A B2B phone number database gives you the number. Whether the call goes anywhere depends on two things the number can’t tell you: who at the account decides, and why they would pick up this week. This page compares five phone number databases on what each vendor publishes, shows a live call list built with a reason for every call, and gives you a one week test to run on any vendor before you buy.
Every vendor fact on this page comes from that vendor’s own pages, checked October 26, 2026, and is shown as the vendor states it. Lusha data on this page was pulled live the same day. Sources are listed at the end.
The short answer
- Lusha if you want the number together with the reason to call: dated buying signals on the account, the person’s role in the buying group, and whether they just changed jobs.
- ZoomInfo if you buy through a sales process and want the largest stated direct dial count on this list.
- Apollo if you want the dialer and sequences in the same tool as the data.
- Cognism if your calls go mainly into Europe and you want numbers checked against many national do not call lists.
- UpLead if you want one flat credit per contact, with the email and mobile included.
The phone number is the last step, not the first
Reps who start from a list of numbers spend the day on calls with no reason behind them. Start from the account instead, and the number arrives with something to say.
Account with a signal → the person who decides → are they new in the seat → their number
| Step | The question | What answers it in Lusha |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The account | Why call this company now? | 26 dated buying signal types, such as funding, hiring surges, new executives and headcount changes. Each carries an effective date |
| 2. The person | Who here decides? | Buying Group ranks the decision maker, the potential champion and the end user, each with a score |
| 3. The timing | Has this person just moved? | Job change and promotion signals on the contact |
| 4. The number | How do I reach them? | Direct dial and mobile as separate fields. You see which exist before you pay |
The timing step counts more than it looks. Lusha’s decay study found 12.25% of US sales leaders changed roles in 12 months (B2B data decay, 148,000 records, September 2026). A new leader in the seat is both a reason to call and a reason the number you saved last quarter may now ring the wrong person.
A live call list, built with a reason for every call
We ran the four steps on October 26, 2026, as a seller of a sales tool. Everything below is real Lusha output, with companies and names masked.
Step 1: accounts with a dated signal
We searched US software companies with 200 to 1,000 staff for a hiring surge or financial news in the last 30 days. Lusha returned 513 accounts. We opened the signals on four of them.
| Account | Signal, dated September 28, 2026 | The detail | What it means for the seller |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. IT management software, about 990 staff | Hiring surge in Finance | 9 jobs in 4 weeks, against an average of 4.5 | Strong, if you sell to finance teams. Not a reason for a sales tool |
| B. Finance software, about 870 staff | Hiring surge in Sales | 14 jobs in 4 weeks, against an average of 13.4 | The right team for a sales tool, but the change is small. Use it as context, not the opener |
| C. Billing software, about 810 staff | Hiring surge in IT, plus news of a new engineering and operations center abroad backed by an investment over several years | 11 IT jobs in 4 weeks, against an average of 7.7 | Strong for IT, security and workplace tools |
| D. Enterprise AI software, about 985 staff | Hiring surge in HR | 5 jobs in 4 weeks, against an average of 2.3 | Strong for HR and recruiting tools |
Step 2 to 4: who decides, and which numbers exist
At account B, the search returned 11 sales and revenue operations leaders at director level and above. 10 of the 11 have a mobile on record. Nothing was revealed.
| Person | Title | Level | Location | Mobile on record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M.O. | Vice President of Sales | VP | Chicago, US | Yes |
| C.S. | Senior Vice President, North America Sales | Tagged C-suite | Canada | Yes |
| C.S. | Director of Revenue Operations | Director | California, US | Yes |
| B.W. | Senior Director of Inside Sales | Director | Chicago, US | Yes |
| J.L. | Head of Sales | Director | United Kingdom | Yes |
| A.Y. | Sales Director | Director | Sydney, AU | No. Another number type on record |
Contact confirmed live via Lusha connector, October 26, 2026. Six of 11 shown. Names masked to initials, companies masked. The full run cost 23 credits: 15 for the signal search, 6 for the signal details, 2 for the people search.
