Cognism vs. LeadIQ: Which B2B Prospecting Tool to Choose?

Cognism vs. LeadIQ: quick overview

Before we get into the details, here’s a snapshot of what each tool does and what it costs.

Cognism

Cognism provides up-to-date B2B contact and company data with a strong focus on European markets. The platform is built around phone-verified Diamond Data, which delivers mobile numbers with higher accuracy than most competitors. Cognism also offers signal data like hiring trends, funding rounds, and technographic insights to help sales teams prioritize accounts and personalize outreach. It’s GDPR-compliant and integrates with major CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Outreach.

Main differentiator: Phone-verified mobile numbers and strong GDPR compliance, especially for EMEA prospecting.

Starting price: Pricing is not publicly available. Based on third-party sources, the Grow package starts around $22,500 per year for a 5-user team, while the Elevate package runs approximately $37,500 per year.

LeadIQ

LeadIQ is a B2B prospecting platform that helps sales teams capture contact data directly from LinkedIn and the web, then sync it instantly to their CRM or sales engagement tools. The platform tracks job changes in real time, enriches CRM records automatically, and uses AI to surface high-fit accounts. LeadIQ integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, and Salesloft, so you can build lists and start outreach without switching between tools.

Main differentiator: Real-time job change tracking and instant data capture from LinkedIn.

Starting price: Free plan available with limited credits. Pro plan starts at $79 per user per month (billed annually). Enterprise pricing is custom.

Cognism vs. LeadIQ: head-to-head comparison

Let’s dig into how these two tools compare across the factors that matter most to sales teams.

Features and capabilities

Cognism

Cognism is built for teams that need reliable contact data backed by verification. The platform’s standout feature is Diamond Data, which uses phone verification to confirm mobile numbers are accurate and current. This is valuable for teams that rely on cold calling as part of their outreach strategy.

Cognism provides signal data that helps sales teams identify the right time to reach out. You can track hiring trends, funding rounds, and technology stacks to tailor your messaging. The platform also offers a Sales Companion feature, which acts as a personalized assistant by recommending contacts and surfacing relevant insights.

Cognism’s data-as-a-service offering allows you to push real-time, verified data directly into your CRM, CDP, or data warehouse. For compliance-conscious teams, Cognism aligns with GDPR and CCPA standards, which makes it a safer choice for prospecting in regulated markets.

LeadIQ

LeadIQ makes prospecting faster and easier. The Chrome extension lets you capture contact data directly from LinkedIn or company websites with one click, then sync it to your CRM or sales engagement platform instantly. No manual data entry, no jumping between tabs.

One of LeadIQ’s most useful features is real-time champion tracking. If a key contact changes jobs, LeadIQ automatically alerts you so you can re-engage while the relationship is still warm. This is valuable for account-based sales strategies where relationships matter more than volume.

LeadIQ also uses AI to surface high-fit accounts based on your ideal customer profile, helping you prioritize outreach. The platform enriches CRM data in real time, keeping records fresh without manual updates. Like Cognism, it integrates with major CRMs and sales tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, and Salesloft.

Winner: Tie

Both tools excel in different areas. Cognism wins on data verification and signal intelligence, especially for phone-based outreach. LeadIQ wins on ease of capture and job change tracking. Your choice depends on whether you prioritize verified phone numbers or real-time LinkedIn prospecting.

Ease of use

Cognism

Cognism scores high on ease of use. Reviewers consistently praise the Chrome extension for its integration with LinkedIn and the ability to surface contact details instantly based on the web page you’re viewing. The platform is lightweight and doesn’t disrupt your workflow.

The interface is intuitive, with extensive filtering options that let you narrow down prospects by industry, location, seniority, technographics, and more. Once you’ve identified the right contacts, pushing them into your CRM or sales engagement tool takes just one click.

Some users mention a learning curve when first navigating all the features, especially if you’re trying to take full advantage of signal data and advanced filtering. Overall, though, Cognism is easy to pick up and use daily.

LeadIQ

LeadIQ is built for speed and simplicity. The Chrome extension is the star here. You can highlight a name on a website or LinkedIn profile, right-click, and capture the contact instantly. Or, if you’re running a LinkedIn search, you can capture entire pages of results in bulk.

Reviewers love how easy it is to build lists without leaving LinkedIn. The platform’s interface is straightforward, and the one-click sync to CRM or sales engagement tools means you can start outreach almost immediately.

