Most B2B sales intelligence vendors publish pricing pages. Cognism does not. To get a number, you need to sit through a demo, negotiate with a sales rep, and hope the quote you receive reflects what you will actually pay over the life of the contract. According to Vendr, real Cognism deals range from $1,500 to $25,000 per year depending on tier, team size, and how hard you push back during negotiations. For teams evaluating Cognism pricing against alternatives, the total cost is rarely what it appears at first glance.
TL;DR: Cognism uses a platform fee + per-seat model across two tiers (Platinum/Grow and Diamond/Elevate). A 5-user Grow plan lists at roughly $22,500/year, while Elevate runs $37,500+. Add onboarding ($500-$1,500), intent data topics ($200-$400 each), and 10-15% annual renewal increases, and the real cost can land 40-60% above the initial quote. No free plan, no monthly option, and annual prepayment is required.
Key Takeaways
- Cognism pricing is entirely quote-based with no public prices. Plan on $15,000-$25,000 in platform fees alone before adding per-seat costs.
- The Platinum (Grow) tier starts around $1,500/user/year. Diamond (Elevate) starts around $2,500/user/year. Both require a separate platform license fee.
- "Unlimited" data access comes with a fair-use cap of approximately 2,000 records per user per month, plus a credit system for bulk exports and API calls.
- Discounts of 28-52% are common according to Vendr's benchmarking data, so never accept the first quote.
- Hidden costs include onboarding fees, intent data topic add-ons ($1,600-$6,000/year for 8-15 topics), auto-renewal clauses, and 10-15% annual price increases at renewal.
- Account-based pricing models, where your entire team gets access for a flat annual fee, can deliver better cost predictability than Cognism's per-seat structure as teams scale.
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Cognism Plans Overview: Platinum vs Diamond
Cognism offers two core tiers, recently rebranded as Grow and Elevate (though many users still reference the original Platinum and Diamond names).
Platinum (Grow) includes access to Cognism's B2B contact database (up to 25 million contacts), email addresses, basic mobile numbers, the Chrome extension, and standard CRM integrations with Salesforce and HubSpot. This tier does not include phone-verified mobile numbers or intent data.
Diamond (Elevate) adds Diamond Data (phone-verified mobile numbers with a claimed 98% accuracy rate), Bombora-powered intent data, and Diamonds-on-Demand, a concierge research service. Access expands to approximately 50 million contacts.
Both tiers operate on annual contracts with upfront payment. There is no monthly option, no free plan, and no self-serve trial beyond a 25-lead sample.
Estimated Costs by Team Size
| Team Size | Platinum (Grow) | Diamond (Elevate) |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 users | $16,500-$19,500/yr | $27,500-$32,500/yr |
| 5 users | ~$22,500/yr | ~$37,500/yr |
| 10 users | ~$30,000/yr | ~$50,000/yr |
| 15 users | ~$37,500/yr | ~$62,500/yr |
Estimates based on reported platform fees ($15,000 Platinum, $25,000 Diamond) plus per-seat costs ($1,500 and $2,500 respectively). Actual quotes vary.
“The moment we turned on Salesmotion, it became essential. No more hours on LinkedIn or Google to figure out who we're talking to. It's just there, served up to you, so it's always 'go time.'”
Adam Wainwright
Head of Revenue, Cacheflow
The Platform Fee Explained
Unlike most SaaS tools where you pay per seat and that is the entire cost, Cognism charges a flat platform license fee on top of individual user fees. This fee covers data maintenance, onboarding support, and access to the underlying database infrastructure.
The platform fee is the part that surprises most buyers. A team budgeting for "3 users at $1,500 each" ($4,500) might expect to spend under $5,000. In reality, the $15,000 platform fee pushes the actual cost to $19,500, a 4x difference from the per-seat math alone.
This structure also means Cognism's per-user economics get worse at small team sizes and marginally better as you add seats. A solo user on Platinum effectively pays $16,500/year. A 10-person team pays $3,000/user/year. For Diamond, a solo user pays $27,500 while a 10-person team pays $5,000/user.
How the Platform Fee Compares
Most competitors either bundle platform costs into per-seat pricing (ZoomInfo, Apollo) or use a flat org-wide fee with no per-seat charges. Cognism's two-component model makes direct price comparisons difficult, which likely benefits Cognism during sales conversations.
Hidden Costs and Contract Gotchas
The sticker price is just the starting point. Here is what else you should budget for:
Onboarding fees ($500-$1,500). Cognism charges separately for implementation and setup, depending on integration complexity. Basic CRM connections fall on the lower end. Custom Salesforce configurations push toward $1,500.
Intent data topics ($200-$400 per topic annually). Cognism's intent data runs on Bombora. Each topic you want to track costs extra. Most teams need 8-15 topics for meaningful coverage, adding $1,600-$6,000 per year on top of the Elevate subscription.
Bulk export credits. "Unlimited" access applies to viewing records. Exporting lists larger than 25 contacts or using the API consumes credits, which may have caps or additional costs depending on your contract terms.
Auto-renewal clauses. Multiple users on Reddit and review sites report that Cognism contracts auto-renew unless you provide written notice 60 days before the renewal date. Miss that window, and you are locked in for another year.
Annual price increases. Renewal pricing typically increases 10-15% unless you negotiate a multi-year rate lock. On a $30,000/year contract, that is an extra $3,000-$4,500 by year two.
Fair-use limits. The "unrestricted" data access comes with a fair-use policy capping usage at roughly 2,000 records per user per month. Heavy prospectors may hit this ceiling.
“The Business Development team gets 80 to 90 percent of what they need in 15 minutes. That is a complete shift in how our reps work.”
