Quality data fuels business success. So we've scoured the options to handpick the most reliable, most accurate B2B contact databases that give sellers the insights and functionality they need to go outbound.
by
Karli Stone
UPDATED Nov 19, 2024
7Min Read
What if the secret to doubling your sales was hidden in data you haven't tapped into yet?
Fresh opportunities could be nestled in your existing contact records — but only if it’s reliably up-to-date. (Apollo data found that one in four sales leaders believe their CRM to be less than 50% accurate).
If data is power then a comprehensive B2B database is the engine that drives your business forward.
But with so many databases out there, how do you know which one will fuel your pipeline and drive tangible results? We’ve scoured the options and handpicked, in our opinion, the most reliable, most accurate data vendors that provide the contact and personalization data you need to fuel your pipeline and transform your outbound.
We genuinely believe that Apollo’s the best option out there — we won’t sugar coat it.
But, to mitigate as much bias as possible and help you accurately identify the vendor that’s right for your business, we looked to a variety of studies and sources that feature real experiences and opinions from users. That said, you should always do your own research to figure out the right solution for your specific situation.
B2B database software is a comprehensive collection of global business contacts, company profiles, and contact information like email addresses and phone numbers.
What makes a B2B database different from a directory?
They are designed with search and productivity features that support sellers in finding the right decision makers.
It provides the insights that you need to:
In the B2B world, third-party databases are the cornerstone of outbound; the quality of which will directly determine your ability to fill your pipeline.
The world is overflowing with data — much of it, right at your fingertips.
The measure of a great B2B database isn’t just having an email address or phone number listed for your prospects—you can easily Google “[prospect’s name] email address” and find something that might work.
And unless you’re reaching out to thousands of leads daily, it’s not even the sheer quantity of contacts that makes a B2B database worthwhile.
But, rather, the quality of its data (can you trust the email won’t bounce?) and enablement around that data (does it give you the tools in taking the next step?).
Let’s get more specific on what the best B2B databases offer — and where you can’t afford to compromise.
Pricing for B2B databases can vary widely depending on the features, data quality, and the number of contacts or records you need. However, there are some general pricing benchmarks to consider during your search (based on the average pricing of popular tools like Apollo, UpLeads, Instantly, and others on this list).
Per-user subscription
Per-credit subscription
Note: Nearly all B2B database providers will offer annual subscriptions, especially for larger teams, and they will often include additional features like data enrichment, CRM integration, and advanced analytics.
71% of consumers reported poor customer service as the reason why they ended their relationship with a company.
Don’t put yourself in that position to begin with.
Choose a B2B database vendor with a proven track record for strong, reliable support. Vendors should be able to provide you with round-the-clock support, fast response times, comprehensive onboarding and dedicated account managers for clear points of contact.
Quality support can make all the difference in getting the most out of your B2B database.
Apollo.io is the leading go-to-market solution for revenue teams, driven by a verified contact databases of 210 million B2B contacts across 35M companies — and the data quality to back it up.
In addition to it being the highest-rated database on the market, Apollo’s sales engagement features are what sets it apart from a standard database.
Within Apollo, you can instantly engage all of the leads you source with personalized sequences, AI-powered dialer, and automatic plays, consolidating your outbound process into one tool.
Apollo is free to use — forever!
On a free plan, Apollo users can:
For sales teams who are looking to make Apollo core to their process and ramp up their usage, there are three, customizable pricing plans:
Apollo tops the charts at a 4.8 out of 5 G2 rating with over 7,000 user reviews. Users rave about its data quality, integrations, and seamless engagement sequences.
“I have used other tools (SalesLoft, SalesForce, Hubspot) and none is like Apollo. Their data quality is unmatched, the simplicity of the platform makes it easy to use. It integrates perfectly with Hubspot and all sequences are easily implemented…Let’s just say I 1000% endorse Apollo” — Zakirah P., Mid-Market Client Success Lead, G2 review
“Reliable database of millions upon millions of high quality leads. Their query tools make it easy to build segments that target a specific company, industry, location or all of the above and more to find your right-fit prospects. Lead data is also reliably cleaned and contains high quality emails.” — Verified user in SMB, G2 review
Census is one of the world’s leading, fastest-growing reverse ETL firms.
But when Sylvain Giuliani, Head of Growth and Operations, joined three years ago, the company didn’t even have a website, let alone a quality outbound B2B database.
In his search for a software solution, he put Apollo’s data quality to the test with a straightforward experiment: find all of the top sales intelligence platforms available and compare them head-to-head in a “data duel”.
“We benchmarked ZoomInfo versus Apollo, Clearbit, Lusha, and Seamless,” says Sylvain Giuliani, “And ultimately Apollo won on all fronts, especially in enrichment. Higher quality than ZoomInfo, greater breadth than Clearbit.”
