TL;DR
We tested 15 sales prospecting tools on the same task: build a list of 100 SaaS VPs of Sales in the USA with verified emails and direct phone numbers. Cleanlist's AI Search did it in 60 seconds with 98% verified emails and 85% direct dials. Most tools took 5-15 minutes and hit 40-65% on phone coverage. Full results and rankings below.
Most sales prospecting tools promise the same thing. Millions of contacts. Accurate data. Fast results.
The reality is different. You export a list, half the emails bounce, phone numbers are missing, and your reps waste hours cleaning data instead of selling.
We decided to test 15 of the most popular sales prospecting tools on a single, concrete task: find 100 SaaS VPs of Sales in the USA with verified emails and direct phone numbers. Same criteria. Same evaluation framework. Real results.
Here is what we found.
How We Evaluated Each Tool
Every tool was tested on the same five criteria:
- Speed: How long to go from zero to a ready-to-use prospect list
- Email accuracy: Percentage of emails that passed verification (no bounces)
- Phone coverage: Percentage of records with direct dial numbers
- Data freshness: How recently contact records were updated
- Ease of use: Can a new SDR build a list without training?
We also tracked pricing, enrichment depth, and integration options. But speed and accuracy matter most — they determine whether your reps are selling or cleaning spreadsheets.
The 15 Best Sales Prospecting Tools, Ranked
Quick Summary
| Rank | Tool | Best For | Email Accuracy | Phone Coverage | Speed (100 leads) | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleanlist | AI-powered list building + waterfall enrichment | 98% verified | 85% direct dials | 60 seconds | Free tier available |
| 2 | Apollo.io | All-in-one sales platform | 70-80% | 30-60% | 3-5 min | $49/mo |
| 3 | ZoomInfo | Enterprise-grade data | 85-91% | 60-75% | 5-8 min | $14,995/yr |
| 4 | Cognism | European B2B data | 85-93% | 55-70% | 5-10 min | Custom pricing |
| 5 | Lusha | Quick contact lookup | 70-82% | 40-55% | 2-4 min | $36/mo |
| 6 | Clay | Workflow automation | 75-85% | 40-60% | 10-15 min | $149/mo |
| 7 | RocketReach | Email lookup at scale | 70-85% | 40-60% | 5-8 min | $39/mo |
| 8 | Seamless.AI | Real-time search | 70-82% | 40-55% | 3-5 min | $147/mo |
| 9 | LeadIQ | Sales Navigator companion | 82-90% | 45-60% | 5-10 min | $36/mo |
| 10 | Hunter.io | Email finding + verification | 90%+ (limited find rate) | No phone data | 5-8 min | $34/mo |
| 11 | Kaspr | LinkedIn phone numbers | 75-87% | 50-85% (region varies) | 3-5 min | Free tier |
| 12 | Snov.io | Email outreach + finding | 90-95% verified | No phone data | 5-10 min | $30/mo |
| 13 | UpLead | Budget-friendly data | 88-95% | 50-65% | 5-8 min | $99/mo |
| 14 | Clearbit (Breeze) | HubSpot-native enrichment | 85-92% | Limited | Passive | HubSpot add-on |
| 15 | 6sense | Intent-based ABM | 40-60% | Limited | 10-20 min | Custom pricing |
Now let's break down each tool.
1. Cleanlist — Best for AI-Powered Prospect List Building
What it does: Cleanlist combines AI-powered people search with waterfall enrichment across 15+ data providers to build verified prospect lists in seconds.
Why it ranks #1: Speed and accuracy. We used Cleanlist's AI Search to find 100 SaaS VPs of Sales in the USA. The entire process — from search to enriched, verified list — took 60 seconds. The match rates were the highest we recorded:
- 98% verified emails (passed triple verification)
- 85% direct phone numbers (not switchboard — direct dials)
No other tool matched both numbers simultaneously. ZoomInfo and Cognism come close on email accuracy, but they cost 10-50x more and take 5-10 minutes per list. The combination of accuracy, phone coverage, and speed is what separates Cleanlist.
How it works: Instead of querying a single database, Cleanlist cascades your search through 15+ data providers. If Provider A does not have the phone number, Provider B fills the gap. If Provider C has a more recent email, it replaces the stale one. The result is a composite record that is more complete and more accurate than any single source.