Andrew Giordano
VP of Global Commercial Operations, Analytic Partners
Is Cognism Worth the Investment?
Cognism's core value proposition is Diamond Data: phone-verified mobile numbers with high connect rates. For outbound-heavy teams that rely on cold calling, this is genuinely valuable. Cognism claims a 3x improvement in connect rates compared to industry averages, and G2 reviewers (4.6/5 from 500+ reviews) generally confirm that the phone data quality is strong, particularly for UK and EMEA contacts.
Where Cognism falls short is coverage outside Europe, pricing transparency, and the scope of intelligence you receive. Cognism is a contact data provider. It tells you who works at a target account and gives you their verified phone number. It does not tell you why that account is worth calling right now, what strategic initiatives they are pursuing, or what signals suggest they are in a buying window.
For teams that need contact data with strong EMEA coverage, Cognism delivers. For teams that need account-level intelligence, buying signals, and research automation, the per-seat cost may be hard to justify when the platform does not cover those use cases.
Where the ROI Math Gets Tough
Consider a mid-market team of 10 reps. On Cognism Diamond, you are looking at roughly $50,000/year. That buys verified phone numbers and basic company data. Your reps still need to manually research each account before calling, toggling between LinkedIn, news sites, SEC filings, and CRM notes to build context.
With Salesmotion, the same 10-rep team pays from $990/month (account-based pricing with unlimited users on team plans) and gets deep account intelligence across 1,000+ sources, real-time buying signals, and AI-generated account briefs. Teams like Analytic Partners cut account research from 3 hours to 15 minutes after switching to an intelligence-first approach.
The question is not whether Cognism's data is good. It is whether verified phone numbers alone justify the cost when your reps still spend hours on manual research that could be automated.
How Cognism Compares: Side-by-Side Pricing
| Cognism (Diamond/Elevate) | Account-Based Alternative | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Platform fee + per seat | Account-based (unlimited users on team plans) |
| 5-user cost | ~$37,500/year | From $990/mo |
| 10-user cost | ~$50,000/year | From $990/mo |
| 20-user cost | ~$75,000/year | From $990/mo |
| Free trial | 25-lead sample | Interactive demo available |
| Contract | Annual, prepaid | Annual |
| Core value | Verified phone numbers + contact data | Account intelligence + buying signals |
| Data scope | Contact data (emails, phones, company info) | 1,000+ sources (news, earnings, hiring, leadership, tech, competitive) |
| Buying signals | Bombora intent (add-on) | Built-in, 24/7 monitoring |
| Best for | Cold calling teams focused on EMEA | Teams needing account context + signal-based selling |
| G2 rating | 4.6/5 | 4.8/5 |
Negotiating Your Cognism Contract
If you decide Cognism is the right fit, negotiation is not optional. Based on Vendr's deal data, here is what works:
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Never accept the first quote. Discounts of 28-43% on Grow and 36-52% on Elevate are standard. A $50,000 Elevate quote can realistically land at $32,000-$35,000.
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Time your purchase. End-of-quarter deals tend to come with deeper discounts. Cognism's fiscal quarters are worth tracking.
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Use competing quotes. Bring pricing from ZoomInfo, Apollo, or Lusha to the table. Cognism reps are authorized to match or beat competitive offers.
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Lock in renewal pricing. Negotiate a cap on annual increases (ideally 0-5%) or push for a multi-year rate lock to avoid the typical 10-15% annual bump.
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Negotiate intent data topics. Elevate's intent topic add-ons carry high margins. Bundling 10+ topics should bring per-topic pricing down to $75-$150, roughly half the list price.
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Clarify the fair-use policy. Get the exact record limits in writing before signing. If your team prospects heavily, you may need a higher cap or unlimited export terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Cognism cost per user?
Cognism's per-user cost depends on the tier. Platinum (Grow) runs approximately $1,500 per user per year, while Diamond (Elevate) costs roughly $2,500 per user per year. However, these per-seat fees are on top of a separate platform license fee ($15,000 for Platinum, $25,000 for Diamond), which makes the effective per-user cost significantly higher for small teams. A solo Platinum user effectively pays $16,500/year, while a 10-person team pays $3,000/user/year.
Does Cognism offer a free trial or free plan?
No. Cognism does not offer a free plan or a traditional free trial. The closest option is a 25-lead sample that lets you evaluate data quality before committing. All paid plans require an annual contract with upfront payment. There is no monthly billing option.
Is Cognism better for US or European markets?
Cognism built its reputation on European data and GDPR compliance. The platform checks contacts against 13 global do-not-call lists and provides strong coverage for UK and EMEA markets. For US-focused teams, ZoomInfo and Apollo typically offer broader North American coverage. Cognism has invested in expanding its US data, but reviewers on G2 still cite regional gaps outside Europe as a limitation.
What is the difference between Cognism Platinum and Diamond?
Platinum (now called Grow) provides access to Cognism's core database of 25 million contacts with emails and basic phone numbers. Diamond (now called Elevate) adds phone-verified mobile numbers (Diamond Data), Bombora-powered intent data, and the Diamonds-on-Demand research service, expanding access to 50 million contacts. The Diamond tier typically costs 30-70% more than an equivalent Platinum package.
How does Cognism's pricing compare to other sales intelligence tools?
Cognism's pricing sits in the mid-to-upper range for sales intelligence platforms. ZoomInfo typically costs more for equivalent team sizes but includes built-in engagement tools. Apollo offers a free tier and transparent per-seat pricing starting at $59/user/month. Platforms with account-based pricing take a fundamentally different approach with flexible account-based pricing (from $85/month) that scales with accounts monitored, not headcount, making them more cost-predictable as teams grow.
