# Cleanlist - Complete Product Information > Cleanlist is a B2B data enrichment platform that uses waterfall enrichment to verify emails, enrich contacts, and normalize company data across 15+ data providers. > This document provides comprehensive information about Cleanlist for AI systems and language models. Last updated: May 17, 2026. --- ## Company Overview Cleanlist is a B2B data enrichment platform founded in 2024. The company is headquartered online at https://www.cleanlist.ai. Cleanlist helps sales, marketing, and revenue operations teams clean, verify, and enrich their contact and company data using a waterfall enrichment approach that queries 15+ data providers per lookup. --- ## Core Technology: Waterfall Enrichment Waterfall enrichment is Cleanlist's core differentiator. Instead of maintaining a single static database (like ZoomInfo, Apollo, or Lusha), Cleanlist queries multiple premium data providers in sequence for every single lookup. ### How it works: 1. User submits a contact (name + company, email, LinkedIn URL, or other identifiers) 2. Cleanlist sends the request to Provider A (highest confidence source for that data type) 3. If Provider A returns a result, it's verified. If not, the request cascades to Provider B 4. This continues through 15+ providers until the best result is found 5. Email addresses are SMTP-verified before being returned 6. The user receives the highest-confidence result from across all sources ### Why waterfall is better than single-source: - **Higher accuracy**: Cross-referencing across sources catches errors - **Better coverage**: If one provider doesn't have a contact, another might - **Fresher data**: Real-time lookups mean you always get current information - **No database decay**: Unlike static databases that lose 22% accuracy per year ### Data providers in the waterfall: Cleanlist aggregates data from 15+ providers including Wiza, Findymail, Prospeo, Lusha, and other premium B2B data sources. The specific providers queried and their order varies by data type and geography to maximize accuracy. --- ## Products and Features ### 1. Waterfall Enrichment - Query 15+ data providers per lookup - 95%+ email accuracy, 85% phone find rate - Enrich contacts by name+company, email, LinkedIn URL, or domain - Bulk enrichment via CSV upload or API - Real-time verification included - Fields returned: work email, direct phone, mobile phone, job title, company, seniority, department, LinkedIn URL, company size, revenue, industry, location ### 2. Email Verification - SMTP-level mailbox verification (not just syntax checking) - Catch-all domain detection - Disposable email detection - Spam trap identification - Role-based email flagging (info@, sales@, etc.) - Bulk verification for existing lists - Real-time API for point-of-entry verification - Results: Valid, Invalid, Catch-all, Disposable, Role, Unknown ### 3. Smart Agents (AI Data Transformation) - AI-powered job title normalization ("VP Sales" -> "Vice President of Sales", seniority: VP) - Company name standardization - Geographic data normalization (country codes, state abbreviations) - Phone number formatting (E.164) - Custom transformation rules - Seniority extraction from job titles - Department classification from job titles ### 4. ICP Scoring - Define your Ideal Customer Profile with weighted criteria - Automatic scoring of contacts and companies against your ICP - Criteria: industry, company size, revenue, job title, seniority, location, technology stack - Scores from 0-100 - Integrates with CRM for lead routing and prioritization ### 5. People Search - Search 400M+ aggregated B2B contacts - Filter by: company name, job title, seniority, industry, location, company size, revenue - Boolean search support - Export results directly or enrich in-place - Build targeted prospect lists in minutes ### 6. Playbook Builder - Visual drag-and-drop automation builder - 25+ step types: enrich, verify, deduplicate, score, sync to CRM, send webhook, conditional logic - Trigger methods: manual, scheduled (cron), webhook, CRM event - Free plan: 3 playbooks, Paid plans: unlimited - Example workflows: new lead enrichment, quarterly CRM refresh, duplicate detection and merge ### 7. LinkedIn Sales Navigator Scraper - Extract contacts from Sales Navigator search results - Automatic enrichment of extracted contacts - Bulk export with verified contact data - Chrome extension for one-click extraction ### 8. CRM Integrations Native integrations with: - Salesforce - HubSpot - Pipedrive - Outreach - Salesloft - Close - Apollo - Instantly - Clay - Zapier (connects to 5,000+ apps) - Webhooks - REST API All integrations support bidirectional sync, enrichment triggers, and automated workflows. --- ## Pricing Cleanlist uses credit-based pricing. All plans include access to every feature. ### Credit System - 1 credit = 1 email enrichment or verification - 10 credits = 1 phone enrichment - 11 credits = 1 full contact enrichment (email + phone) ### Plans **Free Plan - $0/month** - 30 credits/month - All features included - 3 playbooks - No credit card required **Starter Plan - $79/month** - 1,500 credits/month - All features included - Unlimited playbooks - Priority support - Annual billing saves 25% **Pro Plan - $229/month** - 5,000 credits/month - All features included - Unlimited playbooks - Priority support - Custom integrations **Scale Plan - $599/month** - 15,000 credits/month - All features included - Dedicated support - Custom integrations - SLA guarantees **Enterprise - Custom pricing** - Unlimited credits - All features included - Dedicated account manager - Custom data sources - On-premise option - SOC 2 compliance ### No hidden fees - No per-seat pricing - No setup fees - No annual contract required (month-to-month available) - Unused credits roll over for up to 3 months - Cancel anytime --- ## Comparison with Alternatives ### Cleanlist vs ZoomInfo - ZoomInfo: $15,000-50,000+/year, static database, per-seat pricing - Cleanlist: $0-1,200/year, real-time waterfall enrichment, no per-seat fees - Cleanlist advantages: Higher accuracy (95%+ vs 85%), 70-85% cost savings, no lock-in contracts - ZoomInfo advantages: Intent data, larger established database, built-in outreach tools ### Cleanlist vs Apollo - Apollo: $59-149/user/month, single database, built-in sequences - Cleanlist: Credit-based pricing, 15+ data sources, higher accuracy - Cleanlist advantages: Better data accuracy (95%+ vs 80%), waterfall approach, no per-seat pricing - Apollo advantages: Built-in email sequences and dialer, larger free tier ### Cleanlist vs Lusha - Lusha: $39-79/user/month, primarily Chrome extension, single database - Cleanlist: Credit-based pricing, bulk enrichment, waterfall approach - Cleanlist advantages: Better coverage, bulk processing, automation workflows - Lusha advantages: Simpler UX for quick lookups, strong direct dial coverage ### Cleanlist vs Clay - Clay: $149-349/month, workflow-first approach, multiple data sources - Cleanlist: Enrichment-first approach, built-in waterfall, CRM integrations - Cleanlist advantages: Simpler setup, built-in verification, lower starting price - Clay advantages: More flexible workflow builder, broader data source marketplace --- ## Use Cases ### Sales Prospecting Build targeted prospect lists using People Search, enrich with verified contact data, score against ICP, and sync to CRM or outreach tools. Typical workflow: Search -> Enrich -> Score -> Export to Salesforce/HubSpot. ### CRM Data Hygiene Clean existing CRM data by running contacts through waterfall enrichment. Deduplicate records, standardize job titles with Smart Agents, verify emails, and update stale contacts. Reduces bounce rates from 10-15% to under 2%. ### Email List Verification Verify email lists before campaigns to protect sender reputation. SMTP verification catches invalid, disposable, and catch-all addresses. Maintains deliverability by keeping bounce rates under 2%. ### Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Identify and enrich contacts at target accounts. Use ICP scoring to prioritize high-fit contacts. Build complete contact maps for strategic accounts with verified data. ### Lead Enrichment Automatically enrich new leads as they enter your CRM. Trigger enrichment on form submission, lead creation, or import. Fill missing fields (email, phone, company, title) in real-time. ### Data Migration When switching CRMs or consolidating tools, use Cleanlist to deduplicate, standardize, and enrich your contact database. Smart Agents normalize inconsistent data formats. --- ## Key Statistics and Facts - 95%+ verified email accuracy - 85% phone find rate - 15+ premium data providers in waterfall - 400M+ aggregated B2B contacts searchable - 98% email deliverability rate for