Our read: call the VP of Sales first, with the Director of Revenue Operations as the likely champion. Open on the team’s growth plans, not on the hiring numbers, because the sales hiring change was small. Three of the people sit outside the US, so check the do not call rules for Canada, the UK and Australia before anyone dials them.
Five B2B phone number databases compared
| Database | Phone figure the vendor publishes | How phone numbers come back | What a phone costs | Do not call handling | Reason to call on the same record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lusha | 85% US and 86% global phone accuracy. 117M+ verified phone numbers | Direct dial and mobile as separate fields. Search shows whether a number exists before you pay | 5 credits per phone. Free plan, 40 credits a month, no card | Scale plan admins can hide numbers on the US and UK (TPS, CTPS) lists across Lusha | 26 dated signal types and Buying Group roles on the same record |
| ZoomInfo | 135M+ direct dials. 500M+ professional profiles | Not stated on the page checked | No prices on the page checked. Pricing through a demo | Not stated on the page checked | Not compared here |
| Apollo | No phone accuracy figure on the pages checked | Mobile, work direct, home and other numbers. HQ numbers come free | Credits charged once per contact when Apollo finds and verifies at least one number | Warns you when a number is on a do not call registry. Credits are still charged | Not compared here |
| Cognism | Phone verified mobiles, which it says connect 3x more often than the industry average | Mobiles checked by manual and automated processes. On demand verification on Pro | Priced by quote. Standard and Pro, 5 seats included. 1 credit per revealed contact | Checks numbers against 16 do not call lists worldwide | Not compared here |
| UpLead | 95% accuracy stated for email. Phones described as verified, no figure | Mobile direct dials, described as non HQ lines | 1 credit per contact, email and mobile included. From $99 a month for 170 credits. 7 day trial with 5 credits | Not stated on the page checked | Not compared here |
“Not stated on the page checked” means the figure was not on the vendor pages we opened on October 26, 2026. It may be published elsewhere. Ask the vendor in writing. “Not compared here” means we did not check that vendor’s signal features for this page.
What to check before you buy a phone database
- Fill rate and accuracy, as two figures. Fill rate is how often the database has any number for your targets. Accuracy is how often that number reaches the right person. Ask for both, with the method.
- Mobile and direct dial as separate fields. Desk lines at director level and above are the least likely to be answered.
- Availability before payment. You should see which number types exist on a contact before you spend a credit.
- Coverage for your countries and your seniority levels. The tables below show how much both move the answer.
- Do not call handling for your countries. Check which national lists are screened, and whether a listed number is hidden, flagged or charged anyway.
- A reason to call. Check whether the same record tells you who decides at the account and what changed there recently.
Phone coverage, measured live
Fill rate changes by country and by seniority, so we measured both in Lusha on October 26, 2026. Each figure is the share of records that carry a phone, counted across every match, not a sample.
By country: sales VPs and directors
| Country | People | With a phone on record | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 437,277 | 356,971 | 81.6% |
| United Kingdom | 82,732 | 58,468 | 70.7% |
| Germany | 59,370 | 39,226 | 66.1% |
In the US, 65.3% of the same group also have a mobile. If you call into Germany, expect about two in three senior sales contacts to have a phone on record, not four in five.
By seniority: US sales
| Level | People | With a phone on record | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| C-suite | 16,596 | 14,154 | 85.3% |
| VP and director | 437,277 | 356,971 | 81.6% |
| Manager | 1,575,704 | 964,453 | 61.2% |
Coverage is highest at the top and drops at manager level. If your buyer is a sales manager, budget for one in three records having no phone, and plan an email or LinkedIn step for them.
Run live through the Lusha connector on October 26, 2026. Department Sales, no other filters, 12 credits in total. This counts records with a phone, not whether each phone is correct. It covers Lusha data only and is not a comparison with other vendors.
