Lusha vs Cognism
Immanual D M
Last updated on
Every agency in this list is independently scored against the same rubric: pricing transparency, pipeline attribution, B2B SaaS specialization, team structure, and verified Clutch / G2 reviews. No paid placements, no editorial swaps.
Learn more about our review methodology →
The short answer
Lusha and Cognism both sell B2B contact and company data with prospecting workflows layered on top, but they target different buyers. Lusha is a self-serve, credit-based tool with a free tier and published prices up to $399.90/mo, built for individual reps and small teams that want quick, low-cost access to contact data. Cognism is a quote-only, seat-based platform aimed at mid-market and enterprise revenue teams that need human-verified mobile numbers (its “Diamond Data”) and deep EMEA/GDPR coverage, sold through a sales-led annual contract typically starting around $15,000/year.
If you want to start free or pay a published, low monthly price, work primarily a US/major-market ICP, and need self-serve automation (Zapier, Make, n8n) without a sales call, Lusha’s credit-based model is the more accessible entry point.
If your team prospects heavily into Europe and needs GDPR-grade compliance, wants human-verified mobile numbers with reportedly higher connect rates, and has budget for a $15,000+/year seat-based contract, Cognism’s enterprise platform is the stronger fit (pricing is quote-only).
At a glance
| Lusha | Cognism | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded / Vendor | Lusha, founded 2016 | Cognism, founded 2015 |
| HQ | Dual claims: Tel Aviv origin / Boston commercial HQ (unverified, confirm live) | London, United Kingdom |
| Pricing model | Credit-based, self-serve, published tiers | Seat-based, quote-only, sales-led |
| Starting price | $0 (Free, 40 credits/mo); Starter $49.90/mo | No public price; reported from ~$15,000/yr |
| Public rating | 4.3/5 G2, ~1,611 reviews (reported, verify live) | 4.6/5 G2 (reported); 4.7/5 Capterra (self-reported, verify live) |
| Best for | Individual reps / small teams, low-cost entry | Mid-market to enterprise, EMEA/GDPR-heavy prospecting |
Vendor profile
Lusha
Lusha is a B2B contact and company database with a browser extension for revealing contact details directly from LinkedIn and company pages, plus buying-intent signals and CRM enrichment. Its site cites “280,000+ GTM teams” and “2.6 million users worldwide,” and homepage logos reference Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Spotify (though large-brand logos on data-tool marketing pages typically represent individual seats, not enterprise-wide contracts, so treat that as directional). Team size is reported around 300 employees, with third-party estimates ranging 276 to 359. HQ is unclear: the company is commonly described as Israeli-founded (Tel Aviv) with a US commercial presence in Boston; confirm the current claim on lusha.com/about before publishing anything definitive. Pricing is published and self-serve, running from a free tier to $399.90/mo, with credit costs of 1 credit per email reveal and 10 per phone reveal.
- Vendor
- Lusha (lusha.com)
- Founded
- 2016
- HQ
- Unverified: dual Tel Aviv origin / Boston commercial HQ claims
- Team size
- ~300 employees (range: 276-359, source-dependent)
- Pricing model
- Credit-based, self-serve, published tiers
- Starting price
- $0 (Free, 40 credits/mo); Starter $49.90/mo
- Public rating
- 4.3/5 G2, ~1,611 reviews (reported via search snippet, verify live)
Cognism
Cognism is a go-to-market data platform built around human-verified mobile numbers, branded “Diamond Data,” plus Bombora-powered buying-intent data and a GDPR/CCPA-compliant global database with a strong EMEA/UK depth. It cites being “trusted by 4,000+ customers worldwide,” with published case studies naming Mollie, Druva, Asana, Hootsuite, Seismic, Notion, Deel, Monday.com, and Xero. Team size is estimated between 455 and 559-plus employees depending on the source and date. Cognism does not publish any prices: its Standard and Pro plans (both minimum 5 seats) are quote-only, with add-ons like CRM Enrichment and Data-as-a-Service sold separately and also unpriced publicly. Third-party estimates (not Cognism-confirmed) put a typical 5-seat deployment at roughly $15,000 to $50,000-plus per year.
