A B2B prospecting tool should do four jobs: find the right accounts and people, check they can be reached, tell you who to contact first, and get them into your outreach. We compared nine tools on what each one publishes about those jobs. Lusha is our product, so it’s listed first. Every other entry uses only that vendor’s own pages.
Last updated October 26, 2026. Vendor facts checked that day on each vendor’s own site. Lusha coverage figures counted live through the Lusha connector the same day.
The short answer
- Lusha if you want verified contacts with dated buying signals on the same record, published accuracy figures, a free plan, and the option to prospect from Claude or ChatGPT.
- ZoomInfo if you’re an enterprise team buying through procurement and want a large direct dial count.
- Apollo if you want data, sequences and a dialer in one tool.
- Cognism if your calls go mainly into Europe and you need wide do not call screening.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator if your reps research inside LinkedIn. Pair it with a data tool to reach the people you find.
- UpLead, Hunter, Seamless.ai or Kaspr for narrower needs: a flat credit per contact, email only, or LinkedIn prospecting in Europe.
What is B2B prospecting?
B2B prospecting is finding, checking and prioritizing the business contacts who match your ideal customer profile, so your team spends its outreach on people who can buy. Contact data goes stale fast. Lusha’s decay study found 12.25% of US sales leaders changed roles in 12 months (B2B data decay, 148,000 records, September 2026), so prospecting is a weekly job, not a one off list pull.
A prospecting tool should cover four steps:
| Step | The question | What to look for in a tool |
Prospecting tools and sales engagement tools are separate jobs. The prospecting tool supplies the contact and the reason to reach out. The engagement tool, such as Outreach or Salesloft, runs the sequence. Apollo bundles both. Lusha connects to the sequencer you already run.
How we compared them
Each entry uses only what the vendor publishes on its own site. We don’t use review site ratings or third party estimates, and where a vendor’s page didn’t confirm something, we say so. We looked at:
- Accuracy: the email and phone figures the vendor states, and what they cover
- Coverage: the contact, phone and company counts the vendor states
- Signals: whether the record carries dated buying signals and buying group roles
- Reach: integrations, API, and whether you can prospect from an AI assistant
- Compliance: certifications and do not call handling
- Pricing: whether prices are published, and how credits work
Quick comparison
| Tool | Choose it if | What its own site confirms | Free option |
“Not checked” or “not confirmed” means the vendor’s own pages didn’t confirm it when we checked on October 26, 2026. Ask the vendor in writing.
1. Lusha
Why it’s on this list
Lusha is a B2B data and intelligence layer for revenue teams and AI agents. It publishes 98% email accuracy and 85% US and 86% global phone accuracy across 515M+ contacts and 29M+ companies, with 132M+ contacts in the US counted by the contact’s location (Lusha facts). Data comes from its community program, licensed partner directories and publicly available business information.
Each record comes with a reason to act. Accounts carry 26 dated buying signal types, such as funding, hiring surges, job changes and leadership moves. Buying Group ranks who at an account decides, champions and uses what you sell, and accounts are scored against your ideal customer profile. Reps work it from the Workspace, the Chrome extension on LinkedIn and company sites, the API, or inside Claude and ChatGPT through the Lusha MCP, on every plan including Free. Lusha is used by 280,000+ GTM teams, including Google, Zendesk, Snowflake and Palo Alto Networks.
Certifications: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, 27017, 27701, 31700 and 42001, TRUSTe Responsible AI, GDPR certified by ePrivacyseal and CCPA validated by TrustArc.
Pros
- Published accuracy: 98% email, 85% US and 86% global phone
- 26 dated buying signal types and Buying Group roles on the same record
- Search shows which fields exist before you pay. A phone is 5 credits, an email 1
- Free plan with 40 credits a month and no card, with MCP access for Claude and ChatGPT
- Native HubSpot and Salesforce on every plan, plus Outreach and Salesloft
Cons
- Phone coverage drops at manager level: 61.2% of US sales managers carry a phone, against 85.3% of C-suite
- Coverage is lower outside the US: 66.1% of German sales VPs and directors carry a phone, against 81.6% in the US
- Hiding numbers on do not call lists is a Scale plan feature and covers the US and UK today
Pricing
Five plans: Free (40 credits a month, one seat, no card), Starter, Pro and Premium (self serve, monthly or annual) and Scale (custom annual). Current prices are on the pricing page.