Some users report occasional slowness when switching between prospect profiles, and the data quality isn’t always perfect. But for ease of use, LeadIQ is hard to beat.

Winner: LeadIQ

LeadIQ’s Chrome extension and bulk capture features make it slightly easier to use, especially for teams that live in LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Cognism is also user-friendly, but LeadIQ edges ahead on pure simplicity.

Pricing and value

Cognism

Cognism does not list pricing publicly. Based on available estimates, the Grow package costs around $22,500 per year for a 5-user team (approximately $4,500 per user annually), while the Elevate package runs closer to $37,500 per year (about $7,500 per user annually).

The Grow package includes contact and company data with phone-verified Diamond Data. The Elevate package adds advanced signal data and intelligence to help you prioritize in-market accounts.

Cognism is positioned as a premium solution, and the pricing reflects that. For larger teams with serious prospecting volume, the investment can pay off in connect rates and time saved. For smaller teams or startups, though, the cost can be a barrier.

Cognism does not offer a free trial publicly, but you can request a demo or data sample.

LeadIQ

LeadIQ is more transparent with pricing and offers a free plan to get started.

Free plan: 50 credits, 1 user, includes people search, job change tracking, and limited database search.

Pro plan: $79 per user per month (billed annually), includes 2,000 verified work emails and 100 mobile phone numbers per month.

Enterprise plan: Custom pricing, includes unlimited prospecting, governance controls, team analytics, and priority support.

For smaller teams or individuals, LeadIQ is significantly more affordable. The free plan is a low-risk way to test the platform, and the Pro plan offers solid value for teams that need consistent prospecting without a huge budget.

LeadIQ offers a free trial, though specifics on duration aren’t prominently listed.

Winner: LeadIQ

LeadIQ offers better pricing transparency and more accessible entry points, especially for small to mid-sized teams. Cognism delivers premium data but at a premium price.

Integrations

Cognism

Cognism integrates with major CRMs and sales engagement platforms, including Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, Salesloft, Pipedrive, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Bullhorn. These integrations allow you to export contacts directly from Cognism into your CRM or sales tool without manual data entry.

The integrations are robust and well-documented, so it’s easy to build workflows that keep your data synced across platforms.

LeadIQ

LeadIQ also integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, and Salesloft. The platform supports custom field mapping for both Salesforce and HubSpot, and it includes duplicate detection to prevent cluttering your CRM with redundant records.

LeadIQ’s integrations are built to make prospecting as seamless as possible. You capture data in one click, and it flows directly into your CRM or sales engagement tool.

Winner: Tie

Both platforms offer strong integrations with the tools that matter most to sales teams. Cognism has a slightly broader range of CRM options, but LeadIQ’s integrations are just as functional for most users.

Data accuracy and coverage

Cognism

Cognism’s Diamond Data is phone-verified, which means mobile numbers are checked for accuracy before they’re added to the database. This results in significantly higher connect rates, especially in European markets where Cognism has the strongest coverage.

For email data, Cognism provides verified addresses, though some users report occasional inaccuracies. The platform’s strength is in its European data and phone numbers, particularly for decision-makers.

LeadIQ

LeadIQ provides verified work emails and mobile numbers, but data accuracy is a common complaint in user reviews. Some reviewers mention that email addresses are occasionally incorrect or outdated, and phone numbers aren’t always reliable.

That said, LeadIQ’s real-time job change tracking helps keep your data fresh, which is a big advantage for maintaining relationships with key contacts.

Winner: Cognism

Cognism’s phone-verified data gives it the edge here, especially for teams that rely on calling. LeadIQ is solid for email prospecting but doesn’t match Cognism’s verification standards.

Cognism vs. LeadIQ: pros and cons

Cognism strengths and weaknesses

Pros:

• High-quality, phone-verified mobile numbers
• Strong European data coverage
• GDPR-compliant and privacy-safe
• Signal data for identifying buying intent
• Seamless CRM integrations

Cons:

• High pricing with no public transparency
• Data quality can vary outside of Europe
• Long contract commitments
• Limited customization options in the UI

User Rating: G2: 4.5/5 (based on 1,208 reviews) Capterra: 4.7/5 (based on 244 reviews)

LeadIQ strengths and weaknesses

Pros:

• Easy to use with powerful Chrome extension
• Real-time job change tracking
• Affordable pricing with a free plan
• Bulk capture from LinkedIn
• Seamless CRM sync

Cons:

• Data accuracy issues, especially with emails
• Limited phone number coverage compared to competitors
• Some users report slowness when switching profiles
• Rising costs as usage increases

User Rating: G2: 4.3/5 (based on 1,100+ reviews) Capterra: 4.4/5 (based on 24 reviews)

Cognism vs. LeadIQ: side-by-side comparison table

Here’s a quick reference to compare the two tools:

Which should you choose?