- Vendor
- Cognism (cognism.com)
- Founded
- 2015
- HQ
- London, United Kingdom
- Team size
- ~455 to 559+ employees (source-dependent)
- Pricing model
- Seat-based, quote-only, sales-led (5-seat minimum)
- Starting price
- No public price; reported from ~$15,000/yr (third-party estimate)
- Public rating
- 4.6/5 G2 (reported); 4.7/5 Capterra (self-reported on cognism.com, verify live)
Pricing: what you'll actually pay
Pricing is the clearest structural difference between these two tools. Lusha publishes self-serve rates with a free tier; Cognism publishes no prices at all and requires a sales conversation for any number. Lusha figures are from lusha.com/pricing (fetched July 2026); Cognism figures are third-party estimates, not confirmed by Cognism, and should be treated as directional.
| Lusha | Cognism | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | ✓ (40 credits/mo) | ✕ |
| Entry paid tier | Starter $49.90/mo (monthly); $32.45/mo (annual) | Standard, price not listed (5-seat minimum) |
| Mid tier | Professional $69.90/mo (monthly); $45.45/mo (annual) | Pro (adds Diamond Data + Bombora intent), price not listed |
| Top published tier | Premium $399.90/mo (monthly); $259.95/mo (annual) | No published top tier; custom Scale/enterprise deals only |
| Typical reported spend | Roughly $50 to $400/mo for a solo user, scales with credits | Reportedly ~$15,000 to $50,000+/yr for a 5-seat deployment (third-party estimate) |
| Billing model | Monthly or annual (annual discount, credits roll over up to 2x) | Annual contract; reportedly strict auto-renewal terms |
Capability comparison
Both tools cover the same basic job: find a contact, verify a way to reach them, and push that into a CRM. The real gaps show up in phone data quality, geographic depth, and how much of the workflow is self-serve versus sales-gated. Lusha leads on self-serve access and low-cost entry; Cognism leads on verified mobile data and EMEA coverage.
| Service | Lusha | Cognism |
|---|---|---|
| Contact database + browser extension | ✓ | ✓ |
| Human-verified mobile numbers | Partial (improved, but generally regarded as less accurate per third-party comparisons) | ✓ (Diamond Data, human-verified; core strength) |
| Buying-intent data | ✓ (native) | ✓ (Bombora-powered; positioned as more advanced) |
| EMEA / GDPR-compliance depth | Partial (weaker non-US/EMEA depth per comparisons) | ✓ (built and marketed around EU compliance rigor) |
| Free tier | ✓ (40 credits/mo) | ✕ (no free tier or published low-end plan) |
| Self-serve automation (Zapier, Make, n8n, etc.) | ✓ (Zapier, Make, n8n, Pipedream, Workato, Albato) | Partial (Zapier only among the listed automation tools; more enterprise-sales-gated) |
| CRM sync direction | Mostly one-way (push to CRM) on most plans | Deeper, more granular bi-directional enrichment (per comparisons) |
| Published self-serve pricing | ✓ | ✕ (quote-only) |
Decision matrix - who fits which side
| Criterion | Lusha | Cognism |
|---|---|---|
| Solo rep / small-team budget | ✓ | ✕ |
| Free tier to start | ✓ | ✕ |
| Self-serve, no sales call required | ✓ | ✕ |
| Heavy EMEA / GDPR-sensitive prospecting | - | ✓ |
| Verified mobile / phone-first outreach | - | ✓ |
| Native buying-intent data | - | ✓ |
| Broad self-serve automation ecosystem | ✓ | - |
| Bi-directional CRM enrichment | - | ✓ |
| Enterprise / mid-market budget available | - | ✓ |
Check = clear edge. Dash = capable but not the stronger pick. Cross = outside the model.