With Apollo as the team’s primary sales tool, Census experienced a 50% increase in data quality and 50% more email addresses and 400% more phone numbers in their database — at a fraction of the cost.
"We’re paying less for one tool than for two tools together…we cut our costs in half." — Sylvain Giuliani, Head of Growth and Operations at Census
You can sign up for Apollo for free here and try it for yourself.
The database your dad probably used. The market leader in the 2010s. The big guy.
But is bigger always better?
ZoomInfo is a B2B software and data company that provides businesses with access to company and contact information through a searchable database. Boasting 174M emails and 70M direct dials, ZoomInfo’s database is one of the biggest on the market that’s refreshed regularly enough to maintain a reasonable level of accuracy.
With engagement tools to help you activate your data, it’s a solid option for an all-in-one platform if you have a large team and the budget to spare.
What are the key differences between Apollo and ZoomInfo? See the head-to-head comparison.
ZoomInfo offers pricing packages for sales, marketing, and talent teams — with access to features that fit those use cases.
Its pricing is not listed on its website and is known for being untransparent. However, RevPilot reports on the pricing available from 2022 (keep in mind that it’s likely lower than what it is today in 2024).
It’s one of the more expensive tools on the market (if not, the most) and it’s probably the biggest disqualifying factor for teams in their B2B database search.
Rated a 4.4 out of 5 stars on G2, ZoomInfo users have a lot to say about their experience from the undeniable breadth of their demographic and firmographic data to some concerns surrounding its accuracy.
“I like having one centralized database for gathering contact information. The platform is easy to use, and the UI is pretty good…I've found the contact information accuracy is becoming more and more inaccurate. Whether that be no direct or mobile numbers to incorrect email addresses, ZoomInfo seems to be slacking in this area.” — Verified user in Enterprise, G2 review
“The ability to filter and search for certain titles or departments is very good…The biggest downside is the inconsistent data. Companies will often have incorrect addresses, LinkedIn links, or other data points that get pulled in incorrectly or are not quality-checked.” — Verified user in SMB, G2 review
Is data accuracy really an issue? Or are these one-off reviews?
ZoomInfo’s G2 page has a range of opinions, but at a high-level there are more users raising concerns about data accuracy, than those who sing its praises.
Lusha is a B2B contact database for sales and marketing teams that helps you target potential customers, build contact lists, and uncover personalized information for your messaging.
Lusha’s 135M contact database is smaller than other players’ like ZoomInfo and Apollo and with newly-released, basic engagement features, there is very little customization and automation for sales outreach — but it may be a good option if you’re looking for something affordable and easy to use.
You can start with Lusha for free — though it only gets you so far with 50 email and 5 phone credits. When you need to upgrade, you have three plan options:
We parsed through Lusha’s 1,000+ reviews to better understand its 4.3 out of 5 rating on G2. Here’s what users are saying.
“I love the Chrome extension that shows a quick snapshot of contact data… on LinkedIn. Also the integration with Salesforce saves me tons of manual work and time.” — Ryan G., Learning Specialist at Mid-Market, G2 review
“Lusha is cost-effective as compared to Zoom OS and easy to use, search any account…offers the contact details for a smooth prospecting experience. [But] every coin has two sides…Lusha’s cost-effectiveness could be a plus, however accuracy does matter…The data found in Lusha turned out to be inaccurate mostly.” — Suravi D., Sales Lead at Mid-Market, G2 review
It’s worth pointing out that Lusha’s own standards for their data accuracy is quite low. In this G2 comment, a customer service rep says they work to keep their database “at least 81%” accurate — far below others on this list.
Apollo or Lusha? Learn the key differences between these B2B data providers here.
Clearbit (recently acquired by HubSpot) is a B2B sales intelligence tool that helps sales teams find new leads and run lead-generation campaigns.
With plenty of integrations, reliable contact data, and a web extension, it’s a powerful tool for sourcing your most promising prospects. However, since their HubSpot acquisition, they no longer enrich email addresses or direct directs, which makes it a poor fit for executing cold outreach.
Keep in mind that Clearbit is geared towards marketers and is best suited for organizations that require enhanced data enrichment and highly-targeted marketing campaigns.
Unlike other sales intelligence tools on this list, Clearbit pricing is based on the size of your company and database, monthly web traffic, and contact creation (rather than product usage, credits, or users).
Their specific pricing is vague, but some sources report plans starting at around $3,600 per year with limited volume, going up to $100,000+ for larger companies.
Note: Clearbit does provide a free option that gives you a 25 credit limit per month.
Clearbit’s 4.4 out of 5 star rating on G2 is driven by user reviews that praise the platform’s filtering capabilities with some concerns about data accuracy.