The AI Search feature is what separates Cleanlist from the pack. Describe who you are looking for in plain language — "SaaS VPs of Sales in the USA, 50-500 employees" — and the AI translates that into precise filters across 500M+ professional profiles. No manual filter configuration. No LinkedIn exports.
Best for: SDR teams that want verified, enriched lists without the manual work. Growth-stage companies running multi-channel outbound (email + phone + LinkedIn).
Pricing: Free tier available. Paid plans start based on usage. See pricing.
Key features:
- AI-powered natural language search across 500M+ profiles
- Waterfall enrichment with 15+ providers
- Triple email verification
- ICP scoring to rank prospects by fit
- Direct CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive)
2. Apollo.io — Best All-in-One Sales Platform
What it does: Apollo combines a B2B contact database with email sequencing, a dialer, and basic CRM features.
Why teams use it: One platform for finding and contacting leads. The database is large (275M+ contacts), pricing is accessible, and the built-in sequencer means you do not need a separate outreach tool.
Where it falls short: Data accuracy is inconsistent. Apollo claims 91% email accuracy, but independent tests and user reports show real-world bounce rates of 15-35%. In our test, email accuracy landed at 70-80%, and phone coverage was volatile at 30-60% depending on the segment. Apollo relies on a single database — gaps that one provider cannot fill stay unfilled.
Pricing: Free tier with limits. Paid starts at $49/month.
Best for: Early-stage teams that want prospecting + outreach in one tool and are willing to accept lower data accuracy for convenience.
3. ZoomInfo — Best Enterprise-Grade B2B Data
What it does: The largest B2B database in the market. ZoomInfo provides contact data, intent signals, company intelligence, and advanced filtering.
Why teams use it: Sheer data volume and enterprise features. ZoomInfo's database is the largest in the market, and the intent data layer helps prioritize accounts actively researching solutions. Email accuracy is strong at 85-91% for US contacts, and phone coverage (60-75%) is among the best for North America. They claim 135M+ verified phone numbers.
Where it falls short: Price. At $14,995/year minimum (and typically $25K-40K for a mid-size team), ZoomInfo is inaccessible for most growth-stage companies. Accuracy drops significantly outside the US and Canada. The UI is complex — expect a learning curve for new reps.
Pricing: Starts at $14,995/year. Custom quotes for larger teams.
Best for: Enterprise sales teams with budget and data infrastructure to leverage intent signals.
4. Cognism — Best for European B2B Data (GDPR-Compliant)
What it does: B2B contact database with a focus on European and international data. Strong phone number coverage, particularly mobile-verified numbers.
Why teams use it: If your target market includes Europe, Cognism has the best coverage. Their Diamond Data feature provides phone-verified mobile numbers — they actually call numbers to verify the right person answers. Email accuracy is strong at 85-93%, and phone coverage hits 55-70% with Diamond Data. GDPR compliance is built in, and they now have 50M+ US mobile numbers.
Where it falls short: Pricing is enterprise-focused ($15K-30K/year) with annual commitments. APAC data is weak. While US data has improved, coverage gaps remain compared to ZoomInfo for North American contacts.
Pricing: Custom pricing. Typically $15K-30K/year.
Best for: Sales teams targeting European markets who need GDPR-compliant data with strong phone coverage.
5. Lusha — Best for Quick Contact Lookups
What it does: Browser extension and platform for finding direct contact details. Simple, fast, and focused on phone numbers and emails.
Why teams use it: Speed of individual lookups. The Chrome extension sits on top of LinkedIn and reveals contact info in two clicks. Good for reps who research one prospect at a time.
Where it falls short: The gap between claims and reality is wide. Lusha claims 98% email accuracy, but users report 15-30% bounce rates and 30% invalid emails on European/Asian lists. Real-world email accuracy sits at 70-82%. Phone coverage is limited — Lusha has phone data for roughly 10% of contacts in its database, and accuracy on those is around 80%. Not ideal for building lists at scale.
Pricing: Free tier (5 credits/month). Paid starts at $36/month.
Best for: Individual SDRs who prospect from LinkedIn and need quick phone lookups.
6. Clay — Best for Workflow Automation and Data Orchestration
What it does: Clay is a data orchestration platform that connects 75+ data providers into automated workflows. Build custom prospecting sequences that pull from multiple sources.
Why teams use it: Flexibility. Clay lets you chain together multiple data providers, enrichment steps, and actions into a single workflow. For technical teams, the customization is unmatched.