Test any phone database in one week
Published figures are averages across a whole database. Your segment may sit above or below them. This test tells you what a vendor’s phones are worth on your own buyers.
- Pick 100 contacts you would call anyway. Mix the countries and seniority levels you sell to. Use the same 100 for every vendor.
- Record availability before you pay. For each vendor, note how many of the 100 show a mobile, a direct dial, or nothing.
- Reveal 50 numbers per vendor. The same 50 people where possible.
- Call them over five working days. Log every outcome in the five buckets below.
- Work out the cost per right person. Credits spent, times the price of a credit, divided by the calls that reached the right person.
| Outcome | What counts |
|---|---|
| Numbers revealed | How many phones you paid for |
| Right person | Reached the person named on the record |
| Wrong person | Reached someone else, often a predecessor in the same seat |
| Dead or switchboard | Disconnected, or routed to reception |
| No answer | Rang through, nobody picked up. Not a data error |
Count no answer separately. It reflects when you called, not the data. The number that decides the purchase is cost per right person reached, not plan price and not the vendor’s headline accuracy.
Do not call rules, in brief
Each country sets its own rules, and checking them stays your job whatever the vendor does. In the US, the National Do Not Call Registry is run by the Federal Trade Commission. In the UK, the Telephone Preference Service covers individuals and the Corporate Telephone Preference Service covers businesses. Several EU countries keep their own lists. Before a team dials a new country, confirm the rules with your legal team and turn on whatever screening your data provider offers for that country.
This section is general information, not legal advice.
The five databases
Lusha
Lusha returns the number with the context to use it. Each account can carry up to 26 dated buying signal types, refreshed weekly except IT spend and website traffic, which refresh monthly. Each contact can carry a job change or promotion signal. Buying Group ranks who at the account decides, champions and uses what you sell.
On the phone itself, Lusha publishes 85% US and 86% global phone accuracy and 117M+ verified phone numbers (Lusha facts). Direct dials and mobiles are separate fields, and search shows which numbers exist before you pay. A phone costs 5 credits. Where Lusha has no number, Data Waterfall on Pro and above tries additional sources and charges 8 credits only on a confirmed match. All of it works in the Workspace, the Chrome extension, the API, and inside Claude and ChatGPT, where one request returns the call list with the reason for each call, as shown above.
Good fit if: you want reps to call people with a reason, not work through a list of numbers.
Watch for: hiding numbers on do not call lists is a Scale plan feature and covers the US and UK (TPS, CTPS) today. Phone coverage is lower outside the US and at manager level, as the tables above show.
ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo states 135M+ direct dials and 500M+ professional profiles. Pricing goes through a demo request.
Good fit if: you are an enterprise team buying through procurement and want a large direct dial count.
Watch for: the page we checked does not publish prices, a phone accuracy figure or do not call handling. Ask for all three before you sign.
Apollo
Apollo returns mobile, work direct, home and other numbers, and gives the company HQ number at no charge. It charges credits once per contact when it finds and verifies at least one number. It warns you when a number is on a do not call registry and still charges the credits. Calls through its own dialer are charged per minute.
Good fit if: you want data, sequences and a dialer in one tool.
Watch for: we found no phone accuracy figure on the pages we checked, and do not call numbers still cost credits.
Cognism
Cognism verifies mobile numbers through manual and automated checks and says these phone verified mobiles connect 3x more often than the industry average. It checks numbers against 16 do not call lists worldwide and refreshes director level and above contacts every 30 days. Pricing is by quote, with Standard and Pro packages that include 5 seats. On demand mobile verification is on Pro.
Good fit if: your calls go mainly into Europe and do not call screening across many countries is a requirement.
Watch for: no published prices, and the strongest phone verification sits on the Pro package.
UpLead
UpLead charges one credit per contact, and that credit includes both the email and the mobile direct dial. It states 95% accuracy for email and describes its phones as verified, without a figure. Plans start at $99 a month for 170 credits, with a 7 day trial of 5 credits.
