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Comparing Cognism vs Clearbit in 2024

Quick summary of how Cognism compares to Clearbit:

  • Access to global contact data. (strong NAM, APAC, and leading EMEA coverage.)
  • 2x more cell phone numbers than other providers.
  • 47 million cell phones in the US alone.
  • Manually-verified cell phone database.
  • Integrations with your existing tech stack, including native Salesforce integration.
  • Unrestricted viewing and page-level exporting of global data in all packages subject to a generous fair usage policy.
  • CCPA & GDPR compliance with broader DNC list checks.
  • LinkedIn integration to support the most popular SDR workflows. (e.g. from enriching LinkedIn profiles and Sales Navigator lists with mobiles and emails to looking up Contact or Company.)

This page will explain how Cognism compares to Clearbit so you can make an informed decision when selecting your next data provider. 

👇 Scroll to learn about Clearbit pricing, features, user reviews and more!

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Key features of Cognism vs Clearbit

Cognism

Cognism aims to give businesses the tools to contact the most relevant people and increase revenue month-on-month.

It supplies sales, marketing, RevOps and GTM leaders with an accurate global B2B database compliant with GDPR and CCPA data laws. Features include:

  • Accurate and up-to-date global contact database. 
  • Diamond Verified Phone Data®, which arms sales teams with phone-validated, factually-correct mobile numbers.
  • A mobile phone number coverage leader in the US (2x more than other providers).
  • The most complete data in the EMEA.
  • Intent data powered by Bombora.
  • Unrestricted views and individual and page-level exporting.*
  • Advanced contextual data points and sales trigger alerts.
  • CRM and sales engagement integration tools are included in every package.
  • Browser extension that works across all corporate websites.
*Subject to a generous fair usage policy

Clearbit

Clearbit is marketing intelligence software that focuses on providing B2B data enrichment and enrichment APIs to improve existing customer data. Features include:

  • Data enrichment.
  • Lead scoring and routing.
  • Form optimisation.
  • Intent based outreach.
  • Advanced personalisation.
  • Conversion targeting.
  • Reveal and enrichment APIs.

Alternatively, see more Cognism competitors👇

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What’s the difference between Clearbit and Cognism?

The main difference between Cognism and Clearbit’s data lies in cell phone number availability and EMEA coverage.

Clearbit was recently acquired by HubSpot, and while the focus used to be on delivering email addresses and company phone numbers (no mobile numbers included), it now upsells data enrichment and website visitor tracking. With this said, reviews left in 2019 and 2023 (before the acquisition) suggest Clearbit’s EMEA dataset could be better. 

On the contrary, Cognism has a compliant global database that includes B2B emails, direct dials, and 2x more mobile numbers in the US than other providers. The platform also provides data enrichment, intent data, a premium manually verified mobile numbers dataset, and verification service on demand.

And while both providers have a wide range of integrations with other sales tools, ie. Salesforce or HubSpot. Clearbit doesn’t currently offer integration with LinkedIn. Cognism’s browser extension is designed for sales reps’ workflows, including prospecting on LinkedIn.

What's more, in a recent satisfaction survey, software buyers who recently evaluated data enrichment tools scored Cognism higher than Clearbit.

To summarise how Cognism compares to Clearbit:

Cognism
Clearbit
Packages to suit business size
Cognism
✔️
Clearbit
✔️
Web app
Cognism
✔️
Clearbit
✔️
Intent data
Cognism
✔️
Clearbit
✔️
Phone-verification/ research on-demand service
Cognism
✔️
Clearbit
Unrestricted views/ individual and page-level exporting
Cognism
✔️
Clearbit
Do-not-call lists in US and Europe
Cognism
✔️
Clearbit
Phone-verified mobile numbers
Cognism
✔️
Clearbit
Browser extension
Cognism
✔️
Clearbit
Email extension
Compliance status
Cognism
GDPR & CCPA compliant
Clearbit
CCPA compliant & GDPR aligned
High Value B2B Data
Global DNC lists check
Phone Verification
Verified Identity
Accurate Mobile

Cognism vs Clearbit: Databases

Clearbit’s database features over 50 million company records and 389 million contact records. There is no mention of where its data coverage lies.

