LeadIQ vs SalesRipe (2026): SalesRipe Is Gone - Here's What to Use
You're comparing a tool that exists to one that doesn't. SalesRipe shut down on June 5, 2020, and its website still displays a permanent closure notice. LeadIQ is alive and well, but at $200/month for Pro (up to 5 users) with phone numbers costing 10 credits each, it's not exactly a drop-in replacement for SalesRipe's SMB-friendly pricing.
Let's sort out what actually makes sense in 2026.
Quick Verdict
Choose LeadIQ if you need a prospecting workflow tool with Chrome extension capture, CRM sync, and job-change tracking baked in.
You can't choose SalesRipe - it shut down June 5, 2020. No active product, no ongoing service.
Are They Even Comparable?
Not really. SalesRipe was a hybrid B2C/B2B list-pull tool - 200M consumer records alongside 20M business contacts. LeadIQ is a modern prospecting workflow platform built around browser-based capture, CRM enrichment, and signal tracking. Comparing them is like comparing a phone book to a CRM plugin. The only reason this comparison still gets searched is because people remember SalesRipe and want to know what replaced it.
SalesRipe Status in 2026
SalesRipe displays a shutdown banner that reads: "Beginning June 5, 2020, SalesRipe will be shutting down." If you didn't grab your data before that date, you missed the window they provided for downloading previous exports.
What SalesRipe Was
Founded June 1, 2015 by Gary Wellington in California, SalesRipe was a credit-based lead database serving 20,000+ users who needed quick list pulls without enterprise contracts. The platform offered 30+ search criteria and a technology tracking feature, sourcing data by crawling millions of public documents - news articles, press releases, social networks, blogs, and company profiles.
Its database split heavily toward consumer data: 200M consumer records and 20M business contacts, with a 90% accuracy claim and monthly data updates. Pricing before the shutdown was $49/mo for 200 credits, $79/mo for 1,000, and $129/mo for 2,500. No contracts, and unused credits rolled over. SalesRipe recommended UpLead, ZoomInfo, and Sales Navigator as replacements before going dark.
SalesRipe gave you credit-based list building at SMB pricing. Prospeo brings that same model back with 300M+ profiles, 98% verified emails, and 7-day data refresh - not the monthly cycle SalesRipe ran. At ~$0.01/email with a free tier, it's the closest thing to what you lost in 2020, with dramatically better data.
Stop prospecting with six-year-old data. Pull verified lists in minutes.
What LeadIQ Offers Today
LeadIQ has evolved into a full prospecting workflow platform. It captures contacts via a Chrome extension, syncs them to Salesforce or HubSpot, tracks job changes, and generates outbound messaging with AI. It's CCPA compliant with GDPR-aligned practices.
The tradeoffs are real, though. The Pro plan runs $200/month (up to 5 users), and phone numbers eat credits at 10 per number. In our testing, the Chrome extension capture is fast, but credits burn quickly when you're pulling direct dials. Credit caps become a scaling constraint fast when you're doing high-volume prospecting.
Here's the thing: LeadIQ is a great workflow tool but a mediocre data tool. If your main need is verified contact data for list building, you're overpaying at $200/month.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| SalesRipe | LeadIQ | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Shut down (2020) | Active | LeadIQ (by default) |
| Best for | SMB list pulls | Prospecting workflow | Different categories |
| B2B database | 20M contacts | ~100M company profiles | LeadIQ |
| Accuracy | 90% claimed | Not published | Can't compare |
| Intent data | None | Limited vs enterprise tools | Neither (for SMBs) |
| Pricing | $49-$129/mo | Free-$200/mo | SalesRipe was cheaper |
| Compliance | N/A (defunct) | CCPA, GDPR-aligned | LeadIQ |
What to Use Instead
SalesRipe users liked three things: self-serve access, credit-based pricing, and simple list building. Here's what delivers that in 2026.
Best SalesRipe Replacement
If you loved SalesRipe's simplicity - search, filter, download - Prospeo is the modern version with dramatically better data. The database covers 300M+ profiles and 143M+ verified emails, all refreshed every 7 days instead of SalesRipe's monthly cycle. Email accuracy runs at 98% through a proprietary 5-step verification process, and the platform includes 125M+ verified mobile numbers with a 30% pickup rate.
The 30+ search filters mirror what SalesRipe had and add buyer intent across 15,000 topics (powered by Bombora), technographic filters, and funding data. Pricing keeps the credit-based model at roughly $0.01/email with a free tier (75 emails + 100 Chrome extension credits/month) to test. No contracts, no sales calls. We've seen teams using Prospeo book 26% more meetings than ZoomInfo users and 35% more than Apollo users - numbers that hold up across segments we've tracked.
Apollo - If You Want Sequencing Too
Apollo bundles prospecting and outreach into one platform at ~$49-$99/mo per user, with a built-in email sequencer and dialer. The tradeoff is accuracy - we've seen email verification rates vary significantly by segment, especially outside North America. Best when you want one tool to find and send, and you're willing to spot-check data quality yourself.
UpLead - Closest to SalesRipe's Model
UpLead most directly mirrors SalesRipe's approach: credit-based, no contracts, self-serve list building at around $99+/mo depending on tier. They even published a SalesRipe alternative page positioning themselves as the natural successor. Skip this one if you need intent data or mobile numbers at scale - it's solid for basic list pulls but thinner on advanced signals.
SalesRipe also recommended Sales Navigator, but that's a networking tool, not a data provider. Different category entirely.
ZoomInfo and Cognism - Bigger Budgets
ZoomInfo runs $15,000-$40,000+/year. Overkill if you're replacing a $49-$129/mo budget. Cognism ($1,000-$3,000/mo) is worth considering only if European coverage and strict GDPR compliance are your deciding factors. For everyone else, these are enterprise tools with enterprise price tags.
LeadIQ charges $200/month and burns credits fast on phone numbers. Prospeo gives you 125M+ verified mobiles with a 30% pickup rate, 143M+ verified emails, and intent data across 15,000 topics - all self-serve, no contracts. Teams using Prospeo book 35% more meetings than Apollo users.
Get enterprise-grade B2B data without the enterprise price tag.
Migration Checklist
- Export and deduplicate any SalesRipe downloads you saved locally.
- Define your ICP - title, industry, company size, geography - before pulling new lists.
- Verify old data. Any contact from 2020 or earlier is six years stale. Run bulk verification to separate valid emails from dead ones.
- Budget by channel. Phone numbers cost 10x what emails do across most platforms. Email-first outreach stretches credits much further.
- Test 500 contacts through your new tool. Measure bounce rates before scaling up. We've found this catches most data quality issues early and saves you from torching your sender reputation.
FAQ
Is SalesRipe Still Active in 2026?
No. SalesRipe shut down on June 5, 2020, and the website displays a permanent shutdown banner. There's no active product, support, or data access. Any contacts exported before that date are now six years stale and should be re-verified before use.
Why Are People Still Searching LeadIQ vs SalesRipe?
SalesRipe had 20,000+ users before closing. Many are now evaluating modern prospecting tools and searching for comparisons out of habit or old bookmarks. This is really a "what replaced SalesRipe" question - and the answer depends on whether you need workflow automation (LeadIQ) or pure verified data at a reasonable price.