“The best part about Clearbit is I can use various filter options to qualify relevant data for me like I can check company size, Location Revenue, etc, and add those prospects to my lead and export them.” — Neel R., Sales Manager at Mid-Market, G2 review
“Clearbit has really great firmographic information, especially for larger or medium size orgs (primarily limited to the US, though). It’s been very easy to implement…[but] we've seen sporadic issues with inaccurate company info, especially smaller size orgs/niche companies.” — Mid-market user, Marketing and Advertising, G2 review
Instantly is a cold email software that offers automated email sequences, personalization, and inbox warmup capabilities to help users efficiently manage and optimize their email campaigns.
It does have its own B2B database with filtering capabilities — though that’s not its primary use case. Most teams that use Instantly have another datasource that they then funnel into Instantly’s email outreach tools.
Instantly has four basic pricing plans:
Their pricing is “built for businesses of all sizes”, but with prospecting and engagement features sold separately, many of their users report steep costs.
Note: Instantly does not offer a free plan but does offer a 14-day free trial of paid plans.
Instantly has a 4.9 out of 5 stars on G2. Here’s what some users are saying.
“Instantly has proved revolutionary when it comes to sending out emails for various industries I engage in. The simplicity of setting up and launching campaigns is what I appreciate most.” — Maan A., Founder at SMB, G2 review
“I found it to be a robust and efficient tool for scaling email marketing campaigns... The email warmup feature is a game-changer. Its lead management capabilities are somewhat limited. For businesses that require advanced lead tracking and management, this might be a drawback. I had to integrate with other tools to manage leads effectively.” — Paulina A. Personal Assistant at SMB, G2 review
G2 also has customizable comparison pages that allow you to measure the top database tools head-to-head.
Check out Instantly vs. Apollo and Instantly vs. ZoomInfo.
Rated fifth in user satisfaction and third in popularity on G2’s Sales Intelligence software reports, Seamless.ai is a B2B data provider that offers verified emails, phone numbers, and direct dials to go-to-market teams.
With a larger database than Lusha at a clearer, more affordable price point than Clearbit, Seamless is a solid prospecting tool.
But without sequencing, workflow automation, and other sales engagement features, Seamless will require you to pay for a separate outbound tool. If you already have one and are solely interested in reliable data, Seamless can provide it (but keep in mind that consolidation may be inevitable as you scale).
You can try Seamless without putting down your credit card with their free plan. However, its 50 credit limit won’t get you too far.
To upgrade, you have three plan options:
Seamless.ai pricing is based on business size. According to web sources, if your business has a headcount of 200, you could be paying anywhere from $15,800 per month without any extra add-ons or credits.
In terms of user ratings, Seamless is a bit further down the list with a 4.3 out of 5 stars. Users cite some concerns over poor billing practices and limited filters, though many about the size and usability of the database itself.
“What I find most impressive about Seamless.AI is its ability to streamline the prospecting and lead generation processes. Our team is able to find contact information about our prospect and even gather additional insight about the company.” — Dennisse A., Operations Manager at SMB, G2 review
“Seamless.ai is an excellent tool for generating high-quality leads…The platform's integration with various CRM systems makes it convenient and efficient for managing and organizing leads…One drawback is that the search functionality can sometimes yield irrelevant results, requiring additional filtering to find the right contacts.” —Clay D., Brand Manager at SMB, G2 review
Cognism is a sales intelligence platform that stands out for its CRM data enrichment and mobile numbers.
Cognism claims their mobile numbers database is manually verified to an accuracy of 87%. The platform’s “Diamond Data” asset includes additional layers of phone verification.
Unlike Apollo and ZoomInfo, Cognism is strictly a data tool, with no sales sequence or workflow automation tools. It’s best suited for teams who are simply looking to strengthen their cold calling efforts with more mobile number data.
Cognism’s pricing model is centered around a flat rate platform fee that gives you full access to its database and extension. From there, depending on the level of data verification you need and if you’d like access to sales event data, you’ll fall under a Platinum or Diamond plan.
Cognism offers custom pricing, so you’ll have to contact their sales team to get an exact quote.
Rated a 4.6 out of 5 on G2, Cognism is well loved by users.
After combing through hundreds of reviews, we found that customers see success with its integrations and extensions. However, there were a good number that reported time sinks due to the fact you can only import/export 25 leads at a time.
“The best [thing] about this tool is that 70-80% of the time the data is accurate and with the extension it's super easy to use it…It integrates [with] all our tools, just a click of a button.” — Ferenc L., SDR at Mid-Market, G2 review
“The data quality of the email addresses is almost always accurate, and the phone numbers, when displayed, are usually very well qualified. Filtering the target audience is easy and super flexible…It's annoying that you can only copy 25 leads into a list at a time; it takes a very long time and consumes a lot of time. This needs to be optimized.” — Paul M., SDR at SMB, G2 review
UpLead has leads — 155M of them.
