Cognism
- Starting price: Custom (~$15K platform + $1.5K/seat)
- Free plan: No (demo + custom quote only)
- Founded: 2015
- HQ: London, United Kingdom
Updated
Cognism vs Captain Data vs Derrick: Which Is Better in 2026?
- Short answer
- Cognism vs Captain Data vs Derrick: Cognism is a gdpr-compliant b2b contact data with mobile coverage, Captain Data is a api-first data infrastructure platform for product builders (formerly no-code workflow automation). Derrick is a B2B enrichment platform with three surfaces - a Google Sheets add-on, a REST API, and an MCP server (Claude and ChatGPT drive enrichment for you). Hit rates are noticeably higher (more emails + phone numbers returned per query than Cognism or Captain Data) and pricing is lower - free forever with 100 credits/month, paid plans from €9/month. Most teams pair Derrick for the data layer with Cognism or Captain Data for outreach.
Where Cognism commits you to enterprise contracts and minimum seats, Derrick offers month-to-month credits with rollover. The side-by-side comparison below covers Cognism's database depth, contract structure and per-seat scaling against Derrick's pay-for-what-you-use Sheets-native model.
Free plan Yes - 100 credits/mo
Starts at €9/mo
Setup time 30 seconds
Where it lives Google Sheets
✓ Free forever · ✓ No credit card · ✓ Cancel anytime · ✓ Your data stays in your Sheet
Trusted by 31,000+ users worldwide.
CURSOR Quick Facts
Cognism vs Captain Data vs Derrick at a glance
Captain Data
- Starting price: €399/mo (post-pivot API tier) · €29.99 per 1K credits
- Free plan: 100 free credits on signup
- Founded: 2019
- HQ: Paris, France
Derrick
★ Recommended- Starting price: Free · Paid from €9/mo
- Free plan: Yes - 100 credits/mo permanent
- Founded: 2023
- HQ: Marseille, FR
Why Derrick wins 01
02
03
Why teams pick Derrick over Cognism and Captain Data
3 core reasons SDRs and ops teams switch to Derrick. Click to expand each.
01 Real-time validation without LinkedIn-dependent enrichment
Cognism offers real-time verification and LinkedIn-enabled insights, but it relies on external data sources and linked profiles that can slow validation when enrichment depends on LinkedIn. Captain Data focuses on LinkedIn-based prospecting, yet lacks native, real-time validation that doesn’t hinge on LinkedIn data quality or availability. Derrick delivers real-time validation directly within 100% native Google Sheets, eliminating LinkedIn-dependent enrichment and reducing delays. By validating emails and contact details on the fly, Derrick saves operators time and improves deliverability, without the need to export CSVs or rely on LinkedIn data.
02 Streamlined setup with effortless automation at scale
Derrick addresses the complexity Cognism and Captain Data introduce when scaling setup and automation by delivering a 100% native Google Sheets workflow with zero CSV exports or server-side config. Unlike Cognism’s standalone data enrichment focus or Captain Data’s LinkedIn-centric automation, Derrick unifies prospecting, enrichment, and validation directly inside Sheets for a truly frictionless scale. This results in measurable gains: 5-10 hours saved per month and monthly credit rollovers, plus automated AI scoring and segmentation to speed up campaigns. A practical use case is rapid team-wide onboarding where new plays deploy in minutes without changing tooling.
03 Deep, field-rich data enrichment beyond LinkedIn sources
Cognism and Captain Data often struggle to deliver deep, field-rich enrichment beyond LinkedIn, leaving gaps in firmographic details and cross-channel context. Derrick expands beyond LinkedIn sources by integrating 50+ attributes per contact and company, with native Google Sheets workflows that avoid exporting or complex setup. Users typically see a tangible boost in profiling depth and targeting precision, with up to 5-10 hours saved monthly on manual enrichment. A practical use case: enrich accounts with technographic and website signals in real time, directly inside Sheets for rapid ABM scoping.
