If you’re trying to build a B2B lead list, you’ve probably run into two big names: Crunchbase and LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Both sound like they’ll unlock endless leads and make your life easier. But which one should you actually use? And what’s the real difference when you’re staring at a blank spreadsheet, desperate for good contacts—not just another overpriced tool?
This guide is for people who actually need results: founders, salespeople, agencies, or anyone who wants new B2B opportunities without wasting time or money. Let’s cut through the noise and figure out which tool (if either) makes sense for you.
1. What Are Crunchbase and LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Really?
Before we get into feature lists and pricing, let’s get clear on what these tools actually do—and what they don’t.
- Crunchbase: Think of it as a giant, business-focused database. It tracks companies, funding rounds, key people, mergers, and acquisitions. It’s great for “company-level” research: who just raised money, who’s expanding, who fits your ideal customer profile.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator: This is LinkedIn’s paid upgrade for prospecting. It gives you advanced search filters and better visibility into profiles. It’s all about people—finding decision makers, connecting, and messaging.
If you want a short answer: Crunchbase is mostly about companies; Sales Navigator is about people. But there’s more nuance as you dig in.
2. Comparing the Data: Company vs. Person
Crunchbase Data: What You Get
- Company info: Name, description, size, industry, location, funding history.
- Funding activity: Who just raised Series A? Who’s got cash to spend?
- Leadership: Key people at a company, sometimes with contact info.
- Signals: News mentions, mergers/acquisitions, investor details.
What’s missing: Direct emails, up-to-date staff lists, and deep insights on people. Crunchbase can tell you who to target (the company), but not always who to contact.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator Data: What You Get
- People search: Filter by title, company, location, seniority, etc.
- Up-to-date profiles: People usually keep their LinkedIn current, at least more than most company directories.
- Organizational mapping: See who reports to whom, who works with whom.
- Contact options: Send InMails; sometimes see emails (but don’t count on it).
What’s missing: Reliable, in-depth company financials, fundraising, or private company news. Sales Navigator will help you find the person but not always the context (like whether their company is growing or shrinking).
3. How to Use Each Tool for B2B Lead Generation
Let’s get practical. Here’s how you’d actually use each one—and where they shine or fall flat.
Crunchbase: Build Your Target Account List
- Step 1: Define your ICP. Who are you selling to? SaaS companies with 50–200 employees in the US? Fintech start-ups? Crunchbase is best for this high-level sorting.
- Step 2: Use filters. Crunchbase lets you filter by industry, location, funding stage, company size, and more. Use these to get a workable list.
- Step 3: Watch for buying signals. Look at recent funding, new hires, or expansion. These are hints that a company might be ready to buy.
- Step 4: Export your list. Paid plans let you export company data. If you’re doing outbound sales, this is gold.
- Step 5: Find contacts. Crunchbase sometimes gives you key people, but usually, you’ll need to go elsewhere for email addresses or personal LinkedIn profiles.
What works: Quick research on which companies fit your ideal profile, especially if you care about recent funding or growth.
What doesn’t: Finding direct emails or deep org charts. It’s not a magic bullet for personal contact data.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Find and Reach Decision Makers
- Step 1: Start with a company name or industry. If you already know your target accounts, plug them in. Or use Sales Navigator’s filters to discover companies.
- Step 2: Filter people. Drill down by title (“VP of Marketing”), seniority, department, geography, or even years in role.
- Step 3: Build lead lists. You can save leads and accounts for follow-up.
- Step 4: Engage. Send connection requests or InMails (if you have credits). Sometimes it’s better to just connect with a note than jump straight to pitching.
- Step 5: Track activity. See when leads change jobs, post updates, or have mutual connections.
What works: Finding exactly who you need to talk to—even at obscure companies. It’s also easier to build rapport, since you can see mutual connections and recent activity.
What doesn’t: Getting direct work emails (unless people post them), or filtering by company funding, revenue, or other financial signals.
4. Pricing: What’s This Really Going to Cost?
Don’t just trust the “starts at” prices. Both tools get expensive fast, and there are gotchas.
Crunchbase Pricing
- Free: Limited searches, can’t export, basic company info.
- Pro ($49/mo): Unlimited searches, exports, tracking, more filters.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, more integrations, API access.
Pro tip: If you just need to check a few companies a week, the free tier is fine. For serious outbound, you’ll want Pro or above.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator Pricing
- Core ($99/mo): Basic filters, save leads, send InMails.
- Advanced/Team: More collaboration, CRM integrations, higher InMail limits. Price climbs quickly.
- Enterprise: For large teams; price is “call us.”
Pro tip: LinkedIn sometimes offers free trials or discounts. But if you’re not using it weekly, it’s overkill.
5. Integrations and Workflow: Will This Actually Save You Time?
- Crunchbase: Decent integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, and some CRMs. Exports to CSV work fine. Not great for one-click outreach—you’ll need to move data around.
- Sales Navigator: Good integrations with Salesforce, Outreach, HubSpot, and more. Leads can sync to your CRM, but you still have to do manual work to actually email or message people.
Neither tool is perfect out of the box. Both are most useful if you’ve got a process in place—like combining exported leads with an email finder (Hunter, Apollo, etc.) or a sales engagement tool.
6. Common Pitfalls and Overhyped Claims
- Neither tool gives you verified emails at scale. If you need lots of accurate emails, you’ll need to add another tool.
- Don’t expect instant results. Both tools require real work—building lists, writing outreach, following up.
- Data isn’t perfect. Companies change names, people leave jobs, and info gets out of date. Always double-check before you hit send.
- “Unlimited” isn’t really unlimited. Both platforms limit exports and searches more than the marketing copy implies.
7. So, Which Should You Choose?
- Choose Crunchbase if:
- Your outreach is account-based (targeting companies, not just people).
- You care about funding, growth signals, or industry trends.
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You already have a way to find or verify contact info.
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Choose Sales Navigator if:
- You need to find and reach specific decision makers.
- You value up-to-date career info and want to connect on LinkedIn.
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You want to map out teams or see who knows who.
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Honestly? Most serious B2B teams use both: Crunchbase to build a target list, Sales Navigator to find the right people, then a third tool to get emails. If you have to pick one, start with the bottleneck in your process: companies or contacts.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple and Iterate
Don’t get stuck comparing dashboards and features for weeks. These are just tools. Start with a small use case, see what’s missing, and add what you need as you go. No single platform is perfect, and you can always swap later if something isn’t working.
The real magic is in your process and follow-up—not the tool you use. Keep it simple, keep testing, and you’ll figure out what actually moves the needle for your B2B lead gen.