Outbound · Comparison
B2B data providers: Apollo vs ZoomInfo vs Cognism vs Lusha, for a startup's first lists
A first outbound list needs a few hundred of the right people, with emails that work. Here is what Apollo, ZoomInfo, Cognism and Lusha charge, where each one's data is strongest, and when a cheaper tool is enough.
The short answer
For a startup's first lists, start with Apollo: a free plan, then $49 a user a month billed annually for 2,500 credits a month, with a sequencer included. An email costs 1 credit and a mobile number 8. Move to ZoomInfo or Cognism when a sales team needs intent data, more mobile numbers or, with Cognism, Europe: both sell annual contracts that Vendr's buyers put at a median of about $33,000 a year.
Lusha sits between them, from $49.90 a month, with a Chrome extension that works on LinkedIn; a phone number costs 5 credits. Whichever you choose, verify every list before you send. No independent accuracy test of these four has been published, and records go stale as people change jobs.
What a B2B data provider sells, and what a first list needs
A B2B data provider sells contact records: a person's name, title and company, a work email and sometimes a mobile number, plus company data such as size, industry and funding. The larger ones add intent data, signals that a company is researching a topic. You pay by the seat with a monthly allowance of credits, or with an annual contract negotiated by quote.
A founder's first list is small. Founding Sales, Pete Kazanjy's handbook for early sales, suggests 50 to 100 target accounts to start, and a few people at each. So the questions that matter are narrow: does the provider cover your buyers' region and titles, does it have the channel you will use (email, or phone), and what does a few hundred good records cost?
Apollo vs ZoomInfo vs Cognism vs Lusha at a glance
The four split in two. Apollo and Lusha are self-serve: a free plan, a card, and a monthly allowance of credits. ZoomInfo and Cognism sell annual contracts by quote, with prices that depend on seats, credits and add-ons. Every database size below is the vendor's own claim, and several vendors publish more than one.
| Apollo | ZoomInfo | Cognism | Lusha | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Free; Basic $49 a user a month billed annually | Quote only; annual contract | Quote only; annual licence | Free; Starter $49.90 a month |
| Median annual spend (Vendr) | $19,000, from 101 purchases | $33,500, from 1,577 purchases | $32,750, from 94 purchases | Not in Vendr's data we found |
| Free plan | 75 credits a month | ZoomInfo Lite: 10 credits a month | No | 40 credits a month |
| A work email | 1 credit | Set by contract | Set by contract | 1 credit |
| A mobile number | 8 credits | Set by contract | Diamond Data: mobiles its researchers dial to verify | 5 credits |
| Strongest region | North America | North America, by ZoomInfo's own account | Europe | Not stated |
| Database, by its own count | 210M to 275M+ contacts (its pages differ) | 500M contacts, 100M companies | 400M+ profiles, 200M+ in Europe | 515M+ contacts, 29M+ companies |
| Renewal | Auto-renews; notice 30 days before the term ends | Auto-renews unless notice 60 days before, at up to 10% more | Annual licence | Monthly or annual |
| G2 rating, October 2026 | 4.7 (about 9,700 reviews) | 4.5 (about 9,100) | 4.5 (about 1,350) | 4.3 (about 1,650) |
Apollo
Best startBest for: founders building their first lists in North America, who want data and sequences on one seat.
Strengths
- Free plan, then $49 a user a month billed annually
- 2,500 credits a month on Basic; an email costs 1
- Sequencer, dialer and CRM integrations from Basic
- A waterfall that checks other providers when Apollo has no match
Watch-outs
- A mobile number costs 8 credits
- Reviewers report outdated phone numbers and bounces
- In 2018 an exposed Apollo database held 125.9M email addresses
Skip it if: your buyers are mostly in Europe and you sell by phone; Cognism is built for that.
Pricing: Free; Basic $49, Professional $79, Organization $119 a user a month billed annually (Organization needs 3 seats); Basic is $65 billed monthly.
ZoomInfo
Enterprise dataBest for: sales teams selling to mid-market and enterprise accounts that will use intent data and a large mobile database.
Strengths
- 500M contacts and 135M+ phone numbers, by its own count
- 4,500+ intent topics
- ZoomInfo Lite: 10 free credits a month to try it
Watch-outs
- Quote only; Vendr's median buyer pays $33,500 a year
- Renews automatically unless you give notice 60 days before, at up to 10% more
- Settled right-of-publicity suits for about $29.5M in 2024
Skip it if: you are a founder-led team still finding your first customers.
Pricing: By quote, annual contract. Vendr's buyers paid a median of $33,500 a year, from $7,240 to $156,042.
Cognism
Europe and phonesBest for: teams calling and emailing buyers in Europe, where Do Not Call rules and GDPR shape the list.
