ContactOut vs HitHorizons: Different Tools, Different Jobs
Comparing ContactOut to HitHorizons is like comparing a screwdriver to a tape measure. One finds emails and phone numbers for individual people. The other tracks company-level firmographic data across Europe. If someone told you to evaluate both, they probably ran into them in the same Clay workflow and assumed they're competitors.
They're not.
30-second verdict: ContactOut is for SDRs and recruiters who need person-level contact data - emails, phones, direct dials. HitHorizons is for RevOps teams and analysts who need European company intelligence - revenue, headcount, SIC codes, registration data. You don't pick one over the other. You pick the one that matches your actual need.
What ContactOut Does
ContactOut's Chrome extension is the core experience. Hover over a professional profile, grab the contact info, push it to your CRM. The database covers 300M+ professionals across 30M companies, and it holds a G2 rating of 4.4/5 across 109 reviews. Pricing tiers:
- Email: $49/month - "unlimited" emails that actually cap at 2,000/month with 300 exports/month
- Sales: $79/month - up to 6,000 emails/year
- Email + Phone: $99/month - 2,000 emails/month and 1,000 phone numbers/month
- Recruiter: $199/month - up to 12,000 emails/year
Those caps add up fast for serious outbound. Here's the thing: ContactOut's accuracy can be inconsistent outside North America, especially for phone data and international coverage. We've seen this firsthand when testing tools for European prospect lists - the hit rate drops noticeably once you leave the US and Canada.
What HitHorizons Does
HitHorizons covers 80M+ businesses across 50 countries in Europe, including the UK, with 18 filtering criteria and an API returning 100+ data points per company. It's built on government registry data, which means the firmographics - revenue, employee counts, SIC codes, VAT numbers, legal form - are solid for enrichment, market sizing, and KYB workflows.
What makes it genuinely useful: HitHorizons includes accuracy indicators for sales and employee figures, so you know how reliable each data point is. The Invoicing Data API returns KYB-grade fields - legal name, legal form, VAT, registration details - which is why compliance teams love it. Data updates monthly with manual analyst checks layered on top, and CSV exports cap at 50,000 records per file.
Skip this if you need contact data for actual people. HitHorizons provides company email domains and general contact info for selected countries, but it won't find personal work emails or direct dials.
Pricing is quote-based - expect roughly EUR 3k-15k/year depending on API volume and seats. The Clay integration runs 1 credit per enrichment, and Clay community threads specifically recommend HitHorizons for UK + EMEA enrichment workflows. The Datarade rating is 5.0/5, though based on a single review. HitHorizons has near-zero presence on G2 or Capterra.
One thing worth flagging: HitHorizons' Screener lists 50 countries, but a Datarade product page lists 58. Coverage numbers vary depending on the dataset. Plan around the 50-country figure for anything production-grade.
ContactOut's credit caps stall outbound at scale. HitHorizons won't find you a single email. Prospeo covers both gaps: 300M+ profiles, 98% email accuracy, 125M+ verified mobiles, and a 7-day refresh cycle that keeps European and US data equally fresh.
Get the contact data both tools can't give you - starting free.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Category | ContactOut | HitHorizons | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data type | Person-level (emails, phones) | Company-level (firmographics) | Depends on need |
| Database size | 300M+ professionals | 80M+ European companies | ContactOut (volume) |
| Geographic strength | Global, strongest in NA | Europe-focused (50 countries) | ContactOut (breadth) |
| Pricing | $49-$199/mo | ~EUR 3k-15k/yr | ContactOut (entry cost) |
| Free tier | 5 lookups/day | Free samples on request | ContactOut |
| Integrations | Chrome ext, Salesforce, ATS/CRM | Clay, MetaApp, PipeLaunch | ContactOut |
| Data freshness | Not disclosed | Monthly + analyst review | HitHorizons |
| Best for | SDRs and recruiters | RevOps, EU market research | - |
Which Tool Do You Actually Need?
This isn't really a "versus" decision. It's a workflow question.
You need emails and phone numbers for outreach. That's ContactOut territory, but the credit caps and international accuracy gaps are real constraints. In our testing, Prospeo's bounce rates stayed under 4% across both US and European prospects, making it the stronger pick for high-volume outbound beyond North America. The 7-day data refresh cycle means you're not emailing someone who changed jobs six weeks ago.
You need European company firmographics. HitHorizons is purpose-built for this. Revenue data, employee counts, SIC codes, registration details - all sourced from government registries with accuracy indicators attached. Nothing else in this price range covers EMEA company data with that level of granularity.
You need both. Use HitHorizons for account-level intelligence, then pair it with a dedicated contact data tool for person-level outreach. That's the workflow we see most often in teams running Clay-based enrichment stacks - HitHorizons identifies the right companies, and a tool like Prospeo or ContactOut fills in the people.
Better Contact Data Without the Caps
If you landed on this comparison because you need verified emails and direct dials, let's be honest - ContactOut's credit structure gets frustrating fast. Prospeo covers 300M+ profiles with 98% email accuracy and refreshes every 7 days, compared to the industry average of six weeks. You get 75 free emails per month without a sales call or annual contract, and paid plans run about $0.01 per email.
If you're evaluating options, it also helps to compare broader data enrichment services and the best sales prospecting databases for your region and ICP.
Real results: Snyk's team of 50 AEs cut their bounce rate from 35-40% to under 5% after switching, with AE-sourced pipeline up 180% and 200+ new opportunities per month. That's the kind of difference fresh, verified data makes.
Running a Clay workflow with HitHorizons for EU firmographics? You still need person-level data that actually connects. Prospeo delivers under-4% bounce rates across Europe and North America at $0.01/email - no sales calls, no contracts, no credit caps that choke your pipeline.
Snyk's 50 AEs hit 200+ new opportunities per month after switching. Your move.
FAQ
Are ContactOut and HitHorizons the same type of tool?
No. ContactOut finds emails and phone numbers for individual professionals. HitHorizons provides company-level firmographic data - revenue, headcount, SIC codes - for 80M+ European businesses. They serve completely different workflows and aren't direct competitors.
Does HitHorizons provide individual email addresses?
HitHorizons returns company domains and general contact info, not personal work emails or direct dials. For individual contact data, you'll need a dedicated email finder.