Honest Comparison 
derrick
What each tool does better
We're upfront - every tool has strengths. Here's where Cognism, Captain Data, and Derrick each genuinely win.
What Cognism does better
- Best EU mobile-phone coverage
- GDPR-compliant by design
- Strong intent + technographic data
What Captain Data does better
- Strong API-first architecture (post-pivot)
- Workflow library was best-in-class (legacy)
- Strong integration breadth
What Derrick does better
- Free forever - €0/mo with 100 credits permanent in Google Sheets
- 100+ data points per lead - verified emails, phones, LinkedIn, tech stack, SIRET
- Zero LinkedIn ban risk + real-time email verification built in
- Pair with any sequencer - LaGrowthMachine, Smartlead, Lemlist, HeyReach
Real Annual Cost
True cost over 12 months
Headline pricing rarely tells the whole story. Here's the real cost of running each tool for a year.
| Cognism | Captain Data | Derrick | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price (monthly) | Custom (~$15K platform + $1.5K/seat) | €399/mo (post-pivot API tier) · €29.99 per 1K credits | €0 (free) · €9/mo paid |
| Annual cost (base) | ~€180/yr | ~€4,788/yr | €0/yr free · ~€108/yr paid |
| Free plan? | No (demo + custom quote only) | 100 free credits on signup | ✓ Forever - 100 credits/mo |
| Setup cost | Hours to days | Hours to days | 30 seconds via Marketplace |
| Switching cost | CSV export + retraining | CSV export + retraining | Zero - works alongside any stack |
💡 Most teams pay 2-5x more on add-ons (extra seats, phone credits, integrations) than on the headline base price. Derrick keeps everything in one transparent tier.
Feature-by-Feature
Cognism vs Captain Data vs Derrick: full feature comparison
| Cognism | Derrick App | Captain Data | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Works natively in Google Sheets | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Requires LinkedIn Sales Navigator ($100/month) | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Sales Navigator 1-click import | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email finder with real-time validation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Phone finder from LinkedIn | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Company tech stack lookup | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| SimilarWeb & G2 insights integrated | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| AI integration (Claude & ChatGPT) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Automatic AI Lead Scoring | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Data cleaning & normalization | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-platform scraping (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Zapier, Make, n8n integrations | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Public API available | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Native CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce) | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Entry price (paid plan) | 1000$/mois | 9€/mois | 399$/mois |
| Permanent free plan | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Rollover credits to next month | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Simple and transparent credit system | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Simple setup & onboarding | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Complete documentation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Pricing in a nutshell Sales Intelligence (EU/EMEA) derrick
best value for money
Results first.
Discover Derrick →
Workflow Automation API (Pivot from No-Code)
Cognism vs Captain Data vs Derrick pricing breakdown
Sales Intelligence (EU/EMEA) Cognism
Custom (~$15K platform + $1.5K/seat)
Best for: EU/EMEA enterprise sales
Cognism offers premium pricing with entry-level plans and ongoing credits-based options, backed by a dedicated pricing page for full details. See the complete pricing breakdown for all plans, add-ons, and enterprise options.
Results first.
Complexity removed.
Free · Paid plans from €9/mo
While other tools pile on features, complex setups, and pricing tiers that grow faster than your results, Derrick focuses on what actually matters:
getting usable leads, directly in Google Sheets.
No heavy workflows, No endless configuration. No learning curve.
Workflow Automation API (Pivot from No-Code) Captain Data
€399/mo (post-pivot API tier) · €29.99 per 1K credits
Best for: Engineering teams building data infrastructure (not SDRs)
Captain Data offers an entry-level tier with accessible credits to start, followed by paid plans scaling with data needs-details are on the pricing page. See full pricing breakdown for all plan levels and limits.
Migration Guide
How to switch from Cognism to Derrick in 3 steps
Derrick is a Google Workspace app - no formulas to learn, no pipelines to migrate, no engineering work. Add it to Google Sheets and you're enriching in under a minute.