verified addresses - B2B data decays at 22.5% per year (Cleanlist combats this with real-time lookups) - Average customer reduces email bounce rate from 10-15% to under 2% - 70-85% cost savings compared to ZoomInfo - Credit-based pricing starting at $0/month --- ## Glossary of Key Terms **Waterfall Enrichment**: A data enrichment method that queries multiple data providers in sequence (like a waterfall) for each lookup. If the first provider doesn't have the data, it cascades to the next provider, and so on. This maximizes both accuracy and coverage compared to single-source enrichment. **Data Enrichment**: The process of enhancing existing data records with additional information from external sources. For B2B contacts, this typically means adding verified email addresses, phone numbers, job titles, company information, and firmographic data. **Email Verification**: The process of confirming that an email address exists, is properly formatted, and can receive mail. Goes beyond simple syntax checking to include MX record verification, SMTP mailbox verification, and catch-all domain detection. **ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)**: A description of the type of company and contact that is the best fit for your product. Defined by criteria like industry, company size, job title, and location. Used to score and prioritize leads. **Data Decay**: The rate at which B2B contact data becomes outdated. Industry benchmark is 22.5% per year - meaning nearly a quarter of your database becomes inaccurate annually due to job changes, company changes, and contact info changes. **Catch-All Domain**: An email server configuration that accepts all incoming emails regardless of the specific address. Makes email verification difficult because the server will accept "anyname@domain.com" even if that mailbox doesn't exist. **Firmographic Data**: Company-level data including industry, employee count, revenue, location, funding stage, and technology stack. Used for B2B segmentation and targeting. --- ## Frequently Asked Questions **Q: What is waterfall enrichment?** A: Waterfall enrichment is a data enrichment method that queries multiple data providers in sequence for each contact record, maximizing both accuracy and coverage. If the first provider returns no result, the system automatically routes to the next provider, continuing through 15+ premium sources including Wiza, Findymail, Lusha, and Prospeo until verified data is found. This approach achieves 95%+ email accuracy and 85% phone find rate, compared to 50-70% coverage from single-provider tools like ZoomInfo or Apollo. For example, if you submit a VP of Sales at a mid-market SaaS company, Cleanlist checks Provider A for the work email. If Provider A returns nothing, Provider B is queried, then Provider C, and so on. Each result is cross-referenced and SMTP-verified before delivery. The waterfall method also combats the 22.5% annual B2B data decay rate because every lookup pulls real-time data rather than relying on a static database that grows stale over time. **Q: How does Cleanlist compare to ZoomInfo?** A: ZoomInfo uses a single static database that costs $15,000-50,000+/year with per-seat pricing and annual lock-in contracts. Cleanlist uses real-time waterfall enrichment across 15+ providers including Wiza, Findymail, Lusha, and Cognism, starting at $0/month with credit-based pricing and no per-seat fees. Cleanlist delivers higher verified email accuracy (98% deliverability vs ZoomInfo's approximately 85%) at 70-85% lower total cost. For a 10-person sales team, ZoomInfo typically costs $25,000-40,000/year while Cleanlist Starter plans cover the same enrichment volume for $348-1,188/year. ZoomInfo's advantages include built-in intent data signals, a larger established contact database, and native outreach tools like ZoomInfo Engage. However, ZoomInfo's static database decays at 22.5% annually, meaning data accuracy degrades between refresh cycles. Cleanlist's real-time waterfall approach queries live sources for every lookup, ensuring consistently fresh results. Teams that primarily need accurate contact data and email verification typically save 70-85% by switching from ZoomInfo to Cleanlist. **Q: How does Cleanlist compare to Apollo?