ZoomInfo vs UpLead: 2026 Data Comparison

If you are evaluating ZoomInfo vs UpLead, you are likely weighing two different approaches to B2B data.

One positions itself as a large-scale data platform with intent capabilities and workflow integrations. The other focuses on verified contact data with transparent pricing and credit-based access.

The right choice depends on what you value more: database scale, cost control, intent depth or verification methodology.

Below, we break down UpLead vs ZoomInfo across features, pricing, data quality, compliance, and integrations, so you can assess what matters for your revenue model.

TL;DR

• ZoomInfo offers one of the largest B2B databases, with broad company data, intent signals and workflow integrations. Pricing is typically custom and contract-based.
• UpLead focuses on real-time email verification and transparent pricing tiers, but has smaller database coverage than ZoomInfo.
• Both operate primarily in North America.
• For organisations expanding into Europe or managing complex compliance requirements, coverage depth and regulatory governance become more decisive factors than volume alone.

If compliant, mobile-first and internationally accurate B2B data is a priority - particularly across the UK and Europe - the evaluation shifts. Both UpLead and ZoomInfo were built around US data models.

European markets operate differently, with stricter regulatory interpretation, fragmented sources and higher enforcement scrutiny.

Cognism is designed as a European data foundation for revenue teams that require:

• Over 90% director-level coverage in Europe

•  30-day refresh cycles

• 15 Do Not Call lists

• Screened and verified mobile numbers

• Direct delivery into CRM systems, data warehouses, and AI workflows

• No credit ceilings that restrict scale

Here is a breakdown of how all three options compare.

Book a demo to learn how Cognism can help you maintain data accuracy, minimise wasted efforts, and support revenue operations:

Feature comparison: ZoomInfo vs UpLead

ZoomInfo features:

ZoomInfo positions itself as a broad go-to-market platform. In addition to contact and company data, it offers:

• Copilot
• ZoomInfo Chrome Extension, engagement apps and integrations
• Manage display advertising, website chat, and forms.
• Company insights and buying intent signals.
• Sourcing intelligence with candidate alerts and company scoops.

Its strength lies in scale and breadth across the US market.

UpLead features:

UpLead focuses more narrowly on:

• Contact and company search
• Real-time email verification
• Technographics
• Basic enrichment
• Chrome extension access

Its interface is designed for simplicity, with fewer adjacent workflow products.

How about Cognism?

Cognism provides the trusted data foundation revenue teams rely on to deliver predictable performance across Europe. It provides accurate, compliant B2B contact and company data tailored to the structural complexity of European markets, supporting prospecting, enrichment, and AI-driven workflows at scale.

The platform delivers the most complete European datasets available, with over 90% coverage of director-level and above contacts and frequent refresh cycles to counter data decay.

Phone-verified mobile numbers improve connect rates, while intent signals and contextual triggers support informed prioritisation. Data is accessible without credit ceilings, subject to fair usage, and integrates directly into CRM systems, data warehouses, and AI environments, ensuring your European growth strategy is built on information you can trust.

“Would I recommend Cognism? Yeah, I absolutely would! I’ve already referred Cognism to another company in Europe that lacks data. They’re particularly interested in Cognism’s European coverage.”

Read the full case study

Helped generate

7-figure opportunities

Stevie Howlett
Director of Business Development @SUB1

Pricing breakdown: UpLead vs ZoomInfo

UpLead is generally considered to be more affordable than ZoomInfo and other B2B contact databases.

Here are the main differences between UpLead vs ZoomInfo when comparing pricing:

• ZoomInfo offers long-term contracts; UpLead has monthly and yearly subscriptions.
• To learn about ZoomInfo’s pricing and offerings, you’ll need to book a demo with the sales team. In contrast, UpLead has a self-service signup flow and single-user seats.

Despite these differences, ZoomInfo and UpLead’s prices are based on a credit system that limits viewing and exporting data. Monthly caps, resets, and expensive ‘add-ons’ may make forecasting budget spending challenging.

Other challenges with credit-based pricing include:

• Scarcity mindset among your team. Reps are more focused on optimising credit consumption than developing best practices for prospecting.
• Unexpected costs - e.g. ZoomInfo charges a credit for every company and contact export. This may consume double the credits if the account isn’t already in their CRM. With UpLead, if you enrich the same contact multiple times, it will charge you one credit for every contact enrichment.
• Limited opportunities -  companies with an international presence or those trying to expand into new markets may find ZoomInfo’s price for its Data Passport for prospecting outside the US hard to justify.
• Slow growth - despite relatively affordable plans, UpLead offers limited access credits (e.g., 170 credits for $99/mo in its cheapest plan). This may become problematic for businesses with ambitious growth goals or companies in highly competitive markets.

