US-first database vs. EU-first database — geography decides this one.
Apollo and Cognism both sell access to B2B contact databases. They look similar on a features page. In practice, they are built for different geographies and different budgets. Apollo has 275M+ contacts with the strongest coverage in North America, a generous free tier, and pricing that starts at $49 per month. Cognism has the deepest European coverage in the market, GDPR-compliant data collection by design, and Diamond Data — phone-verified mobile numbers that actually connect. The tradeoff is price: Cognism starts at $15K+ per year. Where your prospects sit on a map tells you which one to buy.
Geographic coverage
Apollo was built for the US market and it shows. North American data — company info, direct dials, org charts — is deep and generally accurate. European and APAC coverage exists but drops off in completeness and freshness. Cognism was built in London for European selling. DACH, UK, Nordics, and Benelux coverage is meaningfully better than any US-first provider. If your reps sell to European companies, Cognism's data advantage is real and measurable in connect rates.
GDPR and compliance
Cognism processes data under GDPR by default — opt-out lists are maintained, Do Not Call registries are checked, and data collection is documented for compliance. Apollo collects data primarily from US-centric sources and leaves GDPR compliance largely to the user. If your legal team asks where your prospect data comes from and whether it is GDPR-compliant, Cognism gives you a clean answer. Apollo gives you a longer conversation.
Verified mobile numbers
Cognism's Diamond Data is their real differentiator — human-verified mobile numbers with reported 87%+ connect rates. These are not scraped numbers run through a validator. Someone actually called the number and confirmed it rings the right person. Apollo provides phone numbers but does not offer the same manual verification layer. If your team does cold calling, the quality difference in mobile data is significant.
| Apollo | Cognism | |
|---|---|---|
| Database size | 275M+ contacts | ~70M+ contacts (growing) |
| US coverage | Best-in-class | Good — improving |
| EU coverage | Moderate | Best-in-class (DACH, UK, Nordics) |
| GDPR compliance | User responsibility | Built-in — opt-out and DNC registries maintained |
| Verified mobiles | Phone numbers included — not manually verified | Diamond Data — human-verified, 87%+ connect rate |
| Sequencer | Yes — built-in email sequences | No — integrates with Salesloft, Outreach, etc. |
| Pricing | $49–119/user/month (free tier available) | $15K+/year (custom pricing) |
| Best for | US-focused teams that want data + outreach in one tool | EU-focused teams that need compliance and verified mobiles |
The verdict
Apollo for US-focused teams on a budget that want a large contact database with built-in sequencing at a price any startup can afford. The free tier is genuinely useful and the platform does more than just data. Cognism for teams selling into Europe that need GDPR-compliant data, verified mobile numbers, and deep coverage in markets where Apollo falls short. The price is enterprise-grade, but so is the data quality — especially on mobiles. If you sell to US companies and want one platform, Apollo. If you sell to European companies and your reps cold call, Cognism.
Can I use Apollo for European prospecting?
You can, but coverage is thinner — especially for mobile numbers and smaller companies. Apollo's EU data has improved, but it is still a US-first database. For critical European campaigns, verify a sample against Cognism or another EU provider before committing to a large list.
Is Cognism worth the price difference?
If you sell to European companies and your reps cold call, yes. Diamond Data mobile numbers connect at rates that justify the cost through higher meeting conversion. If you only email and only sell to US companies, Cognism is expensive for what you would actually use.
What about ZoomInfo as an alternative?
ZoomInfo competes with both — large US database, growing EU coverage, enterprise pricing. It is typically more expensive than Cognism with similar or worse EU data. Most teams choose between Apollo (budget) and Cognism (EU/compliance) or Apollo (budget) and ZoomInfo (US enterprise).
No pitch deck. No 45-minute demo. A conversation about where your pipeline is stuck.