Cognism vs. UpLead: Full Comparison for 2025

Want to boost sales and generate more leads for your business? A sales intelligence platform can offer robust, out-of-box solutions for immediate growth. While there are several options on the market, two of the best choices are Cognism and UpLead. However, not all platforms have identical offerings. Each one has different features and datasets, so it’s essential to select the one that best suits your business’s specific needs.

This guide takes a closer look at these sales intelligence tools, and goes over which has the upper hand in everything from cost to data quality and user experience, helping you make an informed decision before you commit to a new platform.

Cognism Overview

Cognism is a sales intelligence platform that offers a variety of tools and features. It’s easy to set up and integrate with your existing technology, offers international coverage, and has a reasonable database of prospects. The software features specific tools for building and cleaning target lists, allowing you to identify individuals or companies searching for your product or service.

The company employs verification processes and various sourcing methods to ensure the accuracy of its data while maintaining compliance. Cognism can be used by your entire revenue team, including sales, marketing, RevOps, and recruitment.

Cognism Pros & Cons

Pros

• Integration with tools you may already use, such as Salesforce and Hubspot
• Verified mobile numbers for accurate phone data
• Artificial intelligence (AI) search ensures you get the answers you’re looking for

Cons

• Unknown costs – no pricing information online
• Potentially steep learning curve due to many features
• Limited transparency regarding overall data accuracy

UpLead Overview

UpLead is a B2B data provider and sales intelligence platform that’s committed to helping your sales and marketing teams find leads. It offers 24/7 support, boasts incredible data accuracy, and features a range of helpful tools, including intent data, a prospecting tool, real-time email verification, data enrichment, and more.

It’s trusted by several of the largest companies on the planet, integrates with various platforms and tools, and offers bulk lookup and an email finder to streamline lead discovery. There are several use cases for the software, from building target lists to sales outreach and generating leads.

UpLead Pros & Cons

Pros

• Free trial so you can try before you buy
• Industry-leading 95% data accuracy
• Around-the-clock support from human agents
• Real-time data verification
• 50+ search filters to help sales teams find qualified leads
• Extensive intent data

Cons

• EMEA, NAM, and APAC databases are not as robust as North America/USA databases
• Some tiers may be expensive for businesses on a budget

Key Differences Between Cognism and UpLead

Cognism and Uplead are chiefly differentiated by the types of data each prioritizes, the sizes of their databases, and the number of features each has:

• Types of Data: While each provides various types of data, Cognism has a larger focus on mobile data, whereas UpLead places a focus on all types of data, including email, job titles, company, and more.

• Database Size: While Cognism has a dataset of 70 million phone numbers, the company isn’t upfront about the size of its entire database, whereas UpLead is very public about its 160+ million leads.

• Number of Features: Cognism offers many features for businesses to use, whereas UpLead focuses on fewer features in an effort to eliminate unwieldy UIs  and ensure every feature provides immense value.

Side-by-Side Comparison of Cognism vs. UpLead

Here’s a quick and easy comparison of the key components of Cognism vs. UpLead.

	Cognism	UpLead
Use Cases	Companies looking for EU, especially phone-verified mobile data.	Companies looking for a wide range of affordable and comprehensive North American data, with real-time verification.
Database Size & Reliability	Over 70 million phone numbers, but not transparent about overall database size. Claims to  let you connect with 87% of your list.	Over 160 million leads and over 16 million global companies, with 95% data accuracy.
Data Enrichment Features	Choose from instant enrichment, scheduled enrichment, or on-demand enhancement.	Enrich contacts, companies, and emails, and only pay for data that’s been verified.
Contact Verification	Phone-verify contacts on-demand.	Real-time email verification.
Intent Data	Target key decision makers who are ready to buy.	Find prospects who are actively looking for your solution.
Lead Management	Generates leads and integrates with platforms to let you manage leads.	Focuses on lead generation, but works with solutions that help you score and nurture leads.
AI Features	Uses AI for processing data, improving data searches, and streamlining reporting.	Uses AI in both data collection and processing.
Integrations	Compatible with software including Salesforce, Outreach, Salesloft, and others.	Compatible with several software options including HubSpot, Salesforce, Insightly, and others.
Ease of Use	Intuitive, but the sheer amount of features may be overwhelming for some users.	A clean and straightforward user interface that’s simple to navigate for everyone.
Compliance	Both CCPA and GDPR compliant.	Complies with GDPR and CCPA.
Browser Extension	Yes	Yes
Free Access?	Free trial of 25 targeted leads.	7-day free trial.
Advantages	International data, collection of useful features, phone-verified mobile data.	Huge database; 24/7 human support; real-time data verification; 95% data accuracy.
Disadvantages	Not transparent about pricing; potential learning curve due to abundance of features	Limited international data compared to North American offerings.

Cognism vs. UpLead: Main Features

Let’s dive a little deeper into the features of each platform to help you learn which is right for your company’s business model and use cases.