Strengths
- Diamond Data: mobile numbers its researchers dial to verify
- Checks Do Not Call lists in 14 or more countries
- Sends GDPR Article 14 notices; ISO 27001 and 27701 certified
Watch-outs
- Quote only; Vendr's median buyer pays $32,750 a year
- Reviewers say its US and Asia-Pacific coverage lags Europe
- Plan names and the platform fee are reported differently
Skip it if: your buyers are all in North America and email is your channel.
Pricing: By quote. Vendr's buyers paid a median of $32,750 a year, from $16,585 to $88,449.
Lusha
Self-serve mobilesBest for: founders and small teams who want emails and phone numbers from LinkedIn profiles, paid month by month.
Strengths
- Free plan with 40 credits a month
- Email 1 credit, phone 5, by Lusha's own docs
- Chrome extension on LinkedIn, Sales Navigator and company sites
- Native HubSpot, Salesforce and Pipedrive
Watch-outs
- Starter's 400 credits run out fast if you need phones
- Italy fined it €2 million in July 2026; a Rome court suspended the decision on appeal
- Third-party guides say a phone costs 10 credits
Skip it if: you need intent data or large exports; ZoomInfo or Apollo fits better.
Pricing: Free; Starter $49.90 a month, Pro $69.90, Premium $399.90 ($299.95 billed annually); annual billing saves 25%.
What they cost: Apollo, ZoomInfo, Cognism and Lusha pricing
Apollo and Lusha publish their prices. Apollo's Basic plan is $49 a user a month billed annually ($65 billed monthly) with 2,500 credits a month; Professional is $79 and Organization $119, with a three-seat minimum. Lusha's Starter is $49.90 a month for 400 credits, Pro $69.90 for 600, and Premium $399.90 for 3,400; annual billing saves 25 percent.
ZoomInfo and Cognism sell by quote, so the best public guide is what buyers paid. On Vendr's marketplace, the median ZoomInfo contract was $33,500 a year across 1,577 purchases and the median Cognism contract $32,750 across 94. Apollo's median was $19,000 across 101, which tells you those buyers were teams, not one founder on Basic.
For a first list, the useful sum is credits. Take 500 contacts with emails, 100 of them with mobile numbers. On Apollo that is 500 + 800 = 1,300 credits, inside one Basic seat's 2,500. On Lusha it is 500 + 500 = 1,000 credits, which Starter (400) and Pro (600) do not cover in a month; Premium does. Hunter, which finds emails only, covers the 500 emails on its $34 Starter plan.
| Credits needed | Plan that covers it | Cost a month | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo | 1,300 (email 1, mobile 8) | Basic, one seat | $49 billed annually, $65 monthly |
| Lusha | 1,000 (email 1, phone 5) | Premium; Starter and Pro fall short | $299.95 billed annually, $399.90 monthly |
| Hunter | 500 (emails only) | Starter, but no mobile numbers | $34 billed annually, $49 monthly |
| ZoomInfo, Cognism | Set by contract | An annual contract | By quote |
Apollo vs ZoomInfo: which one for a startup
Reviewers describe ZoomInfo as the enterprise standard and Apollo as the better fit for smaller teams, and the prices agree. Apollo is self-serve, has a free plan and puts a sequencer on the same seat. ZoomInfo is sold by quote on annual contracts, with intent data across 4,500+ topics and, by its own count, 77.7 million mobile numbers in North America.
Neither has been compared in an independent accuracy test. The published tests are run by vendors that sell something else. Cleanlist ran 1,000 identical leads through both APIs in March 2026 and found emails for 84 percent on ZoomInfo and 78 percent on Apollo, and mobiles for 67 and 41 percent. Sparkle's smaller test, 450 leads each, found more bounces flagged by a verifier on ZoomInfo (15.3 percent against 13.3) but fewer in a live campaign (0.8 against 1.8). Read them as hints, not verdicts.
Cognism vs Lusha: Europe, phone numbers and price
Cognism is the provider most often named for Europe. It claims 200 million+ European contacts, sells Diamond Data (mobile numbers its researchers dial to confirm), checks Do Not Call lists in 14 or more countries, and sends the GDPR Article 14 notices that tell people a company holds their data. Reviewers say its North American and Asia-Pacific coverage lags its European.
Lusha is the self-serve option: a free plan, a Chrome extension that reads LinkedIn profiles, and phone numbers at 5 credits each by its own docs. Its European data now carries a legal question. Italy's data protection authority fined Lusha €2 million in July 2026, banned it from processing data about people in Italy and rejected legitimate interest as its legal basis; a Rome court suspended the decision in September while the appeal is heard.
