Cognism vs ZoomInfo 2026: which is better for European data?

For European data, Cognism has the stronger case on paper: it says it "stores personal data inside the European Union", its help centre lists do-not-call registries in 16 countries, Sweden, Norway and Finland included, and a research team validates high-value mobile numbers by hand. ZoomInfo is weighted to North America: it lists 66M+ contacts in Europe against 157.8M+ in North America, may store data in the US, and adds intent topics and website visitor identification. No independent test compares their accuracy, and neither publishes plan prices: Cognism's blog puts Standard from $12,750 with 5 seats, and Vendr's median ZoomInfo buyer pays $33,500 a year under terms that say "The Agreement is not cancellable".

Checked on 16 October 2026 against each vendor's pricing, data, help, privacy and comparison pages, plus Vendr. Prices are in US dollars, excluding VAT. Revexa builds Leo, one of the tools under "When neither fits"; it is not a contact database.

Cognism vs ZoomInfo at a glance

"Best for" is our judgement; the other cells are vendor statements, not test results. Sources: Cognism pricing, Cognism blog, Cognism DNC, ZoomInfo pricing, ZoomInfo data, ZoomInfo terms, Vendr.

European data: what each vendor publishes

Cognism's data page claims "90%" coverage of director-level and above contacts in Europe and the US and says "95%" of them are refreshed every 30 days (Cognism). ZoomInfo publishes regional totals (ZoomInfo). Neither gives figures per country, so neither page tells you how well Sweden, Poland or Spain is covered.

ZoomInfo's own pages disagree on Europe: its data page lists 20.5M+ European companies, while its Cognism comparison page, updated October 2026, says "22.2M European companies" (ZoomInfo). Cognism's comparison page says ZoomInfo sells international data through "Global Data Passports", "available as additional purchases", and calls its own "European database at no extra cost" (Cognism). ZoomInfo's Data Passport article describes regional packages but gives no price (ZoomInfo), so ask whether European data is in your quote.

More regional options are in Nordic B2B data tools.

Do-not-call screening, country by country

• Cognism's help centre lists Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom (TPS/CTPS) and the United States. A listed number "is marked as DNC and the contact info is masked". Its own pages count differently: the compliance page mentions "15 major Do Not Call and TPS lists" and names 12 countries, and its ZoomInfo comparison says 15 (compliance). Denmark is on none of these lists.
• ZoomInfo lists a "Do Not Call" toggle among the privacy features "included in all ZoomInfo subscriptions" (ZoomInfo), but we found no list of the registries it covers. Cognism's comparison page credits ZoomInfo with checks "in 8 countries"; ZoomInfo doesn't confirm that.

If you call Nordic or German numbers, ask either vendor for the screened registries in writing.

Accuracy: no independent test

ZoomInfo states "96%" email deliverability and "87%" mobile number accuracy, and Cognism a "3x" connect rate with verified mobiles, without saying on those pages how the figures were measured. The head-to-head figures we found come from the vendors themselves, such as customer quotes on Cognism's site comparing it with "a US competitor". We found no test by anyone without a stake in either.

To test, ask Cognism for its free data sample and ZoomInfo for a trial, run the same 30 contacts you can check, such as recent customers in your main country, and count correct mobiles and emails.

Price and contract

Details are in Cognism pricing and ZoomInfo pricing, and 30 tools are compared in our pricing research.

• Cognism sells Standard and Pro with "5 seats included" each; "1 credit = 1 revealed contact", and each seat includes credits. Read as annual, Standard works out to $2,550 per seat, and a team of two still pays for five (our calculation).
• ZoomInfo says paid plans "are billed annually, not monthly" and "include a minimum number of seats" (ZoomInfo). Bulk credits "expire at the end of your contract term". GTM AI has "no contract, no seat fees", but mobile phone data needs an enterprise plan (GTM AI).