Here are some decision-making criteria to help you figure out which tool makes sense for your team:

Consider Cognism if:

• You rely heavily on cold calling and need verified mobile numbers
• Your target market is primarily in Europe
• You need GDPR-compliant data
• You have budget for a premium data solution
• You want signal data to prioritize accounts based on intent

Consider LeadIQ if:

• You do most of your prospecting on LinkedIn
• You need to track job changes in real time
• You want a more affordable option with a free plan
• You prioritize ease of use and speed over data verification
• You’re a small to mid-sized team with tighter budgets

Need something different? Check out La Growth Machine

Cognism and LeadIQ are both solid choices if you’re looking for B2B contact data and prospecting tools. But if you’re searching for a solution that goes beyond data capture and helps you automate your entire multichannel outreach, La Growth Machine takes a different approach.

What La Growth Machine does

La Growth Machine is an all-in-one multichannel sales automation platform that helps you prospect smarter and get more replies. While Cognism and LeadIQ focus on providing contact data, our platform helps you turn that data into conversations.

Here’s how we’re different:

We automate your entire prospecting workflow, not just the data collection part. With La Growth Machine, you can build campaigns that combine LinkedIn, email, calls, voice messages, and even X (Twitter) to reach prospects on the channels they actually use.

Our platform includes Lead Enrichment to find and verify emails using 9 providers, so you don’t need a separate tool for that. We go further with features like Lookalike Search, which finds companies similar to your best clients, and LinkedIn Intents, which lets you import people who engaged with your posts or attended your events.

One of our standout features is Social Warming, which automatically likes posts and follows prospects before you reach out. This warms up the relationship so your outreach feels less cold. We also support LinkedIn Voice Messages, which can double your reply rates.

Everything is managed from a Multichannel Inbox where all your conversations (LinkedIn, email, calls) are centralized in a single thread. You get Lookalike suggestions after positive replies, one-click lead qualification, and response templates to keep your team aligned.

How it fits into your stack

If you’re already using Cognism or LeadIQ to find contact data, La Growth Machine complements that by automating what you do with the data. Import your lists from CSV or CRM, enrich them with emails, and launch multichannel campaigns that get replies.

Our platform is built for teams that want to do more than just collect contacts. It’s for teams that want to build relationships at scale without losing the personal touch.

Pricing

Starting at €50/month per identity (Basic Plan) 14-day free trial, no credit card required

Worth considering if:

• You want to automate multichannel outreach across LinkedIn, email, calls, and voice
• You need more than just contact data—you need a full prospecting workflow
• You want to test warm-up tactics like Social Warming before you reach out
• You’re looking for a tool that combines data enrichment with outreach automation

Cognism vs. LeadIQ: FAQs

What’s the main difference between Cognism and LeadIQ?

Cognism focuses on providing high-quality, phone-verified contact data with strong European coverage and signal intelligence. LeadIQ focuses on real-time prospecting from LinkedIn with job change tracking and instant CRM sync. Cognism is better for teams that rely on calling, while LeadIQ is better for LinkedIn-based prospecting.

Which tool has better data accuracy?

Cognism generally has better data accuracy, especially for phone numbers, thanks to its Diamond Data verification process. LeadIQ provides verified emails and mobile numbers, but user reviews report more frequent inaccuracies compared to Cognism.

Can I use both Cognism and LeadIQ together?

Yes, some teams use both tools to cover different use cases. You might use Cognism for verified phone numbers and signal data, and LeadIQ for capturing contacts from LinkedIn and tracking job changes. This can get expensive and redundant depending on your needs, though.

Conclusion

Cognism and LeadIQ are both strong tools for B2B prospecting, but they serve different needs. Cognism delivers premium, phone-verified data with signal intelligence, making it ideal for teams that prioritize calling and European markets. LeadIQ offers fast, affordable prospecting from LinkedIn with real-time job tracking, which makes it a better fit for teams that live in LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

If neither tool quite fits, or if you’re looking for something that goes beyond contact data and helps you automate your entire multichannel outreach, La Growth Machine is worth exploring. Our platform combines data enrichment with multichannel automation to help you not just find leads, but start conversations and build relationships at scale.