Best B2B Data Providers for Europe: Apollo vs Cognism vs Lusha vs Kaspr

For European outbound, the data provider matters more than most tools in the stack. Poor coverage puts the wrong people on your cold email list. Weak GDPR practices create a risk your legal team will have to handle.

The short answer: choose Cognism when you need written GDPR documentation. Choose Apollo for high-volume prospecting at a lower cost. Kaspr gets contact details from LinkedIn quickly. Lusha fits smaller teams that want a simple tool with straightforward integrations.

Why European B2B Data Is Harder Than It Looks

Building a B2B list in the US is relatively straightforward. Europe presents three separate problems.

First, GDPR makes you accountable for how you source and use contact data. Cold email to business contacts is generally allowed under legitimate interest, but you must be able to demonstrate that basis if challenged. Your choice of data provider affects that defense.

Second, European contact data is fragmented. No professional network or company registry covers the entire market. Data quality varies by country, sector, and company size. A provider may be strong in the UK but weak in Poland or Portugal.

Third, contact data becomes stale faster in markets where people change jobs frequently. An email that was accurate six months ago may now bounce. In GDPR-compliant cold email campaigns, bounce rates above 3 percent start to damage deliverability and sender reputation.

Apollo: Best for Volume, Decent EU Coverage

Buying from a provider who cannot show you their GDPR basis is very much fine. Totally fine.

Apollo is one of the most widely used prospecting databases and covers Europe reasonably well. It supports company and contact searches across most EU countries, with filters for industry, company size, technology stack, and intent signals.

Apollo’s price per record is low, its filters are strong, and it integrates directly with most sequencers. In Clay-based enrichment workflows, it often serves as the primary source before verification and additional data are added.

Apollo’s weakness in Europe is inconsistent data freshness for mid-market and SME contacts outside the UK. As the controller, you also retain GDPR accountability. That matters when you sell into regulated sectors or large enterprises that review your data sources.

Cognism: Best for GDPR Accountability

Cognism is a European-founded company that competes on compliance. Its Diamond Data set includes phone-verified mobile numbers. It also maintains a global Do Not Contact list and publishes documentation on its legitimate interest framework.

Cognism has invested heavily in coverage across the UK, DACH, and Benelux. It also costs more per seat than Apollo. The platform is designed for larger sales teams, not solo founders or small agencies.

If your buyers work in enterprise procurement, legal, or financial services, Cognism’s compliance documentation can help during vendor review. Smaller operations may not get enough value to justify the cost.

Kaspr: Best for LinkedIn-Native Prospecting

Kaspr runs inside LinkedIn and Sales Navigator as a browser extension. Open a profile and click the extension to retrieve a mobile number or email in real time. Because Cognism owns Kaspr, it shares some of the company’s compliance infrastructure.

For SDR teams working entirely in Sales Navigator, Kaspr removes the need to export and cross-reference a separate database. It covers professionals who are active on LinkedIn well. It cannot discover prospects you have not already found there.

Combined with a LinkedIn outreach sequence, Kaspr lets SDRs collect contact data without leaving the screen where they do their research.

Lusha: Best for Small Teams and CRM Integration

Lusha offers a browser extension and web app with company and contact search. Its free tier is enough for early-stage testing. It integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive.

In Europe, its data is solid for senior roles at well-known companies but thinner for mid-market targets outside the UK and Nordics. Use Lusha as a supplementary enrichment tool, not as the primary source for a large list.

How to Choose (and Verify What You Get)

No provider covers Europe perfectly. Teams running European B2B lead generation campaigns usually combine several sources instead of relying on one.

A practical setup starts with Apollo for list building and company discovery. Add Cognism or Kaspr to find mobile numbers at priority accounts. Verify every email before it enters the sequencer. Clay-based enrichment workflows can manage these sources without manual exports.

For outbound into Germany or other DACH markets, verify phone numbers carefully. Decision-makers in the region often do not respond to email alone. A verified mobile number gives the SDR another way to follow up.

Data requirements change as your markets and team grow. Build the workflow so you can swap providers without rebuilding the entire stack.

If you want the data layer and outbound system built for you, see how Asphia does it.