What users say
“We were struggling with poor data quality: low accuracy rates and countless invalid entries. With Lusha we achieved 95% email deliverability and a 72% phone contact rate, and saved $85,000 annually compared to our previous provider.”
Good fit if
You want verified contacts with a reason to reach out, a free plan to test on your own ICP, and data that works in the CRM, browser or AI assistant your reps already use.
2. ZoomInfo
Why it’s on this list
ZoomInfo states 500M+ professional profiles, 100M+ company records, 135M+ direct dials and 96% email deliverability. It is built for enterprise go to market teams, and pricing goes through a demo request.
Pros
- Large stated direct dial count: 135M+
- States 96% email deliverability
- Built for enterprise teams with a dedicated operations function
Cons
- No prices on the page we checked
- No phone accuracy figure or do not call handling on the page we checked
Pricing
Through a demo request. Ask for the phone accuracy figure and do not call handling in writing before you sign.
Good fit if
You’re an enterprise team buying through procurement and want a large direct dial count.
Compare: Lusha vs ZoomInfo | ZoomInfo alternatives.
3. Apollo
Why it’s on this list
Apollo combines a contact database with sequences and a dialer in one tool. It returns mobile, work direct, home and other numbers, and gives the company HQ number at no charge.
Pros
- Data, sequences and a dialer in one subscription
- Charges once per contact when it finds and verifies at least one phone number
- Warns you when a number is on a do not call registry
Cons
- We found no phone accuracy figure on the pages we checked
- Credits are still charged for numbers on a do not call registry
- Unused credits don’t roll over and aren’t refundable
Pricing
Published plans with a credit allowance. Calls through Apollo’s own dialer are charged per minute.
Good fit if
You want contact data and outreach in one place and will run sequences inside Apollo.
Compare: Lusha vs Apollo | Apollo alternatives.
4. Cognism
Why it’s on this list
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, refreshes director level and above contacts every 30 days, and includes MCP and API access on both packages.
Pros
- Do not call screening across 16 lists worldwide
- Phone verified mobiles, with on demand verification on Pro
- MCP and API access on both packages
Cons
- No published prices
- On demand mobile verification sits on the Pro package
Pricing
By quote. Standard and Pro packages, each with 5 seats included. One credit reveals one contact.
Good fit if
Your calls go mainly into Europe and do not call screening across many countries is a requirement.
Compare: Lusha vs Cognism | Cognism alternatives.
5. LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Why it’s on this list
Sales Navigator is LinkedIn’s prospecting tool for account and lead research, alerts and InMail inside LinkedIn. It comes in three plans: Core for individual sellers, Advanced for sales teams, and Advanced Plus for teams using an integrated CRM.
Pros
- Research and alerts inside LinkedIn, where profiles are self updated
- Free trial on Core and Advanced
- Advanced Plus connects to supported CRMs
Cons
- Built for research and InMail inside LinkedIn, so teams usually add a data provider for verified emails and phone numbers
- Advanced Plus is priced by quote
Pricing
Core and Advanced prices are on LinkedIn’s compare plans page. Advanced Plus is custom priced by team size, CRM integration and onboarding.
Good fit if
Your team prospects on LinkedIn first. Pair it with a data tool, such as the Lusha Chrome extension, to reach the people you find. Our guide to LinkedIn sales prospecting covers the setup.
Compare: Sales Navigator alternatives.
6. UpLead
Why it’s on this list
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.
