Lusha vs ZoomInfo: The Honest Comparison for B2B Sales Teams
If you're comparing Lusha vs ZoomInfo, here's the short version: Lusha is for SMBs who want affordable, easy-to-use contact data. ZoomInfo is for enterprises with big budgets who need every bell and whistle.
But that's oversimplifying it. Both platforms have serious tradeoffs you should understand before signing anything—especially ZoomInfo's annual contracts.
Let me break down exactly what you're getting (and what you're not) with each platform.
The Quick Comparison
| Feature | Lusha | ZoomInfo |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | Free tier, paid from $29/month | ~$15,000/year minimum |
| Database Size | 100M+ contacts, 60M+ emails, 50M+ direct dials | 260M+ contacts, 174M+ emails, 94M+ direct dials |
| Best For | SMBs, small sales teams, startups | Enterprise teams, complex sales operations |
| Contract Type | Monthly or annual | Annual only |
| Learning Curve | Low - start in minutes | Moderate to steep |
| G2 Rating | 4.3/5 | 4.5/5 |
| Data Accuracy (G2) | 7.6/10 | 8.2/10 |
Pricing: The Real Numbers
Lusha Pricing
Lusha actually publishes its prices—refreshing in the sales intelligence world. Here's what you're looking at:
- Free Plan: $0/month – 70 credits monthly, 1 user, basic Chrome extension
- Pro Plan: $29/user/month (billed annually) – 480 credits/year, list management, team features up to 3 users
- Premium Plan: $51/user/month (billed annually) – 960 credits/year, bulk search (25 contacts), usage analytics
- Scale Plan: Custom pricing – unlimited seats, custom credits, API access, advanced integrations
The credit system works like this: 1 credit per email, 10 credits per phone number. So if you're doing heavy phone outreach, those credits burn fast.
Monthly billing is available but costs more—around $36/month for Pro instead of the annual rate.
ZoomInfo Pricing
ZoomInfo doesn't publish pricing on their website. They want you on a sales call. Here's what our research uncovered:
- Professional Plan: ~$14,995/year – 5,000 credits, up to 3 users
- Advanced Plan: ~$24,995/year – 10,000 credits + 1,000 monthly user credits
- Elite Plan: ~$39,995/year – 10,000 credits + 1,000 monthly per user, advanced features
Additional users cost $1,500-$2,500 each depending on your plan. And those numbers are just starting points—add-ons like intent data, Streaming Intent, and the Engage platform increase costs significantly.
According to industry data, the median annual ZoomInfo spend is around $30,000, with some companies paying $50,000+ once you factor in additional seats and features.
The kicker: ZoomInfo only offers annual contracts. No monthly option. And users report 10-20% price increases at renewal, with aggressive auto-renewal clauses that require 60-day cancellation notice.
Try Lusha's free plan if you want to test the waters without commitment.
Database Size and Coverage
ZoomInfo wins on raw numbers:
- ZoomInfo: 260M+ contacts, 100M+ companies, 174M+ email addresses, 94M+ direct dials
- Lusha: 100M+ business profiles, 60M+ email addresses, 50M+ direct dials, 15M+ company profiles
But size isn't everything. What matters is whether they have YOUR prospects.
ZoomInfo dominates in US coverage and larger enterprises. Lusha claims stronger European data with 20M+ verified contacts in Europe and ISO 27701 certification for GDPR compliance.
Both platforms struggle with smaller companies (under 50 employees). If you're targeting SMBs, neither database will be as comprehensive as you'd hope.
Data Accuracy: The Real Story
This is where things get interesting. Both platforms claim high accuracy, but user reviews tell a different story.
ZoomInfo guarantees 95% accuracy for contact-company affiliations. They score 8.2/10 on G2 for data accuracy. Users generally report fewer data quality complaints than competitors.
However, common complaints include:
- Outdated job titles (people who left companies months or years ago)
- Slower refresh cycles than advertised
- European data quality issues
Lusha claims 85% phone accuracy and 98% email deliverability. They score 7.6/10 on G2 for accuracy—noticeably lower than ZoomInfo.
User complaints focus on:
- Inconsistent phone number accuracy
- Numbers not matched to correct prospects
- Need for manual verification on some contacts
That 0.6 point difference on G2 might not seem huge, but when you're dialing hundreds of prospects monthly, you'll feel it in your pipeline.
