10 best intent data providers for B2B sales teams

With just 10% of your potential customers currently in the market, you need to be ready when they are—or you’ll miss valuable opportunities.  

Buyer intent data gives you the knowledge to connect at just the right moment. 

This article walks through the top ten intent data providers, including pros, cons, pricing, and a no-nonsense overview for easy comparison. 

What Is Buyer Intent Data?

Buyer intent data tells you which companies are looking for similar products or solutions to yours. 

B2B self-service buying is a growing trend, according to research by Forrester. Decision-makers research products digitally, and this leaves behind a footprint that shows their desire (or intent) to buy. And if you know who is searching, you know who to target. 

Here are the most common buyer intent signals:

• Searches for similar products 

• Viewing your product pages or review sites, such as G2

• Explicit intent, such as contacting sales teams 

Intent data is categorized in three different ways:

• First-party: Data that a company collects directly, e.g., website visitor tracking and report downloads

• Second-party: First-party data that the collector shares directly, e.g., review website G2 sharing tracking data

• Third-party: Data collected by a third party from multiple sources, e.g., business directories 

All types of intent data are safe to use, as long as they’re collected transparently. First-party data has the fewest privacy issues because it’s direct. But to build a complete picture of which leads are red hot, you’ll need second- and third-party intent data that gives you insights into their behavior across the web. 

Why Intent Data Matters for B2B Sales Teams

Intent data helps you send communications to the right people at the right time—this wins more responses and sales over time. With data like

It’s like a game of whack-a-mole—if you know when a lead is out looking to buy, you’re more likely to catch them.

Here are the benefits of tracking intent data:

• Provides a comprehensive view of customers and their requirements for personalized outreach

• Supports account-based marketing (ABM), which targets high-quality decision-makers 

• Streamlines the sales process, with reps expending less time and energy to make each sale

Some tools, like Artisan, also combine intent data with outreach, automatically sending messages so you always strike at the right moment, even when your team is snowed under. 

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Key Features to Look For in Intent Data Providers

While the most important feature of a data provider is accuracy and coverage (especially for your niche), there are also several other factors that you should consider. 

Data Accuracy & Coverage

The more sources a tool pulls data from, the more likely you are to form a complete picture of the intent within your target segments.

Real-Time Buyer Intent Signals

Look for real-time alerts or automated messaging that allow your team to react fast. Accurate lead scoring puts ready-to-buy leads at the top of your outreach list. 

CRM & Workflow Integrations

Choose a tool that fits your current tech stack. Otherwise, you’ll end up wasting time and money reworking your entire sales workflow. 

Lead Enrichment & Contact Data

A tool should regularly enrich and perform hygiene checks on data to keep it current, which in turn supports personalized outreach and follow-up. 

Privacy & Compliance (GDPR/CCPA)

Your data must comply with local policies. In Europe, for example, sales teams must follow GDPR rules, while CCPA applies in California. Ethical data use avoids legal issues down the line. 

Automation & AI Functionality

Companies that grow fastest invest more in digital tools and AI, according to research by McKinsey. AI and automation also provide significant time and cost savings. 

10 Best Intent Data Providers

Let’s have a look at ten of the top sales intelligence platforms on the market, including pros and cons, pricing, and a summary of each.

1. Artisan

Artisan is an all-in-one AI-first sales platform. When it comes to intent data, AI BDR Ava automates buyer intent research and identifies and scores leads who fit your ICP to prioritize those most likely to buy. Artisan is ideal for lean sales teams that want information and action in one place.

When a lead is in-market, Ava reaches out with automated email sequences. Each message is personalized to fit lead data, which is pulled from B2B directories, social media, website tracking, and a variety of third-party sources. 

Pros

• Advanced buyer intent datasets, including job changes, online activity, search topics, funding events, and technographics 

• Tested AI playbooks that adapt based on background A/B testing and campaign performance

• Enriched B2B database of over 300 million B2B, ecommerce, and local leads

• Global B2B data spanning over 200 countries

• AI-driven multi-channel, personalized email sequences 

• Automatic data uploads to CRMs

• Scalable tool that’s adaptable for fast-growing startups to mid-market teams

• Website visitor tracking to analyze content consumption

Cons

• Enterprise capabilities are relatively new

• A time investment is required for proper onboarding (although this is guided by Artisan)

Pricing

Artisan offers custom plans based on usage, scale, and outreach volume. 

2. ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo is a well-known B2B data provider with a wide range of intent data that comes from tracking over six trillion keywords across the web. The tool also has automated lead intelligence features, including summaries, predictions, account suggestions, and recommended sales plays.

Pros

• Real-time buyer intent tracking 

• A reliable B2B database of 1.3 billion profiles with accurate phone numbers and email contacts

• 34 million+ company profiles outside North America

• AI Copilot for transcripts, conversational intelligence, and predictions

• Website visitor tracking to optimize inbound marketing

• Alerts via email when a lead reaches a set intent score

Cons

• ZoomInfo is an expensive tool that lacks automation for outreach

• Some users report a lack of proof for intent data and outdated contacts

• Customer support is hit and miss

Pricing

Contact the sales team for pricing. 

3. Bombora

Bombora is a specialist intent data provider. It uses B2B data publishers and providers, called a “data co-op” network, to find compliant second- and third-party data. 

Bombora uses AI to understand the context of data, and the Company Surge feature tracks when businesses show interest in a keyword, such as “sales software” or a “social media ad tool.” It's a good choice for teams that need wide signal coverage for ABM.

Pros

• “Data co-op” of trusted B2B data providers with 5k+ B2B sites 

• Company Surge tracking feature for when businesses show above-baseline interest in a subject

• Over 17 billion interactions are tracked per month across over 5,000 sites

• Predictive modeling that identifies high-intent leads early

Cons

• Limited to intent data, requiring additional tools for a streamlined outreach workflow

• Higher-priced tool

Pricing

Contact the sales team for more information. 

4. Demandbase

Demandbase is an ABM tool with strong first-, second-, and third-party intent tracking from over 40,000 sources. Its sales tool is called Demandbase One, which creates a list of in-market accounts with AI summaries of relevant details. Sales reps can filter results by region or interest level.  

There are also additional features that support your workflow by automatically enriching accounts, syncing data across tools, and logging activities. 

Pros

• Website visitor tracking for account identification and website personalization

• Over a million buyer signals tracked monthly from 400,000+ sources

• Global tool that supports 133 languages

• AI account summaries and ranking

• Bombora Surge, G2, and TrustRadius partnerships for second-party intent data

• Integrations with CRMs such as Outreach, Salesloft, and Gong

Cons

• Steep learning curve and an average of two months onboarding

Pricing

Demandbase offers only custom pricing. 

5. 6sense

6sense is an account intelligence platform with strong AI features. 6AI spots where buyers are in their journey, updates and enriches profiles, segments leads, and identifies buying patterns. 

6sense uses native data and also pulls intent data from third- and second-party tools like Bombora and TrustRadius.

Pros

• AI agents personalize email outreach, book meetings, and send alerts at key moments, such as when a lead shows strong buying intent

• Segmentation features that align sales and marketing teams

• Buyer intent data from multiple sources, such as Bombora and Trust Radius, to pinpoint warm leads

• Anonymous website visitor identification

• Filters include firmographics, tech stacks, buying stages, and intent data

Cons

• Some users criticize the data accuracy

• Long onboarding process of around two months

• Credit system for payment 

Pricing

Reach out to the sales team for a custom quote. 

6. Cognism

Cognism is a global data provider for B2B marketing and sales teams. The tool has a strong set of European data, and it’s GDPR compliant. Its Sales Companion feature also keeps data fresh and suggests hot accounts. 

Cognism gives your sales team insights into an array of company activities and announcements, such as funding rounds, acquisitions, and job changes (among others). 

Pros

• Database includes over 200 million European contacts

• Sales Companion feature checks data hygiene and identifies high-potential accounts

• AI insights and summaries for quick outreach

• Buying signal tracking, including funding, acquisition, and job changes from hundreds of sources

• Partnership with Bombora to track intent data accurately

• Daily account recommendations to populate your pipeline

• Sales and marketing tool integrations, including Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive

• Compliance with GDPR and CCPA guidelines, including do-not-call (DNC) list checks

Cons

• Some users report inaccurate data

• No AI automation for outreach workflows

Pricing

Cognism offers two tiers: Grow and Elevate. However, intent data is only available on Elevate. Contact the sales team for pricing (costs aren’t published publicly for any plan). 

7. Lead Forensics

Lead Forensics tracks companies visiting your website so you can discover leads who are ready to buy. 

