Ocean.io is a B2B data platform that helps you find companies similar to your best customers.
It uses AI to build lookalike lists and shows you potential accounts based on firmographic and intent data.
But if you need verified contact emails, direct phone numbers, or cheaper data plans, Ocean.io might not fully meet your needs.
Many users look for alternatives that offer more contact-level details, better integrations, or transparent pricing.
In this blog, we’ve listed the 5 best Ocean.io alternatives for B2B lead generation, tools that help you find, verify, and connect with decision-makers faster.
TL;DR – 5 Best Ocean.io Alternatives For B2B Leads
Leadsforge: Verified B2B contact data with built-in enrichment.
Apollo.io: Large contact database plus email and CRM tools.
Cognism: GDPR-compliant data with verified phone numbers.
Lusha: Has chrome extension that gives you instant verified emails and dials.
UpLead: Accurate B2B contact database with real-time email verification.
How We Evaluated the 5 Best Ocean.io Alternatives for B2B Leads
We evaluated how each one performs in B2B prospecting. You’ll see that the list focuses on tools that actually save time, improve data accuracy, and fit different team sizes and budgets.
Here’s what we looked at while evaluating them:
Each tool’s contact and company data was checked for freshness and accuracy.
Verified emails and phone numbers were tested to see how reliable they are.
The overall user experience was reviewed, including filters, search speed, and exports.
We explored how easily each tool connects with CRMs and outreach platforms.
Pricing transparency was checked to see if plans are clear and fair.
GDPR and data privacy compliance were verified for safe usage.
This helped narrow down the Ocean.io alternatives that are not only accurate but also easy to use and practical for daily lead generation.
5 Best Ocean.io Alternatives & Competitors for B2B Leads: Quick Comparison
Lead tools comparison
Tool
Key Focus
Verification Accuracy
Intent & Technographics
Outreach / Execution
Starting Price
Leadsforge
Chat-based lead search
Multi-source “waterfall” enrichment
Lookalike and competitor follower targeting
Works with Salesforge, HubSpot, Salesforce
$49 / month 2,000 credits, rollover
Apollo.io
All-in-one sales OS
Real-time enrichment via AI data graph
Built-in intent signals plus lead scoring
Built-in email & call sequences and dialer
~$59 / user / month
Cognism
Compliance-first data and mobile accuracy
Diamond Data® human-verified
Funding, hiring, intent, technographic data
Integrates with Outreach, HubSpot
Seat-based (Grow / Elevate / Enterprise)
Lusha
AI-powered contact intelligence
98% email, 85% phone accuracy
Buyer intent, funding, tech install tracking
Built-in Lusha Engage sequences
$39 / month Pro plan, 1,000 credits
UpLead
Real-time verified prospecting
95% real-time verification + credit refund
Built-in intent (Pro plan) + 27K+ tech tracking
Data enrichment only, no outreach
$99 / month 170 credits
1. Leadsforge
This image shows the Leadsforge homepage
Leadsforge is a chat-based B2B lead search engine that lets you describe your ideal customer in plain English instead of using complex filters.
It connects multiple verified data sources covering 500M+ contacts and instantly finds emails, LinkedIn profiles, and phone numbers for your target audience.
How Leadsforge Is Better Than Ocean.io?
Ocean.io is built for account-based marketing (ABM) teams that start from company-level targeting.
It helps you find and segment businesses using filters like industry, size, location, and revenue.
Leadsforge lets you search directly by your ICP.It instantly returns verified contacts with complete company data (emails, LinkedIn profiles, phone numbers, industry, size, and revenue).
Here’s how Leadsforge stands out:
Chat-based prospecting: Instead of complex filters and dropdowns like Ocean.io, Leadsforge lets you describe your ideal customer profile (ICP) in plain language.
This image shows the Leadsforge ICP based lead generation
You can type like “Marketing managers at SaaS startups in the US” and instantly get verified contacts that match.
Instant company insights: Each lead in Leadsforge already includes company-level data such as size, revenue range, industry, and keywords.
This image shows the Leadsforge data table
Ocean.io provides these filters upfront for ABM segmentation, while Leadsforge delivers them automatically with every contact.
Follower targeting: Leadsforge includes a Followers feature that finds people following your company or competitors.
This image shows the Leadsforge follower feature
These followers often signal active interest and can be instantly enriched into verified leads, a function Ocean.io doesn’t currently offer.