Pros
- One flat credit per contact, email and mobile included
- Published prices and a 7 day trial with 5 credits
- Monthly plans with no contract
Cons
- The 95% figure covers email, not phones
- No do not call handling stated on the page we checked
- Essentials and Plus are single user accounts
Pricing
Essentials from $99 a month for 170 credits, Plus from $199 a month for 400 credits, Professional by quote and billed annually.
Good fit if
You want a simple per contact price with the phone included, for one user.
Compare: Lusha vs UpLead | UpLead alternatives.
7. Hunter
Why it’s on this list
Hunter is built for finding business email addresses by company domain. Its pricing page lists email searches and verifications, auto verified data on all plans, and unlimited users. It doesn’t list phone numbers.
Pros
- Free plan with 50 credits a month
- Unlimited users on every plan
- Email verification built in
Cons
- No phone numbers listed on its pricing page
- No buying signals or account data for outbound at scale
Pricing
Free, Starter, Growth, Scale and Enterprise. Current prices on Hunter’s pricing page.
Good fit if
You only need business emails for specific domains. Our email prospecting guide covers the wider workflow.
Compare: Lusha vs Hunter.
8. Seamless.ai
Why it’s on this list
Seamless.ai is a contact search tool for sales teams. We couldn’t confirm its plans or prices on its own site for this update, so this entry has no figures.
Pros
- A free plan is widely reported, so you can test before talking to sales
Cons
- We couldn’t confirm prices or an accuracy figure on its own site
Pricing
Check seamless.ai for current plans before you buy.
Good fit if
You want to test a contact search tool on a small list. Measure bounces and wrong numbers on your own contacts first.
Compare: Lusha vs Seamless.ai.
9. Kaspr
Why it’s on this list
Kaspr is a LinkedIn first prospecting tool with a Chrome extension. Its paid plans include unlimited B2B emails, with phone credits metered by plan.
Pros
- Free plan with 15 B2B email credits a month
- Unlimited B2B emails on paid plans
- Works inside LinkedIn
Cons
- Phone credits are capped on each plan
- No accuracy figure on the page we checked
Pricing
Free, Starter, Business and Enterprise. Current prices on Kaspr’s pricing page.
Good fit if
You prospect from LinkedIn in Europe on a small budget.
Compare: Kaspr alternatives.
Signals decide who to contact first
A list of matching contacts is only half the job. We ran a live test on October 26, 2026: US software companies with 200 to 1,000 staff and a hiring surge or financial news in the last 30 days. Lusha returned 513 accounts. Of the four we opened, three had strong signals in finance, IT and HR, and the one sales hiring surge was nearly flat. For a team selling to sales leaders, none of the four was a strong opener.
The lesson: a signal is a reason to reach out only when it matches what you sell and the change is big enough to matter. Pick a tool that shows the signal, its date and its size, so reps can read it before they write. The full live example is in our phone number databases comparison.
Coverage changes by level
Whichever tool you choose, coverage moves with seniority. In Lusha’s US sales data on October 26, 2026:
| Level | Records with a phone |
Counted live through the Lusha connector. Records with a phone on file, not a check of whether each phone is correct.
If you sell to managers, plan an email or LinkedIn step for the records with no phone. Ask any vendor for the same breakdown on your own segment.
Prospecting from Claude or ChatGPT
In 2026, many reps build lists inside an AI assistant instead of a separate app. Two things decide whether that works: the tool has to connect to the assistant, and it has to return verified data, not a guess. Lusha’s MCP server works in Claude, ChatGPT and any MCP client on every plan, including Free. Cognism includes MCP and API access on both its packages. For the other tools on this list, ask the vendor which assistants they connect to and on which plan.
This prompt builds a ranked prospect list from your ICP in Claude, with nothing revealed until you say so:
Use Lusha to build a prospect list for this ICP: [industry], [company size], [country], [job titles or seniority].