Strengths & tradeoffs
Both tools do the core job (surface B2B contact details and route them into a sales workflow), and each side wins rows the other does not. The honest differences are price transparency, phone data quality, and geographic depth.
| Axis | Lusha | Cognism |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Published, self-serve, credit-based; free tier to $399.90/mo | Quote-only, seat-based; reportedly $15,000 to $50,000+/yr for 5 seats |
| Best-fit buyer | Individual reps, startups, small SDR teams | Mid-market to enterprise revenue orgs |
| Phone data accuracy | Improved but generally regarded as weaker than Cognism’s (per third-party comparisons) | Human-verified “Diamond Data” mobiles; widely cited as more reliable |
| Geographic depth | Strongest in major markets (US); thinner elsewhere | Strong EMEA/UK/GDPR-compliance depth (core reputation) |
| Intent data | Included natively | Bombora-powered; positioned as more advanced signal layer |
| CRM sync | Largely one-way push on most plans | Deeper, more granular bi-directional enrichment (per comparisons) |
| Adoption scale | Larger claimed user base (280,000+ teams / 2.6M users) | Smaller but higher-profile customer roster (4,000+ customers; Asana, Notion, Deel) |
| Automation ecosystem | Broader self-serve list (Zapier, Make, n8n, Pipedream, Workato, Albato) | Narrower, more enterprise-gated integration story |
Ratings & track record
| Metric | Lusha | Cognism |
|---|---|---|
| G2 rating | 4.3/5 (reported, verify live) | 4.6/5 (reported, verify live) |
| G2 reviews | ~1,611 (reported) | 500+ to 1,200+ (range varies by source snapshot) |
| Capterra rating | Not separately confirmed in this research pass | 4.7/5 (self-reported on cognism.com, verify independently) |
| Category | Self-serve contact database + browser extension | Enterprise GTM data platform with verified mobiles |
| Notable signal | Larger review volume gives a bigger statistical base | Higher reported star rating on both G2 and Capterra snapshots found |
Direct fetches of both vendors’ G2 pages returned 403 responses during this research pass, so both rating figures above come from search-snippet aggregation rather than a confirmed live pull; re-check both on g2.com before citing either number as current. Cognism’s Capterra figure is self-reported on its own customer-reviews page, not an independent Capterra pull, so confirm it directly on capterra.com as well. With review counts in the hundreds to low thousands on both sides, treat star-rating differences as directional sentiment rather than statistically decisive. The stronger driver of choice here is fit: budget and team size on one side, phone-data accuracy and EMEA coverage needs on the other.
Both tools’ data is sourced from publicly available information and third-party cross-checks as of July 2026. Several figures, including Lusha’s HQ, both G2 ratings, and all Cognism pricing figures, could not be fully confirmed via direct automated fetch; verify these directly with each vendor before buying. This comparison is independent; we take no affiliate or referral fees from either vendor.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Lusha and Cognism?
Is Lusha better than Cognism?
Which is cheaper, Lusha or Cognism?
Which has more accurate phone data, Lusha or Cognism?
Does Lusha or Cognism have better European (EMEA) coverage?
Does Cognism offer a free tier like Lusha?
Sources and references
- Lusha homepage / about (accessed July 2026)
- Lusha pricing (accessed July 2026)
- G2: Lusha reviews (accessed July 2026)
- Crunchbase: Lusha (accessed July 2026)
- Cognism homepage / pricing (accessed July 2026)
- Cognism customer reviews (accessed July 2026)
- G2: Cognism reviews (accessed July 2026)
- Cognism vs Lusha pricing guide (Artisan) (accessed July 2026)
Want an outside opinion before you commit?
This comparison is independent — we don't take referral fees from either agency. If you'd like a second read from a B2B SaaS specialist on which fits your stage, PipeRocket is happy to give you an honest one. No obligation.
Book Free Audit