The list of company research tools vying for attention is extensive. Many focus mainly on North America and a few European countries, such as the UK and Germany.
Some offer stale data without in-depth insights, so users must conduct extra research to fill in the gaps or waste time speaking to the wrong people.
We’ve sifted through all that, talked to our customers, and checked the websites of research tools and product review sites like G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius.
1. Cognism
Cognism is one of the best AI agent tools for B2B sales company research - especially in Europe. As a B2B GTM intelligence and data infrastructure partner for mid-market and enterprise teams, Cognism delivers high-quality and compliant EU data you won’t find anywhere else.
What’s more, the data is delivered when and where you need it, to give revenue teams full context and control.
The web app and Browser extension let you run a company search in our database and then find qualified contacts in your target accounts. And its AI will surface signals so you can reach out to the prospects that matter most at exactly the right time.
It offers intent data, sales event triggers and technographics to identify in-market companies and more targeted research. What’s more, these are available to you while you prospect across LinkedIn and company websites, and your CRM platform.
See Cognism for yourself in a demo. Request one using the form below.
Key company information database filters
- Size includes a picklist of company sizes from self-employed to 10001+ employees.
- Include or exclude any keywords within a company’s description.
- Filter by Revenue range.
- Filter by the company’s founding date range.
- Type will search for business structures, eg, non-profit, privately held.
- Include or exclude company domains. You can upload a CSV of domains by clicking the three dots and selecting upload CSV.
- Location will search for all locations where the company has a presence, or the company’s HQ location. This can be filtered by regions, countries, states/counties, cities and zip codes. You can include or exclude a list of countries or states from a CSV file.
- Industries can be included or excluded from a picklist of options to find similar companies. You can also filter down by specific SIC, ISIC or NAICS codes.
- Technologies can be included or excluded from a picklist of options.
- Event triggers offer options to search for companies that have just received funding, been acquired, had an IPO, appeared at company events, and/or are hiring. You can filter these down by dates and other specifics.
- Settings will give the option to turn on Company Name Exact Match or Domain Exact Match, and filter the search so that only companies with existing domains will show.
- Use AI Search to find your ideal prospect or list through textual and voice prompts.
- Complete business research using our pre-built prompts to uncover strategy and direction, top competitors, and more.
Complete company research with contact data
What do customers say?
The proof is in the pudding, so let’s hear from a company that uses Cognism.
Pricing
- Two packages to choose from: Standard and Pro.
- All packages include access to high-quality European contact and company data, including phone-verified mobile numbers, contextual signals and integrations with leading customer relationship management and engagement platforms.
- A transparent pricing model with a flexible, easy-to-manage data allowance supports consistent prospecting and enrichment across teams.
- Advanced capabilities such as intent data, verification on demand services and premium data access are included in Pro, with additional enrichment and data services available depending on requirements.
- Look at our full pricing page.
2. Crunchbase
Crunchbase is a company profile research tool with a focus on the USA. It provides businesses with high-quality information on private companies, salespeople, and investors. It provides sales reps with the necessary context for building prospecting lists, such as business objectives, industry, and firmographics.
Key features:
Pricing:
- Free preview of profile pages
- Paid plans at around $29 and $49 per user per month
- Enterprise company research solutions priced individually
3. LinkedIn Sales Navigator
A bit of an obvious one when it comes to LinkedIn company research tools - LinkedIn Sales Navigator is among the best-known tools for researching companies. It leverages LinkedIn’s massive professional network to help sales teams identify and connect with leads.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator users often pair it with prospecting tools, such as the Cognism Browser extension, to enrich contact data with emails and phone numbers.
Key features:
- Advanced search features and saved searches
- List creation and view similar options to find more customers in your ICP
- Alerts with up-to-date information about saved leads and accounts (e.g., growth, risk, career change, new decision-maker, etc.)
Pricing:
- Core and Advanced packages cost $79.99 and $110 per month, respectively.
- The Advanced Plus package must be negotiated with LinkedIn’s sales team
4. ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo is a decent option when considering research tools for company and industry alerts. A GTM platform provides B2B data for sales, marketing, and recruitment teams. It helps mid-market and enterprise clients research the market and generate leads.
Some of our customers targeting Europe found that ZoomInfo’s mobile phone data wasn’t enough after using the tool for a while. You may want to check out UK-based data providers.
Key features:
- Large B2B contact database
- Proprietary intent data
- A broad range of integrations and add-ons
- Browser extension
- CCPA and GDPR compliant
- US-focused database
Pricing:
- Priced on a custom basis.
- Unverified sources suggest ZoomInfo’s pricing starts at around $15,000 per year for 3 seats.
- Single-seat deals are reportedly difficult to negotiate.
Find out more about how Cognism and ZoomInfo stack up.
5. SalesIntel.io
SalesIntel is a company research tool that human-verifies contacts. Its focus is on the US market, with 22 million companies in its database.
Users report mixed results in some geographies, particularly regarding direct-dial accuracy.
Key features:
- Integrates with popular CRMs
- Data segmentation/filtering
- News/People Alerts
Pricing:
- Individual, team, and enterprise licenses.
Find out more about the differences between Cognism and SalesIntel.
6. Apollo.io
While technically not a free company research tool, Apollo.io does offer a free plan and a database where you can research 30 million companies.
But, keep in mind - according to Apollo’s T&Cs, Apollo uses customer-submitted data to improve its own data.
Key features:
- Easy email sequencing
- API to connect CRMs and third-party tools (limits apply)
- Includes an AI writing assistant
- GDPR compliant as both a Data Processor and Data Controller
Pricing:
- Apollo provides four plans - Free, Basic, Professional and Organization
- Paid plans include a 14-day free trial
Find out more about how Cognism and Apollo.io compare.
7. UpLead
UpLead is on the cheaper end of the B2B sales research tools spectrum, making it suitable for individual salespeople and small teams. Its database contains various filtering options.
Key features:
- Intent data
- Email verification and duds replacement
- Smooth user interface
- Limited features in the free trial
Pricing:
- UpLead provides three plans - Free, Essentials, Plus, and Professional
- Paid plans start at $99 a month
8. Seamless.AI
If you’re looking for AI tools for company research, Seamless.AI has it right in the name. This is a budget-friendly tool for teams looking to prospect cheaply. Seamless.AI pitches its platform as a “real-time search engine” rather than a database, claiming the benefit of fresher data.
Key features:
- Works well with LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- Uses AI to crawl multiple data points
- Verified contact data
Pricing:
- Seamless offers four plans: Free, Basic, Pro, and Enterprise
- The Pro and Enterprise packages are negotiated on an individual basis
Get more info on how Cognism compares with Seamless.AI.
9. LeadIQ
Last on our company research tools list is LeadIQ - an AI-driven company research platform that integrates with your usual suspects like Salesforce, Outreach, HubSpot, and LinkedIn. Keep in mind -this company research tool doesn’t provide intent data.
Key features:
- Tracks sales and marketing triggers
- Generates personalised sales messages in five languages
- Chrome extension and web app
Pricing:
- LeadIQ offers four plans: Freemium, Essential, Pro, and Enterprise
- Pricing starts at $39 per user
- Custom enterprise pricing is available
Check out Cognism vs LeadIQ comparison page.
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