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Sales Enablement · head to head

Cognism vs People.ai

Cognism logo

Cognism

Sales Enablement

B2B contact data that notifies European contacts and screens do-not-call lists as a product feature

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
People.ai logo

People.ai

Sales Enablement

AI Revenue Intelligence

From
$50/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cognism united States coverage is behind ZoomInfo, and the gap shows most in mid-market American accounts where record density thins out.; People.ai pricing per user adds up quickly for large sales teams
  • They diverge on capability: Cognism covers Diamond Data, People.ai covers Activity capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cognism and People.ai actually diverge.

Attributes where Cognism and People.ai differ
AttributeCognismPeople.ai
Starting priceOn request$50/month
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Chrome extension, REST APIWeb
FoundedUnknown2016

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Sales Enablement).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cognism

  • Diamond Data
  • Contact notification
  • DNC screening
  • Intent data
  • Browser extension
  • CRM enrichment

Only in People.ai

  • Activity capture
  • Contact management
  • Deal intelligence
  • AI coaching
  • Revenue analytics
  • Salesforce
  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • Slack

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cognism

  • A European outbound team that needs a defensible answer when legal asks where the phone numbers came fromnot People.ai
  • Calling campaigns where verified mobile numbers rather than switchboard numbers determine connect ratenot People.ai
  • Enriching an existing CRM of stale records with current job titles and direct dialsnot People.ai
  • Prioritising accounts using intent signals before committing sales development capacitynot People.ai

People.ai

  • Customer Successnot Cognism
  • Ai Intelligencenot Cognism
  • Activity Capturenot Cognism

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cognism

  • United States coverage is behind ZoomInfo, and the gap shows most in mid-market American accounts where record density thins out.
  • The commercial model combines an annual platform fee, per-seat licences and credit allowances, so a quoted seat price consistently understates the total.
  • Diamond Data verified mobiles are a subset of the wider database rather than the whole of it, and the subset available for your target market should be tested before signing.
  • There is no free tier and no monthly rolling contract, so evaluating properly means committing to a year or relying on a short trial with limited data.
  • Coverage density varies sharply by country, with the United Kingdom strong and DACH and the Nordics noticeably thinner, which matters if your expansion market is the weak one.

People.ai

  • Pricing per user adds up quickly for large sales teams
  • Setup requires deep CRM configuration and change management
  • Activity capture can generate noise without proper filtering and customization
  • Forecasting accuracy depends on data quality and proper configuration

Pricing, plan by plan

Cognism

On request
  • Cognism Platform$undefined/year
    • Annual platform fee plus per-seat licences
    • Credit allowances for exports and enrichment negotiated separately
    • No free tier and no monthly rolling term

People.ai

$50/month

No published plan breakdown. See the People.ai review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Cognism if

  • You need diamond data.
  • You work on Web, Chrome extension, REST API.
  • You also want contact notification.
Cognism review

Choose People.ai if

  • You need activity capture.
  • You also want contact management.
People.ai review

Questions people ask

Is Cognism or People.ai better?
Neither clearly leads. Cognism starts at On request and People.ai at $50/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cognism or People.ai?
Cognism starts at On request and People.ai at $50/month.
Does Cognism or People.ai run on more platforms?
Cognism runs on Web, Chrome extension, REST API. People.ai runs on Web.
What is Cognism best used for?
Cognism is most often used for a european outbound team that needs a defensible answer when legal asks where the phone numbers came from, calling campaigns where verified mobile numbers rather than switchboard numbers determine connect rate, enriching an existing crm of stale records with current job titles and direct dials, prioritising accounts using intent signals before committing sales development capacity. Of those, a european outbound team that needs a defensible answer when legal asks where the phone numbers came from and calling campaigns where verified mobile numbers rather than switchboard numbers determine connect rate are not what People.ai is typically brought in for.
What can Cognism do that People.ai cannot?
Cognism covers Diamond Data, Contact notification, DNC screening, Intent data. People.ai covers Activity capture, Contact management, Deal intelligence, AI coaching.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cognism: Can a European company use it lawfully?

It notifies contacts held in its EU and UK database and screens do-not-call registers, which supports a legitimate interest basis. The balancing test, record keeping and handling of objections remain your obligation, not the obligation of the vendor.

People.ai: What is People.ai's core functionality?

People.ai automates activity capture from emails, calls, and meetings, then uses AI to provide pipeline visibility, forecasting insights, and engagement analytics.

Source
Cognism: How does it compare with ZoomInfo on coverage?

ZoomInfo is stronger in the United States, Cognism is generally stronger on European mobile numbers. That, rather than feature lists, is what most head-to-head evaluations come down to.

People.ai: What is the starting price for People.ai?

People.ai pricing starts at 50 USD per user per month, with free PeopleGlass tier available for Salesforce users.

Source
Cognism: Can we buy a single seat monthly?

No. Contracts are annual with a platform fee, which makes a genuine pilot harder than with credit-based self-serve vendors.

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