1
~30 sec Install Derrick from Google Workspace Marketplace
Click the install button on our Marketplace listing and grant Google Sheets access. No credit card required - you start with 100 free credits per month.
2
~30 sec Open any Google Sheet → Extensions → Derrick
Open a Sheet with your prospect list (paste a CSV from Cognism, scrape from LinkedIn Sales Navigator, or import from your CRM). Click Extensions → Derrick and the sidebar opens with all enrichment features ready to use.
3
~1 min Enrich your list with one click
Select the column with names, LinkedIn URLs, or company domains. Pick what you want - emails, phone numbers, LinkedIn data, company info, tech stack - and click "Enrich". Derrick fills the columns directly in your Sheet. No exports, no pipelines, no waiting.
Install Derrick free →
100 free credits / month · No credit card · Cancel anytime
Decision in 60 seconds
Which one is right for you?
Pick Cognism if…
- You specifically need eu/emea enterprise sales
- Best EU mobile-phone coverage
- GDPR-compliant by design
- You're already invested in the Cognism ecosystem
Pick Captain Data if…
- You specifically need engineering teams building data infrastructure (not sdrs)
- Strong API-first architecture (post-pivot)
- Workflow library was best-in-class (legacy)
- You're already invested in the Captain Data ecosystem
Pick Derrick if…
- You want B2B enrichment directly in Google Sheets
- You need a usable free plan (100 credits/mo, no card)
- You don't want long contracts, lock-in, or sales calls
- You need 100+ data points per lead in one tool
What teams say after switching from Cognism vs Captain Data
See what our customers say about Derrick.
"This app saved me so much time and effort. Great for anyone looking to build a contact list or network at scale quickly. As a start-up it's been invaluable."
Alex Clark
Director | SaaS GTM Leader
"Working pretty nifty compared to Snov.Io. Price wise it does give a fair shake, and IMO better interface since it's google sheets."
David Sire
Mortgage Broker at Zero Point Mortgage
"Derrick is a very simple and user-friendly app to enrich your contacts database. Best thing: you can test it for free. And then the price is so low, it's a no brainer."
Etienne Grange
CEO Form'actions
"Super easy to enrich linkedin urls using this tool. Both personal and company url data can be easily enriched with a click of a button."
Zaid Bilal
RevOps Professional
"Amazing Tool, I would like to advocate this to my colleagues. So that you can get more users. Keep it Up. 5 Stars!"
Asif Hanzala
Lead Generation Specialist at IdeaPeel
"This app is fantastic. Brilliantly created to help small and mid sized businesses."
Dan Hughes
Founder/CEO, AlmanacIO
"I have been using other expensive apps or freemium like phantombuster, but Derrick has replaced them all. I love the simplicity of the Google sheet add-in, but what is best is the efficiency it delivers."
Julien Walon Cohen
CEO & Co-founder @ Diffly | B2B Sales Advisor
"The LinkedIn scraping and email finder combo is incredibly powerful. I can build a complete prospect list with contact info in under an hour. Absolute must-have for outbound."
Michael Kim
SDR Team Lead at CloudScale
"Have tested over 10+ LI scraper apps, Derrick beats them all. Simple to use, accurate data, and affordable price."
AJ Alexander
Opportunity Prospector
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the main difference Derrick vs Cognism for data quality?
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Derrick and Cognism take fundamentally different approaches to data quality. Cognism prioritizes real-time verification and compliance-focused data accuracy across millions of verified contacts, excelling at EMEA coverage and intent signals for enterprise sales teams. Derrick, however, delivers data enrichment directly within Google Sheets with 50+ attributes per contact and real-time email validation for improved deliverability, eliminating the need for external platforms or CSV exports. While Cognism focuses on lead intelligence depth, Derrick emphasizes operational efficiency and cost savings through native sheet integration, making it ideal for teams already working in Google Sheets who need quality enrichment without premium pricing or complex workflows.
Is Derrick a better alternative to Cognism for teams?