Cheaper B2B data tools for a first list
Below the four, a long tail of tools sells emails, and sometimes phones, by the credit. They suit a founder who already knows who to contact and needs the address. They cost less, and their lists need verifying just the same; our email finder comparison (opens in a new tab) prices them per email found.
| What it finds | Entry paid plan | Worth knowing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter | Work emails only | $49 a month, $34 billed annually, 2,000 credits | Free plan with 50 credits; 1 credit per email found |
| Kaspr | Emails and phones, from LinkedIn | €59 a month, €45 billed annually, 100 phone credits | Free plan: 5 phone and 5 email credits a month |
| UpLead | Emails and phones | $99 a month, $74 billed annually, 170 credits | Claims 95% accuracy; refunds a credit if a verified email bounces |
| RocketReach | Emails; phones from Pro | $39 a month, by a September 2026 capture | Its own pages show different prices |
| ContactOut | Emails and phones | $49 a month for emails, $99 with phones | Prices from a third-party guide |
| Prospeo | Emails and mobiles | $49 a user a month, $37 billed annually, 2,000 credits | Free plan with 100 credits; no charge when nothing is found |
| Seamless.AI | Emails and phones | Not published | Free plan with 50 credits; Pro from 10,000 credits a year |
| HubSpot Breeze Intelligence | Enriches records already in HubSpot | A paid HubSpot plan | HubSpot credits cost $10 per 1,000 |
How fast B2B contact data goes stale
Every database ages, because people change jobs. ZeroBounce, measuring its customers' email lists, found at least 23 percent decayed over 2025, down from 28 percent in its previous report. HubSpot cites 22.5 percent a year (2.1 percent a month) from older MarketingSherpa research. And the US Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 20.6 percent of workers in January 2026 who had been in their job a year or less.
A figure you will see often, 70.3 percent a year attributed to Gartner, has no source we could trace, so it is left out here. The practical rule is the same either way: verify a list right before each campaign, not when you bought it. Our email verification guide (opens in a new tab) compares the tools.
Buying B2B contact data: the law
A provider's database is personal data about real people, and regulators treat it that way. The cases are recent: Italy's July 2026 decision against Lusha, ZoomInfo's 2024 settlement of right-of-publicity suits for about $29.5 million, and California's new deletion platform. None of this stops a founder from prospecting; it shapes how you store, use and remove the data.
Which B2B data provider to choose
Choose Apollo or Lusha if
- You are founder-led and building your first lists
- You want to pay by the month and stop any time
- Your buyers are mostly in North America, or you work from LinkedIn
Choose ZoomInfo or Cognism if
- A sales team will use the data every day for a year
- You need intent data or many verified mobile numbers
- Your buyers are in Europe and you call them (Cognism)
Whichever you pick, a provider cannot tell you who your customer is, and the narrower your filters, the fewer credits a list costs. If you plan to combine several providers in one table, our Clay pricing guide (opens in a new tab) covers what that costs.
Questions
What is a B2B data provider?
A company that sells contact and company records for sales and marketing: names, titles, work emails, phone numbers, company size and industry, and sometimes intent data. Apollo, ZoomInfo, Cognism and Lusha are the best known.
Is Apollo or ZoomInfo better for a startup?
Apollo, for most startups. It has a free plan, costs $49 a user a month billed annually, and includes a sequencer. ZoomInfo is sold by quote on annual contracts; Vendr's buyers paid a median of $33,500 a year.
How much does ZoomInfo cost?
ZoomInfo does not publish prices. On Vendr's marketplace the median contract was $33,500 a year across 1,577 purchases, ranging from $7,240 to $156,042. ZoomInfo Lite gives 10 free credits a month.
How much does Cognism cost?
Cognism sells by quote. Vendr's buyers paid a median of $32,750 a year across 94 purchases, from $16,585 to $88,449. Third-party guides report a platform fee plus seats; Cognism says it charges for licences and add-ons only.
Cognism vs Lusha: which should I choose?
Cognism if your buyers are in Europe and you call them: it verifies mobile numbers by phone and checks Do Not Call lists. Lusha if you want self-serve pricing from $49.90 a month and a Chrome extension for LinkedIn.
How accurate is B2B contact data?
No independent test of the major providers has been published. Vendor-run tests disagree, and data goes stale as people change jobs: ZeroBounce found at least 23 percent of email lists decayed in a year. Verify every list before you send.
What is the cheapest B2B data provider?
For emails only, Hunter's Starter plan at $34 a month billed annually covers 2,000 credits. For emails and mobile numbers, Apollo Basic at $49 a user a month billed annually gives 2,500 credits, with a mobile at 8 credits.
Is it legal to buy B2B contact data?