When to pick Cognism

• You call decision-makers across Europe and want researcher-validated mobiles and do-not-call screening in 16 countries.
• Your data protection officer wants EU storage for the database you buy from.
• You have five or more seats to fill.
• Wrong choice if you need website visitor identification, which Cognism's packages don't list, fewer than five seats, or a public price.

When to pick ZoomInfo

• Your main market is North America, where ZoomInfo lists 157.8M+ contacts and 77.7M+ mobile numbers.
• You want intent, website visitors and contact data on one contract (Copilot Advanced).
• You build agents or enrichment pipelines: GTM AI sells the data through API and MCP without a contract.
• Wrong choice if you may need to leave mid-term, need EU storage, or mainly call Europe and want screening you can check by country.

When neither fits

• Self-serve European contacts: Kaspr, which says it "is part of Cognism", has a free plan, and Starter costs $65 per user a month, billed monthly (€59 in Europe), with unlimited B2B emails and 100 phone credits a month (Kaspr).
• Nordic company data: Vainu's Reach starts at €250 a month billed annually, with one country database and one to two seats (Vainu).
• Meetings on buying signals rather than a database: Leo by Revexa watches signals such as hiring, funding and new leaders in the buyer role and drafts LinkedIn messages and emails that you approve by default; $99 a month in the US, €89 in Europe, 999 SEK in Sweden, excluding VAT, 7 days free (pricing). Wrong choice if you need phone numbers, list exports or a database to search: Leo has none of them.

GDPR and where the data is

• Cognism. Its privacy policy says "Cognism stores personal data inside the European Union", and its trust center lists AWS in Ireland. Data may still go to service providers, customers or affiliates outside the UK and EU, including the US, under Standard Contractual Clauses. Cognism relies on legitimate interest, says it notifies contacts "within GDPR timeframes", and treats you as an independent controller (compliance).
• Kaspr. France's CNIL fined Kaspr €240,000 on 5 December 2024, notably for collecting LinkedIn contact details that users had chosen to limit (CNIL). The decision concerns Kaspr, not Cognism's own platform.
• ZoomInfo. Data "may be transferred to, and stored and processed in, the United States", mainly under Standard Contractual Clauses plus the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, with VeraSafe as EU representative (privacy). Its hosting sub-processors, AWS, Google and Snowflake, are listed in the USA (sub-processors). Customers in the EEA, UK and Switzerland contract with ZoomInfo UK Ltd under the law of England and Wales.
• Your own outreach. You need your own lawful basis, usually legitimate interest under GDPR art. 6.1 f, must inform each person under Article 14, and Germany's UWG §7 requires prior consent for advertising email. This is not legal advice.

Common questions

Is Cognism or ZoomInfo better for European data?

On published facts, Cognism: it says it stores personal data in the EU, its help centre lists do-not-call screening in 16 countries, and it has researchers validate high-value mobile numbers by hand. ZoomInfo lists 66M+ European contacts but publishes no country figures. No independent test compares their accuracy.

How much does Cognism cost compared with ZoomInfo?

Neither publishes plan prices. Cognism's blog gives Standard from $12,750 and Pro from $17,000, each with 5 seats, without stating the period. Vendr's median ZoomInfo buyer pays $33,500 a year, across 1,577 purchases from $7,240 to $156,042.

Which has more accurate mobile numbers?

No independent test settles it. ZoomInfo claims 87% mobile number accuracy, and Cognism has researchers validate high-value mobiles by hand. Run the same contacts through Cognism's data sample and a ZoomInfo trial.

Does Cognism or ZoomInfo store data in the EU?

Cognism says it stores personal data inside the EU, on AWS in Ireland. ZoomInfo says data may be stored and processed in the United States, and its hosting sub-processors are listed there.

Can I cancel Cognism or ZoomInfo early?

ZoomInfo's terms say the agreement "is not cancellable", and auto-renewal must be switched off 60 days before the renewal date. Cognism publishes no customer terms, so get the term, renewal and notice period in writing.