ZoomInfo is a big name in the customer engagement industry, which isn’t a surprise considering its various features and massive database. This still doesn’t make it a universally suitable option, as the platform has its fair share of drawbacks.
Comparing the pros and cons might be challenging, but fret not—we’re here to help with a detailed breakdown of ZoomInfo reviews that will show you customers’ real-life experiences. 🎭
To give you all the information you need, we also took a close look at the platform and its core features, after which we consulted our extensive network of industry experts to hear their opinions. This way, we can guarantee an unbiased and accurate review of ZoomInfo’s capabilities.
ZoomInfo Review—Key Features
ZoomInfo combines sales intelligence with workflow automation to help you capture, enrich, and convert leads through highly targeted outbound efforts. It offers four separate products with features tailored to support different teams, as shown in the following table:
SalesOS is ZoomInfo’s flagship solution, and it’s complemented by MarketingOS, which lets you diversify your sales efforts across different channels beyond emails and cold calls.
If you opt for SalesOS, you’ll get access to a vast library of over 260 million contacts and more than 1.6 billion data points gathered from all over the web. Instead of merely scraping information, ZoomInfo also maintains it to help you enrich leads with up-to-date details.
Another notable feature is intent data, which helps you qualify leads without manual labor. By tracking leads’ online behavior, ZoomInfo offers engagement insights and similar data points to let you focus on prospects who are more likely to convert.
Now, all of this sounds great in theory. The question is—does it translate into real-life results?
ZoomInfo Customer Reviews
User reviews of ZoomInfo have been a mixed bag so far, though they lean on the positive side. The following table shows the overall ratings on major review sites:
While some of the main benefits customers have highlighted include advanced search, lead grading, and comprehensive data (tech stacks, job updates, etc.), there are still three areas where the platform doesn’t seem to impress:
- Ease of use
- Data accuracy
- Customer support
⚙️ Ease of Use
Due to the sheer amount of features, ZoomInfo might not be the most beginner-friendly platform out there. While a sales rep will guide you through the basics, you might still face a considerable learning curve. Some users agree that the platform is a bit overwhelming for new users, so this is worth keeping in mind if you haven’t used similar platforms in the past.
This doesn’t only mean you might need to spend some time figuring the platform out—the steep learning curve can also significantly impact your productivity. One user said the platform is highly time-consuming, especially when it comes to tasks like data organization and cleansing, which should be automated to help you focus on more meaningful work.
🎯 Data Accuracy
While many users reported getting solid and up-to-date information from ZoomInfo, there have been complaints about as much as 60% of the data being incorrect. This doesn’t seem to be a common occurrence, but it does raise questions about ZoomInfo’s usefulness.
Data availability seems to be particularly low for smaller markets, according to some users operating in them. These reviews indicate that ZoomInfo might not be the best choice for smaller or local businesses.
To be fair, no platform can promise 100% accuracy. The results can vary significantly depending on your location and industry. Still, for a price as high as ZoomInfo’s, you’d be right to expect little to no problems with data.
🗣️ Customer Support
When you sign up for a sales engagement platform, your experience isn’t merely determined by its features. The level of support you get also affects your overall experience—something not all ZoomInfo users were satisfied with.
In fact, one user said they closed their account even though they liked ZoomInfo, purely due to poor customer service. There have also been reports of long waiting times to sort out major issues, which can significantly disrupt your workflow.
How Much Does ZoomInfo Cost?
ZoomInfo doesn’t make pricing information readily available. This lack of transparency makes it impossible to decide if the platform is for you unless you reach out to the sales team for a quote. The cost can vary significantly depending on the following three factors:
- Number of licenses/users
- Selected features
- Credit usage
ZoomInfo states that the cost of credits depends on the information you’re looking for. Basic credits will give you some standard demographic and infographic data, while the most comprehensive credits also include technographic details, organizational charts, and similar advanced information.
While the specific costs aren’t publicly available, ZoomInfo claims their users pay an average of $30,000 for SalesOS annually.
While massive companies might not struggle to shell out five figures per year, many businesses aren’t in this position. With that in mind, it’s clear that ZoomInfo is far from the best choice for budget-conscious users and teams.
To make things worse, ZoomInfo requires annual commitments, which means you need to spend a ton of money and hope for the best. If you’re not happy with the results, you still need to wait for the contract to end as you can’t terminate it.
