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i-4business vs Cognism: Which is better?

i4b Versus Cognism

The i-4business B2B database was developed and tailored specifically for B2B organisations. Our EMEA enterprise data is used throughout Europe, helping sales and marketing teams successfully drive pipeline.

Customers choose i-4business over Cognism because:

  • We own all our data and have a greater depth of job roles.
  • We're the only B2B data provider with an in-house research team of native speakers.
  • Our fully transparent process means i-4business data is the most GDPR compliant data available.
  • We have greater coverage and a lot more experience across Europe.
  • Only i-4business data accuracy is guaranteed with clear contractual commitments to the quality.
  • Only i-4business offer a FREE 30-Day Trial.

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Why is i-4business better than Cognism?

Where do i-4b and Cognism get their data?

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  • We own all our own data. We’re not aggregators and we do NOT buy data from external sources.
  • Our research team is full-time employed by us and UK-based. All researchers are native speakers for their regions.
  • Our data is collected in the proper way to ensure compliance, accuracy and quality.
  • 3-month training and ongoing monitoring of researchers for quality control. Automated systems to help highlight errors, omissions, or inconsistencies.
  • We don’t use 3rd parties, forbidden tactics, or rely on tech.
  • Data compliance, quality and accuracy is guaranteed in SLAs.
  • Collected from 125 data sources.
  • LinkedIn
  • Open sources – websites, press articles & other online media
  • Closed sources such as Crunchbase & other third-party vendors.
  • Effectively perpetual use of data due to credit system. Causes:
  • High bounce rates
  • Non-compliance
  • Loss of reputation

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How compliant is the data from i-4business and Cognism?

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  • Data subjects are fully informed how their data will be processed & with whom specifically, we will share that data with.
  • ALL clients receive any opt-outs every week, ensuring clients are abiding by the data subjects' marketing preferences.
  • No control over compliance of data purchased from 3rd parties.
  • Data processed on grounds of “legitimate interest,” NOT consent.
  • No alert when a contact opts out of the database. This can lead to non-compliant and ineffective marketing campaigns.
  • There is a global opt-out API that you can access but NO automated change notifications. This means you effectively have to cleanse the data yourself.
  • Their GDPR documents state that it is up to YOU the client to guarantee compliance before using the data for direct marketing.
  • Data is cleansed against the TPS/CTPS service.
  • You can download the data in one-off lists but you will NOT be notified of any changes.

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How do the user interfaces of the i-4business and Cognism platforms stack up?

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  • Cloud based, on-demand resource.
  • Users love our friendly, intuitive UI.
  • Built specifically to meet the identified requirements of B2B sales and marketing campaigns.
  • Unlimited search/browse/navigate via a uniquely comprehensive search capability.
  • Unlimited query and download of precisely targeted campaign lists.
  • Unlimited use of the downloaded campaign lists for no additional fees.
  • Fully customisable implementation – e.g. categorisations, etc.
  • Campaign list & history management.
  • Subject to glitches and slow load/run times especially when interacting with the plugin and generating large lists for the exporting process.
  • Some users have commented about the slow and clunky UI.
  • Users report the interface being confusing when switching from contact to company search.
  • The Cognism extension covers the basics, but it can be buggy and not user-friendly.
  • Process to flag bad data is not smooth and requires a lot of effort from users.
  • The complex UI can be a challenging for new users.

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Comparing the cost of i-4business and Cognism

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  • Simple subscription service.
  • Competitive and transparent pricing for different levels of data access to suit your business requirements.
  • Flexible payment terms (typically monthly but quarterly and annual payment plans are available).
  • No additional fees.
  • Starting price is high compared to similar products and cost gets even higher if you’re looking for better data & insights.
  • 12 or 24-month contract required on sign-up.
  • Pricing works on credit-based system. You purchase credits and redeem them against the contacts that you want. If a contact opts out, you don't get your credit back.
  • Your credits refresh every month and credits from previous months rollover effectively giving perpetual use of the data (see above for problems this causes).

Can you try before you commit with i-4b and Cognism?

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  • Free 30-Day Trial to access our data for free. You’ll get 30 days full access to our entire EMEA database to look up as many contacts and companies as you want. No credit card is required.
  • Cognism only offer a sales-led trial (customers must agree to demo to receive the data) with 25 free contacts to evaluate the data. Customers must then commit to an expensive, long-term contract.

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See how our in-house researched enterprise data compares in real-world targeting and campaign use.

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“I have been using the i-4Business database at the last four organisations I have worked at. Why? Because they are one of very few agencies who provide the right business and IT influencers and decision makers across EMEA. I know I can trust their data, and there are not many providers of data for whom I can say that!”

Ikram Ghani

This analysis is based on information provided to us as of 6/8/25 (E & OE).