Cognism offers greater pricing predictability

Cognism removes credit ceilings from its commercial model. Revenue teams are not required to ration views or exports, and international expansion does not sit behind separate usage packages.

Commercial agreements are structured for predictable access to data, enabling teams to test new markets, grow addressable segments and build pipeline without incremental penalties.

Data quality: How do ZoomInfo and UpLead compare?

As a revenue leader, you’re likely focused on the accuracy of B2B contact data. It’s reasonable to ask how many email addresses and direct dial numbers ZoomInfo and UpLead report in their databases.

At first glance, volume appears decisive. More records suggest more opportunities.

However, database scale does not guarantee usable pipeline.

If a provider promotes a large contact count but a significant proportion of emails bounce, or direct dials are outdated, the operational costs quickly outweigh the headline number. Connect rates fall. SDR productivity declines. Forecasting becomes less reliable.

When evaluating UpLead vs ZoomInfo, it is worth distinguishing between total records and verified, deliverable contacts.

Below are the figures each vendor publishes publicly.

• ZoomInfo is a US-based company with over 174 million email addresses and 94 million direct dials.
• UpLead is a US-based company with over 160 million contacts with email addresses and over 16 million company profiles. It doesn’t publicise how many phone numbers it has.

If you are primarily selling in the US, both platforms offer meaningful coverage. If you are expanding into Europe, you will need to assess:

• Director-level coverage by country
• Local data sourcing methods
• Mobile verification depth
• Language and regulatory nuances

Large global contact counts do not guarantee regional completeness.

Consider Cognism instead

Earlier, we distinguished between volume and usability. That distinction matters most when evaluating mobile data.

Cognism’s approach prioritises verification over scale. Mobile numbers are validated through direct confirmation processes to ensure they are active and assigned to the correct decision-maker. This methodology is designed to improve connection outcomes, not simply increase database totals.

Independent testing and customer case studies show significantly higher connect rates when using phone-verified mobile numbers.  In many cases, reaching up to 87% of targeted records.

Below is how customers describe the impact of accurate, verified contact data on their pipeline performance.

“Cognism’s contact data quality is far better than the other provider we evaluated, and everyone on my team is happy to work with them. "We’ve seen an increase in our connected call rate from 4% to 27%. This is by far our biggest result and the one we’re most proud of. ”

Read the full case study

23%

increase in call connect rate

Dan Orbach
Head of Sales & Partnerships @UpCloud

UpLead vs ZoomInfo: GDPR and CCPA compliance

ZoomInfo is CCPA and GDPR-compliant. The provider also checks do-not-call lists in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.

However, UpLead’s website doesn’t mention CCPA, GDPR compliance or DNC list cleaning. You can refer to UpLead’s Privacy Policy to learn more about its compliance status.

Enrich data with compliant mobile numbers

If compliance is a strategic priority, the evaluation extends beyond basic GDPR and CCPA claims.

Cognism embeds regulatory governance directly into its data sourcing and verification processes. In addition to GDPR and CCPA compliance, Cognism screens against 15 global Do Not Call lists - more than any other provider - reducing the risk of regulatory breach and reputational damage.

This includes TPS and CTPS in the UK, as well as national Do Not Call registers across the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Croatia, Portugal, Sweden and more.

“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." “With Cognism, you aren’t snowing yourself under with ICO complaints. I couldn’t recommend it enough.”

Read the full case study

Richard Caldicott
Directeur informatique @Henderson Scott

ZoomInfo vs UpLead : Who’s best for integrations?

The main difference between ZoomInfo and UpLead is that ZoomInfo is an end-to-end sales intelligence platform that aims to consolidate tech solutions. In contrast, UpLead is a marketing automation platform with a smaller scope.

When you compare the UpLead vs ZoomInfo platforms, ZoomInfo offers more advanced proprietary technology, while UpLead focuses on integrations with other tools via Zapier.

If your organisation already relies on established systems such as Salesforce, Outreach or HubSpot, your data layer must integrate seamlessly with them.

Cognism is designed to sit within existing revenue infrastructure. Data can be delivered directly into CRM and sales engagement platforms, enriching records without disrupting established workflows. Browser-based functionality surfaces compliant contact data and contextual insight across LinkedIn, CRM environments and corporate websites.

