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. Â
Buyer intent data gives you the knowledge to connect at just the right moment.Â
This article walks through the top ten intent data providers, including pros, cons, pricing, and a no-nonsense overview for easy comparison.Â
What Is Buyer Intent Data?
Buyer intent data tells you which companies are looking for similar products or solutions to yours.Â
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.Â
Here are the most common buyer intent signals:
Searches for similar productsÂ
Viewing your product pages or review sites, such as G2
Explicit intent, such as contacting sales teamsÂ
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 directoriesÂ
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.Â
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-makersÂ
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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 LinkedIn and 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.Â
Pros
Advanced buyer intent datasets, including job changes, online activity, search topics, funding events, and technographicsÂ
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 and LinkedIn sequencesÂ
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.Â
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 trackingÂ
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.Â
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.Â
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 sitesÂ
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.Â
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. Â
There are also additional features that support your workflow by automatically enriching accounts, syncing data across tools, and logging activities.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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 paymentÂ
Pricing
Reach out to the sales team for a custom quote.Â
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.Â
Cognism gives your sales team insights into an array of company activities and announcements, such as funding rounds, acquisitions, and job changes (among others).Â
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).Â
7. Lead Forensics
Lead Forensics tracks companies visiting your website so you can discover leads who are ready to buy.Â
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.Â
Pros
Easy-to-use dashboard with quick setupÂ
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 websiteÂ
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.Â
Pros
First-party intent data from G2’s 90 million annual web visitors
Easy ABM and CRM integrationÂ
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
Pros
Lead scoring based on buying signalsÂ
Weekly lead updates in-app or via emailÂ
Lusha Engage auto-generates emails based on lead data
CCPA and GDPR compliant dataÂ
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.Â
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.?Â
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.Â
Team size: Full sales automation can transform the efficiency of small teams. Larger teams, with existing automated stacks, may only require alerts and data.Â
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.Â
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. Â
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.Â
