterprise. Contact its sales team for custom pricing options.

⚠️ See how Cognism compares to Seamless.AI.

How do I find B2B contacts?

You can get basic information about your potential customers from many sources.

For example, people share their personal and organisational data on LinkedIn, Twitter, and company websites. You can research this information manually for free. However, it’s time-consuming, and you have no guarantee that the B2B data you gather will be up-to-date.

Many B2B data providers and lead generation companies sell B2B data lists. But not all lists are made equal; they differ in terms of data quality, compliance, freshness, cost, and more. All of these factors influence how accurate your targeting is and the ROI you’ll see.

Some sources, such as paywalled websites, DaaS providers, and financial and sales intelligence platforms, hide customer data from public view. However, you can access their rich contact databases via subscription, permission, or payment.

What is a B2B contact database?

A B2B contact database is a store of information about companies and their employees. It usually contains business phone numbers and email addresses. It may be enhanced with internal and external data sources, for example, intent data.

Sales lead databases can help you identify companies in your TAM and the most valuable prospects in your target companies. With this data, you can deliver more personalised, relevant, and successful sales and marketing campaigns.

The best business databases share the following core features:

  • Comply with privacy laws.
  • Provide unrestricted access to contact data.
  • Provide access to international data.
  • Provide contextual data, like intent data and sales triggers.
  • Have advanced features like an AI search tool.
  • Integrate with all leading sales tools.
  • Have an easy setup/onboarding process and a strong customer support team.

Cognism is a B2B database provider that meets all of these requirements. Want to learn more? Contact us for a demo.

What’s the best way to build a correct contact database?

How and where you source business contacts for your database depends on your company’s size and resources. Many businesses find manual research to be a hassle and decide to automate it.

The best way to build a B2B contact database is to use reputable data providers like Cognism or its competitors. This type of tech ensures your data never degrades.

For example:

Cognism’s Chrome Extension lets you find your leads’ business emails and direct mobile phone numbers without leaving your browser. The data is DNC-cleaned and GDPR-compliant, meaning you can reach customers in Europe, the USA, and worldwide.

Moreover, Cognism’s data is replenished daily, so contacts are constantly updated.

The Cognism platform lets you organise your data so that you’re notified when your target company undergoes changes, such as staff changes, acquisitions, and financial results. With an up-to-date database like this, you can spot opportunities early on and use them to close deals.

Sounds too good to be true? LeadForensics asserts the claims! It used Cognism to raise conversion rates by 30%, generating consistent annual ROI.

Watch this case study video 👇


Does my business need an accurate database?

Yes, definitely!

Thanks to compliant and clean B2B contact data, you can deliver targeted advertising campaigns. They engage the right people, influence purchasing decisions, and increase conversion rates.

It helps data-driven marketing teams target the right audience with the right messaging, enhance their workflows, and improve alignment between marketing and business development teams.

Giving your sales team access to accurate contact info is a similar game-changer. With precise information, they can target the right decision-makers, personalise communication, and avoid wasting time on outdated or incorrect leads.

Should I buy B2B databases?

Yes, definitely!

It isn’t recommended to buy sales lead lists online. A static list (in the form of an Excel sheet or CSV) will likely contain low-quality, non-compliant contact data.

Instead, invest in reputable data providers with advanced features. Do your research, compare vendors, and if you can, get a data sample.

How much do sales lead databases cost?

As you may have guessed, the best contact database providers aren’t free! Their pricing plans vary per software and depend on factors like:

  • The number of relevant contacts.
  • Their accuracy.
  • Geographical coverage.
  • Filtering options.
  • Lead scoring options.
  • Direct dials availability.
  • Compliance with global regulations.
  • Intent data.
  • Integrations with other tools.
  • Ease of use.
  • Customer support.

To see how much Cognism costs, contact our team for a quote.

How do I know if my database is out-of-date?

Unless it’s consistently enriched, B2B data often decays. This can negatively affect your organisation and revenue because your teams aren’t working with the right data.

Here are some telltale signs that indicate it’s time to update or refresh your data:

  • Your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is missing important information.
  • Your CRM is full of duplicates.
  • Your cold call success rate is decreasing.
  • Your email bounce rate is increasing.
  • You (or your reps) find it hard to build relationships with prospects.
  • You have difficulty personalising the customer experience.
  • Your team is frustrated with the lack of results.
  • You register a drop in major metrics, e.g., productivity or revenue.

It’s natural that information in B2B contact databases degrades. People change jobs every day. Companies get acquired. Financial results change.

While constant change can be a problem, it’s also an opportunity you can grab!

When another company acquires one of your customers, you can try to close an even better deal. Or when a company hires a new C-level exec, you can be the first to reach out!

You can profit from a contact database that’s updated in real-time. Cognism can help you track customer profiles against many vital data points. Click here to book your demo.

How can I improve my B2B marketing database?

Marketers have access to an increasing volume of information about their leads. But it isn’t the number of company contacts that will ensure your campaign’s success.

It’s the B2B contact data quality that counts.

If your marketing data isn’t up to scratch, you can enrich it with the following:

  • Demographic data related to personal and geographical characteristics, such as name, age, email address, direct phone number, location, employment history, and skills.
  • Firmographic data based on company information, including company name, its location, industry, number of employees, and revenue information.
  • Technographic data related to the tech stacks employees or businesses use.
  • Chronographic data related to the events and changes that occur as time progresses, e.g., company location move, job join, leave or hiring, funding, acquisition, company IPO, and event appearances.
  • Intent data that tracks users’ online behaviour and predicts their intent to purchase based on the content they engage with.

Cognism provides all of these data types along with a user-friendly interface and intuitive features. Click here to speak with our data experts.

Which B2B database is best?

Cognism is one of the best databases for finding actionable contacts. We’re the choice for you if:

  • You work in B2B - our data isn’t for B2C businesses.
  • You work in a sales, marketing or RevOps team - our data isn’t for sole traders.
  • You want to connect with other businesses - our data can’t help you connect with freelancers.
  • You want to target EMEA, DACH or the USA - our data is best in these regions.
  • You’re concerned about compliance - we’re a fully compliant B2B database.