What Are Data Vendors?
Data vendors are companies that collect, process, and sell business information to power your sales, marketing, and revenue operations. Think of them as intelligence providers that give you the contact details, company insights, and buying signals you need to find and connect with your ideal customers.
The old days of buying static contact lists are over. Modern data vendors provide enriched intelligence platforms that combine multiple data types to give you a complete picture of your target accounts. Instead of just getting an email address, you get the full context: what technology they use, what content they’re consuming, and when they might be ready to buy.
These platforms fix a core problem for revenue teams: manual research kills productivity. Manual research takes forever and kills productivity. Data vendors eliminate the guesswork and give you the intelligence to operate with speed and precision.
Core capabilities include:
Data enrichment: Fills in missing contact details like job titles, emails, and phone numbers while validating accuracy
Intent signals: Tracks online research behavior to identify accounts actively looking for solutions
Technographic data: Shows you what technology stack a company uses to find integration opportunities
Compliance management: Provides verified data and tools to help you follow privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA
Types of Data Vendors and Data Offered
The B2B data vendor landscape breaks down into several specializations. Each type offers different intelligence to solve specific problems your revenue team faces.
Contact and company data vendors focus on the basics. They provide firmographic data like company size, industry, and location, plus contact details like names, job titles, verified emails, and direct-dial phone numbers. These vendors solve the “who do I call” problem.
Technographic data vendors specialize in identifying what hardware and software companies use. This intelligence is critical if you’re selling products that integrate with or replace specific parts of a prospect’s tech stack. You can target companies using competitor tools or find accounts with the right integration points.
Intent data vendors track signals that show a company is actively researching a purchase. They monitor which topics employees are researching across the web and identify spikes in content consumption that signal active interest. This solves the “when should I reach out” problem.
Account intelligence platforms combine all these data types into one unified view. They layer contact, firmographic, technographic, and intent data to provide a complete picture of an account. Many use AI to score and prioritize opportunities automatically.
Here’s how the top B2B data vendors compare across coverage, strengths, and ideal use cases:
Platform | Database Coverage | Key Strength | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
ZoomInfo | 321M+ contacts, 104M+ companies | AI-powered GTM intelligence | Enterprise GTM teams |
Cognism | 400M contacts, 70M companies | European coverage and compliance | Mid-market teams with EMEA focus |
Apollo | 275M+ contacts | All-in-one prospecting and engagement | SMBs and startups needing value |
LinkedIn Sales Navigator | 1B+ LinkedIn members | Social graph and relationship mapping | Teams focused on social selling |
6sense | Proprietary account and intent graph | Account-based orchestration | ABM-focused marketing and sales teams |
Demandbase | Proprietary account intelligence graph | Account intelligence and personalization | Enterprise teams running ABM plays |
Clearbit | 200M+ contacts, 44M+ companies | Firmographic enrichment for marketing | Marketing ops teams using HubSpot |
Lusha | 245M+ contacts, 50M+ companies | Lightweight contact data for individuals | Individual sellers and small teams |
LeadIQ | 100M+ verified emails | Prospecting workflow automation | Sales teams needing to build lists fast |
Dealfront | 400M+ contacts, 60M+ companies | European prospecting and visitor ID | European teams focused on inbound leads |
Best B2B Data Vendors for Sales and Marketing
1. ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo delivers comprehensive B2B intelligence through GTM Workspace, a unified platform built for modern revenue teams. You get access to deep data including over 321 million professional contacts and 104 million company profiles, enriched with technographics, intent signals, and real-time buying indicators. The platform’s AI assistant, CoPilot, automates workflows and surfaces prioritized account feeds with custom signals that guide you to your next best action.
The platform connects directly with your CRM and sales engagement tools, including Salesforce and HubSpot. This means data flows automatically across your GTM tech stack, keeping records accurate and providing real-time alerts when target accounts show buying intent. You act on opportunities the moment they arise, not days or weeks later.
Over 35,000 companies trust ZoomInfo, and industry analysts like Gartner and Forrester recognize it as a leader. The platform maintains enterprise-grade security and compliance, adhering to GDPR, CCPA, and SOC 2 standards so your data is both actionable and trustworthy.