Cognism Features

• Several Types of Data Enrichment: Cognism gives you a few ways to enrich your contact data and boost its quality. You can opt for instant CRM enrichment, scheduled CRM enrichment, and on-demand CSV enhancement.

• Phone-Verified Mobile Numbers: To ensure the mobile data it uses is high-quality, Cognism manually calls the numbers in its database to ensure they’re correct.

• International Data and Compliance: While some solutions focus on certain markets, Cognism offers international coverage including markets like EMEA, NAM, and APAC.

• List building: Similar to UpLead, Cognism is a solid list building tool. Not only can you build target lists, but you can also cleanse them.

UpLead Features

• Massive and Highly-Accurate Database: A major reason why UpLead is among the top B2B data providers is due to its huge 160+ million lead database. But not only is it comprehensive, it’s also reliable—with 95% data accuracy.  (This also makes it one of the best Lusha alternatives, if you’re looking to move away from that platform.)

• Intent Data: Similar to Cognism and other intent data providers, UpLead helps you find prospects who are actively looking for what you offer. By showing you leads with high purchase intent, it raises your chance of closing a deal on any given lead.
  

• Real-Time Verification: The platform allows you to verify any email address in just a few seconds, ensuring its validity before you download it. This makes it one of the best email verification tools available.

• Data Enrichment: UpLead provides data enrichment to ensure that any outdated, incorrect, or missing data is refreshed and updated, so every lead is informed by recent and reliable information.

• Numerous Search Filters: Similar to Cognism, UpLead allows you to use multiple filters to fine-tune every search. This includes filtering by job title, industry, location, revenue, and many other categories.
  

Cognism vs. UpLead Data

Because these platforms provide you with vital data to achieve your business goals, it’s critical to be aware of the quality and type of data that each offers.

Cognism Database

While Cognism isn’t 100% transparent about the size of its database, it claims to have over 70 million phone numbers. Information on reliability is similarly sparse, but it does state that you can connect with 87% of your list.

Cognism obtains its data from various sources, including partnerships, public records, and proprietary methods. The data includes mobile data, emails, job titles, and more.

UpLead Database

UpLead, on the other hand, is more forthcoming and promising with its database metrics: It has a large and easily-searchable database with over 160 million leads and 16 million companies. In addition to being plentiful, the data is also reliable, as the company has a 95% accuracy guarantee. It sources its data from public records and licenses it from trusted third-party providers.

While its real-time verified emails make it popular amongst businesses who buy email lists, UpLead also provides data like company, position, phone numbers, and social profiles.

Cogism vs. UpLead Cost

Running a business is expensive enough, so knowing the cost of third-party tools is an important factor in deciding which is right for you.

Cognism Pricing

Instead of listing its plans online, to learn about Cognism pricing, you have to reach out to the company directly. The pricing is based on your business needs, so you’ll need to speak with an agent to determine your projected cost.

While Cognism offers a sample of its capabilities, it’s not a traditional free trial of the platform itself. Instead, the company offers a form to get a free list of 25 targeted leads, which lets you test the quality and accuracy of its data on a very small scale before deciding whether to work with the company or not.

UpLead Pricing

UpLead has more traditional and transparent plans and pricing, with three main options: Essentials, Plus, and Professional.

• Essentials costs $99 per month (saving 25% if you pay annually) and comes with 170 credits per month. Each credit unlocks one contact and gives you access to their data. You can buy additional credits for $0.60 each. This plan includes verified emails, mobile phones, CRM integration, and a Chrome extension.

• Plus costs $199 per month (saving 25% if you pay annually) and comes with 400 credits per month. You can buy extra credits for $0.50 each. The plan includes everything in Essentials plus data enrichment, email pattern intel, advanced filters, and more.

• Professional doesn’t include a one-size-fits-all, publicly listed prices. That’s because this plan is customized and tailored to each business’s unique needs. It features everything in Plus, as well as buyer intent data, full API access, competitor intelligence, a dedicated success manager, priority support, and more. To obtain your personalized quote for Professional, reach out to UpLead directly.

UpLead offers a 7-day free trial that gives you access to 5 credits, and includes verified emails, mobile phones, and a Chrome extension.

Cognism vs. UpLead Integrations

Both Cognism and UpLead offer integration with many of the leading software solutions your sales teams may already use. Each also lets you use APIs to search and enrich contact and company data, fine-tuning your results.

Cognism Integrations

Some of the tools that Cognism integrates with include:

• Salesforce
• Outreach
• Hubspot
• Salesloft
• Pipedrive
• Zapier
• Microsoft Dynamics 365

UpLead Integrations

UpLead integrates with several popular pieces of software, such as:

• Salesforce
• Zoho
• Outreach
• Hubspot
• Insightly
• Mailshake
• Pipedrive
• Nimble and more

Cognism vs. UpLead User Experience

User experience is a crucial factor in determining the right tool, as a streamlined and modern interface often makes it easier to navigate and take advantage of the tool’s many features.

Cognism Ease of Use

Cognism is a simple platform to use and set up. The speed is suitable for most users, and you don’t need to wait long for features or data to load. Navigation is straightforward, and the company offers 24/7 support.