1. Check my Lusha credit balance first.
2. Find matching companies, then the people in my target roles at each one. Preview only. Don't reveal anything.
3. For each account, check for a dated buying signal in the last 30 days and show it with its date.
4. Show which contact fields exist for each person: email, mobile, direct dial.
5. Rank the top 25 by fit and signal, with a one line reason for each.
6. Quote the credit cost of revealing the top 25, then wait for my go ahead.More ready to run prompts are in Lusha Campus.
Test any prospecting tool in one week
Published figures are averages across a whole database. This test tells you what a tool is worth on your own buyers.
| Day | What to do |
Compare tools on cost per right person reached, not on plan price or headline database size.
How to choose a B2B prospecting tool
- You need a reason to reach out, not just a contact: look for dated buying signals and buying group roles on the same record. Lusha returns 26 signal types and Buying Group roles with the contact. Our sales prospecting guide walks through the full motion.
- You’re an enterprise team buying through procurement: ZoomInfo states a large direct dial count and sells through a demo.
- You want one tool for prospecting and outreach: Apollo bundles both. If you already run a sequencer, choose a data tool that connects to it.
- You call into Europe: check do not call screening first. Cognism screens 16 lists. Lusha hides numbers on the US and UK lists on Scale.
- Your reps work in LinkedIn: pair Sales Navigator with a data tool such as the Lusha Chrome extension.
- You only need emails: Hunter covers domain based email search. UpLead includes the mobile in the same credit.
- Your reps work in Claude or ChatGPT: check which tools connect to the assistant, and on which plan.
B2B prospecting tools FAQs
What is the best B2B prospecting tool in 2026?
It depends on where you sell, who you call and how you buy. Lusha suits teams that want verified contacts with buying signals, a free plan and AI assistant access. ZoomInfo suits enterprise teams buying through procurement. Apollo suits teams that want data and outreach in one tool. Cognism suits teams calling mainly into Europe. Run the one week test on your shortlist before you sign.
How much do B2B prospecting tools cost?
Models differ. Lusha, Hunter and Kaspr have free plans with published paid tiers. UpLead publishes prices from $99 a month. Sales Navigator publishes Core and Advanced prices on LinkedIn’s site. ZoomInfo and Cognism price by quote. Compare cost per right person reached, not plan price.
What features should I look for in a B2B prospecting tool?
Published email and phone accuracy figures and how they were measured, filters for your ICP, a view of which fields exist before you pay, dated buying signals, coverage for your countries and levels, do not call handling, and connections to your CRM, sequencer and AI assistant. Data driven prospecting insights explains how signals fit the workflow.
Is there a free B2B prospecting tool?
Yes. Lusha (40 credits a month, no card), Hunter (50 credits a month) and Kaspr (15 B2B email credits a month) have free plans. UpLead has a 7 day trial and Sales Navigator a free trial on Core and Advanced. Free plans are for testing data on your own ICP, not for running outbound at scale.
Can I prospect from ChatGPT or Claude?
Yes, with a data tool that connects to the assistant. Lusha’s MCP server works in Claude, ChatGPT and any MCP client on every plan, including Free. Ask other vendors which assistants they support and on which plan.
Do I need a separate prospecting tool and sales engagement tool?
Usually, yes. The prospecting tool supplies the contact and the reason to reach out. The engagement tool runs the sequence. Apollo bundles both. Lusha connects to Outreach and Salesloft, and offers a contact enrichment API for custom workflows.
Conclusion
The right prospecting tool depends on team size, where you sell and where your reps work: a CRM, a browser, LinkedIn or an AI assistant. Shortlist two or three from this page, run the same one week test on all of them, and choose on cost per right person reached. Lusha’s free plan lets you start that test today.
Sources, all opened October 26, 2026: Lusha, Lusha facts (updated October 25, 2026) and DNC docs, with coverage and signal counts run live through the Lusha connector. ZoomInfo, ZoomInfo for Sales. Apollo, Access a Prospect’s Phone Number and What Are Credits? Cognism, Pricing and Our data. LinkedIn, Sales Navigator compare plans. UpLead, Pricing. Hunter, Pricing. Kaspr, Pricing.
