Cognism vs. ZoomInfo in 2023

ZoomInfo is a global leader in go-to-market intelligence. But what if you’re looking for a different option, or a way to supplement ZoomInfo?

Cognism might be what you’re looking for.

In this article, we’ll explain how Cognism stacks up against ZoomInfo, this is Cognism vs. ZoomInfo in 2023.

Like ZoomInfo, Cognism is a sales intelligence solution that helps B2B companies prospect globally and in full compliance with international data laws. It provides Diamond Verified Phone Data® which arms sales teams with human-validated, factually-correct mobile numbers.

This page will help you make an informed decision when selecting your data providers. If you’re after something specific, select an item from the menu below.

Cognism vs. ZoomInfo - gathering and verifying data

Cognism gathers B2B data via its proprietary sources, and fills in gaps from third-party data providers, publicly available sources, manual research and strategic partnerships. The data is verified by a team of data science experts and researchers, ensuring accuracy and compliance. This stringent verification process applies to Cognism’s entire database.

Cognism processes millions of data points daily to build and maintain its Person and Company profiles and ensure the quality and currency of its records.

Like Cognism, ZoomInfo has a robust email checking process to ensure a high level of accuracy, with a 20-step process supported by their partner, NeverBounce.

Alongside millions of daily database updates, Cognism provides human-verified mobile numbers, which are readily available within the platform and can also be requested on-demand by customers. After undergoing a rigorous verification process, Cognism mobiles are 98% accurate, leaving users with the freshest, most up-to-date contact information on the market.

Buyer intent data

Cognism’s intent data is powered by Bombora.

Intent data is behavioural data that shows when an account shows interest to buy.

Bombora’s intent signals indicate when more individuals from a given company show a significantly higher interest in a particular topic or solution. These privacy-compliant, brand-anonymous visitor consumption insights are collected from a premium B2B community comprising over 4,000 B2B sites, where B2B buyers actually search for solutions. This makes Bombora the leading intent data provider of consent-based, compliant intent data.

Cognism users can access Bombora’s intent data directly within the Cognism Web App and Chrome Extension. By combining buyer intent signals with Cognism’s premium-grade contact data, users can find, prioritise and connect with prospects who are searching for their solution and are ready to buy. This allows Cognism users to speed up their sales cycle and create a more relevant buyer journey.

Diamond data® and Diamonds on Demand®

Cognism takes data verification to the next level through its exclusive data asset, Diamond Data®.

Diamond Data® comprises phone-verified mobile numbers that are 98% correct - a level of accuracy you can’t find anywhere else on the market

How does Cognism achieve this level of accuracy?

Cognism has a team of data researchers that call mobile numbers of decision makers

Diamond Data® gives sales teams the ability to have 7x more live conversations (Diamond Data® connect rates = ~20% vs. 3% industry standard).

In addition to Diamond Data®, Cognism offers a Diamonds on Demand® service. Customers can flag their most valuable leads and Cognism will work to Diamond verify that information.

Cognism equips its customers with the best data to target high-value accounts.

See the difference that calling factually correct, human-verified mobiles can make 👇

Want to see how much ROI you can get with Cognism?

👉 Click to use our free ROI calculator 👈

Data compliance

Both ZoomInfo and Cognism are compliant B2B data providers.

Customers praise Cognism as a company that goes above and beyond on GDPR and CCPA compliance.

“Everything Cognism did [compliance wise] impressed us, from sending out emails to contacts, letting them know you have their data, plus giving them the choice to opt-in or opt-out. It was clear that Cognism took its compliance commitments very seriously. We didn’t see that same level of commitment from other companies.”

- Alexander Porter, Senior Business Development & Inside Sales Lead, Devo

Read the full case study: Devo: Scaling compliant outbound sales with Cognism

One key differentiator between Cognism and other providers is that Cognism scrubs all mobile numbers against global Do-Not-Call (DNC) lists.

TPS/CTPS lists in the UK.
DNC lists in the USA, Canada and European countries including Germany, France, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Croatia, Portugal and Sweden.

If a number is marked as TPS or DNC, it means that the user has opted out from receiving unsolicited phone calls by applying to the national do-not-call registry.

Cognism allows users to hide the mobile numbers of contacts that are on DNC lists, meaning that its customers have complete confidence in the legality of their outreach.

Get more information on Cognism’s compliance status courtesy of this video with Head of Legal, Aksa Kalam. Press ▶️ to watch.

Ways to use your data

ZoomInfo and Cognism both offer users a range of ways to use their data.

Integrations

Cognism integrates with all major CRM software, and all major sales engagement software, to provide seamless sales and marketing process. Customers can generate, utilise and export their data, all without the use of CSV uploads and downloads.

