7 Best Sales Intelligence Platforms for Research in 2026
We tested 15+ sales intelligence platforms to find the best for account research and prospecting. These tools combine company data, contact information, intent signals, and news into comprehensive profiles that help sales teams research accounts and find the right people to contact.
ZoomInfo is the most comprehensive sales intelligence platform available. Their database combines contact data, intent signals, technographics, org charts, and company news into complete account profiles. Workflow automation triggers actions when accounts match your criteria.
Starting price$15K+/yr
Strengths
Largest database
Intent data included
Technographics
Org charts
Strong integrations
Limitations
Premium pricing
Contract commitments
Data varies by region
Learning curve
Who it's for: Best for mid-market and enterprise sales teams who need comprehensive account intelligence with intent and technographics.
Apollo combines a massive contact database with email sequences and a dialer at accessible pricing. The free tier includes 10,000 email credits monthly. Technographic data shows what tools prospects use. Intent signals indicate research activity.
Starting priceFree
Strengths
Great value
Large database
Outreach included
Generous free tier
Good accuracy
Limitations
Accuracy varies
Basic intent
Phone credits limited
Support response
Who it's for: Best for SMB and startup sales teams who want comprehensive intelligence and outreach without enterprise pricing.
Sales Navigator provides direct access to LinkedIn data for relationship-based selling. Advanced search filters find decision-makers by title, company size, and industry. InMail reaches prospects directly. Account pages track company updates.
Strengths
LinkedIn data access
InMail credits
Relationship mapping
Account updates
TeamLink
Limitations
LinkedIn only
No email/phone
No intent data
Separate from CRM
Who it's for: Best for sales teams who rely on LinkedIn for prospecting and want advanced search and direct messaging capabilities.
Cognism provides GDPR-compliant sales intelligence with particularly strong European coverage. Diamond Data includes manually verified mobile numbers. Intent data powered by Bombora shows in-market accounts. Compliance focus suits regulated industries.
Starting priceCustom
Strengths
EU coverage
GDPR compliant
Verified mobiles
Intent data
Chrome extension
Limitations
Custom pricing
Smaller US data
Newer platform
Limited technographics
Who it's for: Best for European sales teams or those selling into Europe who need GDPR-compliant data with verified mobile numbers.
Lusha makes finding contact data fast and simple. Browse LinkedIn, click the Chrome extension, and get emails and direct dial phone numbers instantly. No complex searches or filters - just quick lookups when you need them.
Starting priceFree
Strengths
Fast lookups
Chrome extension
Direct dials
Simple UI
Free tier
Limitations
Limited features
Credits run out
No intent data
No technographics
Who it's for: Best for individual reps and small teams who need quick contact lookups without full platform complexity.
Clearbit provides best-in-class company data for enrichment, scoring, and personalization. Real-time API lookups return firmographics, technographics, and company attributes. Reveal identifies anonymous website visitors. Enrichment keeps CRM data fresh.
Starting priceCustom
Strengths
Best enrichment
Real-time API
Visitor reveal
Clean data
Flexible integration
Limitations
Company-focused
Limited contacts
Custom pricing
Technical setup
Who it's for: Best for RevOps teams who need accurate company data for enrichment, scoring, and personalization use cases.
Seamless.AI uses artificial intelligence to find and verify contact data in real-time. Rather than a static database, searches find current data as you search. Unlimited searches on enterprise plans. Direct dial phone numbers are verified for accuracy.
Starting priceCustom
Strengths
Real-time data
Verified dials
Unlimited plans
AI-powered
Chrome extension
Limitations
Variable accuracy
Credit-based pricing
Heavy upselling
Interface issues
Who it's for: Best for teams who need unlimited prospecting with real-time data verification rather than static database lookups.
We tested each platform for data quality, coverage, and feature completeness.
Data Accuracy (30%) — Contact and company data accuracy and freshness.
Database Coverage (25%) — Size and breadth of company and contact data.
Feature Depth (20%) — Intent, technographics, and additional intelligence.
Integration Quality (15%) — CRM sync, workflows, and outreach connections.
Pricing Value (10%) — Cost per contact and feature set.
How to Choose
Choose ZoomInfo if you need comprehensive intelligence.
Choose Apollo.io if you need best value.
Choose Sales Navigator if you need LinkedIn selling.
Choose Cognism if you need European focus.
Choose Lusha if you need quick lookups.
Common Questions
Sales intelligence platforms provide comprehensive data about companies and contacts to help sales teams research accounts and find buyers. This includes firmographics, contact data, technographics (what tools companies use), intent signals, and news/funding alerts.
Accuracy varies by platform and data type. Email accuracy is typically 85-95%, phone numbers lower at 60-80%. Company data is generally more reliable. Always verify critical contacts before important outreach. Most platforms offer verification or accuracy guarantees.
Intent data helps prioritize accounts actively researching solutions like yours. It's most valuable for outbound-heavy teams and ABM programs. If you have plenty of inbound leads to work, intent data may be less critical. It adds cost, so evaluate ROI for your use case.
