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Cognism vs Lusha

Many Cognism customers started with Lusha. They switched when credit ceilings and patchy coverage slowed growth. With Cognism, you’ll never hit those limits.

How does Cognism match up?
Lusha
No credit ceilings
Strong international coverage
Verified data
Dedicated support

Why thousands of brands have switched to Cognism

01

30% better data quality

Cognism is known for its mobile data, which is why many customers have made the switch.

They report higher first‑connect rates and fewer wasted dials.

"Cognism’s data quality was about 30% better than everything else we were looking at.” Dave, Mollie

02

30-40% tech overhead costs cut

Credit ceilings force throttle outreach and force extra spending.

Cognism has no credit ceilings! 

“Price is irrelevant; it’s all about ROI, and Cognism won the battle. The decision to move from Lusha was a very easy one.” Louis, Team Sunday

03

100% more meetings booked

Customers switching to Cognism report a higher number of connects, and appreciate the human-verified data.

“We used Lusha for around a year, but didn’t receive very good service. The UX wasn’t that smooth, and their data quality was poor. Lots of companies we knew existed weren’t in their database.” Jack, Lockton

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What’s the difference between Lusha and Cognism?

Lusha is a popular, affordable option for SMBs and mid-market companies. It offers a freemium model and a Chrome extension that makes it easy to get started. It has coverage in regions like BeNeLux, LATAM, and APAC.

For sales teams that outgrow Lusha’s extension, Cognism provides a more powerful alternative: diamond-verified mobile numbers, built-in compliance, intent signals, and seamless CRM integrations. With predictable pricing and workflows designed for SDRs, AEs, and RevOps, Cognism goes beyond being just a data provider — it’s a complete revenue enablement platform.

While Lusha may appear more affordable than Cognism, many of its core prospecting functionalities (e.g., CRM enrichment and DNC filtering) are reserved for the most expensive ‘Premium’ and ‘Scale’ packages.

Cognism, on the other hand, includes key capabilities and features designed to make prospecting as efficient as possible on all packages - plus there’s no credit ceiling! 

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of Cognism vs Lusha:

Cognism
Lusha
Best for
Cognism
Larger sales, marketing, RevOps and GTMOps teams looking to drive customer revenue growth in Europe.
Lusha
Smaller sales teams that need access to contact details and add-on features like email sequence automation.
Pricing
Cognism
Two tiers to choose from to suit your needs best. Unrestricted views/ individual and page-level exporting on all packages.*
Lusha
Credit-based & dependent on team size & features. Pick from three paid packages.
Integrations
Cognism
Included in all packages: Salesforce, HubSpot, MS Dynamics, Pipedrive, Salesloft, Outreach & Zapier.
Lusha
Integrations include Outreach, Salesloft, HubSpot, MS Dynamics and Salesforce. Zapier integration is only included in the Scale plan.
Compliance status
Cognism
GDPR & CCPA compliant, SOC 2 accreditations, TPS & DNC screening across 13 countries & notified database.
Lusha
GDPR & CCPA compliant. DNC lists are only included in the higher-priced tiers.
Browser extension
Cognism
Compatible with LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, Recruiter, Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, and company domains.
Lusha
The Lusha Chrome Extension works across company domains, LinkedIn profiles (including Sales Nav), and CRMs.
Intent data
Cognism
Bombora intent data with 12 topics included in the Elevate package. Add more topics as an add-on.
Lusha
The intent data and filter are included only in the Scale plan with up to 25 topics.
Enrichment
Cognism
API enrichment and on-demand CSV enrichment.
Lusha
CSV enrichment. CRM enrichment is included in higher pricing tiers.
Phone-verification/ research on-demand service
Cognism
Exclusive phone-verified Diamond Data® mobiles & on-demand-verification service.
Lusha
Not available.

Alternatively, see other Cognism comparisons👇

Key features of Cognism vs Lusha

Cognism equips teams with everything they need to exceed quota month over month. It focuses on supplying accurate global B2B data that’s compliant with GDPR and CCPA regulations.

