Cognism and ZoomInfo are the two names that come up most when enterprise teams shop for B2B data — both powerful, both priced around $15,000 a year. If you're comparing them, this guide breaks down where each is genuinely stronger, and when neither is the right tool because you just need a verified company list without an enterprise contract.
ZoomInfo: the US powerhouse
ZoomInfo's strength is depth on US B2B: the widest contact coverage, intent data, technographics, org charts, and tight workflow and CRM integration. If your motion is US outbound at scale and you'll actually use intent and automation, ZoomInfo is the category leader — and priced like it.
Cognism: the EU and compliance specialist
Cognism built its reputation on European coverage and compliant phone data — its verified mobile numbers and a GDPR-conscious approach make it a favourite for teams doing a lot of EU calling. Pricing is custom but lands in the same enterprise range as ZoomInfo, on an annual contract.
How to choose between them
It's mostly geography and motion. Heavy US prospecting with intent signals points to ZoomInfo. Heavy EU calling with a premium on compliant mobile numbers points to Cognism. Both assume you're a sales team that needs contacts at scale and has the budget for a five-figure, seat-based annual contract.
When neither fits
Here's the case the comparison articles rarely mention: a lot of people evaluating Cognism vs ZoomInfo don't actually need either. If you're an exporter, an importer, or a small sourcing team, your real job isn't "work a US contact list" — it's "find the genuine producers in this sector and this country, with contacts I can act on." For that, a 100-million-record sales database is the wrong shape, and a $15k annual contract is the wrong price.
The leaner, one-time option
On-demand tools research the open web at search time instead of reselling a stored database. Fiorentis runs your sector-and-country search in English and the local language, reads each company's own website, keeps only real producers, scores the fit with the evidence, and exports the contacts — across 100+ sectors and 140+ countries, for $9 once, no subscription, no per-seat fees. It won't replace an enterprise sales-intelligence suite, and it isn't trying to; it replaces the part most people were really after — a clean, verified list of the right companies. See Fiorentis vs Cognism, vs ZoomInfo, or how the scoring works.
What about directories and trade data?
Cognism and ZoomInfo aren't your only options if you go a different route. Directories like ThomasNet, Europages and Kompass are free to search but list self-registered companies and rank by paid placement, so they're stale and biased toward whoever paid. Trade and customs data like Panjiva, ImportGenius and Volza shows who actually shipped goods — powerful for verified import/export activity, but it only captures companies that move through tracked customs routes, misses domestic and service-side firms, and the useful tiers still cost thousands a year. An on-demand web reader sits in a different lane again: it doesn't depend on who registered or who shipped, only on what each company says it does on its own site.
A quick decision checklist
Choose ZoomInfo for US enterprise outbound with intent data. Choose Cognism for compliant EU mobile numbers at scale. Choose a directory for a quick free browse you don't mind double-checking. Choose trade data if shipment history is the signal you care about. Choose an on-demand tool like Fiorentis when you want a fresh, scored, contact-included list of the real producers in a specific sector and country, without a subscription.
Bottom line
Cognism and ZoomInfo are both excellent at what they're for — enterprise contact data, EU and US respectively. If that's your need and budget, pick by geography. If you really just need verified company lists by sector and country, go lean: run a free search and compare.