Where it falls short: Complexity. Clay requires significant setup time and technical skill. Our test took 10-15 minutes because building the workflow is manual. Data accuracy depends entirely on which providers you configure — Clay itself does not own data.
Pricing: Starts at $149/month.
Best for: RevOps teams with technical resources who want to build custom data workflows.
7. RocketReach — Best for Email Lookup at Scale
What it does: Email and phone lookup tool with a database of 700M+ professionals. Bulk search and API access available.
Why teams use it: Large database and straightforward pricing. RocketReach is good for bulk email lookups when you already have a list of names and companies. The Chrome extension works on LinkedIn, Google, and Crunchbase.
Where it falls short: Accuracy is highly variable. RocketReach claims 97-98% accuracy, but independent tests show real-world results of 70-85% — one user documented only 56% successful delivery. Phone coverage sits at 40-60%, with gaps outside the US and Canada. No built-in outreach or sequencing tools.
Pricing: Starts at $39/month for individual plans.
Best for: Teams that need email addresses in bulk and do not require phone numbers.
8. Seamless.AI — Best for Real-Time Contact Search
What it does: Real-time search engine for B2B contacts. Seamless verifies data at the time of search rather than serving cached records.
Why teams use it: Real-time verification means emails are current at the point of export. The sales pitch feature and "Pitch Intelligence" help reps personalize outreach.
Where it falls short: Pricing is steep for what you get ($147/month), and the UI can feel aggressive with constant upsell prompts. Seamless claims 98% accuracy, but users consistently report 70-82% email accuracy with 20-30% bounce rates. Phone numbers are described as "hit-or-miss" with frequent stale data. Data quality does not match the premium price.
Pricing: Starts at $147/month.
Best for: Teams that value data freshness and are willing to pay a premium for real-time verification.
9. LeadIQ — Best Sales Navigator Companion
What it does: Chrome extension that captures leads from LinkedIn Sales Navigator and pushes them directly to your CRM and sequencer.
Why teams use it: Seamless Sales Navigator integration. If your reps live in Sales Nav, LeadIQ captures contacts without copy-paste friction. Good Salesforce and Outreach integrations.
Where it falls short: You still need a Sales Navigator license ($99+/month). Email accuracy is solid at 82-90% for mainstream industries but drops for niche sectors. Phone coverage sits at 45-60%, with users reporting outdated numbers and personal cells instead of direct work lines. LeadIQ is a capture tool, not a database — it depends on your ability to find prospects elsewhere.
Pricing: Free tier. Paid starts at $36/month.
Best for: Teams already invested in LinkedIn Sales Navigator who want a faster capture workflow.
10. Hunter.io — Best for Email Finding and Verification
What it does: Email finder, verifier, and cold outreach tool. Hunter finds email addresses associated with a domain and verifies deliverability.
Why teams use it: Best-in-class email verification. When Hunter marks an email as "Valid," the bounce rate is under 1% — genuinely industry-leading accuracy. The domain search feature is useful for finding emails at target companies.
Where it falls short: Coverage is the issue, not accuracy. Hunter only finds emails for 35-45% of searches — meaning out of 100 targets, you get verified emails for roughly 40 of them. And there are zero phone numbers. Hunter is email-only. If your outreach includes cold calling, you need a second tool entirely.
Pricing: Free tier (25 searches/month). Paid starts at $34/month.
Best for: Email-only outreach teams and marketers who need verified email addresses.
11. Kaspr — Best for LinkedIn Phone Numbers
What it does: Chrome extension focused on extracting phone numbers and emails directly from LinkedIn profiles.
Why teams use it: Strong phone number coverage for European contacts — 87% accuracy in EU markets with 120M+ European B2B contacts. Email accuracy sits at 75-87%, with emails re-validated every two months. The free tier is generous, and the Chrome extension is fast.
Where it falls short: Massive regional gap. US mobile phone accuracy drops to 52% — Kaspr is built for Europe, not North America. Email accuracy falls to 64% for C-level executives. Data is heavily LinkedIn-dependent — if a prospect does not have a LinkedIn profile, Kaspr cannot fill the gap.
Pricing: Free tier available. Paid starts at around $49/month.
Best for: SDRs doing LinkedIn-based prospecting who need phone numbers fast.
12. Snov.io — Best Budget Email Outreach Suite
What it does: Email finder, verifier, and drip campaign tool in one platform. Snov finds emails, verifies them, and lets you send automated sequences.