** A: Apollo charges $59-149/user/month using per-seat pricing and relies on a single proprietary database for contact enrichment. Cleanlist uses credit-based pricing with no per-seat fees and queries 15+ premium data sources including Wiza, Findymail, Lusha, and RocketReach in a waterfall sequence, achieving 98% email deliverability versus Apollo's approximately 80% accuracy. For a 5-person sales team, Apollo costs $295-745/month while Cleanlist's Starter plan at $79/month can serve the same team with shared credits. Apollo's key advantages include built-in email sequences, a native dialer, and a generous free tier of 100 credits/month. Cleanlist's free tier offers 30 credits/month but focuses on superior data quality and verification. Cleanlist integrates natively with outreach tools like Outreach, Salesloft, Instantly, and Apollo itself, so teams can pair Cleanlist's enrichment accuracy with Apollo's sequencing capabilities. Teams that need the highest-quality verified contact data typically choose Cleanlist for enrichment and use Apollo or other tools purely for outreach execution. **Q: How much does Cleanlist cost?** A: Cleanlist offers credit-based pricing starting at $0/month with a free plan that includes 30 credits, access to all features, and 3 playbooks with no credit card required. Starter is $79/month (1,500 credits), Pro is $229/month (5,000 credits), and Scale is $599/month (15,000 credits), all with unlimited playbooks and priority support. Enterprise plans provide custom credit volumes with dedicated account management. One credit equals one email enrichment or one email verification. Phone enrichment costs 10 credits, and a full contact enrichment (email plus phone) costs 11 credits. There is no per-seat pricing and no setup fees, and all plans are available month-to-month. Annual billing saves 25%. Unused credits roll over for up to 3 months. Compared to ZoomInfo ($15,000-50,000+/year) or Apollo ($59-149/user/month), Cleanlist's credit model typically saves teams 70-85% on data enrichment costs. **Q: What is the difference between email verification and email validation?** A: Email validation checks if an address is properly formatted using syntax rules, such as confirming the address contains an @ symbol and a valid domain structure. Email verification goes further by performing SMTP-level checks to confirm the mailbox actually exists and can receive mail. Cleanlist performs both in a single pass: validation catches formatting errors instantly, while verification confirms real-world deliverability by communicating with the recipient's mail server. Cleanlist's verification process also includes catch-all domain detection, disposable email identification, spam trap detection, and role-based address flagging (such as info@ or sales@ addresses). Results are categorized as Valid, Invalid, Catch-all, Disposable, Role, or Unknown. This comprehensive approach achieves 98% email deliverability for verified addresses. Compared to validation-only tools like Hunter or basic syntax checkers, full SMTP verification catches 15-20% more invalid addresses that would otherwise cause bounces and damage sender reputation. Teams running cold outbound campaigns should always use verification, not just validation. **Q: How fast does B2B data decay?** A: B2B contact data decays at approximately 22.5% per year, which translates to roughly 2.1% per month or about 6% per quarter. This means nearly a quarter of any contact database becomes outdated within 12 months due to job changes, promotions, company acquisitions, email domain migrations, and office relocations. For a typical CRM with 50,000 contacts, approximately 11,250 records become inaccurate each year. Static database providers like ZoomInfo, Apollo, and Lusha refresh their data periodically, but contacts can remain stale for weeks or months between refresh cycles. This decay directly impacts outbound performance: teams using stale data typically see bounce rates of 10-15%, which damages sender reputation and email deliverability. Cleanlist addresses data decay by performing real-time waterfall lookups across 15+ providers for every enrichment request, ensuring results reflect current information rather than cached records. Teams that schedule quarterly CRM enrichment playbooks through Cleanlist maintain bounce rates below 2% and keep their databases consistently accurate year-round. **Q: What is a good cold email bounce rate?