DiscoverOrg was one of the largest and most popular B2B data providers before it acquired ZoomInfo and rebranded the combined product as ZoomInfo Powered by DiscoverOrg. With one fewer option in the market, Salesntel has rapidly scaled over the last few years to be recognized as the best DiscoverOrg alternative and its biggest competitor.
Here’s an in-depth comparison of both the products on all key parameters to determine which one suits you the best.
Author’s note: For all practical purposes, we recognize DiscoverOrg is no longer a separate entity and is available under the brand name ZoomInfo Powered by DiscoverOrg. DiscoverOrg, ZoomInfo, and ZoomInfo Powered by DiscoverOrg are all one and the same product though we will refer to it primarily as DiscoverOrg going forward.
Also, most of the information provided has been collected by screening through customer reviews and interviews.
The parameters used in this comparison include:
- Database Size
- Database Quality
- Features
- Customer Support
- Contract Obligations
- Pricing
Database Size
ZoomInfo Powered by DiscoverOrg, claims to have one of the largest B2B databases but compared to SalesIntel, the difference isn’t significant. Moreover, this difference is sidelined by two factors:
Uneven Coverage
The data at DiscoverOrg is skewed towards enterprises. Customers often report gaps in coverage of SMBs. SalesIntel as a DiscoverOrg alternative has an even coverage of companies of all scales and industries.
Segmentation
DiscoverOrg segments its database based on industries. Purchasing a license gives customers access to any particular segment and not the entire database. If your business targets two or more industries, they’ll have to purchase as many segments. With SalesIntel, a single license gives customers access to the entire database.
DiscoverOrg Review:
The Result: Despite DiscoverOrg having a larger database, SalesIntel’s customers get access to more data for their desired market.
Data Quality
The quality of data can be measured on two parameters – depth and accuracy. Depth refers to the number of data points available for each contact, and accuracy means the percentage of data points that are correct and updated.
In terms of depth, SalesIntel provides up to 7 data points for most of its contacts including:
- Personal Email
- Work Email
- Mobile Number
- Direct Dial
- HQ Number
- Region
- LinkedIn Profile
There is 100% email coverage, as well as the best coverage of mobile numbers / Direct dials in the industry- higher than any B2B data provider including DiscoverOrg. Even if the same contact is available in both SalesIntel and DiscoverOrg, SalesIntel is more likely to have their mobile number and better data depth.
In terms of accuracy, SalesIntel’s data is human-verified and is re-verified every 90 days, thus guaranteeing a minimum of 95% accuracy. At ZoomInfo, the data is mostly processed by only automated systems, and so the accuracy isn’t as high.
DiscoverOrg Review:
The Result: SalesIntel delivers better data accuracy and depth compared to DiscoverOrg.
Features
Both SalesIntel and DiscoverOrgare full-funnel solutions, and so provide a lot more features and insights other than contact data. Some of the key features include:
Intent Data
Both DiscoverOrg and SalesIntel offer intent data but there is a significant difference in the quality of each. SalesIntel offers intent data through a partnership with Bombora; the best intent data provider that leverages co-ops to gather high-quality intent signals. The intent data at DiscoverOrg is acquired through Bidstream that is known to be less reliable, and it has questionable legal status.
Technographics
Both SalesIntel and DiscoverOrg offer high-quality technographic data through HG Insights and Datayze respectively.
Custom Research
DiscoverOrg doesn’t have a custom research feature. So if a customer doesn’t find the data they are looking for, they need to find it themselves or use some other data source. SalesIntel provides a unique Research-on-Demand service that allows customers to request data from specific accounts and prospects.
SalesIntel Review:
The Result: While some features are the same, SalesIntel has features that are unique and of higher quality.
Contract Obligations
Based on countless reviews on public forums, DiscoverOrg is notorious for sliding unreasonable terms in their contracts and enforcing them despite customer objections. Some of the contract obligations include:
Advance Auto-renewals
Auto-renewals are common practice in the SaaS industry, but DiscoverOrg follows a practice of advanced auto-renewals. That is, the license of customers is auto-renewed 60 days prior to their usual renewal date. So if a customer’s license is expiring on March 1 and they do not wish to renew their license, they must request a cancellation by December 30.
Data Deletion
DiscoverOrg has a clause wherein after you cancel their license, you must also delete all the data you have exported from their system. So if you think you can purchase a DiscoverOrg license, build your pipeline, and then cancel the subscription, think again because you legally can’t. The moment you cancel your license, you’ll also lose your pipeline.
Additional Cost for Mobile Numbers
DiscoverOrg treats mobile numbers as a separate data entity, so customers have to pay additional charges for them. This became particularly relevant in the WFH regime when office numbers became useless, and customers had to pay additional fees to access mobile numbers.
At SalesIntel, there are no such contractual obligations or additional upcharges.
The Result: SalesIntel has far more transparent and accommodating contracts than DiscoverOrg.
Pricing
One of the most common reasons businesses wants an alternative for DiscoverOrg is its exorbitant price. And while in dollar terms at first appearance both DiscoverOrg and SalesIntel are priced similarly the difference lies in what each license offers.
For similarly priced packages, SalesIntel customers get:
- Access to more data
- Access to mobile numbers
- Almost twice as many export credits
- Unique Research-on-Demand service
With such offerings, it is evident that SalesIntel offers more value for your money than DiscoverOrg.
The Result: SalesIntel delivers far more value than DiscoverOrg at similar prices.
With more accessible data, better quality, excellent features, and lower cost, SalesIntel beats DiscoverOrg on all the benchmarks and is the best choice for customers looking for a DiscoverOrg alternative. These customers made the right choice. So can you.