Cognism’s dataset offers the most complete coverage in the EMEA. The tool has EU and US research teams, making it a great option for anyone looking to find highly-targeted global leads, including NAM and APAC.

Moreover, quality is of utmost importance to Cognism, with phone-verified numbers, the most complete data in Europe and leading mobile number coverage in the United States (2x more than other providers).

Why not get started with Cognism right away?

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Where do Cognism and Clearbit get their data?

Clearbit collects data in the following ways:

  • Interactions from browsing the Clearbit site, contacting the company, installing free products or setting up a user account.
  • Subscribing to Clearbit services (including personal information such as sales data, web data/site activity data, business contact and lead information).
  • Information from cookies, web server logs, and other technologies.
  • Information from third parties ( including publicly available information about businesses and personnel, data vendors, data co-ops and customers).

The data vendor states that your data can be used to provide business-to-business contacts and enriched data to customers and partners for their business-to-business marketing and sales purposes and for such business purposes as permitted under its agreements.

This means that any data you share with Clearbit may be used to supplement its database. 

In contrast, at Cognism, your customer data stays with you.

Cognism gathers data via its proprietary sources and fills in the gaps from third-party data providers, publicly available sources, manual research and strategic partnerships.

Cognism ensures up-to-date and accurate B2B data via machine learning processes that check millions of data points daily. A team of in-house researchers verifies the data, ensuring accuracy and compliance. This 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® gives sales teams the ability to connect with 87% of prospecting lists. With companies seeing a 54% increase in mobile coverage and ROI increasing due to 70% of outbound meetings booked from Cognism mobiles. 

Here’s an infographic detailing the difference that calling factually correct, phone-verified mobiles can make 👇

3x
more live conversations
87%
of your list contactable
2x
more mobiles than other providers
9/10
chance of reaching decision-makers
3x
more live conversations
87%
of your list contactable
9/10
chance of reaching decision-makers
2x
more mobiles than other providers
Diamond Data®

More results from fewer calls

Break performance records with Cognism's phone-verified data for 3x connect rates and complete GDPR compliance.

Diamond Data® ensures your team connect with the right people, in their current role, at the correct company.

Comparing the pricing of Clearbit and Cognism**

Clearbit pricing

Clearbit pricing information on its website mentions customised business plans based on volume with the option to add Forms, Advertising, and Capture.

Cognism pricing

Cognism’s pricing model was created to overcome the scarcity mindset, allowing teams to prospect into their target accounts without worrying about credits. Its seat plans best suit individual contributors who:

  • Don’t want to worry about credits and volume.
  • Do want to get the best possible data for their target accounts.

Cognism users get unrestricted views and page-level exporting*. This includes emails, mobile numbers, firmographic data, technologies, sales trigger events, etc. All European and US data is visible from the get-go, allowing users to make informed decisions when exporting data to their systems.

Marketing and RevOps teams that need Cognism for list building and enrichment workflows can also access packages suitable for bulk exporting.

Cognism grants all its users access to the following:

  • The Cognism web app.
  • The Cognism Chrome Extension.
  • All available integrations.

In addition to this, users can add intent data and Diamonds-on-Demand® to their package.

**Pricing information for Clearbit and Cognism is dependent on your company's needs. For accurate pricing, please contact your preferred data provider.

Packages

Packages suitable for individual prospecting with unrestricted views and individual & page-level exporting (up to 25 records at a time)* in all packages.

Flexible workflows

Custom packages with add-on credits for teams with operational workflows which need bulk-list building and exporting.

Global data

No extra charge for access to global and regional data — NAM, EMEA, and APAC included in all packages.

Premium add-ons

Manually verified cell phone numbers (Diamond Data®) and intent data powered by Bombora as add-ons.

Clearbit vs Cognism: Usability

Clearbit reviews mention that the solution is easy to use with good integration with CRMs.

Cognism customers speak highly of the interface, usability and support: 

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Thinking of switching from Clearbit?
Learn more about how Cognism helps you have more conversations with the people you WANT to do business with. Book a call with a data expert.

Clearbit versus Cognism: Compliance

Clearbit is CCPA-compliant and GDPR aligned.

