Your list comes from somewhere. B2B data providers are the primary sources: databases of companies, roles, emails, and firmographic data that power most cold outbound. The quality and freshness varies dramatically by provider and by segment. Here's what I actually reach for.
Apollo, ZoomInfo, Cognism, SalesIntel. Comprehensive B2B databases with contact info, company data, intent signals, technographics.
Sales Navigator (for finding prospects), plus scrapers like Wiza, Evaboot, that extract emails from Nav searches.
Lusha, Hunter, Anymail Finder, Findymail, Seamless. Take a name + company and return likely email addresses.
Clay, Rocketreach, Bouncer. Enrich existing lists with additional data.
Most popular for cold outbound in 2026. Large database, reasonable pricing, includes sequencing tool (so it's an all-in-one).
Enterprise-grade. Most accurate for direct-dial phone numbers and senior contacts. Expensive.
The most current and accurate source of job titles and company data, because people update their own LinkedIn. Not an email source by itself; pair with Evaboot or Wiza to extract emails.
Strong for EU coverage. GDPR-compliant by design. Good B2B mobile numbers.
Popular Chrome extension for on-the-fly contact lookup. Used often for lower-volume or research-heavy workflows.
Email finder and verifier. Straightforward. Good for small-scale or specific lookups.
Not a database per se, an enrichment platform that chains data sources. More on this in Clay and enrichment.
No provider has 100% accurate data. Typical accuracy:
Never send without verifying email addresses. Never assume titles are current without checking LinkedIn.
Apollo as primary, Sales Nav + Evaboot for key accounts, ZoomInfo for enterprise.
Cognism or Apollo with EU focus. GDPR compliance is critical.
Apollo, Sales Nav + email finder. Less need for enterprise-grade databases.
Niche databases exist for specific verticals (healthcare, legal, construction, manufacturing). Research per-vertical for best results.
Google Maps scrapers, Yelp data, industry-specific directories. Major databases are weak here.
Fast. Good enough for most campaigns.
Slower but better data quality and more signal-driven targeting.
Most flexible. Highest data quality. Covered in Clay and enrichment.
All databases have stale data. A title from 6 months ago might be wrong today. Strategies:
Expect to spend $200-2000/month on data for a cold outbound operation. At enterprise scale, $20K-100K/year is normal.
This cost pays back many times over when the data is good. It's a complete write-off when the data is bad (bounces, wrong targets, no responses). Invest in data as seriously as you invest in copy.
Next: Clay and enrichment.