A data business,
and a sales system with data in it.
Cognism is clear about what it is: data that plugs into your CRM and your sequencer. That means it is not really competing with Signal feature for feature, it is competing for the same budget while requiring two other subscriptions alongside it. Where Cognism is genuinely stronger is data quality, and particularly phone-verified mobile numbers, which is what most of its customers are buying. Where Signal is stronger is that the prospect, the sequence, the meeting and the deal are one record, at a price published on the website.
B2B data, sold by quote
Built for teams whose constraint is the quality of contact data, particularly mobile numbers.
- Phone-verified mobile numbers as the core differentiator
- Bombora intent data on the Pro package
- DNC screening including the Australian register
- ISO 27001, ISO 27701 and SOC 2 Type II
- No CRM, sequencing, scheduling or proposals
A CRM and more, data included
Built for growing Australian teams that want one subscription rather than three.
- Pipeline, activities, forecasting and account history
- Prospect database and enrichment inside the CRM
- Sequences from your own inbox
- Booking link and proposals
- Published pricing, no sales call needed
- Unlimited users on every plan
Key day-to-day differences
| Area | Cognism | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A B2B data provider | A CRM and more |
| Pricing | Quote only, nothing published | $99 / month, published |
| Seats | 5 included on both packages | Unlimited on every plan |
| Mobile number quality | Phone-verified. Their specialism | Contact data included, not to that standard |
| CRM and sequencing | Neither. Plugs into yours | Both included |
| Australian DNC screening | Published and explicit | Not a published feature |
| Where the company is | UK-headquartered | Australian, Melbourne |
Feature comparison
The first section is where Cognism wins, and it is first on purpose. Signal has no answer to phone-verified mobile data or an intent feed, so if that is the purchase, that section is your answer.
Where Cognism is genuinely betterRead this first · Phone-verified mobile data is a real specialism
Cognism is a data business and a serious one. If the quality of mobile numbers is what you are buying, Signal does not have an equivalent and this section is the honest answer.
| Feature | Cognism | |
|---|---|---|
| Phone-verified mobile numbers | Their core differentiator, verified by humans | Contact data included, not phone-verified to that standard |
| On-demand verification | Request verification of a specific contact | Not offered |
| Intent data | Powered by Bombora | No intent feed |
| Do Not Call screening | Screened against DNC registries including Australia | Not a published Signal feature |
| Security certifications | ISO 27001, ISO 27701, SOC 2 Type II | None held. Empiraa holds no SOC 2 or ISO certification |
| APAC data depth | Cites over 75 million APAC contacts | 2,000 fresh prospects a month on Launch |
| Data as a service, via API or bulk | A separate product line | Not offered |
What Cognism does not doIt is data · Everything a data list needs next is a separate purchase
Cognism positions itself as data that plugs into your CRM and sequencer rather than as a replacement for either. That is an honest position, and it means a Cognism stack has at least three subscriptions in it.
| Feature | Cognism | |
|---|---|---|
| CRM with deals and pipeline | Not offered. Plugs into yours | Pipeline, stages and weighted forecast |
| Email sequencing | Not offered. Plugs into yours | Every plan, from your own inbox |
| Meeting scheduler | Not offered | Every plan, writes back to the deal |
| Proposals and quotes | Not offered | Every plan |
| Activity and follow-up management | Not offered | Included |
| Forecasting | Not offered | Included |
| Number of subscriptions in a working stack | Three or more | One |
How each one is boughtA quote and a credit model · A published price
Cognism publishes no figures at all. Its pricing page shows two packages and a credit model behind a "talk to sales" form, which was still the position on 19 September 2026.
| Feature | Cognism | |
|---|---|---|
| Published pricing | None. Quote only, on every package | $99 a month, published |
| Seats included | 5 seats on both Standard and Pro | Unlimited users |
| Credit model | 1 credit per revealed contact, re-spent if they change job | No per-reveal credit charge |
| Cost per credit | Not published | Not applicable |
| Minimum contract length | Not published | Month to month available |
| Self-serve signup | No. Sales-led | Yes, 14-day trial, no credit card |
| Time from decision to first prospect | A sales cycle | The same day |
The Australian questionBoth have a real Australian story · They are different stories
For an Australian buyer this is where the decision usually lands, and both have something genuine to offer. It is worth being precise about which is which.
| Feature | Cognism | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian DNC register screening | Explicitly named in their compliance materials | Not a published Signal feature |
| APAC contact volume | Over 75 million cited | Sized for a team, not a data subscription |
| Australian company | UK-headquartered | Australian, Melbourne |
| Prices published in AUD | No prices published at all | A$99, GST included |
A quote, plus a CRM, plus a sequencer.
Or $99.
Cognism publishes no pricing at all, so there is no figure to compare against. What can be compared is the shape of the purchase: a sales-led data contract with five seats and a credit model, against one published monthly price with the data inside the CRM.