The website does not mention DNC lists or a notified database. In fact, the Trust Center states data subjects might not know their data is included in the Clearbit database. 

Cognism is GDPR and CCPA compliant and 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 on DNC lists from reps. Meaning that its customers have complete confidence in the legality of its outreach.

The platform follows these compliance-based actions: 

  • A stringent B2B data verification process. 
  • Ensures all data is legally sourced and of the utmost quality.
  • Provides users with a notified database.

Customers like Corporate Traveller praise Cognism for its commitment to compliance:

“Compliance is a major factor when considering how best to access prospect data, and choosing a partner that can combine GDPR conformity, great coverage of the UK market and deliver constantly updated qualified mobile numbers and contact details meant Cognism was the right choice for us.”

compliance image

Remember, choosing a provider serious about compliance isn’t only about ensuring you don’t incur a hefty fine but also that your teams can prospect confidently. 

Henderson Scott saw the effects of having quality, compliant data when they invested in Cognism: 

“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.”

FAQs about Clearbit vs Cognism

Both Clearbit and Cognism provide buyer intent data, but they implement it differently. 

The Cognism platform embeds Bombora’s Company Surge® intent data. You can add it to your Cognism package.

Bombora’s intent data shows which organisations are actively researching online and when research on a particular topic increases in business activity. The spike in interest around that topic indicates the prospective organisation is actively looking for a product or service.

Intent-based prospecting means you can find organisations in your ICP that are ready to buy. Cognism dynamically enriches the intent data with the key decision-makers and their contact details, allowing for highly targeted prospecting.

Clearbit has a feature that shows intent on your website visitors or from partners like G2 and Bombora. Clearbit Reveal tells you when the companies you care about are ready to buy based on when they view your pricing page or frequent product page views.

Both providers have a wide range of integrations with other sales tools, ie. Salesforce or HubSpot.

The main differentiator between Cognism vs Clearbit is LinkedIn integration.

Clearbit doesn’t currently offer integration with LinkedIn, and the Chrome extension Clearbit offers is an email extension meaning you can enter a domain to see if the Clearbit database has any emails associated with the company.

Cognism’s browser extension is designed for sales reps’ workflows, including prospecting on LinkedIn.

Here's what the Cognism browser extension offers you:

  • Works with LinkedIn and LinkedIn Sales Navigator, enriching LinkedIn profiles and prospect lists with mobile numbers and emails.
  • Works with LinkedIn Recruiter, letting you find contact data for candidates in two clicks.
  • Works over Outreach and Salesforce.
  • Works on corporate websites to reveal key account and lead information, including company details, technology stack, and key decision-makers, without leaving the browser.
  • Facilitates multithread sales deals by allowing you to tap into your prospect’s coworkers to find other stakeholders.
  • Unrestricted individual and page-level exporting (subject to fair use).

Cognism is a sales intelligence platform that is one of the best Clearbit alternatives. Be it sales, marketers, RevOps, or GTM leaders, this B2B data provider prides itself on its global data coverage and compliance, data accuracy, 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 sales intelligence platform that offers up-to-date, accurate data in an easy-to-use interface.

The quality of its verified mobiles and B2B emails are unmatched by Clearbit, as are its extensive features and excellent customer service. 

So, if you’re looking for the best tool to help you reach out to potential leads and target customers, Cognism is the clear winner.

Yes, Cognism is an excellent alternative when comparing Clearbit competitors. 

Cognism provides highly accurate 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 users praise its user-friendly interface, accurate data and excellent customer service.

How B2B sales and marketing teams use Cognism

Enough about Cognism vs Clearbit. 

What do actual Cognism customers have to say about the tool? 

Try Cognism, a Clearbit alternative

Cognism vs Clearbit - who to choose? 

Cognism is a Clearbit competitor with the most complete data in the EMEA and next-level mobile coverage in the US. Even better, it’s the only data provider actively phone-verifying mobile numbers, making it an excellent choice for global prospecting.

With Cognism, you get more:

✔️ More mobile numbers that go through to the right contacts. 

✔️ More confidence when prospecting.

✔️ More targeted leads.

✔️ And more incoming revenue.

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