Why teams use it: Strong email verification at a low price. Snov.io's 7-step verification process delivers 90-95% accuracy on verified emails, with a documented bounce rate of just 1.7%. For small teams that need finding + outreach in a single tool under $50/month, Snov delivers.
Where it falls short: No phone numbers at all. Snov.io is an email-only platform — if your outreach includes cold calling, you need a separate tool. The database (50M+ company profiles) is significantly smaller than Apollo or ZoomInfo, meaning coverage gaps for niche industries.
Pricing: Starts at $30/month.
Best for: Bootstrapped teams and solopreneurs who need email finding + outreach on a tight budget.
13. UpLead — Best Budget-Friendly Contact Database
What it does: B2B contact database with real-time email verification. 160M+ contacts with technographic and intent data filters.
Why teams use it: Real-time verification on export — UpLead verifies emails before you download them using an 8-step process. This keeps accuracy genuinely high at 88-95%, which is one of the few provider claims that holds up under third-party scrutiny. They offer credit refunds for invalid emails. Intent data is included in higher tiers, which is rare at this price point.
Where it falls short: Smaller database than Apollo or ZoomInfo. Phone coverage at 50-65% is decent but not market-leading. The platform feels dated compared to newer tools, and international data has more gaps than US data.
Pricing: Starts at $99/month.
Best for: Mid-market teams that want verified data with intent signals without ZoomInfo pricing.
14. Clearbit (now Breeze Intelligence by HubSpot)
What it does: Real-time data enrichment and buyer intent, now natively integrated into HubSpot.
Why teams use it: If you are a HubSpot shop, Clearbit (Breeze) enriches records automatically as they enter your CRM. No manual exports or imports. The enrichment is passive and continuous.
Where it falls short: Phone coverage is limited — direct dials were only recently added and are not Clearbit's core strength. Email enrichment accuracy is solid at 85-92% (records rebuilt every 30 days), but it is not a prospecting tool. You cannot build lists from scratch. It enriches records you already have. And it requires HubSpot, limiting adoption for Salesforce or Pipedrive teams.
Pricing: Included with HubSpot higher tiers or as an add-on.
Best for: HubSpot-native teams that want passive enrichment of inbound leads.
15. 6sense — Best for Intent-Based ABM
What it does: Account-based marketing platform with intent data, predictive analytics, and contact identification. 6sense identifies accounts actively researching your category.
Why teams use it: Intent signals. 6sense tells you which accounts are in-market before they fill out a form. For ABM programs, this is the gold standard for prioritization.
Where it falls short: Contact data quality is a known weakness. User reviews consistently report that "out of 5 contacts, 2 are good, the rest are obsolete." In our test, email accuracy was the lowest in this list at 40-60%, and phone data is unreliable. 6sense is an intent platform, not a data provider — most teams pair it with a separate contact data tool. Pricing is enterprise-only ($30K-80K/year).
Pricing: Custom. Typically $30K-80K/year.
Best for: Enterprise ABM teams with budget to invest in intent-driven account selection.
Feature Comparison: What Matters Most
Not every team needs every feature. Here is what matters based on your outbound motion.
| Feature | Why It Matters | Must-Have For |
|---|---|---|
| Waterfall enrichment | Combines 15+ data providers for maximum coverage | Teams with low match rates from single providers |
| Email verification | Prevents bounces that kill sender reputation | Every outbound team |
| Direct phone numbers | Enables cold calling channel (3x connect rates) | Multi-channel teams |
| AI-powered search | Build lists with natural language instead of manual filters | Teams without Sales Navigator |
| Intent data | Prioritize accounts actively researching your category | ABM and enterprise teams |
| CRM integration | Push enriched data directly to Salesforce, HubSpot, etc. | Teams with established CRM workflows |
| ICP scoring | Rank prospects by fit before outreach | Teams sending 500+ emails/month |
The gap that shows up repeatedly is phone coverage. Most tools are built for email-first prospecting. If your outbound motion includes cold calling — and it should, because multi-channel outreach dramatically outperforms email-only — phone number accuracy is the differentiator.
How to Choose the Right Sales Prospecting Tool
If you are a solo founder or early-stage team (1-5 reps)
Start with a tool that combines finding and outreach. Apollo or Snov.io cover both at a low price point. Accept lower data accuracy in exchange for simplicity. Switch to a dedicated data tool when your bounce rates start hurting deliverability.
