ContactOut vs Datanyze: Which One Actually Delivers?
You ran out of Datanyze credits on day 8 and now you're wondering if ContactOut gives you more runway. Short answer: ContactOut typically costs more per month. And neither tool is really built for what you probably need.
30-Second Verdict
ContactOut is a LinkedIn-centric email and phone finder for recruiters and sales reps. It covers 300M professionals, scores 4.4/5 on G2 (109 reviews), and typically runs ~$79-$199/user/month - but "unlimited" lookups come with fair-use caps that aren't obvious until you hit them.
Datanyze is a budget technographics tool that happens to include contact data. At $0-$55/mo for 10-160 credits, it's cheap - but you're paying $0.34-$0.36 per reveal, and your contacts get locked if you cancel.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| ContactOut | Datanyze | Prospeo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | ~$79/user/mo | Free (10 credits); $29/mo paid | Free |
| Credits/month | Fair-use cap ~2,000 email lookups | 10-160 | 75 free emails; paid plans ~$0.01/email |
| Database size | 300M professionals | 120M contacts | 300M+ profiles |
| Email accuracy | 99% (their claim) | 95% (their claim) | 98% verified |
| G2 rating | 4.4/5 (109 reviews) | 4.1/5 (446 reviews) | - |
| Data refresh | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | 7 days |
| On cancellation | Cancel anytime | Locks contacts | Keep all data |
ContactOut has the bigger database and better reviews. Datanyze is cheaper per month but brutal per credit.
ContactOut - Smooth Overlay, Murky Pricing
ContactOut works best as a Chrome extension layered on top of LinkedIn. You browse profiles, it surfaces emails and phone numbers - including personal emails, which is why recruiters love it. The workflow is smooth and accuracy is genuinely solid. The company claims 1.4M users and adoption across 76% of Fortune 500 companies, and we've found the LinkedIn overlay is one of the smoothest in the category.
If you're building a repeatable outbound motion, it helps to map this into your broader sales prospecting workflow (and not just one-off lookups).
Here's the thing: the pricing page says "Talk to us" for most plans. For a self-serve tool, that's a red flag. Third-party pricing breakdowns commonly list $79/user/month for the Sales plan, $99/month for email-only, and $199/month for email + phone. But good luck confirming any of that without getting on a call.
Where it wins: Strong LinkedIn overlay for one-by-one prospecting. 300M profiles. Built-in email campaigns with AI personalization - ContactOut is investing heavily here. If you're pairing this with personalized outreach, the UX is genuinely convenient.
Where it falls short: "Unlimited" lookups are capped at roughly 2,000 emails and 1,000 phones monthly under a fair-use policy. We've seen estimates of 15-25% of contacts needing manual verification due to stale data. No published refresh cycle, which means you're guessing how old your data is. If you're trying to reduce bounces, you’ll want a tighter handle on email bounce rate benchmarks and causes.
ContactOut hides pricing behind "Talk to us" gates. Datanyze charges $0.34/credit and locks your contacts if you cancel. Prospeo gives you 300M+ profiles at ~$0.01/email with 98% accuracy, a 7-day refresh cycle, and zero data locking.
Stop overpaying for data you can't even keep.
Datanyze - Cheap Until You Do the Math
At $0.34-$0.36 per contact reveal, Datanyze's affordability is an illusion. The $29/mo plan only includes 80 credits/month, so the pool disappears fast if you're prospecting daily. The database covers 120M contacts, 84M emails, and 48M direct dials, with tech stack detection across 70,000+ software products. If technographics is the real reason you're here, it’s worth understanding how firmographic and technographic data actually gets used in targeting.
There's a free tier - Nyze Lite gives you 10 credits/month for 90 days, no credit card required. Annual plans drop to ~$0.24-$0.26/credit but they're non-refundable, so you're betting upfront.
Where it wins: Genuinely affordable for light users who want technographic data. Tech stack identification is the real differentiator here, not contact data.
Where it falls short: Cancel your subscription and previously revealed contacts get locked - you lose data you already paid for. Software Advice reviewers (3.7/5) flag that cancelling via the website isn't an option; you have to email them. G2 reviewers consistently flag poor customer support. And there are reports of the Chrome extension being delisted, which is a real operational risk for a tool that depends entirely on it. ZoomInfo acquired Datanyze in 2018, and development has clearly slowed since.
They Solve Different Problems
Comparing ContactOut to Datanyze is like comparing a screwdriver to a wrench. ContactOut is a LinkedIn email finder. Datanyze is a budget technographics tool that happens to include contact data.
But let's be honest - most buyers weighing these two tools aren't looking for tech stack intelligence. They need verified emails and phone numbers to fill their sequences. If that's you, neither tool is optimized for what you actually need.
If your average deal size sits below five figures, you don't need Datanyze's technographics or ContactOut's premium pricing. You need accurate contact data at a price that doesn't eat your margins. (If you're pressure-testing ROI, it helps to sanity-check your cost to acquire customer assumptions.)
A Better Fit for Most Teams
It covers 300M+ profiles with 143M+ verified emails and 125M+ verified mobile numbers, all refreshed on a 7-day cycle - while the industry average sits at six weeks. The free tier gives you 75 emails and 100 Chrome extension credits per month. Paid plans run ~$0.01 per email with no contracts - cancel anytime and keep every contact you've found. The proprietary 5-step email verification includes catch-all handling, spam-trap removal, and honeypot filtering, which is why teams using it report bounce rates under 4%. One customer, Meritt, tripled their pipeline from $100K to $300K/week after switching, with bounce rates dropping from 35% to under 4%.
If you're comparing vendors more broadly, start with a shortlist of sales prospecting databases and then validate deliverability with an email deliverability guide mindset (not just “does it find emails?”).
Meritt switched and tripled pipeline from $100K to $300K/week while bounce rates dropped from 35% to under 4%. That's what happens when your emails are verified every 7 days - not whenever your provider gets around to it.
75 free emails per month, no credit card, no contracts.
FAQ
Is Datanyze owned by ZoomInfo?
Yes. ZoomInfo acquired Datanyze in 2018. The product still operates independently, but development has slowed - most of ZoomInfo's investment goes into its flagship platform.
Does ContactOut offer unlimited lookups?
Not exactly. A fair-use policy caps usage at roughly 2,000 emails and 1,000 phone numbers per month. There aren't overage options - you wait for the monthly reset.
What happens to my Datanyze contacts if I cancel?
They get locked. You can't export or access contacts you've already revealed and paid for unless you resubscribe. The consensus on r/sales threads is that this is one of the most frustrating aspects of the tool.
What's a good alternative to both tools?
Prospeo delivers 98% verified email accuracy with a 7-day data refresh cycle, 125M+ verified mobiles, and 30+ search filters including buyer intent. It starts free (75 emails/month) and charges ~$0.01/email on paid plans - no contracts or data locking.