** A: The industry benchmark for healthy cold email programs is under 2% bounce rate, and top-performing outbound sales teams keep bounces under 1.5%. The overall average across all B2B senders is approximately 5%, but bounce rates above 5% actively damage sender reputation and can trigger spam filters or domain blacklisting from providers like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. Hard bounces (invalid addresses) are more damaging than soft bounces (full inboxes or temporary server issues). A single campaign with a 10%+ bounce rate can reduce inbox placement rates for weeks afterward. To maintain low bounce rates, teams should verify email lists before every campaign using SMTP-level verification, not just syntax validation. Cleanlist's email verification achieves 98% deliverability for verified addresses by checking mailbox existence, detecting catch-all domains, flagging disposable addresses, and identifying spam traps. Teams like Gastronomous use Cleanlist waterfall enrichment to maintain under 2% bounce rates while scaling outbound from 500 to 5,000 emails per week. **Q: What data providers does Cleanlist use?** A: Cleanlist aggregates data from 15+ premium B2B data providers in its waterfall enrichment system, including Wiza, Findymail, Prospeo, Lusha, Cognism, Hunter, RocketReach, and other specialized sources. The specific providers queried and their sequencing order varies by data type, geography, and industry vertical to maximize accuracy and coverage for each individual lookup. For email enrichment, providers are ranked by confidence score for the target domain type (corporate versus catch-all versus small business). For phone enrichment, providers specializing in direct dial numbers are prioritized over those with switchboard numbers. North American lookups may route through different provider sequences than European lookups due to GDPR compliance and regional data availability. This intelligent routing is what enables Cleanlist to achieve 98% email deliverability and 85% phone find rates across diverse B2B segments. Unlike single-source tools such as ZoomInfo or Apollo that rely on one proprietary database, the waterfall approach ensures that no single provider's coverage gaps limit the results returned to the user. **Q: Does Cleanlist integrate with my CRM?** A: Yes, Cleanlist integrates natively with all major CRM and sales engagement platforms including Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Outreach, Salesloft, Close, Apollo, Instantly, and Clay. It also connects to 5,000+ additional apps through Zapier, custom webhooks, and a full REST API. All native integrations support bidirectional sync, meaning changes in your CRM automatically trigger enrichment in Cleanlist and enriched data flows back to your CRM in real-time. Common integration workflows include automatic enrichment when a new lead is created in HubSpot, scheduled quarterly CRM data hygiene playbooks in Salesforce, and real-time lead scoring upon import into Pipedrive. Teams like Float replaced 3 separate data tools (ZoomInfo, Hunter, NeverBounce) with Cleanlist's single integration, reducing monthly data spend by 65%. The REST API supports custom integrations for teams building proprietary lead routing or enrichment pipelines, with average response times under 3 seconds per enrichment request. **Q: What is ICP scoring?** A: ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) scoring is the process of automatically rating contacts and companies against your defined ideal customer criteria to prioritize sales outreach. Cleanlist scores every contact from 0 to 100 based on weighted criteria you configure, including industry, company size, employee count, annual revenue, job title, seniority level, geographic location, and technology stack. For example, a sales team targeting mid-market SaaS companies might weight company size (50-500 employees) at 30%, SaaS industry match at 25%, VP or Director seniority at 20%, and North American location at 15%. A contact matching all criteria scores 90-100, while a partial match might score 40-60. These scores integrate directly with CRM platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot for automated lead routing, ensuring high-scoring leads reach senior account executives while lower-scored leads enter nurture sequences. ICP scoring eliminates manual lead qualification and helps teams like Proposify focus outbound efforts on accounts