If you are a growth-stage team (5-25 reps)
Data accuracy matters now. Bounced emails and wrong numbers cost you pipeline at scale. Look for waterfall enrichment to maximize coverage — Cleanlist is built for this stage. Your reps should spend time selling, not cleaning data.
If you are running ABM or enterprise sales
Layer intent data (6sense, ZoomInfo) on top of accurate contact data. Your target account list is smaller, so data quality per account matters more than volume. Budget allows combining specialized tools.
If your team lives on LinkedIn
LeadIQ or Kaspr for capture, then enrich with a waterfall tool. Sales Navigator provides the sourcing, but you still need verified contact details for email and phone outreach.
The 60-Second Test: Our Benchmark
Here is what the winning workflow looked like when we tested Cleanlist's AI Search:
- Describe your target: "SaaS VPs of Sales in the USA, 50-500 employees"
- AI Search returns results: 100 matching profiles in seconds
- One-click enrichment: Waterfall enrichment verifies emails and finds direct phone numbers
- Export or push to CRM: Clean, verified list ready for outreach
Total time: 60 seconds. No LinkedIn scraping. No CSV imports. No manual cleanup.
The match rates from this specific test:
- 98% verified emails — passed triple verification, ready to send
- 85% direct phone numbers — not switchboard, not generic — direct dials
For comparison, the same task on Apollo took 4 minutes and returned 75% email accuracy with 47% phone coverage. On ZoomInfo, 6 minutes with 88% emails and 67% phones — solid, but at $15K/year. On Lusha, 3 minutes with 76% emails and 44% phones.
The difference is the waterfall. Single-source tools hit their ceiling fast. Waterfall enrichment pushes past it by combining the best data from every provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best sales prospecting tools in 2026?
The best sales prospecting tools in 2026 are Cleanlist (best for AI-powered list building and waterfall enrichment), Apollo.io (best all-in-one platform), ZoomInfo (best enterprise data), Cognism (best for European data), and Lusha (best for quick lookups). The right choice depends on your team size, budget, and whether you need phone numbers alongside emails.
What is AI sales prospecting?
AI sales prospecting uses artificial intelligence to automate the process of finding and qualifying potential buyers. Instead of manually configuring search filters, AI-powered tools let you describe your ideal prospect in natural language. The AI translates that into precise database queries, identifies matching contacts, and can even score prospects by fit. Cleanlist's AI Search is an example — you describe who you want to find and get an enriched, verified list in under a minute.
How do I build a prospect list fast?
The fastest way to build a prospect list is using an AI-powered prospecting tool. Define your ideal customer profile — title, industry, company size, geography — and use a tool like Cleanlist People Search to source matching contacts. Then run the list through waterfall enrichment to fill in verified emails and phone numbers. The entire process takes under 5 minutes for 100 leads. For a detailed walkthrough, see our guide on building 100 verified leads in 5 minutes.
Are free sales prospecting tools worth it?
Free tiers from tools like Apollo, Lusha, and Kaspr are good for testing but limited for real outbound. Credit caps (typically 50-200 contacts/month) run out quickly, and free tiers usually lack features like phone numbers, bulk export, and CRM integration. If you send more than 100 emails per month, a paid tool pays for itself by saving rep time and reducing bounces.
What is the difference between a prospecting tool and a data enrichment tool?
A prospecting tool helps you find new contacts — you search by criteria and build a list from scratch. A data enrichment tool takes contacts you already have and fills in missing fields (email, phone, company size). Some tools do both. Cleanlist combines AI-powered prospecting with waterfall enrichment in a single workflow — find prospects and enrich them simultaneously rather than using separate tools.
How accurate is B2B prospecting data?
Accuracy varies significantly by provider and data type. Email accuracy ranges from 40-95% across tools when tested on fresh exports — and provider claims rarely match reality. Many tools claim 95-98% accuracy but deliver 70-85% in practice. Phone number coverage varies even more, from zero (Hunter.io, Snov.io) to 85% depending on the tool and region. The most reliable approach is waterfall enrichment, which combines data from multiple providers to maximize both accuracy and coverage. Single-source tools always have blind spots.
Stop wasting rep hours on manual list building and bad data. The right sales prospecting tool should give your sales team verified, enriched leads in minutes — not hours. Start with Cleanlist's AI Search and see the difference waterfall enrichment makes.