If you want verified contacts with full company context and a simple, chat-based workflow, Leadsforge is the better choice.
Leadsforge vs Ocean.io: Feature Comparison
Feature
Leadsforge
Ocean.io
Interface
Chat-based. Describe your ICP in plain English to find leads.
Filter-based. Build lists using firmographic filters and lookalike AI.
Contact Data
Verified emails, LinkedIn profiles, and phone numbers.
Verified emails and direct phone numbers for selected contacts.
Lookalike Search
Yes. Find similar companies or audiences to your target accounts.
Yes. Advanced AI-driven company and people lookalike search.
Competitor Followers
Yes. Find and enrich followers of any company profile.
Not available.
Data Enrichment
Multi-source “waterfall” enrichment for accuracy.
Proprietary algorithm. No mention of multi-source enrichment.
Pricing
Starts at $49/month (2,000 export credits, rollover).
Starts at $79/month (Premium plan, 1,800 credits).
Pros of Leadsforge
Waterfall enrichment: The platform connects to multiple verified B2B data providers. If one data source doesn’t return a valid email or phone number, it automatically queries another until it finds the most accurate result.
Follower and lookalike search: You can find people following your competitors’ company pages or discover companies similar to your existing clients, allowing you to target audiences with proven buying intent.
Cons of Leadsforge
Limited advanced ABM segmentation: Leadsforge provides company data such as size, industry, and revenue for each contact, but it doesn’t yet support complex multi-layer ABM filters like tech stack, funding stage, or intent-based segmentation that Ocean.io focuses on.
Apollo.io is an AI-powered sales platform that helps you find leads, enrich contact data, automate outreach, and manage your pipeline.
It’s designed for sales and marketing teams that want a single tool for prospecting, email sequences, CRM sync, and analytics instead of using multiple platforms like ZoomInfo, Outreach, and Salesloft separately.
How Apollo Is Better Than Ocean.io?
Apollo.io covers both contacts and companies, along with strong outreach automation and data enrichment in the same tool.
Here’s how:
Full-stack sales workflow: Apollo covers the entire outbound flow, from prospecting and enrichment to email sequencing, calling, and analytics, all in one interface.
Ocean.io helps you discover and segment companies, but Apollo lets you execute campaigns on top of that data instantly.
Large living database + advanced search filters: Apollo provides access to millions of verified contacts and companies with advanced filters for job titles, seniority, industry, intent signals, and location.
Waterfall enrichment & CRM health tools: Apollo provides waterfall enrichment, CSV/CRM sync, and API-based enrichment for keeping data accurate.
If your goal is to find leads, enrich them, and run campaigns from one platform instead of switching between data and outreach tools, Apollo.io provides that complete sales operating system experience.
Apollo.io vs Ocean.io: Feature Comparison
Feature
Apollo.io
Ocean.io
Database & search
210M+ contacts and hundreds of millions of data points. Includes 65+ filters for contacts and companies.
55M company profiles, 250M+ LinkedIn profiles, and 330M+ data points.
Interface / workflow
Dashboard and search with outreach automation and CRM sync.
Filter-based account and company search with lookalike focus.
Contact & company data
Verified emails, phone numbers, company information, intent signals, and enrichment.
Company profiles and limited contact data in higher plans. Strong account-level emphasis.
Enrichment & data health
Waterfall enrichment, CRM enrichment, API, and CSV enrichment.
API for companies and people, lookalike API, and data fills. Proprietary algorithm for company data.
Outreach / execution tools
Built-in sequences, dialer, email, and workflow automation.
Primary focus is discovery and account lists. Outreach tools are not core.
CRM & integrations
Salesforce, HubSpot, API support, and full workflow sync.
Flexible integrations including APIs, CRMs, and no-code platforms.
Pros of Apollo.io
Smart enrichment with real-time data graph: Apollo enriches contacts and companies using its internal data graph, CRM sync, and API integrations to maintain complete and accurate records.
AI-powered research and lead scoring: Apollo’s AI Research and AI Lead Scoring modules help sales teams identify, prioritize, and personalize outreach based on intent and engagement data.
Integrated dialer with AI call insights: The built-in US and international dialers support call recording, transcription, and AI-powered conversation summaries to speed up follow-ups.
Cons of Apollo.io
Credit-based usage limits: Every email, phone number, or enrichment action consumes credits, requiring additional purchases for large-scale prospecting.
