Cognism vs Mattermark: Are You Comparing the Right Tools?
You're comparing a live B2B contact database to a product that sold for less than $1M in a liquidation deal back in December 2017. That's not a competitive matchup. Here's what actually matters in 2026, and where your budget should go instead.
30-Second Verdict
Cognism is a sales intelligence platform built around verified emails, mobile numbers (including phone-verified Diamond Data), and intent data via Bombora. Mattermark was a company growth intelligence tool that shut down in December 2017 and sold to FullContact for under $1M. It's since re-launched as an independent company, but its market visibility remains thin.
Need verified emails and direct dials for outbound? Cognism is a common pick for EMEA-focused teams. Prospeo gets you there at a fraction of the cost with 98% email accuracy and no annual contract.
Need company growth signals and funding data? Look at Crunchbase or PitchBook. Neither Cognism nor Mattermark is the right tool for that job.
What Happened to Mattermark?
Mattermark raised over $17M between 2012 and its shutdown to build a "Bloomberg for startups" - a platform tracking company growth via employee headcount, funding, web traffic, and mobile app downloads. Sales and VC teams used the Growth Score to spot fast-moving companies before competitors did.
Then the money ran out. In December 2017, Mattermark sold to FullContact in a deal worth less than $1M total - under $500K in cash plus a stock transaction a little above $500K. The filing literally referenced "liquidation of Mattermark." Hacker News users who'd trialed the product reported an outdated database and broken contact features even before the shutdown.
The brand has since re-launched as an independent company, with co-founders Danielle Morrill and Kevin Morrill still involved. The site shows a 2026 copyright. But there's still very little recent third-party coverage and no meaningful G2 presence. Treat it as a niche tool unless you've validated the data quality yourself.
Comparing a shuttered tool to a $22K/yr platform? There's a third option. Prospeo delivers 98% email accuracy, 125M+ verified mobiles, and intent data across 15,000 topics - all on a 7-day refresh cycle. No annual contract, no sales calls.
Skip the five-figure commitment. Get enterprise-grade data at $0.01/email.
Feature Comparison
These tools were built for different jobs. Cognism finds people and helps you reach them. Mattermark tracks companies and tries to predict which ones are growing fastest.
| Dimension | Cognism | Mattermark |
|---|---|---|
| Primary use | Contact data + sales intel | Company growth signals |
| Dataset | Verified emails + mobile numbers (incl. Diamond Data phone-verified mobiles) | 4M companies, 20M key contacts |
| Key feature | Diamond Data verified mobiles | Growth Score metric |
| Intent data | Yes (Bombora) | Not a core focus |
| API | Prospecting + enrichment | REST + GraphQL |
| CRM integrations | Salesforce, HubSpot | Salesforce |
| Compliance | GDPR, CCPA, DNC filtering in 13+ countries | Not specified |
| Market status | Active, 4.6/5 on G2 (1,300+ reviews) | Re-launched; limited third-party visibility |
Cognism's Diamond Data means their team phone-verifies mobile numbers before they hit your list - a real differentiator for outbound teams dialing into EMEA, where compliance matters and bad numbers waste hours. They also bundle Bombora intent data so you can prioritize accounts showing buying signals.
That said, it isn't bulletproof. G2 reviewers flag inaccurate data (99 mentions) and incorrect numbers (62 mentions) as recurring complaints, so don't assume every record is gold. We've seen similar patterns across most enterprise-tier data providers - the question is always how fast they fix bad records, not whether bad records exist.
Mattermark's Growth Score was genuinely innovative for its time. If you built workflows around Mattermark's API, Crunchbase's API is the closest modern equivalent for company and funding data.
Pricing Side-by-Side
| Tool | Pricing | Commitment |
|---|---|---|
| Mattermark | ~$49/user/mo (historical) | Free 14-day trial |
| Cognism Grow | ~$22,513/yr (5 users) | Annual contract |
| Cognism Elevate | ~$37,498/yr (5 users) | Annual contract |
Cognism runs on a platform fee plus per-seat model. A 5-user Grow setup benchmarks around $22,513/year, while Elevate jumps to $37,498. Scale to 10 users on Elevate and you're looking at a $49,997 list price, though teams regularly negotiate that down to around $32,148. Watch for a ~2,000 record/user/month fair-use cap and potential onboarding fees of $500-$1,500 - costs that don't show up on the sales deck.
Mattermark's historical $49/user/month was reasonable for what it offered. Whether that pricing still holds on the re-launched product isn't clear.
Here's the thing: if your average deal size sits below $15K, Cognism's $22K+ annual commitment probably costs more than the pipeline it generates. We've seen teams at that contract value get better ROI from self-serve tools at a tenth of the price.
What to Use Instead in 2026
Company Intelligence: Growth Signals and Funding
Crunchbase covers this well. Free tier for basics, Pro from $29/mo for deeper access. For VC/PE-specific deal intelligence, look at Dealroom or Tracxn. PitchBook is the enterprise option at $20K-$50K+/year, built for teams who need granular deal flow data.
Contact Data for Enterprise EMEA Teams
Cognism is the right call here. Diamond Data mobiles, GDPR-first compliance, and strong European coverage make it the default for teams selling into the UK and the continent. Just budget accordingly and negotiate hard on renewal. The consensus on r/sales is that Cognism's EMEA data is genuinely better than most US-centric competitors, but the price tag stings.
Contact Data Without Enterprise Pricing
Total cost: $0 to start, under $100/mo on paid plans. Skip this route if you're an enterprise team that needs Diamond Data-level phone verification across thousands of EMEA contacts monthly - that's Cognism's sweet spot, and it's worth paying for.
Cognism's Diamond Data mobiles are strong for EMEA - but at $22K+/yr, the math breaks for most teams. Prospeo gives you 125M+ verified mobiles with a 30% pickup rate, 30+ search filters including buyer intent, and self-serve access starting free.
Same verified mobiles and intent signals. 90% less spend.
FAQ
Is Mattermark still active?
The site is live with a 2026 copyright, and co-founders Danielle Morrill and Kevin Morrill remain involved. But there's minimal recent third-party coverage and no meaningful G2 presence. Don't bet your pipeline on it without testing the data yourself first.
Can Cognism replace Mattermark?
No - they solve different problems. Cognism provides verified contact data and intent signals for sales outreach. Mattermark tracks company growth trajectories and funding events. For growth intelligence, use Crunchbase or PitchBook. For contacts without enterprise pricing, Prospeo offers 98% email accuracy and 125M+ verified mobiles on a self-serve plan.
Is this still a valid comparison in 2026?
Barely. Mattermark's 2017 shutdown and uncertain post-relaunch visibility make this a comparison between an active platform and a tool with a complicated history. If you're evaluating Cognism, the real alternatives are other live contact databases - Apollo, Lusha, or self-serve options like Prospeo - not a product that went through liquidation proceedings.