Key Features:
Access to over 321 million contacts and 104 million companies with verified data
CoPilot AI assistant that automates workflows and surfaces buying signals
Advanced filters to build precise target lists based on firmographics, technographics, and intent
Real-time alerts for job changes, funding events, and content consumption spikes
Native integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, and other GTM platforms
Multi-step verification process to maintain data accuracy
GDPR, CCPA, and SOC 2 compliance certifications
2. Cognism
Cognism provides sales intelligence with a focus on high-quality, globally compliant B2B data. The platform offers strong coverage in the EMEA region, making it a frequent choice for companies targeting European markets. You get access to verified email addresses and mobile numbers through their database of company and contact information.
The platform provides firmographic and technographic data to help you build targeted account lists. Cognism includes intent data powered by Bombora to identify accounts actively researching relevant topics. Their data verification process focuses on accuracy and compliance with international privacy laws like GDPR.
Cognism connects with popular CRM and sales outreach tools, allowing you to export data and build workflows. The platform helps sales and marketing teams find and connect with ideal customers while maintaining strict data privacy standards.
Key Features:
Database of over 400 million business profiles and 70 million companies
GDPR-compliant data specializing in the EMEA market
Intent data integration to identify accounts showing buying signals
Verified business emails and mobile numbers
Browser extension for finding data on corporate websites and LinkedIn
Integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Outreach
3. Apollo
Apollo combines a large B2B database with sales engagement tools in one platform. It provides a B2B database combined with sales engagement tools, often used by SMBs and startups. You get access to over 275 million contacts plus tools for building and executing email campaigns, making calls, and tracking engagement.
Beyond data, Apollo includes features for sequencing, analytics, and deal management. You can search for prospects using dozens of filters, build lists, and enroll them in automated outreach sequences directly within the platform. This combines the functions of a data vendor and sales engagement tool.
Apollo provides data enrichment, job change alerts, and analytics to track sequence performance. It offers a browser extension for finding contact information on LinkedIn and company websites, plus integrations with CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot.
Key Features:
Combined B2B database with built-in sales engagement tools
Access to over 275 million contacts
Built-in sequencing engine for email and call campaigns
Free tier with limited credits available
A/B testing tools for email copy optimization
Analytics on open rates, reply rates, and interest tracking
4. LinkedIn Sales Navigator
LinkedIn Sales Navigator uses LinkedIn’s professional network to help you find and build relationships with prospects. It operates differently from traditional data vendors by focusing on the social graph and relationship pathways rather than static contact information. You use the world’s largest professional network to identify and connect with decision-makers.
The platform allows advanced searches for leads and accounts, provides recommendations based on your sales preferences, and lets you save lists of target individuals. Key features include InMail for direct messaging, alerts on job changes and company news, and visibility into who viewed your profile. Sales Navigator helps you identify key decision-makers and find warm introduction paths through shared connections.
Sales Navigator integrates with several CRM systems, allowing you to log activities and save leads directly from LinkedIn. It focuses on social selling and relationship building, often used alongside traditional data vendors to get a complete account picture.
Key Features:
Access to LinkedIn’s network of over 1 billion members
Advanced lead and account search filters
Alerts on job changes and key company updates
TeamLink for identifying warm introduction paths
Lead list saving and note-taking within the platform
CRM integrations with Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365
Learn More About LinkedIn Sales Navigator
5. 6sense
6sense provides account-based marketing and sales orchestration using AI and predictive analytics to uncover anonymous buying signals across the web. The platform helps you identify and prioritize accounts that are actively researching solutions before they surface through traditional channels. You can spot demand early in the buying process.
The platform combines proprietary intent data with firmographic and technographic information to create a complete view of an account’s buying journey. It scores accounts based on fit and intent, pushing the highest-priority opportunities to your sales and marketing teams for engagement. 6sense also provides tools for orchestrating multi-channel campaigns, including digital advertising and sales outreach.
6sense targets teams taking an account-based approach to their go-to-market strategy. It connects with CRMs, marketing automation platforms, and sales engagement tools to create a unified system for targeting and engaging accounts from initial awareness through purchase.
Key Features:
AI-powered identification of anonymous buying signals and timing prediction
Account scoring based on ICP fit and real-time intent
Multi-channel ABM campaign orchestration tools
Dynamic audience building for digital advertising
Wide range of sales and marketing technology integrations
Detailed analytics on account engagement and pipeline impact
6. Demandbase
Demandbase combines account intelligence, advertising, and sales orchestration in one account-based marketing platform. It gives B2B companies tools to run their GTM motion, from finding target accounts to closing deals and growing them.
