Cognism vs Vainu (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Cognism grades higher than Vainu: 2.0 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Cognism grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Vainu
Nordic company and contact data for prospecting and CRM upkeep
From €250/mo
Which one is for you
Pick Cognism if
- Fits if you sell into Europe and your team cold calls mobile numbers
- Works for sales teams of five or more reps
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try before you buy, as there's no free plan or trial
- Skip it if you're on your own, since both packages come with 5 seats
- Watch out: no prices are published, so packages, CRM Enrichment and data feeds are all quoted by sales
- Pricey if you want intent data or CRM Enrichment, which need Pro and an add-on
- Tight if you reveal a lot of contacts, since each seat gets a set number of credits and more are bought separately
Pick Vainu if
- Fits if you sell to companies in Finland, Sweden, Norway or Denmark and have a CRM to keep clean
- Works for data teams that want Nordic company records over an API
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you sell outside the four Nordic countries, because coverage stops there
- Skip it if you want to try before paying: there is no free plan or trial
- Pricey if you need CRM updates or AI agents, which start at €417 and €583 a month
- Watch out: each licence covers one country, and extra countries, seats and connectors are quoted on a call
- Watch out: prices are 'from' figures in euros, billed annually and excluding VAT
How we grade them
| 2.0GPACognismFair | 1.6GPAVainuWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo prices are published: Standard and Pro are quoted by sales, so it sits at the ordinary grade. Both include 5 seats, so the quote is your five-person figure, and each seat comes with a set number of credits, one per contact revealed. | D€250 a month and up, billed annually and before VAT, for one country database. Lead finders here start at $33 in the cheaper quarter and the dearest tenth begins at $99. CRM updates need Data Sync at €417 and the AI agents need Discover at €583. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free on record: no free plan and no trial, and both packages are sold through its sales team. | FNo free plan and no trial on the pricing page. You get a 30-minute call where the team confirms your price. |
| Features | BEmails and phone-checked mobiles, hiring, funding and job-change signals, AI search and research, a browser extension, CRM enrichment, an API and MCP. It covers the whole job, and intent data comes with Pro. | CFilters on 550+ fields, decision-makers, lists and CRM sync, plus an API. But a licence covers a single country, and richer data like financials and owners costs €83 or €167 a month extra. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. It's a sales platform for teams of five or more, with filters, signals and CRM syncing to set up, so expect some onboarding. | CNo store rating on record, and it is a web platform where you pick a country, build lists and connect a CRM or warehouse before it pays off. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and a browser extension, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Bullhorn, Salesloft, Outreach and Zapier, plus an API and MCP. | BWeb only, but with CRM, data warehouse and ERP sync, an API, MCP and a command-line tool. |
| Best for | phone-checked mobile numbers for selling into Europe | Nordic company data for sales teams |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Cognism and Vainu. How we grade
Where they differ
- Vainu also covers databases and AI agents.
In commonWebPublic APIAI features
At a glance
| Cognism | Vainu | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | €250 per month, billed annually, excluding VAT |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Cognism Ltd | Vainu |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | vainu.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Cognism
- No prices are published: the Standard and Pro packages, CRM Enrichment and data feeds are all quoted by sales.
- Both packages include 5 seats, and Cognism says teams of at least 5 salespeople get the most from it.
- Each seat gets a set number of credits, one per revealed contact; more credits are bought separately.
- Intent data and on-demand mobile verification need Pro, and CRM Enrichment is an extra add-on.
Vainu
- Every licence covers one country database; extra countries, seats and connectors are priced on a sales call.
- The page shows 'from' prices in euros, billed annually and excluding VAT; the final price is confirmed on a demo call.
- Premium data adds 83 euros a month and Full adds 167 euros a month on top of the licence.
- Coverage is the four Nordic countries, so it is not a global contact database.
Key features
Cognism
- Contact and company data
- Emails, mobile numbers, job titles and work history for people, and revenue, headcount, headquarters and technology use for companies.
- Phone-verified mobiles
- Mobile numbers that pass extra manual and automated checks. Pro adds on-demand verification of chosen prospects and a premium mobile filter.
- Signals and intent data
- Hiring, funding, M&A and job-change signals on every package; Pro adds Bombora intent data with up to 12 topics chosen from over 11,000.
- AI search and research
- AI search, an AI persona builder and AI company research help find accounts and refine lists built with firmographic and technographic filters.
- Browser extension
- Shows contact data and buying signals on LinkedIn and company websites, and pushes contacts into a CRM.
- CRM Enrichment, MCP and API
- An add-on or standalone product enriches CRM records and keeps them current. MCP and API access come with both prospecting packages.
Vainu
- Reach
- Filter and segment companies on 550+ data fields, find decision-makers among the contacts, and keep lists that update themselves.
- Data Sync
- Sends any data point into a CRM, data warehouse or ERP, with updates and enrichment so records stay current.
- Discover
- Surfaces change events that give a reason and a time to reach out, and adds AI agents on the top tier.
- Data packages
- Basic data is included. Premium adds business units, financials, group data, owners and event data. Full adds meeting minutes, municipality budgets and ESG reports.
- Three ways to run it
- Use the Vainu platform yourself, build on it over API, MCP and CLI with Vainu Headless, or have Vainu deliver finished work as Vainu Outcomes.
Plans
Cognism
Pricing could not be confirmed. See cognism.com.
Vainu
Reach€250
per month and up, billed annually, excl. VAT
Find the right accounts and buyers. One country database, one to two seats and triggers. Exact price confirmed on a demo call.
Data Sync€417
per month and up, billed annually, excl. VAT
Everything in Reach, plus data updates and enrichment to keep connected systems current.
Discover€583
per month and up, billed annually, excl. VAT
Everything in Data Sync, plus monitoring of your market with the full AI offering and agents.
EnterpriseCustom
Fully customised data solutions delivered to your data lake or warehouse. Sold through sales.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Cognism or Vainu?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Cognism has no price we could confirm, and Vainu starts at €250 per month, billed annually, excluding VAT.
Which has a free plan, Cognism or Vainu?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Cognism nor Vainu has a free plan.
Which platforms do Cognism and Vainu run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Cognism lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.