One post tagged with "ZoomInfo"

ZoomInfo is the 800-pound gorilla of B2B data. With the largest contact and company database on the market, intent data, and a full engagement suite, it's the default choice for enterprise sales teams.

But "default" doesn't mean "best for everyone." ZoomInfo's pricing starts at $14,995/year with annual contracts, auto-renewal clauses, and a credit system that makes costs hard to predict. For mid-market and SMB teams, the ROI math gets shaky fast.

We dug into real G2 reviews, talked to teams who use (and left) ZoomInfo, and compared it against the new generation of sales tools. Here's what we found.

What ZoomInfo Does Well​

1. The Gold Standard for B2B Data​

Credit where it's due: ZoomInfo has the most comprehensive B2B database available. Period.

• 100M+ business professionals with verified contact info
• 14M+ company profiles with firmographic data
• Phone number accuracy is best-in-class (direct dials, not main lines)
• Org charts and reporting structures
• Technographic data — what tools companies use

For enterprise teams selling into large accounts, this depth of data is genuinely hard to replicate elsewhere. The org charts alone justify the price for strategic account-based selling.

2. Intent Data (Via Bombora Integration)​

ZoomInfo's Bombora-powered intent data shows you which companies are actively researching topics relevant to your product. This lets teams:

• Prioritize accounts showing buying signals
• Time outreach to coincide with research activity
• Score leads based on intent + firmographic fit

The intent data isn't perfect (it's topic-level, not page-level), but it's better than flying blind.

3. WebSights (Visitor Identification)​

ZoomInfo's WebSights feature identifies companies visiting your website. It's company-level identification — you see "Acme Corp visited your pricing page" but not which specific person. Still useful for account-based teams who can route to the right rep based on account ownership.

4. Robust API and Integrations​

ZoomInfo connects with everything: Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, Salesloft, Marketo, and dozens more. The API is well-documented and lets RevOps teams automate enrichment workflows at scale.

Where ZoomInfo Falls Short​

1. Pricing That Locks You In​

ZoomInfo's pricing is the single biggest complaint across review platforms:

• Minimum $14,995/year — no monthly plans, no "starter" tier
• Annual contracts only — with 60-day cancellation windows
• Auto-renewal with 20% increases — reported by multiple G2 reviewers
• Credit-based usage — heavy prospecting teams blow through credits quickly
• Add-ons cost extra — intent data, enrichment, and advanced features are often separate line items

One G2 reviewer from a small business reported being quoted $25,000/year. For teams under 50 employees, this is a hard pill to swallow when competitors like Apollo offer similar (though less accurate) data for $49/month.

2. Steep Learning Curve​

ZoomInfo is powerful, but it's not intuitive. Teams frequently report:

• Weeks of onboarding before SDRs use it effectively
• Advanced features go unused — most teams only scratch the surface (search + export)
• The UI feels enterprise-heavy — designed for power users, not quick daily workflows

If your SDRs are spending 30 minutes learning to build a search filter, that's 30 minutes they're not selling.

3. International Data Gaps​

Despite the massive database, ZoomInfo's coverage outside North America has real limitations:

• EMEA data accuracy drops significantly — especially for mid-market companies
• APAC coverage is thin — many contacts are stale or missing
• GDPR compliance adds friction — EU-based prospects may not be available depending on your configuration

For US-focused teams this isn't a problem. For global sales orgs, it's a material weakness.

4. Company-Level, Not Action-Level​

ZoomInfo tells you WHO (contacts, accounts, intent signals). But it doesn't tell you WHAT TO DO:

• No daily SDR playbook — reps still build their own task lists
• No automated prioritization — intent signals exist but aren't turned into specific actions
• No "call this person because they visited pricing" workflow
• No AI chatbot to engage visitors in real-time

You're paying premium prices for data, but the "last mile" — turning that data into meetings — is still manual.

5. No Built-in Multi-Channel Execution​

ZoomInfo added engagement tools, but they're not the core product:

• Email sequencing exists but most teams use Outreach/Salesloft instead
• No smart dialer with warm-call routing
• No AI-powered email personalization at the per-contact level
• No unified workflow that combines data + signals + execution

Teams end up using ZoomInfo for data and 2-3 other tools for execution — which means more cost, more complexity, and more places for leads to fall through cracks.

Who ZoomInfo Is Best For​

Enterprise sales teams (100+ employees) who:

• Sell into large, named accounts in North America
• Have budget for $15K+/year data spend
• Need deep org charts and direct dials for strategic selling
• Have RevOps resources to manage the platform and integrations
• Already use Outreach/Salesloft for engagement

ZoomInfo is NOT ideal for:

• SMBs under $5M ARR (pricing is prohibitive)
• Teams that need a unified data-to-action workflow
• Global sales teams (international data is weak)
• Companies wanting real-time visitor identification at the person level

ZoomInfo vs. MarketBetter: Different Worlds​

Capability	ZoomInfo	MarketBetter
Contact database	100M+ (massive)	Focused on your actual visitors + prospects
Pricing	$14,995+/year	Transparent, SMB-friendly
Visitor identification	Company-level only	Company + person-level
Daily playbook	❌	✅ Tells SDRs exactly what to do
Intent signals	Bombora (topic-level)	Website behavior (page-level)
Smart dialer	❌	✅ Warm call routing
AI chatbot	❌	✅ Real-time visitor engagement
Email sequences	Basic (most use Outreach)	✅ Hyper-personalized
Setup time	Weeks	Hours
Target market	Enterprise ($100K+ ACV)	SMB to Mid-Market

ZoomInfo's approach: Be the world's best B2B database and let you figure out the execution.

MarketBetter's approach: Combine signals, data, and execution into one workflow so SDRs know exactly what to do every morning.

The Bottom Line​

ZoomInfo earns its reputation for data quality. If you're an enterprise team doing strategic account-based selling into Fortune 500 companies in North America, the database depth is hard to beat.

But the sales tech landscape has shifted. In 2020, paying $15K+/year for a database made sense because there weren't alternatives. In 2026, teams have options that combine data + signals + execution for a fraction of the cost — and those integrated platforms often outperform the "best data + separate tools" stack.

The question isn't whether ZoomInfo has good data. It does. The question is whether you need a $15K+ database when 98% of your website visitors are anonymous, your SDRs lack a daily playbook, and cheaper tools can handle both data and execution.

Our recommendation: If you're already on ZoomInfo and it's embedded in your enterprise workflows, it's hard to rip out. But if you're evaluating for the first time, or if your contract is up for renewal, test a signal-driven alternative before signing another annual agreement.

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See what ZoomInfo can't show you. Book a demo to see real-time visitor identification, daily SDR playbooks, and the full MarketBetter workflow — all without a $15K annual contract.