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Whether Derrick is a better alternative to Cognism depends on your team's specific needs. Cognism excels at verified contact data and intent signals, particularly for enterprise teams prioritizing data accuracy in EMEA markets. However, Derrick offers distinct advantages for teams already using Google Sheets, eliminating the need for external platforms or CSV exports while providing 50+ enrichment attributes, real-time email validation, and integrated AI scoring. Derrick's rollover credits and no credit card requirement for the free tier also provide more flexibility than Cognism's premium pricing model, making it particularly valuable for teams seeking cost-effective enrichment without complex integrations.
Derrick vs Cognism vs Captain Data: which is best for pricing?
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Derrick offers the most flexible pricing model with rollover credits that don't expire monthly, starting at just 9€ for 4000 credits with no credit card required for the free tier. Cognism positions itself as a premium enterprise solution with higher costs but strong data accuracy, while Captain Data charges based on volume with potential scalability issues. Derrick's transparent, credit-based pricing combined with 50+ enrichment attributes per contact delivers exceptional value for SMBs and growing teams seeking affordability without sacrificing data quality or requiring expensive LinkedIn integrations.
Which has better pricing, Cognism or Captain Data?
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Based on typical pricing positioning, Cognism tends to be premium with higher costs, reflecting its extensive data quality and compliance features, while Captain Data offers more affordable, scalable pricing tied to data volume and scraping needs. If you compare these two, Captain Data usually presents a lower entry price and faster ROI for straightforward data collection. Derrick, by contrast, adds value with native Google Sheets, monthly rollovers of credits, and a broad set of enrichment attributes without requiring a credit card for the free tier. For teams prioritizing cost-effective, scalable data enrichment and seamless workflow integration, Derrick often delivers better overall value, especially when you factor in 3,000+ integrations and AI-driven scoring that complement the data you collect from Cognism or Captain Data.
Can Derrick replace both Cognism and Captain Data for sourcing?
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Derrick can effectively handle sourcing tasks that both Cognism and Captain Data address, but with different strengths. While Cognism excels at verified contact data and intent signals for enterprise teams, and Captain Data focuses on LinkedIn automation, Derrick provides native Google Sheets integration without external platforms or CSV exports, saving five to ten hours monthly. Derrick's fifty-plus enrichment attributes, real-time email validation, integrated AI scoring, and rollover credits offer cost-effective coverage for most sourcing needs. However, teams requiring deep EMEA intelligence or specialized LinkedIn workflows may benefit from layering Derrick with these tools rather than replacing them entirely, depending on your specific prospecting requirements and budget.
What review differences exist between Derrick and Captain Data?
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Derrick and Captain Data serve different core needs, so the review differences reflect that. Derrick is praised for its 100% native Google Sheets workflow, eliminating CSV exports and complex setups while delivering 50+ enrichment attributes per contact, real-time email validation, and AI-driven scoring and segmentation via Claude and ChatGPT. Users often highlight cost efficiency, especially since Derrick avoids LinkedIn-centric constraints and offers monthly rollovers of credits with a free tier no credit card requirement. Captain Data earns points for LinkedIn-based prospecting, easy web scraping, and multi-channel enrichment, but reviewers consistently note deeper data enrichment gaps beyond LinkedIn, a steeper learning curve for advanced automation, and occasional CRM integration friction. In short, Derrick tends to be favored for scalable, sheet-native enrichment and ease of use, while Captain Data shines for fast LinkedIn-driven prospecting but may require supplementary tools for richer company data and complex workflows.
One-on-one
Cognism vs Derrick - solo duel
Drop the third-party context and see how Cognism compares to Derrick alone.
Open the head-to-head → One-on-oneCaptain Data vs Derrick - solo duel
Drop the third-party context and see how Captain Data compares to Derrick alone.
Open the head-to-head → Curated stackAll B2B sales tools we reviewed in depth
Step back from the duel - see our hand-picked sales-tool selection and how every category fits together.
See the full curation → Keep Exploring