Less granular ABM filters than Ocean.io: Although Apollo supports firmographic targeting and lookalikes, it lacks some ABM-specific filters such as website traffic or department-level breakdowns available in Ocean.io.
Apollo.io Pricing
This image shows the Apollo.io pricing
Free plan: $0 – limited credits, entry features.
Basic plan: ~$59/user/month – 2,500+ credits + advanced filters. Apollo
Professional plan: ~$99/user/month – more features (AI, sequences, automation).
Organization / Enterprise plan: ~$149/user/month+ – full suite including advanced dialer, analytics, SSO.
Cognism is a sales intelligence and data platform that provides verified contact data, phone-verified mobile numbers, and actionable sales signals, all built with a compliance-first approach.
It’s especially known for its Diamond Data®, which gives you human-verified mobile numbers that connect 3× more often, and for its strong European market coverage across the UK and EMEA.
How Cognism Is Better Than Ocean.io?
While Ocean.io focuses on company-level ABM targeting and lookalike account discovery, Cognism is built to help you actually reach decision-makers with verified contact data and compliant mobile numbers.
It gives you phone numbers, intent signals, and compliance tools needed to turn target accounts into conversations.
Here’s how Cognism stands out:
Diamond Data® (Phone-verified accuracy): Cognism verifies mobile numbers manually and digitally through its Diamond Data® system.
This image shows the Cognism Diamond contacts only filter
You can use the Diamond Contacts Only filter to get only diamond verified mobile number only.
Every contact is phone-tested, giving you up to 3× higher connection rates compared to generic databases.
Data Enrichment and DaaS integration: With CSV, API, and CRM enrichment, Cognism automatically updates missing fields in your CRM, job titles, contact info, or company details, so your data stays accurate in real time.
Compliance-first data sourcing: All data is sourced and processed in compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and Do-Not-Call (DNC) regulations. Cognism aligns with ISO 27001 and SOC 2 standards to maintain secure, compliant outreach globally.
If your focus is reaching real decision-makers in Europe with verified, compliant mobile data, Cognism is a much stronger choice than Ocean.io’s company-level targeting model.
Cognism vs Ocean.io: Feature Comparison
Feature
Cognism
Ocean.io
Data Focus
Contact and company data with phone-verified Diamond Data®.
Company-level ABM segmentation with some contact details.
Coverage
EMEA and UK focus with growing US coverage and 10M+ phone-verified contacts.
Global company coverage via firmographic filters.
Signals & Intent
Funding, hiring, intent, technographics, and job changes.
Firmographic and lookalike analysis.
Compliance
Aligned with GDPR and CCPA. Built to ISO 27001 and SOC 2 standards.
GDPR-compliant.
CRM Enrichment
Real-time API and CSV enrichment (DaaS).
Manual exports via list builder.
Pricing
Seat-based across Grow, Elevate, and Enterprise plans.
Starts at $79 per month (credit-based model varies).
Pros of Cognism
Strong EMEA and UK coverage: Provides GDPR-compliant data across key European regions, making it ideal for teams selling into EMEA markets.
Actionable Signal Data: Combines technographics, funding alerts, hiring signals, and intent data to help reps reach in-market buyers at the right time.
CRM & API enrichment: It keeps your CRM data clean and updated automatically with real-time enrichment and Data-as-a-Service delivery.
Cons of Cognism
No full-stack outreach automation: Cognism integrates with tools like Outreach and HubSpot but doesn’t send cold campaigns directly.
Elevate Plan: Adds Signal Data and Technographics.
Enterprise / DaaS: API data delivery for large-scale CRM enrichment.
4. Lusha
This image shows the Lusha homepage
Lusha is an AI-powered B2B prospecting and sales intelligence platform that helps you find verified contact data, detect buyer intent, and automate enrichment.
It gives access to 280M+ verified contacts, 98% email deliverability, and 85% phone accuracy, with compliance under GDPR, CCPA, ISO 31700, and SOC 2 Type II.
How Lusha Is Better Than Ocean.io?
Lusha combines contact-level accuracy with AI-driven intent data, Flex Search, and automated enrichment.
It not only finds the right accounts but also gives you direct decision-maker contact details and the signals to time your outreach perfectly.
Here’s how Lusha stands out:
AI-powered Flex Search: Instead of rigid filters, you can type prompts like “VP Marketing in Germany” or “FinTech CEOs US” and instantly see verified prospects. Ocean.io still relies on traditional firmographic filters.
