If you’re in B2B sales or marketing, you’ve almost definitely heard of Zoominfo. Maybe your boss wants you to look into it, or you’re wondering if it’s really worth the hype (and the price tag). This guide is for you: the person who actually has to use the thing, make a business case, or just figure out if you’re getting ripped off.
Let’s cut through the noise and get practical about how to evaluate Zoominfo’s features and pricing—what to pay attention to, what to ignore, and whether it’s the right fit for your team.
1. Get Clear on What You Actually Need
Before you even talk to a Zoominfo rep or start a free trial, take a minute to spell out what you want from a tool like this. Zoominfo does a ton, but more isn’t always better.
- List out your must-haves. Are you looking for contact info? Intent data? Company firmographics? Integrations with your CRM? Write it down.
- Separate “nice to have” from “need to have.” Zoominfo loves to bundle. Don’t pay for bells and whistles you’ll never use.
- Who’s actually using it? Sales, marketing, or both? SDRs, AEs, demand gen, or just a few power users?
Pro tip: If your team just needs verified emails and phone numbers for outbound, you might not need the full suite.
2. Understand Zoominfo’s Core Features (and Fluff)
Zoominfo’s feature list is long. Here’s what matters, what’s overrated, and what to watch out for:
What Actually Matters
- Contact & Company Database: This is Zoominfo’s bread and butter. If you need direct dials, emails, org charts, and up-to-date company info, this is the main reason to pay for Zoominfo.
- Data Quality & Coverage: Ask for specifics about their data accuracy in your target industries, regions, and job functions. Don’t just take their “over 95% accuracy” claim at face value—ask for proof, or better yet, test it yourself.
- CRM Integrations: Zoominfo plays nicely with Salesforce, HubSpot, and a few others. If syncing leads or enrichment is a must, make sure you see a demo.
- Intent Data: This tells you which companies are researching topics related to your product. It’s useful, but don’t expect magic—intent data is often noisy and needs a human gut check.
The Fluff (or, What You Can Probably Ignore)
- Chorus (Conversation Intelligence): Handy if you don’t already have call recording/transcription, but not a unique selling point.
- Engage (Sales Automation): Zoominfo’s email/sequencing tool is okay, but if you’re already using Outreach, Salesloft, or similar, you won’t need this.
- Scoops & News Alerts: Sometimes helpful, but don’t pay extra just for basic company news you can get elsewhere.
Watch Out For
- Export Limits: Some plans cap the number of contacts you can export or view per month. This can get expensive fast if you’re running outbound at scale.
- Data Privacy: Zoominfo says it’s GDPR and CCPA compliant, but if you’re marketing in Europe, make your legal team happy and check for yourself.
3. Get Hands-On—Always Test Their Data
Never, ever buy based on a demo alone. Here’s how to sanity-check Zoominfo’s data:
- Ask for a trial or a custom data sample. Most reps will provide a sample list for your ICP (ideal customer profile). Run it through your own validation tools, or just spot check emails/phone numbers yourself.
- Have your team try it. Let SDRs or marketers pull lists and see how much manual cleanup is needed. If it’s full of junk or outdated info, that’s a red flag.
- Compare with what you already have. How much overlap is there with your current CRM or other tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, or Clearbit?
Pro tip: If you find a lot of outdated contacts, push back hard on pricing or ask for guarantees.
4. Decipher Zoominfo’s Pricing (It’s Not Simple)
Zoominfo doesn’t publish pricing on their website, and every deal is custom. Here’s what you need to know:
- Pricing is based on seats, features, and export volume. The more users, features/modules, and data you want, the higher the price.
- Expect to negotiate. No one pays “list price”—there’s always wiggle room, especially at quarter-end.
- Don’t get upsold on features you don’t need. Sales reps are incentivized to push bundles. Stick to your must-haves.
- Watch for contract length. They’ll push for annual (or even multi-year) deals. Month-to-month is rare and pricey.
- Sample pricing (as of 2024): For most small teams, expect at least $10K/year for basic access, with mid-sized teams easily hitting $20-30K/year or more if you unlock intent data, automation, or lots of seats.
Hidden Costs and Gotchas
- Overages: If you exceed your export/view limits, you’ll pay more—or get throttled.
- Implementation: Some integrations or onboarding support cost extra.
- Renewal price jumps: Watch out for auto-renewals with big price increases.
Pro tip: Get every promise in writing, especially around limits, support, and renewal terms.
5. Stack It Up Against Alternatives
Zoominfo is the industry standard, but it’s not the only game in town. Here’s how it compares to others:
- Apollo.io: Cheaper, solid data, great for startups. Data isn’t as deep as Zoominfo, but might be “good enough” for many.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Best for social selling and relationship building, but doesn’t give you direct dials/emails.
- Lusha, Cognism, Clearbit: Each has strengths, usually cheaper, but data is less comprehensive in North America.
- UpLead, Seamless.ai, LeadIQ: Worth a look if you just need basic contact info and don’t want to spend big.
When is Zoominfo worth it? If you have a big outbound motion, need the most robust US data, and want all the bells and whistles, Zoominfo is hard to beat. If you’re budget-conscious or just starting, test alternatives first.
6. Get the Most From Your Investment
If you do go with Zoominfo, don’t let it become shelfware:
- Train your team. Have Zoominfo run onboarding sessions, and hold regular refreshers.
- Set up alerts and workflows in your CRM to surface fresh data or intent signals.
- Monitor usage. If half your licenses are sitting idle, trim them at renewal.
- Hold them accountable. If data quality slips, raise it early and demand fixes or credits.
Summary: Don’t Overthink It
Zoominfo is powerful, but not magic. Figure out what you really need, test the data for yourself, and negotiate hard. Don’t let a slick sales pitch or feature bloat distract you from your actual goals: building accurate lists and reaching the right people. Start simple, see what actually moves the needle, and adjust from there. Your budget—and your sanity—will thank you.