The platform provides rich account-level insights, including firmographics, technographics, intent signals, and contact data. Demandbase uses AI to help you define your ideal customer profile, prioritize accounts, and deliver personalized experiences across multiple channels. It offers its own ad-targeting network and tools for personalizing website content for visitors from target accounts.
Demandbase targets enterprise GTM teams that need a unified platform to execute complex ABM strategies. It provides deep analytics that connect marketing activities to sales outcomes and revenue, giving you a clear view of program performance.
Key Features:
Combined account intelligence, advertising, and sales orchestration
AI-powered account scoring and prioritization
Built-in B2B advertising network
Website personalization tools
Data integration from InsideView acquisition
Major CRM and marketing automation system integrations
7. Clearbit
Clearbit, now part of HubSpot, provides real-time data enrichment to marketing and sales teams. It offers APIs and integrations that help you turn anonymous website traffic into qualified leads and enrich existing records with over 100 data points. Marketing operations teams widely use it to improve lead routing, scoring, and personalization.
The platform’s core function enriches email addresses or company domains with firmographic and technographic data. This allows shorter lead capture forms, as Clearbit automatically appends information like company size, industry, and location once an email is provided. It also offers a “Reveal Intent” feature that identifies companies visiting your website, even if they don’t fill out forms.
With its integration into the HubSpot ecosystem, Clearbit acts as a key data layer for companies using HubSpot’s CRM platform. It ensures the data within your CRM is accurate, up-to-date, and actionable for marketing campaigns and sales outreach.
Key Features:
Real-time data enrichment for leads and accounts
Flexible APIs for custom workflow integration
"Reveal Intent" tool to identify anonymous website visitors
Form shortening through automatic data appending
Deep integration with HubSpot’s CRM platform
Firmographic, technographic, and contact data provision
8. Lusha
Lusha focuses on B2B contact data with an emphasis on ease of use for individual sellers and small teams. The platform is known for its browser extension, which lets you find email addresses and direct-dial phone numbers for prospects on LinkedIn, company websites, and within Gmail.
The platform provides access to a large database of contact and company information, emphasizing accurate and verified data. Lusha’s primary use case helps individual quota carriers quickly find contact information for target prospects without needing complex, enterprise-wide implementation.
Lusha offers different pricing tiers, including a free plan with limited monthly credits, making it accessible for users who want to try the service before committing. It also provides an API for teams wanting to integrate data into their own systems and offers basic CRM integrations.
Key Features:
Focus on accurate B2B contact information
Popular browser extension for web prospecting
Free plan with monthly credits
Direct-dial phone numbers and verified emails
Design for individual sellers and small teams
API for data integration
9. LeadIQ
LeadIQ focuses on the prospecting workflow, helping sales teams capture, enrich, and sync prospect data to their CRM. It automates the workflow of capturing, enriching, and syncing prospect data to your CRM.
Using its browser extension, you can capture prospects from LinkedIn Sales Navigator and other websites. LeadIQ enriches these contacts with verified email addresses and phone numbers before pushing them to Salesforce or other integrated CRMs. The platform includes features to prevent duplicate entries and ensure data hygiene.
LeadIQ’s value centers on workflow automation for sales development representatives. It makes building targeted lists of accounts and contacts as fast as possible, allowing you to spend more time on outreach and less on data management.
Key Features:
Streamlined prospect data capture and enrichment process
Browser extension that works with LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Verified email addresses and contact information
Salesforce integration to sync data and avoid duplicates
Prospecting workflow efficiency improvements
Team prospecting activity tracking and management
10. Dealfront
Dealfront combines website visitor identification with a comprehensive B2B database, formed from merging Echobot and Leadfeeder. The platform focuses on the European market and helps you turn anonymous web traffic into actionable sales leads.
The Leadfeeder component identifies companies visiting your website, showing what pages they viewed and how long they spent. The Echobot component provides a deep database of European company and contact data, along with sales trigger events like funding announcements or leadership changes. This combination lets you identify interested accounts and find the right people to contact.
Dealfront builds with a strong focus on GDPR compliance and European market nuances. It provides data and insights tailored to help sales and marketing teams succeed in that region, making it a strong choice for companies with significant European presence.