If you do have funds to spare and are currently on the fence about ZoomInfo, you can use the 14-day free trial to see whether the platform can justify its high costs. ZoomInfo also claims to offer a free version, but this is only partially true.
ZoomInfo Community Edition Reviews—A (Not So) Free Version of the Platform
ZoomInfo Lite (formerly known as Community Edition) promises to give you ongoing access to the paid version’s sales intelligence—but there’s a catch. To sign up, you must give ZoomInfo unrestricted access to your email.
If you do so, ZoomInfo will be able to analyze and gather data from your inbox, such as:
- All your email contacts
- Metadata from email headers
- Signature blocks of all emails you receive
This way, ZoomInfo can mine your data and expand their contact list. So what do you get in return?
Well, not much. You do get access to the database, but you can only unlock the information of up to 10 contacts per month. It’s surely not the most generous reward after giving ZoomInfo full access to your inbox—especially as the accuracy issue still remains.
Some of the users who’ve tried ZoomInfo Lite can attest to this. One customer reported only getting five usable contacts per month, as 50% of the unlocked information wasn’t correct.
Even if all the data was accurate, you’d still only get 10 leads a month, which is nowhere near enough to make ZoomInfo Lite a viable solution. You either need to splurge on the paid version or look for another platform.
How To Scale Your Outbound Efforts Beyond ZoomInfo
While there are lots of ZoomInfo alternatives out there, replacing the platform’s huge database isn’t easy. You have two options to consider:
- Use several data providers
- Choose a platform that combines multiple providers
The first solution isn’t too appealing, as you’d need to juggle a bunch of contracts (and spend a lot of money along the way). Much like ZoomInfo, many platforms require annual obligations, so you can’t get out of a contract if you realize the data isn’t accurate or robust enough.
Instead, you might end up getting stuck in several contracts that bleed money without offering anywhere near your expected ROI.
A far superior alternative is to choose a platform that lets you draw data from multiple providers with a single account. That way, you’ll avoid wasting money and filling your process with a bunch of complications. More importantly, you can build high-quality lead lists and get all the data points you need without manual prospecting.
If that sounds appealing, Clay can be a perfect solution for your outbound strategy.
Clay—Data Enrichment Made Easy
Clay is a comprehensive data collection and enrichment platform that helps you get all the information you need without hassle or huge investments. It automates your outreach efforts to minimize the time and workforce necessary to send prospects hyper-personalized emails.
With one account, you get access to data from over 50 providers, which ensures maximum coverage. Better yet, you only pay for the information you get thanks to waterfall enrichment—an innovative way of unlocking information.
When you create or upload your contact list, Clay will examine data sources one by one until it finds the information you need (emails, phone numbers, etc.). Once you have the necessary info, you can start enjoying Clay’s other features, such as:
- AI enrichment—Leverage the power of GPT-4 to summarize research, qualify leads, and personalize entire email sequences in no more than a few clicks 📊
- Claygent—Replace manual web searches with a natural conversation where you can ask your AI assistant anything about your leads and outsource the heavy lifting 🔍
- AI email builder—Use the data you’ve gathered with Clay to write personalized emails in seconds 💌
Thanks to over 100 integrations, Clay will fit your current outreach workflow like a glove and streamline countless mundane and time-consuming tasks. You can natively connect it to Outreach, HubSpot, and various other apps or leverage the Zapier integration to create a cohesive tech stack.
Transparent Pricing, Zero Waste
Unlike ZoomInfo and many of its alternatives, Clay offers a free plan that gives you access to the platform’s core features without asking for anything in return. It’s an excellent option for beginners and users looking to test Clay and see the results it can drive.
If you wish to upgrade, you can choose from four affordable tiers:
With each plan, you’ll choose the number of credits you’ll use for data enrichment so you can get the most out of every dollar you invest. Paid plans come with a 14-day free trial, which lets you test the platform’s features first-hand to decide if it’s worth your money.
Clay offers monthly plans, so you don’t need to make any long-term commitments. If you still opt for annual billing, you’ll get 10% off and all credits upfront.
Get Started With Clay
If you want to consolidate all your data needs into one robust platform, you can’t go wrong with Clay. You can create a free account in no time—all you need to do is:
- Visit Clay’s signup page
- Enter your name, email, and password
- Explore Clay’s many features
Still unsure if Clay is for you? See how it works by visiting the platform’s Learn hub or joining Clay’s Slack community. You can also sign up for the newsletter and get all sorts of tips for launching high-performing outreach campaigns.