ZoomInfo and Cognism both offer two-way integrations with Salesforce and Hubspot. Users can instantly see whether a record from ZoomInfo or Cognism already exists in their database, saving users a lot of time and work.

To find out if Cognism integrates with your CRM, or if you have any integration questions, click the link below to speak with an expert.

Cognism vs. ZoomInfo Chrome Extension

Cognism understands the value of LinkedIn for B2B sales.

Sales reps want to spend time as efficiently as possible, which means spending time where they’re most effective. So Cognism created the Cognism Chrome Extension.

Use it to export individual contacts from LinkedIn or send contacts in bulk from Sales Navigator to your CRM or sales engagement tool.

Quickly see which prospects have available phone data, and filter Sales Navigator lists by these users. This functionality saves time when running through long lists, and coupled with Cognism’s 98% accurate Diamond Verified data, cold calling is a breeze.

ZoomInfo also offers a Chrome Extension with similar functionalities. Thanks to the two-way integrations Cognism and ZoomInfo offer for Hubspot and Sales Navigator, users can quickly see which contacts in the Chrome Extension already exist in their CRM, saving them even more time.

Cognism pricing

Cognism’s pricing model is based on the idea of unrestricted prospecting. Its 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 access to its database in all plans. This includes emails, mobile numbers, firmographic data, technologies, sales trigger events and more. The data is visible from the get-go, giving users the ability to make informed decisions when exporting data to their systems.

All Cognism users are granted access to the following:

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

In addition to this, users are able to add intent data (powered by Bombora) and Diamonds-on-Demand® (Cognism’s research-on-demand service) to their package.

Cognism also offers credits as an add-on for bulk list-building workflows, used primarily by marketing and operations teams.

ZoomInfo has a range of packages available to suit different customers with different budgets.

Cognism G2 reviews and awards

Coverage

A Cognism user, when asked what they liked best about the product, said this:

“The depth and breadth of coverage.”

See what one ZoomInfo user thought about its data coverage.

Correctness

Cognism’s data accuracy was praised by this G2 reviewer:

“The data has so far been both reliable and accurate, and our outbound campaigns are landing in front of the right people, which means our response rates are increasing.”

Click to see what a ZoomInfo customer said about the accuracy of its data.

Compliance

Cognism received praise from this customer for its fully GDPR compliant data:

“It allows us to have a direct conversation with qualified personas. It is instrumental in prospecting as well. The level to which they manage to take their GDPR compliance is a big plus over companies we tried out.”

Click this ZoomInfo review to see what one user said about its compliance status.

What do other Cognism customers have to say about the platform? Press ▶️ to watch them go “Wow!”

Who is Cognism for?

Cognism is the only data provider actively phone-verifying mobile numbers, making it a great choice for global prospecting. Scroll down or pick and item from the menu to see how Cognism could help you.

Cognism for marketing | Cognism for sales | Cognism for CEOs | Cognism for your go to market strategy | Cognism for revenue operations

Cognism for marketing

Cognism provides validated contact and contextual data, catering to each aspect of modern marketing.

Targeting

Great marketing starts with great targeting.

Cognism provides high-quality B2B data, meaning LinkedIn matched audiences can be built with confidence.

When supplemented by Bombora-powered intent data, users can be sure that campaigns are reaching audiences who are more likely to buy, without relying on a dated, lead-gen strategy.

Email marketing

Intent data and sales triggers will allow users to deliver hyper-targeted messaging to in-market prospects. If your targeting is precise, your copy can be too. Build laser-focused lists and export them with ease.

Marketing operations

Marketing operations can make use of Cognism Enhance to freshen up stale data. It’s as easy as uploading a CSV for enrichment, and discovering additional data points for more accurate targeting.

If you’d like to learn more about how Cognism stacks up against ZoomInfo, speak to a Cognism expert.

Cognism for sales

Sales should always be about interacting with potential buyers, so Cognism wants to make prospecting as easy as possible.

They do this by providing two simple ways to access their high-quality data: the Cognism Web App and their Chrome Extension. Both of these tools can be used to export data quickly into your integrated CRM and sales engagement tool.

Cognism Chrome Extension

Cognism can provide actionable data for prospects users find on LinkedIn and Sales Navigator. Simply open the Chrome Extension and Cognism will enrich your prospect profiles or Sales Navigator lists with contact, company, and intent information - all ready to be exported to your CRM or sales engagement tool.

Manual verification

Send your most valuable prospects to Cognism’s experts for manual phone verification, and receive a list with 98% accuracy. Cognism believes that a sales rep’s time is best spent selling.

Cognism Web App

With the Cognism Web App, users can search for prospects within given verticals or in target accounts and then export the contact data to their CRM or sales engagement tool. Lists can be filtered to just show contacts with Diamond Verification or a verified phone number.