For more advanced use cases, data can also be delivered programmatically into wider systems and AI-driven workflows. The objective is not to introduce another tool, but to strengthen the integrity of the systems you already depend on.

Below is an example of how data can be accessed directly within LinkedIn workflows.

ZoomInfo vs UpLead: Who’s best for intent data?

ZoomInfo and UpLead provide intent data to reach prospects at the right time. But they source it differently.

ZoomInfo leverages proprietary machine learning to identify leads ready to buy. It collects intent data from various sources, including proprietary data from its subsidiary Datanyze.

UpLead partners with industry leader Bombora to provide intent data to its customers. But it’s only supplied if you negotiate a custom pricing package with annual billing.

You can also add Bombora’s intent data to Cognism’s package; the tool sends signal data in real time. This ensures you’re the first to act when your customers make a move.

“Cognism identifies the leads, allows us to target them based on the prospect’s intent and then follow-up with the sales action. Using intent data has massively reduced our Time to Engagement (TTE). Our sales cycle is typically 6-8 months long. At Cognism, we saw ROI in 8 weeks from intent data and direct dials. One deal pays for a year’s Cognism subscription.”

Read the full case study

8 weeks

taken to achieve ROI

George McKenna
Head of Cloud Sales @Ultima

Market perception: What do users say about UpLead vs ZoomInfo?

When comparing ZoomInfo vs UpLead, user feedback tends to reflect a trade-off between simplicity and scale.

ZoomInfo is frequently praised for the breadth of its database and its intent capabilities, particularly among US-based revenue teams operating at scale. Users often highlight its depth of company intelligence and segmentation power. (G2) For organisations running structured outbound programmes in North America, it is widely regarded as an established market leader.

However, criticism centres on cost and complexity. Review platforms and community forums regularly mention long-term contracts, pricing opacity and credit consumption as friction points. One Reddit user states that ZoomInfo is good, but the contracts are brutal. Some users also question data consistency outside the United States, noting that international coverage can vary by region. (Reddit)

UpLead, by contrast, is commonly described as easy to use and transparent (G2). Users appreciate its published pricing, real-time email verification and ease of use. It is often seen as a practical option for teams seeking predictable monthly spend without lengthy commitments.

That said, reviews also point to limitations such as batch downloads (G2), low-quality list exports (Trustpilot), and a lack of full-featuredness or contact richness compared to ZoomInfo. (Capterra)

As with most data platforms, perceptions often mirror the business context. The more complex the sales motion and the more geographically diverse the target market, the more closely users tend to examine coverage quality, compliance safeguards and commercial flexibility.

Here’s a quote from one of Cognism’s customers, who made the switch from ZoomInfo to Cognism:

“We previously used ZoomInfo, which has good US data, but we found its data in our primary growth regions, EMEA and UK, to be below par. We needed a new solution to unlock growth in Europe.” “Cognism’s data quality is better for the UK and Germany, and we recorded data accuracy of around 85%”

Read the full case study

£903k

pipeline generated

Justin Humphreys
Head of Revenue Operations @Bright Network

Stuck in a ZoomInfo contract and want out? Cognism can help you make the switch

UpLead vs ZoomInfo: FAQs

Why consider an alternative like Cognism?

If you’ve evaluated UpLead and ZoomInfo but neither fully aligns with your requirements, you’re not alone.

Many revenue organisations find themselves choosing between transparent, credit-based simplicity with limited scale, or broad platform depth accompanied by higher cost, contract rigidity and operational complexity.

Cognism provides a more deliberate alternative:  accurate, compliant European B2B data designed to support confident decision-making and sustainable growth across multiple jurisdictions.

Cognism delivers:

• Phone-verified mobile numbers connecting teams with active decision-makers across the UK and Europe
• Over 90% coverage of director-level and above contacts in Europe, refreshed on a 30-day cycle
• Embedded compliance with GDPR, CCPA and screening against 15 global Do Not Call lists
• Unrestricted data access without credit ceilings
• Intent and contextual signals to prioritise in-market accounts
• Native integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, Salesloft and other leading revenue systems
• Structured onboarding and direct access to data and compliance expertise

For organisations prioritising data accuracy, regulatory alignment and predictable commercial structures, Cognism offers a balanced foundation without unnecessary platform sprawl.

Book a demo and test Cognism’s data today.