ZoomInfo is a big name in the customer engagement industry, which isn’t a surprise considering its various features and massive database. This still doesn’t make it a universally suitable option, as the platform has its fair share of drawbacks.
Comparing the pros and cons might be challenging, but fret not—we’re here to help with a detailed breakdown of ZoomInfo reviews that will show you customers’ real-life experiences. 🎭
To give you all the information you need, we also took a close look at the platform and its core features, after which we consulted our extensive network of industry experts to hear their opinions. This way, we can guarantee an unbiased and accurate review of ZoomInfo’s capabilities.
ZoomInfo Review—Key Features
ZoomInfo combines sales intelligence with workflow automation to help you capture, enrich, and convert leads through highly targeted outbound efforts. It offers four separate products with features tailored to support different teams, as shown in the following table:
SalesOS is ZoomInfo’s flagship solution, and it’s complemented by MarketingOS, which lets you diversify your sales efforts across different channels beyond emails and cold calls.
If you opt for SalesOS, you’ll get access to a vast library of over 260 million contacts and more than 1.6 billion data points gathered from all over the web. Instead of merely scraping information, ZoomInfo also maintains it to help you enrich leads with up-to-date details.
Another notable feature is intent data, which helps you qualify leads without manual labor. By tracking leads’ online behavior, ZoomInfo offers engagement insights and similar data points to let you focus on prospects who are more likely to convert.
Now, all of this sounds great in theory. The question is—does it translate into real-life results?
ZoomInfo Customer Reviews
User reviews of ZoomInfo have been a mixed bag so far, though they lean on the positive side. The following table shows the overall ratings on major review sites:
While some of the main benefits customers have highlighted include advanced search, lead grading, and comprehensive data (tech stacks, job updates, etc.), there are still three areas where the platform doesn’t seem to impress:
- Ease of use
- Data accuracy
- Customer support
⚙️ Ease of Use
Due to the sheer amount of features, ZoomInfo might not be the most beginner-friendly platform out there. While a sales rep will guide you through the basics, you might still face a considerable learning curve. Some users agree that the platform is a bit overwhelming for new users, so this is worth keeping in mind if you haven’t used similar platforms in the past.
This doesn’t only mean you might need to spend some time figuring the platform out—the steep learning curve can also significantly impact your productivity. One user said the platform is highly time-consuming, especially when it comes to tasks like data organization and cleansing, which should be automated to help you focus on more meaningful work.
🎯 Data Accuracy
While many users reported getting solid and up-to-date information from ZoomInfo, there have been complaints about as much as 60% of the data being incorrect. This doesn’t seem to be a common occurrence, but it does raise questions about ZoomInfo’s usefulness.
Data availability seems to be particularly low for smaller markets, according to some users operating in them. These reviews indicate that ZoomInfo might not be the best choice for smaller or local businesses.
To be fair, no platform can promise 100% accuracy. The results can vary significantly depending on your location and industry. Still, for a price as high as ZoomInfo’s, you’d be right to expect little to no problems with data.
🗣️ Customer Support
When you sign up for a sales engagement platform, your experience isn’t merely determined by its features. The level of support you get also affects your overall experience—something not all ZoomInfo users were satisfied with.
In fact, one user said they closed their account even though they liked ZoomInfo, purely due to poor customer service. There have also been reports of long waiting times to sort out major issues, which can significantly disrupt your workflow.
How Much Does ZoomInfo Cost?
ZoomInfo doesn’t make pricing information readily available. This lack of transparency makes it impossible to decide if the platform is for you unless you reach out to the sales team for a quote. The cost can vary significantly depending on the following three factors:
- Number of licenses/users
- Selected features
- Credit usage
ZoomInfo states that the cost of credits depends on the information you’re looking for. Basic credits will give you some standard demographic and infographic data, while the most comprehensive credits also include technographic details, organizational charts, and similar advanced information.
While the specific costs aren’t publicly available, ZoomInfo claims their users pay an average of $30,000 for SalesOS annually.
While massive companies might not struggle to shell out five figures per year, many businesses aren’t in this position. With that in mind, it’s clear that ZoomInfo is far from the best choice for budget-conscious users and teams.
To make things worse, ZoomInfo requires annual commitments, which means you need to spend a ton of money and hope for the best. If you’re not happy with the results, you still need to wait for the contract to end as you can’t terminate it.