The Cognism Web App is also where users can set their intent data topics, find companies that are showing interest in their solution and find the decision makers within those accounts. This functionality will allow users to get in touch with the buyer earlier in their journey.

ABM

Diamond Data® could also turn ABM from an unrealistic ideal into a reliable sales strategy, with Diamonds on Demand. Users can request to have contacts or lists Diamond Verified by Cognism’s data experts. Breaking into target accounts is no longer a roll of the dice.

Sales operations

Sales operations will also benefit the Cognism Web App, using it to build target account lists, or enhance existing data with Cognism Enhance.

If you’d like to see how Cognism stacks up against ZoomInfo, speak to a Cognism expert.

Cognism for CEOs

Cognism isn’t only a data provider. Cognism can be used to scope out new markets, calculate your TAM, and find out exactly how many prospects you could target. Alongside intent data, you can figure out how powerful your offer is with different segments of the market.

Your marketers and salespeople can then get to work, generating unlimited, high-quality data on these audiences and turning them into customers.

Cognism’s excellent Customer Support team will be on hand to answer your questions, and is reachable by email, or via an in-app messaging system.

Find out how Cognism could fit into your revenue process, speak to a Cognism expert.

Cognism for your go-to-market strategy

Looking to move into a new country or territory? It might be time to diversify your data source.

Find the best data provider in the area you’re exploring, and consider adding them to your data arsenal, rather than replacing your current provider. Diversifying your data will give you a competitive advantage in a new territory or region.

It doesn’t have to be Cognism vs. ZoomInfo, these tools can be used together to create an altogether more powerful sales enablement resource.

Use Cognism to research a territory in advance. Familiarise yourself with job titles, scope out your ICP and calculate your TAM. It pays to be well prepared before you go to market.

We’re not just content with calculating your TAM, because only 3% of potential buyers will actually be in market at any time. Find the 3% with Bombora-powered intent data and sales triggers.

If you want to find out if Cognism is the right fit for your go to market strategy, speak with a Cognism expert.

Cognism for revenue operations

Cognism can assist with revenue operations in two ways:

Firstly, data quality can be greatly enhanced with the Cognism Web App. With additional features, such as intent data, sales triggers, Diamond Data®, and Diamonds on Demand®, your revenue team will have access to high quality data with game-changing depth.

Secondly, Cognism Enhance can be used to enrich your existing data sets by refreshing stale data and matching additional datapoints to your existing records. Cognism aims to strengthen your entire dataset quickly and thoroughly.

To find out how Cognism could fit into your revenue operations process, speak to a Cognism expert.

Cognism prides itself on being a premium sales intelligence solution, offering the most accurate data on the market.

This means:

Mobile numbers that are phone-verified and factually correct.
A great focus on data quality.
A simple, intuitive interface that’s easy to navigate and adopt as part of daily workflows
GDPR and CCPA compliant data
A fast and friendly support team who can assist you in real-time, with local support in UK, US and German markets.

How does Cognism stack up against ZoomInfo? Press ▶️ to watch our 90-second explainer video.

Why Cognism might not be right for you

There are certain use cases that Cognism won’t be right for. We’ve listed these below. Scroll through to see if you might need a different tool.

Cognism for B2C

If you’re a B2C company looking for consumer contact data, Cognism cannot provide this. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) prevents companies from using an individual’s data without them opting in.

You should try: We are unable to recommend an alternative here.

Cognism for finding freelancers

If you’re a B2B company looking for freelancers, Cognism cannot provide this effectively. There are, however, companies who will be able to help you find the right people.

You should try: Fiverr, Upwork, Toptal

Cognism for sole traders

If you’re a sole trader searching for clients, it’s unlikely that Cognism can provide the service you need.

You should try: LinkedIn and referrals

Cognism vs. ZoomInfo - who wins?

How does Cognism compare to ZoomInfo and Lusha?

It might depend on what you’re looking for. Cognism offers a best-in-class solution by forging strategic partnerships with other excellent providers and tools. If you’re after unrestricted, 98% accurate data, Cognism could be the tool for you.

If you’re after a wide range of add-ons, ZoomInfo is also an excellent choice.

If you don’t want to compromise, perhaps you should look into both. Having two data providers is one way to stay ahead of the game. No data provider has 100% coverage, a lot of high-performance revenue teams will invest in multiple data providers to make sure they have all of their target markets and required data points covered.

If you want to find out for yourself, give Cognism a try!

Click 👇 to book your demo with Cognism's sales team and get free leads.

Cognism vs. ZoomInfo in 2023

Cognism vs. ZoomInfo - gathering and verifying data

Buyer intent data

Diamond data® and Diamonds on Demand®

Data compliance