Its visitor identification functionality reveals anonymous visitors, providing you with company names and relevant contact information. As a result, it’s best for companies with large amounts of web visitors. 

Pros

• Easy-to-use dashboard with quick setup 

• Identifies IP addresses to reveal unknown website visitors’ contact data (at the company level)

• Integrates with Pipeline, HubSpot, and Salesforce

• Slack, email, and CRM alerts when your lead criteria are met

• Alerts when specific companies visit your website 

• Account segmentation based on firmographics, such as location, company size, and turnover

Cons

• Lead discovery is limited to website visitors

Pricing

Lead Forensics offers two plans: Essential for small to medium-sized businesses and Automate for enterprise businesses requiring automatic CRM updates. Contact the sales team for pricing.

8. G2 Buyer Intent

G2 is a popular software review website. Using first-party data from its website visitors, G2 provides analytics into which companies are searching for products.

This gives you in-depth insights into the buyer activity of its millions of website visitors. It’s an especially good tool—a must-have, even—for SaaS businesses with profiles and competitors on the website. 

Pros

• First-party intent data from G2’s 90 million annual web visitors

• Easy ABM and CRM integration 

• Breakdowns of G2 visitors' behaviors, including searched-for products

• Slack or email notifications when a lead shows buying intent

• Segmentation based on leads’ activity levels

Cons

• Data is limited to G2

Pricing

Buyer intent data is only available with Professional or Enterprise tiers. Contact the sales team for pricing. 

9. TechTarget Priority Engine

TechTarget’s Priority Engine assesses intent based on content engagement. Its key functionality is tracking over 1.4 million intent signals from 32 million opt-in B2B professionals.

It also offers deep market and website content tracking, giving you insights into the exact reasons leads are looking to buy.

Pros

• Reliable and compliant first-party data from over 32 million B2B professionals

• B2B website content tracking to assess buyer intent

• AI-powered Intent Mail offers email personalization

• Weekly lists of in-market leads.

Cons

• Some users have trouble navigating the interface

Pricing

TechTarget offers custom pricing only. 

10. Lusha

Lusha is a sales intelligence platform with AI-generated lead lists tailored to users' ICPs. It offers  a continuous stream of new leads. 

Lusha also plans to release AI data enrichment and insights. For now, it offers buyer intent analysis and alerts teams to target account changes such as funding updates and hiring announcements. 

Pros

• Lead scoring based on buying signals 

• Weekly lead updates in-app or via email 

• Lusha Engage auto-generates emails based on lead data

• CCPA and GDPR compliant data 

• Lightweight tool with fast onboarding

Cons

• The credit-based system can increase costs

• Lacks power for enterprise teams

Pricing

• Free: 50 credits per month

• Pro: $36.00/month/user

• Premium: $59.00/month/user

• Scale: Contact the sales team

All tiers include some intent data, such as job changes. However, you can only access the full range of intent signals with Scale. 

How to Choose the Right Intent Data Provider

When choosing a B2B intent data provider, keep in mind the types of data you need and your team’s limitations.

Focus on these key features when selecting a tool:

• Approach: Does the tool match your go-to-market (GTM) strategy—inbound, outbound, product-led, ABM, etc.? 

• Tech stack: How does the tool fit with your current sales and marketing tools?

• Pricing model: If your team is reaching out to many leads, a credit-based system may be costly, for example. Always consider the cost per seat in the context of your whole tea. 

• Team size: Full sales automation can transform the efficiency of small teams. Larger teams, with existing automated stacks, may only require alerts and data. 

An intent data tool capable of streamlining your entire sales process will cut costs and time by reducing integrations. Artisan, for example, provides a virtual assistant, Ava, who handles most of the early and middle sales cycle, all while running real-time data analysis to improve your inbound strategy. 

Next Steps: Act on Buyer Intent with Confidence

Identifying leads who are ready to buy is one of the surest routes to closing more deals. But you must choose a tool that supports your team across the whole sales cycle.  

Artisan is a complete solution. AI BDR Ava captures intent data from multiple data sources, pinpointing exactly where leads are in their buying journey. That means your sales team can focus on the human moments, jumping in to talk to warm leads who are most likely to buy. 

Automate your outbound with an AI BDR

Meet Ava—your AI BDR who handles prospecting, outreach, and follow-ups, so your team can focus on closing.

Book a demo