However, because Cognism has so many features (some of which you may not use), the tool can be a little overwhelming at first, and you may waste time trying to navigate features that don’t resonate with your needs.

UpLead Ease of Use

Whether you want to buy leads, verify email addresses, or use filters to search through data, UpLead is very easy to use and loads quickly. The tool is effortless to set up and integrate, and has a modern design that’s simple enough for almost anyone to use and navigate. It offers 24/7 support from real customer support staff, who are responsive and helpful.

Cognism vs. UpLead Compliance

While the data and features a tool offers are essential, it’s crucial not to forget about compliance, privacy, and security.

Cognism Compliance

Cognism takes compliance seriously, and due to its focus on international data, it complies with both GDPR and CCPA. 

The company has a privacy policy that covers the data it processes, the purposes for which your data is used, with whom it’s shared, your data rights, and how it protects personal information. This includes access control, encryption, and internal data security policies.

UpLead Compliance

Like Cognism, UpLead is also compliant with both CCPA and GDPR. Its detailed privacy policy outlines the personal information the company collects, how it’s collected, what it’s used for, and more. The company also takes your security very seriously and has measures in place to protect your data, such as applying the principle of least privilege (PoLP)—limiting access only to those who need to know the information for business reasons.

Cogism vs. UpLead Use Cases

While both of these platforms help you find leads and gather/analyze data, they have different use cases and customer types.

Cognism Use Cases

Cognism is useful for B2B companies and those seeking accurate and verified mobile data from leads in markets such as EMEA, NAM, and APAC. Several industries can make use of the software, including IT, financial services, and manufacturing. Additionally, it works for companies of all sizes who want to build targeted lists or cleanse and enrich data.

Marketing teams can use it to gather useful data for building campaigns, and sales teams can use it to reach decision makers directly.

UpLead Use Cases

Like Cognism, UpLead has a B2B focus. However, while it does offer plenty of international data, it’s especially well-suited for those who want access to a large collection of North American data as well. It’s also one of the best email list providers out there, due to its email verification feature that lets you immediately ensure an email is legitimate and active before sending a message.

UpLead is also a good choice for companies looking for a cost-effective solution, and it’s a versatile platform with features for lean start-ups, established and mature businesses, and industry-leading experts alike in numerous industries. It also has several features specifically helpful to the different teams within your organization. 

This includes providing your sales team with reliable and updated contact information for thousands of leads and helping your marketing team access high-quality B2B data to create targeted lists of engaged leads.

Cogism vs. UpLead Customer Reviews

To gain insight into user experiences with Cognism vs. UpLead, we reviewed ratings on G2 and Capterra. 

Cognism Reviews

Most reviews that Cognism gets are positive, noting the quality of its international data, user-friendly interface, and intent data features. Comments also reference the ease of building lists and the usefulness of its AI features. Unfortunately, some reviews call out experiences with incorrect contact details or the software’s  high cost.

As of March 7th, 2025, Cognism has a 4.5 rating on G2 with 813 reviews, and a 4.7 rating on Capterra with 178 reviews.

UpLead Reviews

UpLead gets overwhelmingly positive reviews from past users. Many highlight the software’s ease of use and the effectiveness of its filtering system, which enables companies to reach their target contacts quickly and easily. Several comments also mention the seamless integrations and the usefulness of the Chrome extension. However, some comments wish the company offered more international data.

As of March 7, 2025, UpLead has a 4.5 rating on G2, based on 785 reviews, and a 4.6 rating on Capterra, based on 76 reviews.

Committing to a Platform: Cognism or UpLead?

So, which sales intelligence platform will best boost your prospects and, ultimately, profit? While both are solid tools with useful features and positive reviews, the right choice for you depends on your needs.

Choose Cognism for Data Outside of North America, With a Focus on Mobile Phones

Cognism offers data from various regions outside of North America, and it’s compliant with the latest international data privacy laws to protect your business.

Cognism is also a good choice for accurate mobile data, as the company manually calls every number to ensure it’s legitimate and active, and offers more than 70 million phone numbers in its database.

Choose UpLead for a Huge Database of Accurate and Verified Data

If you require a massive database with over 160 million leads, UpLead is the best choice. Not only is the data comprehensive, but it’s also accurate: UpLead boasts a 95% data accuracy guarantee.

It’s also the preferred choice for those who want email data, as the company verifies emails in real-time before providing them to you.

Another thing that makes UpLead a solid alternative to Cognism is the streamlined features list, which is free from “feature bloat,” to ensure you’re not distracted or overwhelmed.

See Firsthand Why More Businesses Choose UpLead 

Whether you’re looking for real-time verified emails, or want access to well over 160 million leads in one place, UpLead can help. It has a sleek and streamlined UI to boost your productivity, and there’s always a human agent ready to help you with any issue.

If you’re interested in learning if UpLead is right for you, don’t hesitate to try out the free trial.

FAQs About Cognism vs. UpLead

Here are a few common questions about Cognism vs. UpLead, along with simple answers.