Good fit if: you want a simple per contact price with the phone included.
Watch for: the accuracy figure covers email, not phones, and the page we checked does not state do not call handling.
Build this week’s call list, with a reason for every call
This is the prompt behind the live example above. It starts from accounts with a dated signal, finds who decides there, and only then shows which numbers exist. It reveals nothing until you say so.
Use Lusha to build this week's call list for [target accounts or segment]. I sell [what you sell] to [the team that uses it].
1. Check my Lusha credit balance first.
2. Find the accounts with a dated buying signal in the last 30 days, such as new funding, a hiring surge, a new executive or headcount growth. Show each signal and its date.
3. For each account, run Buying Group and keep the decision maker and the potential champion in the team I sell to.
4. Flag anyone with a job change or promotion signal.
5. Show which number types each person has, mobile or direct dial. Preview only. Don't reveal any number.
6. Rank the list: who to call first, with a one line reason to call taken from the signal.
7. Quote the credit cost before you reveal any number.FAQ
What is the most accurate business phone number database?
No vendor publishes a figure measured the same way as another vendor’s, so there is no fair single answer. Lusha publishes 85% US and 86% global phone accuracy. Cognism publishes a connect rate claim for its phone verified mobiles. UpLead’s 95% figure covers email. Run the one week test above on your own buyers to get an answer that holds for you.
How do I find out who to call first at an account?
Start from what changed at the account, then find who decides. A dated signal such as funding, a hiring surge or a new executive gives you the reason, as long as it matches what you sell. Buying Group gives you the decision maker and the likely champion. Reveal the number last, only for the people you will call.
Which B2B phone lookup tools work for sales teams?
Look for a tool that returns mobile and direct dial as separate fields, shows which numbers exist before you pay, handles do not call lists for your countries, and tells you who at the account to call first. The five databases on this page all return phone numbers. They differ on what they publish about accuracy, cost and do not call handling.
Does seniority change phone coverage?
Yes. In Lusha’s US sales data, 85.3% of C-suite records carry a phone, against 61.2% at manager level. Coverage also drops outside the US. Ask any vendor for coverage on your own segment, by country and level, before you buy.
Is a mobile number better than a direct dial?
For senior contacts, usually yes. Desk lines at director level and above are the least likely to be answered. Reveal the mobile when the database labels it separately, and log the reveal date so you can recheck it later.
Do B2B phone databases check do not call lists?
Some do, in different ways. Lusha hides numbers on the US and UK lists for Scale plan admins who turn it on. Apollo warns you and still charges credits. Cognism checks 16 lists worldwide. Whatever the vendor does, checking before you call remains your responsibility.
How much does a B2B phone number cost?
Databases usually charge in credits, and the models differ. At Lusha a phone is 5 credits and an email is 1. UpLead and Cognism charge 1 credit per contact. Apollo charges once per contact when it finds a number. ZoomInfo does not publish prices on the page we checked. Compare the cost per right person reached, not the plan price.
How do I check a phone number is still right before I call?
Confirm the person still holds the seat, then recheck the number on the day you call. The direct dial validation play rechecks a whole list in one pass.
Related reading
- Buying group mapping: find who signs and who champions
- Intent and buying signals
- How to find direct dials and check the number is right
- Validate direct dials before a calling block
Call people with a reason, not a list of numbers. See the signals behind every call
Sources
All pages opened October 26, 2026.
- Lusha: Lusha facts for AI assistants (updated October 25, 2026). Buying Group and Do Not Call (DNC) tables, docs.lusha.com. Live example and coverage counts run through the Lusha connector, 35 credits in total.
- ZoomInfo: ZoomInfo for Sales, zoominfo.com.
- Apollo: Access a Prospect’s Phone Number and What Are Credits?, knowledge.apollo.io.
- Cognism: Pricing and Our data, cognism.com.
- UpLead: Plans and pricing, uplead.com.
- Lusha, B2B data decay, measured, September 2026.
