By Zoha Ahmed · Oct 31, 2026
Ask Reddit where to get B2B emails and phone numbers and you get strong opinions. We read all 865 replies in 95 of those threads from the past year, mostly in r/coldemail with the rest from r/SalesOperations, r/SaaS and r/b2b_sales. We counted one vote per person and removed vendors promoting their own tools.
The ranking only includes tools that more people recommend than complain about. Apollo, ZoomInfo and RocketReach, the big names people complain about most, get their own section below. Every quote links back to the comment it came from.
The ranking
| Tool | Recommend | Complain | Threads | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 53 | 27 | 42 | |
| 2 | 44 | 4 | 31 | |
| 3 | 35 | 21 | 31 | |
| 4 | 27 | 5 | 17 | |
| 5 | 22 | 1 | 36 | |
| 6 | 22 | 2 | 25 | |
| 7 | 14 | 5 | 13 | |
| 8 | 13 | 0 | 9 | |
| 9 | 12 | 5 | 14 | |
| 10 | 10 | 0 | 11 |
"Recommend" and "Complain" count different people, not comments. Also recommended, with too few opinions to rank: ContactOut, UpLead, Seamless.AI, Kaspr, Wiza and Lead411.
1. Clay
Clay
Best for enrichment waterfalls
The most recommended tool, though Reddit treats it as an enrichment layer on top of other data, not a database.
Why people recommend it
- Runs several data providers in order and only charges when one finds a match
- Cuts bounce rates and raises coverage compared with any single source
- Good for deep personalisation and signal-based lists
Common complaints
- Gets expensive fast, with credit costs that are hard to predict
- Takes real ops skill to set up; several called it too complex for most sales teams
- Some say calling the providers' APIs directly costs far less
What Redditors said
Clay is good for that because you can run multiple enrichment sources in order and only pay when something actually fills
Clay has been solid for that because it runs enrichment in a waterfall
Clay pricing is very up there, especially for small teams.
2. Prospeo
Prospeo
Best Apollo alternative
The name Reddit suggests most often when someone wants off Apollo, with very few complaints.
Why people recommend it
- Lower bounce rates; several say it fixed their bounce problem
- Catches job changes that bigger databases miss
- Detailed filters and straightforward pricing
Common complaints
- A few say it now costs about as much as Apollo
- Credits add up if you buy a lot of them
What Redditors said
Prospeo's filters helped us get super specific
Their enrichment catches the job changes Apollo misses.
Prospeo is newer but costs as much as Apollo nowadays
3. Lusha
Lusha
Best middle ground on price
A middle ground on price and quality, strongest for European numbers. Its phone data gets mixed reviews.
Why people recommend it
- Good value compared with ZoomInfo, without an enterprise contract
- Decent coverage in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the UK
- Easy to use for direct dials
Common complaints
- Phone numbers are hit or miss, especially in the US
- Credits burn fast on contacts that turn out to be stale
- Some say it has got more expensive
What Redditors said
Lusha feels way less of a headache than Zoominfo
lusha is decent middle ground on price vs quality
Lusha is hit or miss
4. Cognism
Cognism
Best for European data
Reddit's pick for European data and verified mobile numbers, if you can afford it.
Why people recommend it
- The best European coverage, especially Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the UK
- Phone-verified mobile numbers with strong connect rates
- Fairer pricing than ZoomInfo, according to some
Common complaints
- Pricing is steep for small teams
- An enterprise-style sales process that small teams find painful
What Redditors said
Cognism has the best European data quality I've seen
They’re the best in the market for EU.
cognism pricing is brutal for where we're at volume-wise
5. LinkedIn Sales Navigator
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Best for building target lists
Not a contact database, but Reddit's favourite place to build the list before enriching it elsewhere.
Why people recommend it
- The freshest job and company data, because LinkedIn owns it
- Accurate targeting by title, company and region
- Pairs well with an email finder or enrichment tool
Common complaints
- Paying for Sales Navigator on top of a data tool eats into margins
What Redditors said
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is honestly the most reliable for EU
LinkedIn is the only platform that owns the data, so they are the only accurate source.
running both Apollo and LinkedIn Sales Nav eats into margins fast too
6. Hunter
Hunter
Best cheap email finder
The simple, cheap email finder people suggest for small lists and anyone starting out.
Why people recommend it
- Quick email finding when you already know the company domain
- A free tier and cheap plans
- Finds and verifies emails in one step
Common complaints
- Accuracy dips on some lists, burning credits
What Redditors said
Hunter is best for finding and verifying emails quickly
enrich emails with a free or cheap tier like Hunter (50 free lookups a month)
your list nails the Apollo/Lusha/Hunter pains (accuracy dips, credits burn)
7. Findymail
Findymail
Best for low bounce rates
Praised for accurate, low-bounce emails. The credit system is the main gripe.