Lusha has several key features to help teams perform better throughout the sales process. Paid tiers unlock features like mobile numbers, CRM integrations, and enrichment, with advanced options such as APIs and custom workflows reserved for higher plans.

Here’s a list of both tools’ features, side by side:

Cognism

Sales Companion

For personalised access to in-depth account data to ensure fresh and fast outreach.

Phone-verified cell phone numbers

To help you connect with 87% of your list.

Diamond Data®

Exclusive on-demand verified cell phone and email data set.

Unrestricted access to person and company-level data*

Subject to a generous fair usage policy.

Enrich

API enrichment and on-demand CSV enrichment.

Intent & Signal data

Intent data by Bombora. Real time signal data for hiring trends, funding rounds, and technographic insights.

International coverage

EMEA, NAM, APAC.

Integrations at no extra cost

Salesforce, HubSpot, MS Dynamics, Pipedrive, Salesloft, Outreach & Zapier.

GDPR and CCPA-compliant

SOC 2 accreditations, TPS & DNC screening across 13 countries & notified database.

AI Search

Find prospects using ChatGPT-style textual or voice prompts.

Lusha

Chrome Extension

Instantly access contact details while browsing LinkedIn and company websites.

Intent signals by Bombora

Identify accounts actively researching relevant topics to prioritise outreach.

List management

Organise, save, and segment prospects into targeted lists for easier follow-up.

CSV exports and integrations

Export data or connect with CRMs and sales tools to streamline workflows (availability depends on plan).

From Lusha to Cognism

“We’ve definitely seen results improve since we switched from Lusha. I save 30 minutes to an hour a day and spend more time on the platform compared to Lusha because I know I’m more likely to get results from it.”
100%
increase in meetings booked
Jack Hooper
Sales Development @Lockton
“Cognism brought back three times the number of phone numbers compared to Lusha and more than double the number of contacts.”
200%
increase in leads and contacts.
Jack Brewster_Sparta Global
Jack Brewster
Digital Marketing Manager @Sparta Global

Lusha versus Cognism: Compliance

According to its data page, Lusha states it is GDPR and CCPA-compliant. It is also ISO 27701 certified.

However, only the highest package filters DNC lists. More information on Lusha’s compliance status can be found here.

“Cognism is our comfort blanket when it comes to compliance.” “Whenever a prospect asks where we get their data from, we can confidently say that we’ve sourced their information from a reputable ISO 27001 and SOC Type II certification data company.”
1612964195108-1
Richard Caldicott
IT Director @Henderson Scott

Cognism is a globally compliant B2B data provider. Customers praise Cognism as a company that goes above and beyond to ensure customers aren’t violating privacy laws.

While being GDPR and CCPA compliant, Cognism also scrubs all mobile numbers against:

  • TPS/CTPS lists in the UK.
  • Do-Not-Call lists in the USA, Canada, Australia and European countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Croatia, Portugal, Sweden and more. 

If a number is marked as TPS or DNC, it means that the user has opted out of receiving unsolicited phone calls by applying to the national do-not-call registry. 

Cognism allows admins to choose whether to hide or show contacts that are on DNC lists from reps. Meaning that its customers have complete confidence in the legality of its outreach.

The Cognism platform follows these compliance-based actions: 

  • A stringent B2B data verification process. 
  • Ensures all data is legally sourced and of the utmost quality.
  • Is regulated by the ICO and provides users with a notified database.

Lusha vs Cognism: Usability & Integrations

Lusha offers a smooth Chrome Extension, numerous filters and integrations with popular CRMs on the custom Scale plan. 

The Cognism web app helps teams streamline list building, and the browser extension allows prospecting across LinkedIn, corporate websites and popular CRMs. It’s an excellent choice for salespeople who want hassle-free data wherever they’re online.

While you prospect, the browser extension part of Sales Companion works hard to surface all the important signal data you need to surface in-market buyers. 

Cognism’s AI Search feature means that you can find prospects even faster with three different routes: Text-to-command, direct prospect or account search, and voice search.

sales-companion-integrations-webp

Sounds great, but...