Standard and Pro packages
no figures published
5 seats included on both packages
What is published, and what is not
Published: 1 credit reveals 1 contact, shared across platform, enrichment and API
Published: 5 seats included on Standard and on Pro
Not published: cost per credit, package price, minimum contract length
No self-serve signup. Every package goes through a sales conversation, which is normal for data at this level and worth planning time for.
What a working stack still needs
Quote
Cognism
from $70
+ a CRM, 5 seats
from $39
+ a sequencer
What the data buys
- Business emails and phone-verified mobile numbers
- Bombora intent data on the Pro package
- CRM Enrichment, bundled or standalone
- Data-as-a-Service via API or bulk delivery
- No CRM, sequencing, scheduling or proposals
Launch plan
per month, whole workspace
unlimited users. Published, GST included.
The data, inside the system
2,000 fresh prospects a month against your ICP
150 contact reveals a week, no credit charge
250 company lookups a week
Not phone-verified to Cognism’s standard, and no intent feed. Sized for a sales team’s outbound rather than sold as a data product.
What the stack needs
$99
Signal Launch
included
+ a CRM
included
+ a sequencer
The plan ladder
- Launch, $99 / month, unlimited users
- Drive, $249 / month, unlimited users
- Command, $549 / month, unlimited users
- Published prices, no sales call required
- Australian company, A$99 includes GST
- 14-day free trial, no credit card
Cognism’s package structure, credit model, seat counts, compliance certifications and APAC coverage claims were read from cognism.com/pricing, cognism.com/compliance, cognism.com/our-data, cognism.com/faq and cognism.com/apac-email-database on 19 September 2026. Cognism publishes no prices, so no Cognism figure appears above. The CRM and sequencer figures beside it are the cheapest published entry prices for those jobs, Pipedrive Lite at $14 per seat per month, shown at five seats to match Cognism’s five-seat packages, and Smartlead Base at $39 per month, both read on the same date. Neither is a recommendation. Empiraa Signal prices are the same number in AUD, USD, EUR and GBP, and Australian prices include GST.
AI COMPARISON
Cognism researches accounts.
ANI works the pipeline.
Cognism applies AI to account research and data quality, which is the right place for a data business to put it. ANI works on the deals, activity and history already in the workspace, and says which accounts deserve the next hour and why.
Cognism AI
- AI account research on target companies
- Intent-based account prioritisation on the Pro package
- Data verification and quality processes
- Works on the data layer, not on a pipeline
- No deals or activity history to reason about
ANI, AI across the sales workflow
- Find and surface relevant prospects
- Personalise outreach
- Plan follow-up
- Generate sales content
- Identify next actions
- Progress opportunities
Which platform fits your sales team?
Cognism may suit you if:
- Mobile number quality is the thing you are actually buying
- You need intent data on target accounts
- Published DNC screening is a compliance requirement for you
- You need data by API or bulk delivery, not only in an interface
- You already have a CRM and a sequencer you are happy with
- Security certifications are a procurement requirement
Empiraa Signal may suit you if:
- You would rather have one subscription than three
- You want a price you can read before a sales call
- Good-enough prospect data inside the CRM beats better data beside it
- You want the sequence, the meeting and the deal on one record
- Buying from an Australian company matters to you
- You need to start this week, not after a procurement cycle
One subscription instead of three.
The data is in the CRM
2,000 fresh prospects a month found against your ideal customer profile, landing in the same system as the pipeline, with no export, no import and no per-reveal credit.
A price you can read
$99 a month, published, in Australian dollars with GST included. No quote, no sales cycle and no minimum term to negotiate before you can start.
Start the same day
A 14-day trial with no credit card, against a sales-led purchase. If the evaluation itself needs to be quick, that difference matters more than any feature row.
FAQs
Not sure this comparison is fair? Ask ANI. It will tell you when the other one is the better fit.
Cognism’s package structure, credit model, seat counts, compliance certifications, DNC screening and APAC coverage claims were read from cognism.com/pricing, cognism.com/compliance, cognism.com/our-data, cognism.com/faq and cognism.com/apac-email-database on 19 September 2026. Cognism publishes no prices, so none appear here. Rows saying “not found” or “not published” mean no such thing was found on Cognism’s site that day, not that Cognism states it does not exist; Cognism is a sales-led vendor and much of its commercial detail is deliberately unpublished. Rows marked “not a published Signal feature” mean exactly that and are not a claim about Cognism. Empiraa does not hold SOC 2 certification and nothing on this page should be read as claiming otherwise; the certifications listed are Cognism’s. Cognism, Diamond Data and Diamonds-on-Demand are trademarks of Cognism Limited. Empiraa is not affiliated with Cognism.
If data depth is the purchase, buy Cognism.
If you want the data inside a system that closes the deal, that is this one. 14 days free, no credit card, unlimited users.
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