Buyer-intent and technology signals: Lusha Warm Outbound and Alerts modules identify companies actively researching your solution, tracking job changes, funding rounds, and tech installs, features Ocean.io’s lookalike model doesn’t include.
This image shows the Lusha warm outbound feature
All-in-one enrichment and outreach: Through Lusha Engage, you can build lists, segment audiences, and send personalized sequences directly, reducing dependence on third-party outreach tools.
This image shows the Elevate your outreach with Lusha Engage AI email assistant
Privacy and compliance leadership: Certified for GDPR (ePrivacyseal GmbH), CCPA (TrustArc), ISO 31700, and SOC 2 Type II, making it one of the few fully audited providers globally.
If your focus is accurate contact-level data with live buyer intent and automation, Lusha offers a more execution-ready solution than Ocean.io’s ABM-only targeting.
UpLead is a real-time verified B2B prospecting and enrichment platform that helps you find emails, mobile numbers, and intent data for over 160 million leads across 200+ countries.
It guarantees 95 percent data accuracy, verifies every email the moment you search, and keeps contact data continuously fresh through real-time verification to help you reach buyers faster
How UpLead Is Better Than Ocean.io?
UpLead focuses on giving you real-time verified contact-level data that’s ready to use instantly in outreach and CRM workflows.
Instead of only identifying target accounts, it helps you reach verified decision-makers directly, complete with intent and technographic context.
Here’s how UpLead stands out:
Real-time email verification: Every email address is verified the moment you export it, with a 95% accuracy guarantee and replaces invalid emails with credits automatically, a feature Ocean.io doesn’t offer.
This image shows the UpLead email verification preference
Comprehensive database: Access 160M+ verified contacts and 19M+ companies with 50+ search filters, including job title, revenue, location, and tech stack.
Data privacy and compliance: It is fully GDPR and CCPA compliant, ensuring ethically sourced, secure, and permission-based contact data.
If you’re looking for verified, ready-to-use contact data with CRM enrichment and buying intent, UpLead gives you more actionable value than Ocean.io’s company-level approach.
UpLead vs Ocean.io: Feature Comparison
Feature
UpLead
Ocean.io
Interface
Filter-based workflow with real-time email verification.
Company-level ABM filters.
Contact Data
160M+ contacts with mobile and direct dials. Includes a 95 percent accuracy guarantee.
Verified emails and phone numbers for selected leads.
Intent Data
Built-in intent signals from the Professional plan onward.
Limited intent segmentation.
CRM Integrations
Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Pipedrive, and Zapier.
Basic export and API access.
Compliance
GDPR and CCPA compliant with a 95 percent accuracy guarantee.
GDPR-aligned only.
Pricing
Starts at $99 per month for 170 credits.
Starts at $79 per month for 1,800 credits.
Pros of UpLead
Powerful search filters: With 50 + filters, you can search by industry, location, job title, employee size, technology stack, and funding stage.
Wide integrations: UpLead connects natively with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, and Pipedrive; others via Zapier.
Human support and credits refund: UpLead replaces invalid emails with credits, and you get 24×7 human support.
Cons of UpLead
Credit-based model: Each contact export uses credits, so high-volume users may need larger plans or extra credit purchases.
No built-in email sending: UpLead focuses on data accuracy and enrichment but does not include native cold email or multichannel outreach tools.
Intent feature tier-limited: Buyer intent data is available only in the Professional plan or higher.
UpLead Pricing
This image shows the Uplead pricing
Free Trial: 5 credits for 7 days, test real-time verification.
Essentials Plan: $99/month → 170 credits for verified emails and phones.
Plus Plan: $199/month → 400 credits, includes enrichment and technographics.
Professional Plan: Custom annual plan with intent data, API access, and priority support.
Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for large teams with bulk credits and advanced CRM integrations.
Which Ocean.io Alternative Should You Choose?
Here’s a quick way to decide which ocean io alternative you should you choose:
Apollo.io is great if you want one place for prospecting and outreach.
Cognism is better if EMEA coverage matter most.
Lusha works well for teams that rely on intent data.
UpLead is reliable for verified emails and clean enrichment.
But if you prefer a chat-like interface where you can simply describe who you want, and instantly find, enrich, set intent, or export verified leads, then Leadsforge is the right choice.