If you’re trying to get real company data for market research—without jumping through endless hoops or paying for bloated “insights”—you might be looking at Owler. Maybe you want a list of competitors, or you’re just sick of manually Googling company info by hand.
This guide is for people who want actionable company data, fast. I’ll show you how to get the most out of Owler’s export feature, avoid common pitfalls, and actually make sense of the data once you’ve got it.
Step 1: Know What You Can (and Can’t) Get from Owler
Let’s set expectations. Owler is a business information platform, mostly known for its company profiles, competitor lists, and basic financials. It’s not Bloomberg. Here’s what you can typically pull:
- Company names, websites, and descriptions
- Estimated revenue and employee count (these are estimates, so don’t bet your job on them)
- Industry tags and locations
- Lists of competitors and “related” companies
What you won’t get:
- Deep financials (think revenue bands, not precise numbers)
- Org charts or personal contact info
- Downloadable news/event histories
- Clean, uniform data (expect typos, weird categories, and missing fields)
Pro tip: If you need exact revenue or verified contacts, Owler probably won’t cut it. But for mapping out a market or building a prospect list quickly, it’s solid.
Step 2: Set Up Your Owler Account — Free vs. Paid
You’ll need an account to export data. Owler has a free tier, but (surprise) exports are limited or locked behind a paywall.
- Free: You can browse, but exports are very limited or not available at all.
- Owler Pro: This subscription unlocks CSV export for company lists (pricing changes, but expect $99/month or higher for full export features).
What’s worth paying for? If you’re doing one quick project, the free trial may be enough. For ongoing research or big lists, you’ll need Pro. Don’t expect a free lunch.
Step 3: Build Your Company List on Owler
Before you export, you need to actually find the companies you care about.
3.1. Search and Filter
- Use the search bar to find a target company or keyword (“B2B SaaS,” “coffee shops,” whatever fits your market).
- Click into a company profile to see its competitors, or use the “Lists” and “Discover” features to explore related companies.
- You can filter by location, revenue, employee count, and industry—though these filters are only as accurate as Owler’s data.
3.2. Save to a List
- As you browse, add companies to a custom list (“My Market Research List” or something memorable).
- You can build multiple lists for different projects.
Don’t overthink it. The data isn’t perfect, so cast a wide net. You can clean it up later.
Step 4: Export Your Data
Now for the part you’re here for.
4.1. Export Options
- Go to your saved list.
- Look for the “Export” or “Download CSV” button (this is where free users often hit a paywall).
- Choose CSV format (it’s the standard, and plays nice with Excel, Google Sheets, and most BI tools).
What’s in the export? Usually: company name, website, revenue estimate, employee count, HQ location, and industry. Sometimes you get a competitor count or a short description.
What’s NOT in the export? Contact emails, phone numbers, or any kind of proprietary lead info.
4.2. Gotchas
- Export limits: Some plans cap you at 100 or 1,000 rows per export, or limit how often you can export.
- Data freshness: Owler updates data periodically, but there’s lag. Do a quick spot-check in Google or LinkedIn before using numbers in a deck.
- Duplicates: If you’ve built multiple lists, expect some overlap.
Step 5: Clean Up Your Exported Data
Owler exports are a starting point—not a polished deliverable. Here’s how to whip your CSV into shape.
5.1. Open in Excel or Google Sheets
- Import your CSV.
- Scan for empty fields, weird characters, or obvious errors.
5.2. Triage the Mess
- Delete junk: Drop companies with missing names or websites.
- Standardize: Fix inconsistent formatting (“Inc.” vs “Incorporated,” etc.).
- Deduplicate: Use Excel’s “Remove Duplicates” or Google Sheets’ UNIQUE() function.
5.3. Fill Gaps
- For high-priority companies, supplement missing data (like HQ location) with a quick Google or LinkedIn search.
- Don’t waste time on the long tail—focus on the top 20% that matter.
Reality check: You’ll never have a perfect data set. Good enough is good enough.
Step 6: Analyze Your Data for Market Research
Here’s where you turn the spreadsheet into actual insight.
6.1. Segment Your List
- Sort or filter by industry, location, or revenue band.
- Group companies by size or type (SaaS vs. services, etc.).
6.2. Spot Patterns
- Are most companies clustered in one city?
- Is there a dominant revenue range?
- Any gaps or outliers worth a closer look?
6.3. Map the Competitive Landscape
- Use the competitor lists to see who’s fighting over the same customers.
- Build simple pivot tables to count companies by industry or region.
6.4. Visualize (Optional, Not Required)
- Make bar charts or pie charts for a quick snapshot.
- But don’t overdo it—most market research decks get ignored after slide 3.
What works: Quick-and-dirty segmentation, finding market gaps, or building a starting list for outreach.
What doesn’t: Treating Owler data as gospel, or expecting deep competitive intelligence.
Step 7: What to Ignore (and Where to Go Next)
Owler’s data is a jumping-off point. Don’t:
- Obsess over revenue estimates—they’re usually broad guesses.
- Assume competitor lists are comprehensive. Check LinkedIn, Crunchbase, or Google to plug gaps.
- Expect personal contact info. For that, you’ll need a tool like Apollo or ZoomInfo (and a bigger budget).
If you need deeper data: Combine Owler with other sources (Crunchbase, LinkedIn, or industry reports) for better accuracy.
Keep It Simple (and Iterate)
You don’t need a fancy process or a $10,000 tool to get real value from Owler. Build your list, export, clean, and analyze—then move on. If you need more, try layering other data sources or talking to real humans in your market.
Don’t aim for perfect data, aim for useful data. The best market research is the stuff you actually use.