Lusha’s Chrome Extension does the job. 

Cognism’s Chrome extension (Sales Companion) doesn’t just surface data like Lusha’s extension; it performs live data checks and plugs directly into CRMs and engagement tools, meaning reps can prospect faster, with cleaner data, and less manual work.

0%

Better conversion rates (Lead Forensics)

0%

Time saved each week (UpCloud)

Cognism vs Lusha: Databases & Data Coverage

When looking at Lusha data, the website does not directly state where its data coverage lies, only how large its database is. 

Unlike Cognism, Lusha does not filter phone data by type or offer phone-verified mobile data.

Cognism has research teams in the EU and US, making it a great option for anyone looking to find highly targeted leads on both continents. 

In fact, Cognism’s global data is so good it helped Promon book 33% of new business meetings in Southern Europe. They said:

“Having access to direct numbers is critical for targeting South America as WhatsApp is their main method of sales communication. It’s a game-changer.”

“33% of meetings booked in Southern Europe and 15% in South America are from Cognism-generated leads. The meetings booked have resulted in closed revenue, and ROI has been achieved!”

“You’ll be hard-pushed to find another platform that saves time and delivers results. It’s a lifeline for a BDR, and I couldn’t recommend it enough.”

Quality is of utmost importance to Cognism, with next-level mobile number coverage in the US, phone-verified data known as Diamond Data® and the most complete database in Europe.

One Cognism customer urged G2 users to “forget about Lusha”, praising the accuracy of Cognism’s data. When asked, “What do you like best?” they said:

“The accuracy of the numbers that are generated.”

sales-companion-diamond-data-webp

Where do Cognism and Lusha get their data?

According to its website, Lusha gathers data from the following information sources alongside its proprietary AI technology:

  • The Lusha community - members who have decided to share their contact details under the terms of the Lusha Community Program.
  • Third parties - business partners who own established and trustworthy directories.
  • Lusha insight and analysis system - business information is autocompleted. I.e. email addresses are completed based on standard corporate email patterns.
  • Publicly available information.

There’s no guesswork when it comes to Cognism’s database. Data is gathered via proprietary sources and fills in the gaps from third-party data providers, publicly available sources, manual research and strategic partnerships. 

Machine learning processes check millions of data points daily, and a team of researchers verifies the data. This ensures accuracy and compliance, and the stringent verification process applies to Cognism’s entire database.

However, Cognism takes data verification to the next level through its exclusive data asset, Diamond Data®.

Diamond Data® comprises phone-verified mobile numbers that make it 3x more likely you’ll connect with your ideal customer. The team phone verifies mobile numbers and includes contacts specifically requested by customers leveraging the Diamonds-on-Demand® service.

Diamond Data® allows sales teams to connect with 87% of prospecting lists. Companies are seeing a 54% increase in mobile coverage, and ROI is increasing due to 70% of outbound meetings booked from Cognism mobiles. 

Here’s how Cognism mobile phone numbers differ from standard mobile numbers. 👇

How standard mobile numbers compare to Cognism's phone-verified numbers.

Sounds great, but...

Lusha has stronger US coverage.

While Cognism is known for its excellent EMEA data coverage, it’s not lacking in the US. Customers have reported 90% accuracy in US markets with praise for contacts in niche markets. 

0%

Data Accuracy in the US (Darwinbox)

0%

Influenced closed/won deals (Openprise)

Cognism vs Lusha pricing

**Cognism and Lusha pricing information is dependent on your company’s needs. For accurate pricing, please contact your preferred data provider.

Cognism Pricing

What really makes Cognism stand out from Lusha is unrestricted data views. 

Cognism’s main packages allow reps unrestricted data views and exports of 25 records at a time.

Cognism’s pricing model is split into two tiers: 

  • Grow gives you the essential quality data you need for your prospecting. With contact and company data, including Cognism’s phone verified Diamond Data®.
  • Elevate gives you all the benefits of Grow with the added benefit of combining Cognism’s high-quality data with advanced intelligence and actionable signals.