Why people recommend it
- High accuracy and low bounce rates
- Cheap per email found compared with Apollo
- Works well as one step in an enrichment waterfall
Common complaints
- Credits run out fast and are lost when you downgrade
- Some found it expensive per credit
What Redditors said
Findymail 100%
I would try Findymail if you want high accuracy/coverage.
findymail's credit system is annoying af
8. Datagma
Datagma
Best for phone numbers
A smaller tool people recommend for mobile numbers, with no complaints in our sample.
Why people recommend it
- Built for phone enrichment, with a good hit rate on mobiles
- Cheap per number compared with bigger databases
- More consistent than Lusha or Apollo for some users
Common complaints
- None in our sample
What Redditors said
For purpose-built phone enrichment we've been running Datagma after testing few others.
We're on Datagma. Best value for money I've found
9. Snov.io
Snov.io
Best for beginners
A cheap all-in-one people suggest to beginners, with doubts about data quality at volume.
Why people recommend it
- Cheap, with email finding and sending in one place
- Easy for beginners
- Better European coverage than Apollo, according to some
Common complaints
- Data quality drops off; verified emails still bounce
- Deliverability got worse for some as they sent more
What Redditors said
been using snov for like 6 months now and its pretty solid for beginners
Closest Apollo alternative feature wise.
the data it has is not so good
10. FullEnrich
FullEnrich
Best pay-per-result waterfall
A waterfall tool that checks 20+ providers and only charges for verified results. No complaints in our sample.
Why people recommend it
- Checks 20+ data providers for each contact
- Only charges when it finds a verified email or number
- Finds more personal emails than a single source
Common complaints
- None in our sample
What Redditors said
I've been using FullEnrich for bulk enrichment and it only charges you when it actually finds a verified email
Switched to fullenrich a few months back and I'm finding like 10-20% more personal emails on the same lists.
The big names Reddit complains about
These three come up constantly, but more people complain about them than recommend them. Most complaints are about stale data and price, and plenty of people still use them alongside a second tool.
Apollo
Apollo
The most used, and the most complained about
Named in more threads than any other tool, and the one people complain about most. Many still use it for volume.
Why people recommend it
- Cheap, with a free tier, for building a first list
- Huge database for volume prospecting
- Data, sequencing and enrichment in one tool
Common complaints
- Stale contacts who have already changed jobs
- High bounce rates that put sending domains at risk
- Weak coverage outside North America
- Price rises that pushed people to other tools
What Redditors said
I use Apollo + Prospeo, pretty decent results
I find Apollo good for owners of small SMBs in Europe.
You export a list and then realize half the contacts already moved companies.
Apollo's coverage outside North America is hit or miss.
ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo
Strongest US data, hardest price
Respected for US data, especially mobile numbers, but most small teams say it isn't worth the price.
Why people recommend it
- The strongest US data, especially mobile numbers
- Better accuracy than Apollo, according to some agencies
Common complaints
- Too expensive for small teams, with annual contracts
- Data still decays and bounces like other databases
- Several teams dropped it and didn't look back
What Redditors said
nothing touches ZoomInfo for US mobile numbers
Zoom info is unaffordable for small teams its very expensive.
We switched from ZoomInfo to Clay and never looked back.
RocketReach
RocketReach
Hit or miss
Mentioned often as an option, but complaints outnumber recommendations four to one.
Why people recommend it
- Decent coverage as one of several sources
Common complaints
- Outdated data, with accuracy that varies by industry
- Poor customer service
- Price feels high for what you get
What Redditors said
Rocketreach is a decent shout
RocketReach is TERRIBLE - average tool, HORRIFIC customer service.
My main issue with RocketReach is the pricing.
How we built this ranking
We pulled every Reddit thread from the past 12 months whose title asked for a recommendation, an alternative or a comparison in sales and marketing subreddits, then kept the threads about contact data, email finding and enrichment. An AI model read each comment that named a tool and labelled it as a recommendation, a complaint or a neutral mention, and we checked that every quote appears word for word in the original comment. r/coldemail has a lot of seeded promotion, so we removed vendors posting about their own tools and any opinion copy-pasted across different accounts. We refresh the data regularly.
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What is the best B2B contact data tool according to Reddit?
Clay was recommended by the most people (53), but Reddit uses it to combine other providers rather than as a database. As a data source, Prospeo had 44 recommendations and only 4 complaints, the best ratio among tools with real volume.
Is Apollo's data good?
Apollo is the most discussed tool by far (348 people in 79 threads), but 159 people complained about it against 58 who recommended it. The common complaints are stale contacts, bounces and weak coverage outside North America. Many still use it for volume and verify emails with a second tool.
Which contact data tool is best for Europe?
Cognism came up most for European and especially German, Austrian, Swiss and UK data, followed by Lusha and LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Several commenters said Apollo's European coverage is weak.
Is ZoomInfo worth it for a small team?
Most commenters said no. ZoomInfo was praised for US data and mobile numbers, but small teams repeatedly called the price and annual contract unaffordable and moved to Cognism, Lusha, Clay or Prospeo.