Generally yes, with conditions. Under GDPR, people can object and must be told where their data came from. In Canada, a purchased list does not create consent to email under CASL. This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- Apollo vs ZoomInfo (opens in a new tab), Apollo, checked October 19, 2026
- API pricing and credits (opens in a new tab), Apollo, checked October 19, 2026
- Apollo pricing (opens in a new tab), Omid Saffari, checked October 19, 2026
- Search (opens in a new tab), Apollo, checked October 19, 2026
- Waterfall enrichment overview (opens in a new tab), Apollo, checked October 19, 2026
- Terms of service (opens in a new tab), Apollo, checked October 19, 2026
- Apollo breach (opens in a new tab), Have I Been Pwned, checked October 19, 2026
- How much does ZoomInfo cost? (opens in a new tab), ZoomInfo, checked October 19, 2026
- ZoomInfo data (opens in a new tab), ZoomInfo, checked October 19, 2026
- License terms and conditions (March 6, 2024) (opens in a new tab), ZoomInfo, checked October 19, 2026
- ZoomInfo proposes settlement of right-to-publicity lawsuits (opens in a new tab), The Columbian, checked October 19, 2026
- ZoomInfo pricing (opens in a new tab), Vendr, checked October 19, 2026
- Cognism pricing (opens in a new tab), Vendr, checked October 19, 2026
- Apollo.io pricing (opens in a new tab), Vendr, checked October 19, 2026
- Diamond Data (opens in a new tab), Cognism, checked October 19, 2026
- Compliance (opens in a new tab), Cognism, checked October 19, 2026
- EMEA B2B data (opens in a new tab), Cognism, checked October 19, 2026
- Cognism review (opens in a new tab), Docket, checked October 19, 2026
- Cognism pricing (opens in a new tab), Landbase, checked October 19, 2026
- Pricing (opens in a new tab), Lusha, checked October 19, 2026
- How credits work in Lusha (opens in a new tab), Lusha, checked October 19, 2026
- Lusha data (opens in a new tab), Lusha, checked October 19, 2026
- B2B data accuracy compared (opens in a new tab), Lusha, checked October 19, 2026
- Press release on the Lusha decision (July 27, 2026) (opens in a new tab), Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, checked October 19, 2026
- ZoomInfo vs Apollo (opens in a new tab), Dupple, checked October 19, 2026
- Apollo vs ZoomInfo (opens in a new tab), G2, checked October 19, 2026
- Cognism reviews (opens in a new tab), G2, checked October 19, 2026
- Lusha reviews (opens in a new tab), G2, checked October 19, 2026
- Apollo vs ZoomInfo test (opens in a new tab), Cleanlist (a competing vendor), checked October 19, 2026
- Apollo vs ZoomInfo (opens in a new tab), Sparkle (a competing vendor), checked October 19, 2026
- Pricing (opens in a new tab), Hunter, checked October 19, 2026
- Kaspr pricing and subscription plans (opens in a new tab), Kaspr, checked October 19, 2026
- Pricing (opens in a new tab), UpLead, checked October 19, 2026
- UpLead vs ZoomInfo (opens in a new tab), UpLead, checked October 19, 2026
- RocketReach pricing (opens in a new tab), Overloop, checked October 19, 2026
- ContactOut pricing guide (opens in a new tab), Cleanlist (a competing vendor), checked October 19, 2026
- Prospeo pricing (opens in a new tab), Supered, checked October 21, 2026
- How credits work in people search (opens in a new tab), Prospeo, checked October 19, 2026
- Pricing (opens in a new tab), Seamless.AI, checked October 19, 2026
- Get started with data enrichment (opens in a new tab), HubSpot, checked October 19, 2026
- HubSpot credits (opens in a new tab), HubSpot, checked October 19, 2026
- Email list decay (opens in a new tab), ZeroBounce, checked October 19, 2026
- Database decay (opens in a new tab), HubSpot, checked October 19, 2026
- Employee tenure in 2026 (opens in a new tab), US Bureau of Labor Statistics, checked October 19, 2026
- Account sourcing (opens in a new tab), Pete Kazanjy, Founding Sales, checked October 19, 2026
- Article 21 GDPR: right to object (opens in a new tab), gdpr-info.eu, checked October 19, 2026
- Article 14 GDPR: information to be provided (opens in a new tab), gdpr-info.eu, checked October 19, 2026
- Right to object (opens in a new tab), UK Information Commissioner's Office, checked October 19, 2026
- Data brokers (opens in a new tab), California Privacy Protection Agency, checked October 19, 2026
- DROP: the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (opens in a new tab), California Privacy Protection Agency, checked October 19, 2026
- PIPEDA: business contact information (opens in a new tab), Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, checked October 19, 2026
- CASL frequently asked questions (opens in a new tab), CRTC, checked October 19, 2026
How these comparisons are made: from each vendor's own documentation and pricing pages, independent reviews and the policies of the platforms involved, each linked and dated. Prices change often; check the vendor's page before you buy.
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