In addition to this, users can add more intent data topics (12 are included in the Elevate package) and Diamonds-on-Demand® to their package.

Lusha Pricing

Lusha’s pricing is based on credits per user. It limits access to certain features and how many contacts you can search for depending on your chosen package.

Lusha pricing plans range from Free and Solo plans to Premium and custom Scale plans. Each package includes: 

  • Direct phone numbers.
  • Landline phone numbers.
  • Email addresses.
  • Basic prospecting platform.
  • Lusha Chrome Extension.

You will have to pay more for additional credits, CSV enrichment and a bulk show of 25 contacts.

Intent signals, job changes, technologies, Salesforce data enrichment, and the Lusha API are all add-ons.  

FAQs about Lusha vs Cognism

Cognism is a sales intelligence platform that is one of the best Lusha alternatives. Be it sales, marketers, RevOps, or GTM leaders, this B2B data provider prides itself on its global data coverage and compliance, data quality, and the best integrations with leading CRMs and sales engagement tools. The integrations are easy to set up and don’t cost extra.

Cognism is the better choice for businesses looking for a lead generation platform that offers up-to-date, accurate data with an easy-to-use interface.

Not only has compliance been built into the product from conception, but its dedication to beating the scarcity mindset with easy access to quality data is hard to beat. As are its user-friendly interface and excellent customer service. 

So if you’re looking for the best tool to help you reach out to the right prospects, Cognism is the clear winner.

Yes, Cognism is an excellent alternative when comparing Lusha’s competitors. 

Cognism provides high-quality and up-to-date contact information that helps sales and marketing teams find the information they need to make fewer calls, contact the most relevant people, and hit quota faster. 

Furthermore, Cognism has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from its users. In particular, many praise its user-friendly interface, accurate/ unrestricted data and excellent customer service.

Cognism is different to Lusha in a number of ways:

  • Phone-verified data (Diamond Data), which increases dial-to-connect rates by 3x.
  • Research on demand service (Diamonds-on-Demand.)
  •  A global leader in US mobile data.
  • DNC filtering is included on all plans and covers 13 countries, compared to Lusha’s 2 (UK & US), which is only available on the most expensive package. 
  • Unrestricted views & page level exports* 
  • All Cognism plans include key capabilities and features designed to make prospecting as efficient as possible. Only Intent data and Diamonds-on-Demand® require an additional cost.
  • Lusha reserves key features for higher-tier packages or add-ons at an additional cost. These include contact search, credits, technologies and more.

Lusha offers free and Solo packages, which may appear more affordable than Cognism. However, Lusha has maximum credits per user, meaning customers must add more users to get more credits.

Credits need to be purchased once they are used up, creating a scarcity mindset, which results in teams losing focus on selling. 

What's more, core prospecting capabilities (e.g. CRM integrations and DNC filtering) are reserved for Lusha's most expensive 'Scale' package. 

Cognism packages include key capabilities and features designed to make prospecting as efficient as possible. Even better, Cognism data is unlimited* which offers more value to teams, especially heavy diallers. 

All Cognism plans include key capabilities and features designed to make prospecting as efficient as possible. Only Intent data and Diamonds-on-Demand® require an additional cost.

All Cognism packages are GDPR and CCPA-compliant, including DNC list scrubbing for 13 countries. 

Lusha pricing uses a credit-based system with one Lusha credit = 1 profile contact detail. 

This means that when you request a contact’s details to be shown, you use one credit. The details shown are dependent on the details Lusha has for that contact and will include all phone numbers and email addresses it has for that contact.

Cognism does not use a credit-based system. Users can view contacts and export data individually or by page level. The amount of views is subject to a generous fair usage policy. 

Lusha is a good tool for marketing, sales, RevOps and recruiting teams looking to prospect in the US and Europe. 

However, if you’re looking for a tool that makes it easier to cold call globally without limited credits and expensive add-ons, then Cognism is for you. 

Lusha is a go-to-market intelligence platform that is used by B2B companies to find business-to-business company and contact data for prospecting. 

Try Cognism, a Lusha alternative

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