Features Comparison
Where Lusha Wins
- Ease of use: The Chrome extension lets you start prospecting within minutes. No training required.
- Built-in email sequencing: Basic but functional—includes deliverability analytics and time-zone sending. ZoomInfo lacks this entirely (you need their Engage add-on).
- Transparent pricing: You know what you're paying before talking to sales.
- Flexible contracts: Monthly billing available. Cancel without drama.
- LinkedIn integration: The extension works seamlessly on LinkedIn profiles, company pages, and Sales Navigator.
Where ZoomInfo Wins
- Database depth: More contacts, more companies, more direct dials. Period.
- Intent data: Native Streaming Intent signals show which companies are actively researching your solutions.
- Workflow automation: Powerful native automation that Lusha completely lacks.
- Advanced filtering: More granular prospecting filters including technographics, org charts, department budgets.
- CRM enrichment: Real-time data enrichment via API and webhooks to keep your CRM fresh.
- Enterprise features: Territory management, custom field creation, shared searches for large teams.
Integrations
Both platforms integrate with the major CRMs and sales tools:
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- Outreach
- Pipedrive
- Microsoft Dynamics
- Zapier
ZoomInfo has deeper integrations with more enterprise tools, plus better API capabilities for custom workflows. Lusha's integrations are simpler but cover the basics most SMBs need.
Who Should Choose Lusha
Lusha makes sense if you're:
- A startup or small business with limited budget
- A small sales team (1-10 reps) who needs quick, easy contact data
- Focused on straightforward prospecting without complex automation needs
- Not willing to commit to annual contracts
- Targeting European markets (better GDPR compliance)
- Just need emails and phone numbers—not deep firmographic intelligence
The free tier is legitimately useful for testing. 70 credits/month isn't a lot, but it's enough to validate whether the data quality works for your target market.
Start with Lusha's free plan →
Who Should Choose ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo makes sense if you:
- Have $15K+ annual budget for sales intelligence
- Run a large sales team (20+ reps) needing sophisticated data operations
- Need intent signals to identify in-market buyers
- Require advanced workflow automation
- Want deep firmographic and technographic data beyond basic contact info
- Target enterprise accounts where comprehensive org charts matter
Fair warning: the platform has a learning curve. Budget time for training and onboarding—it's not a plug-and-play solution like Lusha.
The Hidden Costs Nobody Mentions
Lusha's Hidden Costs
- Credit burn rate: Phone numbers cost 10x more than emails. Heavy phone prospectors run out fast.
- Feature paywalls: Bulk search, CSV enrichment, and advanced analytics locked behind Premium/Scale plans.
- Per-user pricing: Costs scale linearly as your team grows.
ZoomInfo's Hidden Costs
- Add-on stacking: Intent data, Engage, Chorus—each adds significant cost to your base plan.
- Credit overages: Burn through your allocation? Mid-contract top-ups are expensive.
- Renewal increases: Users report 10-20% price hikes at renewal, often with bundled upsells you didn't ask for.
- Auto-renewal traps: Miss the 60-day cancellation window and you're locked in another year.
Alternatives Worth Considering
If neither Lusha nor ZoomInfo feels right, consider these options:
- Apollo.io: Better balance of features and pricing. Strong data accuracy (7.7/10 on G2) with more accessible pricing than ZoomInfo.
- Cognism: Phone-verified mobile data with strong European coverage. Good middle ground between Lusha and ZoomInfo.
- RocketReach: Solid contact data with flexible pricing. See our RocketReach pricing breakdown for details.
- Dealfront (Leadfeeder): If you need website visitor identification with European focus.
For outreach tools that pair well with these data providers, check out Instantly or Lemlist for cold email automation.
The Bottom Line
Choose Lusha if: You need affordable, straightforward contact data without enterprise complexity. Start free, pay monthly if you want, cancel anytime.
Choose ZoomInfo if: You have enterprise budget, need deep sales intelligence, and can commit to annual contracts. The data quality and features justify the cost for larger operations.
Don't overthink it. If you're unsure, start with Lusha's free plan. Test the data against your target accounts. If it works, scale up. If not, you've lost nothing.
ZoomInfo's free demo is worth doing if you have the budget, but go in knowing they'll push hard for annual commitment. Negotiate—users report getting 50% discounts from initial quotes.