If you do have funds to spare and are currently on the fence about ZoomInfo, you can use the 14-day free trial to see whether the platform can justify its high costs. ZoomInfo also claims to offer a free version, but this is only partially true.
ZoomInfo Community Edition Reviews—A (Not So) Free Version of the Platform
ZoomInfo Lite (formerly known as Community Edition) promises to give you ongoing access to the paid version’s sales intelligence—but there’s a catch. To sign up, you must give ZoomInfo unrestricted access to your email.
If you do so, ZoomInfo will be able to analyze and gather data from your inbox, such as:
- All your email contacts
- Metadata from email headers
- Signature blocks of all emails you receive
This way, ZoomInfo can mine your data and expand their contact list. So what do you get in return?
Well, not much. You do get access to the database, but you can only unlock the information of up to 10 contacts per month. It’s surely not the most generous reward after giving ZoomInfo full access to your inbox—especially as the accuracy issue still remains.
Some of the users who’ve tried ZoomInfo Lite can attest to this. One customer reported only getting five usable contacts per month, as 50% of the unlocked information wasn’t correct.
Even if all the data was accurate, you’d still only get 10 leads a month, which is nowhere near enough to make ZoomInfo Lite a viable solution. You either need to splurge on the paid version or look for another platform.
How To Scale Your Outbound Efforts Beyond ZoomInfo
While there are lots of ZoomInfo alternatives out there, replacing the platform’s huge database isn’t easy. You have two options to consider:
- Use several data providers
- Choose a platform that combines multiple providers
The first solution isn’t too appealing, as you’d need to juggle a bunch of contracts (and spend a lot of money along the way). Much like ZoomInfo, many platforms require annual obligations, so you can’t get out of a contract if you realize the data isn’t accurate or robust enough.
Instead, you might end up getting stuck in several contracts that bleed money without offering anywhere near your expected ROI.
A far superior alternative is to choose a platform that lets you draw data from multiple providers with a single account. That way, you’ll avoid wasting money and filling your process with a bunch of complications. More importantly, you can build high-quality lead lists and get all the data points you need without manual prospecting.
If that sounds appealing, Clay can be a perfect solution for your outbound strategy.
Clay—Data Enrichment Made Easy
Clay is a comprehensive data collection and enrichment platform that helps you get all the information you need without hassle or huge investments. It automates your outreach efforts to minimize the time and workforce necessary to send prospects hyper-personalized emails.
With one account, you get access to data from over 50 providers, which ensures maximum coverage. Better yet, you only pay for the information you get thanks to waterfall enrichment—an innovative way of unlocking information.
When you create or upload your contact list, Clay will examine data sources one by one until it finds the information you need (emails, phone numbers, etc.). Once you have the necessary info, you can start enjoying Clay’s other features, such as:
- AI enrichment—Leverage the power of GPT-4 to summarize research, qualify leads, and personalize entire email sequences in no more than a few clicks 📊
- Claygent—Replace manual web searches with a natural conversation where you can ask your AI assistant anything about your leads and outsource the heavy lifting 🔍
- AI email builder—Use the data you’ve gathered with Clay to write personalized emails in seconds 💌
Thanks to over 100 integrations, Clay will fit your current outreach workflow like a glove and streamline countless mundane and time-consuming tasks. You can natively connect it to Outreach, HubSpot, and various other apps or leverage the Zapier integration to create a cohesive tech stack.
Transparent Pricing, Zero Waste
Unlike ZoomInfo and many of its alternatives, Clay offers a free plan that gives you access to the platform’s core features without asking for anything in return. It’s an excellent option for beginners and users looking to test Clay and see the results it can drive.
If you wish to upgrade, you can choose from four affordable tiers:
With each plan, you’ll choose the number of credits you’ll use for data enrichment so you can get the most out of every dollar you invest. Paid plans come with a 14-day free trial, which lets you test the platform’s features first-hand to decide if it’s worth your money.
Clay offers monthly plans, so you don’t need to make any long-term commitments. If you still opt for annual billing, you’ll get 10% off and all credits upfront.
Get Started With Clay
If you want to consolidate all your data needs into one robust platform, you can’t go wrong with Clay. You can create a free account in no time—all you need to do is:
- Visit Clay’s signup page
- Enter your name, email, and password
- Explore Clay’s many features
Still unsure if Clay is for you? See how it works by visiting the platform’s Learn hub or joining Clay’s Slack community. You can also sign up for the newsletter and get all sorts of tips for launching high-performing outreach campaigns.