Key Features:
Anonymous company website visitor identification
Deep database of European company and contact data
Sales trigger events to signal timely opportunities
Combined inbound lead identification with outbound prospecting data
GDPR compliance focus
Major CRM and marketing tool integrations
How to Choose a Data Vendor for B2B Revenue Teams
Selecting the right data vendor impacts your entire revenue team’s efficiency and effectiveness. The decision depends on your specific go-to-market strategy, target market, and existing tech stack. Focus your evaluation on your team’s specific needs, not just the vendor’s feature list.
Data Quality and Freshness
The value of any data platform ties directly to information accuracy. Outdated or incorrect data leads to bounced emails, wasted calls, and damage to your brand reputation. You need to understand how each vendor sources, verifies, and refreshes their data.
Key evaluation points:
Verification methods: How do they confirm email deliverability and phone number accuracy?
Refresh frequency: How often is the database updated to account for job changes and data decay?
Match testing: Will the vendor let you test how their data enriches your existing records?
Compliance Coverage
Data privacy isn’t optional in today’s regulatory environment. Using non-compliant data can result in heavy fines and significant reputational damage. You need vendors with clear, transparent approaches to compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
Key evaluation points:
Consent management: How does the vendor obtain consent for the data they collect and provide?
Data residency: Where is data stored, and how do they handle cross-border transfers?
Subject rights: What processes handle data subject requests like the right to be forgotten?
Geographic and Industry Coverage
A massive database is useless if it doesn’t contain your ideal customers. Evaluate vendors based on depth in your specific target markets, industries, and buyer personas. A smaller, specialized database may be more valuable than a larger, generic one.
Key evaluation points:
Regional strength: Does the vendor have strong coverage in your primary geographic regions?
Industry depth: How comprehensive is the data for your target industries and company sizes?
Role coverage: Does the platform have good data for the specific job titles and departments you sell to?
Integration Capabilities
Your data platform needs to feed clean data into your CRM and other sales engagement tools.
Key evaluation points:
Native integrations: Does the vendor offer pre-built connections for your CRM like Salesforce or HubSpot?
API flexibility: How customizable are the connections for building workflows?
Sync frequency: How often does data sync between platforms, and are there API call limits?
Pricing and Scalability
Data vendor pricing can be complex, with models based on user seats, data credits, or platform tiers. Look beyond the initial quote to understand total cost of ownership and ensure the model scales with your team’s growth.
Key evaluation points:
Pricing model: Is it per-seat, credit-based, or a combination?
Hidden fees: Are there additional costs for API access, data exports, or overages?
Contract flexibility: How easy is it to add more users or data as your team grows?
Frequently Asked Questions
How do data vendors collect B2B contact information?
Data vendors collect information from public records, company websites, news articles, social networks, and crowdsourced contributions, then aggregate and verify this data through multiple validation processes.
What's the difference between intent data and contact data?
Contact data provides static information like names, emails, and job titles, while intent data tracks dynamic behavioral signals that show when companies are actively researching solutions in your category.
Can you buy B2B data lists for one-time use?
While some providers offer one-time purchases, most modern data vendors operate on subscription models that provide continuous platform access with regularly updated data and compliance management.
How accurate is B2B contact data from vendors?
Data accuracy varies by vendor. Reputable providers use multi-step verification and regular database updates to maintain high email deliverability rates.
Do data vendors comply with GDPR and CCPA regulations?
Established data vendors maintain compliance programs for major privacy regulations, but you should verify their specific consent management processes, data residency policies, and subject rights procedures before purchasing.
What's a good data match rate when testing vendors?
A good match rate, which measures how much of your existing database a vendor can successfully enrich, typically falls between 60-80%, though this varies based on your initial data quality and the vendor’s coverage.
How much do B2B data vendor subscriptions cost?
Costs range from a few hundred dollars monthly for individual users to hundreds of thousands annually for large enterprise deployments, depending on the vendor, user count, data usage, and feature requirements.
Choosing Your Data Vendor
The right data vendor fuels every sales and marketing motion. Your choice impacts pipeline quality, team productivity, and revenue outcomes.
Focus on these decision factors:
Data accuracy and verification processes that protect your brand reputation
Compliance with global privacy regulations to avoid legal risks
Coverage depth in your specific target markets and buyer personas
Integration capabilities that connect with your existing tech stack
ZoomInfo provides the comprehensive B2B intelligence that powers revenue teams at over 35,000 companies. Our GTM Workspace combines verified contact data, intent signals, and AI-powered insights to help you identify, target, and engage your ideal customers with precision. Talk to someone to learn more about how ZoomInfo can help you.
