Comparison
Cognism provides GDPR-compliant, phone-verified contacts for EMEA markets. Lusha offers fast, affordable contact reveals with transparent pricing. This comparison helps you pick the right data provider.
| Feature | Cognism | Lusha |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | UK (London) | Israel (Tel Aviv) |
| Phone Data | Diamond Data: manually phone-verified | Available, standard verification |
| Database Strength | Strong EMEA coverage | Solid global coverage, SMB focus |
| Free Plan | No free tier available | 50 email credits/month free |
| Pricing Model | Custom, ~$15,000-$25,000+/year | Self-serve, from $49/user/month |
| Best For | Phone-first EMEA outbound | Individual reps, LinkedIn prospecting |
Cognism is a UK-headquartered B2B data provider that specializes in phone-verified mobile numbers and GDPR-compliant data for sales teams selling into European and global markets. The platform has built its reputation on Diamond Data — phone numbers that are verified by actually calling them — resulting in significantly higher connect rates than unverified databases.
Beyond phone data, Cognism offers email addresses, firmographic data, intent data through a Bombora partnership, and a Chrome extension for LinkedIn prospecting. The platform integrates with Salesforce and HubSpot and serves as a dedicated data provider for outbound sales teams.
Cognism is designed for mid-market and enterprise sales teams that run phone-first outbound campaigns, particularly into EMEA markets. Its GDPR-first approach to data collection and processing makes it the preferred choice for organizations with strict European data privacy requirements.
Best for: Phone-first sales teams selling into EMEA that need GDPR-compliant, phone-verified mobile numbers for high connect rates
G2 rating: 4.6/5
Pricing: Custom pricing. Typically $15,000-$25,000+/year for small-mid teams. Diamond Data access may carry a premium. Annual contracts standard.
Lusha is an Israel-based B2B contact data platform that emphasizes simplicity and speed. With over 100 million business profiles, Lusha provides a lightweight Chrome extension that lets reps reveal contact information on LinkedIn with a single click. The platform has grown to serve over 1 million individual users.
Lusha differentiates with transparent, self-serve pricing and a free tier that makes it accessible to individual contributors and small teams. Beyond the Chrome extension, Lusha offers a web app for list building, bulk enrichment, an API for CRM integration, and Lusha Intent for basic buyer intent signals.
Lusha is ISO 27701 certified for data privacy and GDPR compliant. While its database is smaller than Cognism's in EMEA, it provides solid global coverage for email addresses and has a strong presence among SMB users, recruiters, and individual sales reps.
Best for: Individual reps and small teams that need fast, affordable access to B2B contact data through a simple Chrome extension and self-serve platform
G2 rating: 4.3/5
Pricing: Free: 50 email credits/month. Pro: $49/user/month. Premium: $79/user/month. Scale: custom pricing for larger teams.
How Cognism and Lusha stack up across key capabilities.
| Feature | Cognism | Lusha |
|---|---|---|
| Phone Number Accuracy | Diamond Data: 87%+ phone-verified accuracy | Standard verification, lower connect rates |
| EMEA Data Coverage | Industry-leading European data | Coverage available, less depth in EMEA |
| GDPR Compliance | Built from the ground up for GDPR | ISO 27701 certified, GDPR compliant |
| Chrome Extension | LinkedIn contact discovery | Fast one-click LinkedIn reveals |
| Intent Data | Bombora intent partnership | Lusha Intent (newer product) |
| Engagement Tools | Not available | Not available |
| Pricing Transparency | Custom quotes only | Published self-serve pricing |
| Free Access | No free plan | Free plan with 50 credits/month |
Cognism and Lusha have fundamentally different pricing approaches. Cognism requires a custom sales conversation and typically costs $15,000-$25,000+/year, with Diamond Data potentially adding a premium. Annual contracts are standard and pricing is not published publicly.
Lusha offers fully transparent, self-serve pricing. The free plan provides 50 email credits/month. Pro costs $49/user/month and Premium $79/user/month. A 10-person team on Premium with annual billing would cost roughly $9,480/year — roughly half of Cognism's entry point.
The price difference reflects data quality differences, particularly for phone numbers. Cognism's manually phone-verified Diamond Data delivers significantly higher connect rates, which can justify the premium for teams where phone outbound is the primary sales motion. For email-first teams or individual prospectors, Lusha's value proposition is stronger.
Cognism and Lusha are contact data providers. They help you find email addresses and phone numbers so you can reach prospects. But neither tool helps you understand the account you are selling into or gives you a reason for the prospect to take your call.
In a world where buyers are inundated with outreach, the quality of your message matters more than the accuracy of your phone number. Reps need account context to stand out.
Neither Cognism nor Lusha synthesizes intelligence from 1,000+ sources into account briefs. Reps get contact information but no context about the company's strategic priorities, challenges, or initiatives.
Both offer basic intent data but neither monitors real-time business signals — earnings calls, leadership changes, funding rounds, competitive displacement — that create genuine reasons to reach out now.
Neither tool generates AI-powered talking points tied to real events at the target account. Reps are left to research and craft messaging manually, even when they have the right phone number.
“There's been a big focus on hyper personalization and relevance in our outbounding efforts. Salesmotion has been a key partner in hitting our significantly increased meeting targets. What stands out is how simple it is. Reps can log in and get valuable account insights within 30 seconds to a minute.”
Joe DeFrance
VP of Sales, Incredible Health
Salesmotion gives your reps the account intelligence they need to book more meetings and close bigger deals.
For phone-first teams selling into EMEA, yes. Cognism's Diamond Data delivers significantly higher connect rates — reportedly 87%+ accuracy on verified numbers. This means fewer wasted calls and more conversations per dial session. For email-first teams or US-focused prospecting, Lusha may provide sufficient data quality at a lower price.
Cognism leads for EMEA contact data, especially mobile phone numbers. It was built in the European market and has invested heavily in EMEA coverage. Lusha offers EMEA contacts but with less depth, particularly for phone-verified mobile numbers. For European prospecting, Cognism is the stronger choice.
Lusha's free plan provides 50 email credits per month, which is enough for individual reps doing very targeted prospecting. It includes Chrome extension access and basic search. For anyone doing more than a handful of lookups per day, upgrading to a paid plan is necessary.
Neither offers built-in email sequencing, dialers, or campaign tools. Both are pure data providers. If you need engagement tools, you will need a separate platform like Outreach, Salesloft, or Apollo. This adds to the total cost of your prospecting stack.
Salesmotion adds the account intelligence layer that contact data tools miss. While Cognism or Lusha tells you who to call and how to reach them, Salesmotion tells you what to say by providing deep account briefs, real-time buying signals, and AI-generated talking points. The combination of accurate contact data plus deep account context creates more effective outreach.
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