As a B2B prospecting platform, UpLead gives go-to-market teams the ability to hone in on their buyer personas with standard filters (industry, location, job title, company size) and pull them into customized prospect lists for outreach.
UpLead is known for their real-time email verification and 95% data accuracy guarantee (although a few Google searches will tell you most users don’t find that to be the case). But the simplicity of the platform and the quality of customer support, earns it a place on this list.
UpLead offers a free plan with five credits per week (one UpLead credit unlocks a contact for download or CRM export). A nice gesture — but, in practice, five leads won’t make much of any difference on your pipeline.
When you inevitably need to upgrade you have three plan options:
UpLead has a solid 4.7 rating on G2 (though they have less than 800 reviews). Here’s what some of its users are saying.
“For companies with over 10 employees, Uplead does a good job of identifying key people and basic contact information for the company. I have also found that company emails to be reliable approx. 75% of the time and cell phone numbers approx. 30% of the time.” — Verified user in SMB, G2 review
“It has a bit of a learning curve to get a good handle. [But] UpLead is an efficient way to run data queries, particularly for firmographic and technographic data, with enrichment functions as well.” — Elvis M., Operations at SMB, G2 review
While you’re on G2, check out the Lusha vs. Apollo direct comparison page for more insights.
It should come as no surprise that LinkedIn Sales Navigator helps sales teams generate leads and build relationships through LinkedIn.
With LinkedIn Sales Navigator, your database IS the LinkedIn platform. It gives you access to 14+ account filters across 61M+ accounts with features that help you get the timing right, too — like buying intent data and real-time alerts.
If LinkedIn is essential to your prospecting process, it’s a helpful tool that will help you make the most of the social platform.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator offers three distinct pricing packages.
For its functionality, it’s a bit on the price-y side (not to mention other tools like Apollo offer a Chrome Extension that bring search functionality and automation directly into LinkedIn). But if in-tool LinkedIn prospecting features are a must, you may decide it’s worth the cost.
With a 4.3 rating on G2, users love LI Search Navigator’s search filters and activity updates in particular.
“What I like best about LinkedIn Sales Navigator is the advanced search filters. They make it super easy to find the right prospects quickly. Plus, the InMail feature is great for reaching out directly to people, and the updates on leads help me stay on top of things…[but] it can be pretty pricey” — Laura C., Biz Dev Assistant at Mid-Market, G2 review
“I like that you can go on Linkedin and look at what the person posts to give you a better idea about them and to make emails/calls more personalized. The navigation isn't the easiest software to integrate if I am honest, they hold their cards tight, but setting it up is easy.” — Lou A., SDR at Mid-Market, G2 review
Coming in at tenth on the list is LeadIQ, a B2B sales intelligence tool that helps you search, capture, and manage your sales leads.
LeadIQ's prospecting product, Identify, is available as a Chrome extension and a web app and is closely tied to the LinkedIn Sales Navigator product. It allows you to identify a target account, locate it on LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and open the LeadIQ extension for filtering.
Though its database is limited to LinkedIn availability, it does give you engagement features for automating outreach for your lead list (which few databases on this list provide).
In addition to their free plan that gives you 50 emails and 5 mobile numbers/month, LeadIQ offers three distinct pricing plans.
Prospectors, keep in mind that important features like advanced search and data file enrichment are only available on an enterprise plan or an annual pro plan.
Rated 4.2 out of 5 stars on G2, LeadIQ isn’t the most hyped B2B contact database provider out there. Primarily because users recognize that LeadIQ functions as a LinkedIn plug-in and social media tool versus an all-encompassing solution.
“I liked that I was able to one click add prospects into my workflow as I was working through my prospecting flow daily. The downside is that LeadIQ seems to be more of a LinkedIn plugin…I felt as if I was solely stuck to prospects that were on LinkedIn.” — Ryan M., SDR at Mid-Market, G2 review
“It's super easy to use, the chrome extension and pop out window make it super simple to find contact data from LinkedIn and sync straight into Hubspot. I also like the 'Scribe' feature. Personally, AI-generated emails still aren't good enough to send, but they can at least give some ideas or a base to work from.” — Luke W., AE at SMB, G2 review
In a recent Apollo sales leader survey, “difficulty in accessing qualified leads” was the #1 most reported answer as to why teams face difficulty in scaling their sales operations today (24.4%).
The fact is: the quantity and quality of your contact data directly determines whether or not your team hits their goals — for this quarter, and all of the ones following.
As the most-reviewed, highest rated B2B database tool on the market, Apollo is a good place to start.
- Kevin Warner, Founder and CEO at Leadium
With a 100% free Apollo plan, you can start sourcing thousands of best-fit leads and then immediately engage them with automated, personalized messaging — zero email limits.
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