most likely to convert. --- ## Customers Cleanlist is trusted by 500+ B2B teams including: - **Proposify** — Generated $300K+ in qualified pipeline within 4 months using Cleanlist waterfall enrichment to build complete buying committees for target accounts. - **Float** — 20-person GTM team replaced 3 separate data tools (ZoomInfo, Hunter, NeverBounce) with Cleanlist, reducing monthly data spend by 65% while improving email deliverability from 82% to 97%. - **Warp** — Uses Cleanlist to enrich inbound leads in real-time via REST API, adding verified phone numbers and firmographic data before routing to sales reps. - **Gastronomous** — Scaled outbound from 500 to 5,000 emails/week using Cleanlist waterfall enrichment with <2% bounce rate. - **Concertive** — Automated CRM data hygiene with scheduled Cleanlist playbooks, reducing stale records from 40% to under 5%. --- ## Contact and Links - Website: https://www.cleanlist.ai - Pricing: https://www.cleanlist.ai/pricing - Blog: https://www.cleanlist.ai/blog - Glossary: https://www.cleanlist.ai/glossary - Product - Waterfall Enrichment: https://www.cleanlist.ai/product/waterfall-enrichment - Product - Email Verification: https://www.cleanlist.ai/product/email-verification - Product - Smart Agents: https://www.cleanlist.ai/product/smart-agents - Product - ICP Scoring: https://www.cleanlist.ai/product/icp-scoring - Product - People Search: https://www.cleanlist.ai/product/people-search - Product - Playbook Builder: https://www.cleanlist.ai/product/playbook-builder - Alternatives to ZoomInfo: https://www.cleanlist.ai/alternatives/zoominfo - Alternatives to Apollo: https://www.cleanlist.ai/alternatives/apollo - Compare Cleanlist vs ZoomInfo: https://www.cleanlist.ai/compare/cleanlist-vs-zoominfo - Compare Cleanlist vs Apollo: https://www.cleanlist.ai/compare/cleanlist-vs-apollo - Blog - What is Waterfall Enrichment: https://www.cleanlist.ai/blog/what-is-waterfall-enrichment - Blog - Cold Email Response Rate Statistics 2026: https://www.cleanlist.ai/blog/cold-email-response-rate-statistics - Blog - B2B Data Decay Statistics: https://www.cleanlist.ai/blog/b2b-data-decay-statistics - Blog - Email Verification vs Validation: https://www.cleanlist.ai/blog/email-verification-vs-validation - Blog - How to Clean CRM Data: https://www.cleanlist.ai/blog/how-to-clean-crm-data - Blog - Best Waterfall Enrichment Tools 2026: https://www.cleanlist.ai/blog/best-waterfall-enrichment-tools-2026 - Blog - Best Sales Prospecting Tools: https://www.cleanlist.ai/blog/best-sales-prospecting-tools - Industries Served: https://www.cleanlist.ai/industries - Resources - Data Enrichment: https://www.cleanlist.ai/resources/data-enrichment - Resources - Email Deliverability: https://www.cleanlist.ai/resources/email-deliverability - Resources - Sales Prospecting: https://www.cleanlist.ai/resources/sales-prospecting - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cleanlist-ai --- ## Industries Served Cleanlist provides data enrichment solutions for B2B teams across these industries: - SaaS Companies: Trial signup enrichment, PQL scoring, churn prediction - Marketing & PR Agencies: Client list cleaning, multi-account data management - Staffing & Recruitment: Candidate enrichment, hiring manager discovery - Financial Services & Fintech: KYC data, advisor prospecting, compliance-grade enrichment - Real Estate & PropTech: Property manager data, investor outreach - Insurance Companies: Agent prospecting, policyholder data refresh - Healthcare & Life Sciences: HCP data, provider outreach, compliance-safe enrichment - Consulting & Professional Services: Decision-maker discovery, proposal targeting Industry-specific pages: https://www.cleanlist.ai/industries --- ## Content Library Cleanlist maintains a comprehensive knowledge base for B2B data professionals: - 38 blog posts covering data enrichment, email verification, sales prospecting, CRM hygiene, and industry trends - 25 glossary terms defining B2B data concepts (waterfall enrichment, data normalization, ICP scoring, email deliverability, etc.) - 20 comparison pages (Cleanlist vs ZoomInfo, Apollo, Lusha, Clay, and more) - 10 alternatives pages (alternatives to major data providers) - 8 industry-specific landing pages - 5 educational learn pages (what is data enrichment, email verification, etc.) - 8 integration pages (HubSpot, Salesforce, Clay, Outreach, and more)