Updated

Lemlist vs Cognism vs Derrick: Which Is Better in 2026?

Short answer
Lemlist vs Cognism vs Derrick: Lemlist is a multichannel cold outreach (email + linkedin + calls), Cognism is a gdpr-compliant b2b contact data with mobile coverage. 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 Lemlist or Cognism) and pricing is lower - free forever with 100 credits/month, paid plans from €9/month. Most teams pair Derrick for the data layer with Lemlist or Cognism for outreach.

Lemlist is built for sequenced outreach across email + LinkedIn + (sometimes) calls. The hidden cost is enrichment: Lemlist bills you per contact AND per channel. The side-by-side comparison below isolates Lemlist's real cost-per-touched-prospect against Derrick's flat credit-pool model that decouples enrichment from sending.

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 27 000+ users worldwide.

Quick Facts

Lemlist vs Cognism vs Derrick at a glance

Lemlist

  • Starting price: $63/seat/mo (annual)
  • Free plan: No (14-day free trial)
  • Founded: 2017
  • HQ: Paris, France
4.6/5 G2 4.5/5 Capterra

Cognism

  • Starting price: Custom (~$15K platform + $1.5K/seat)
  • Free plan: No (demo + custom quote only)
  • Founded: 2015
  • HQ: London, United Kingdom
4.6/5 G2 4.7/5 Capterra

Derrick

★ Recommended
  • Starting price: Free · Paid from €9/mo
  • Free plan: Yes - 100 credits/mo permanent
  • Founded: 2023
  • HQ: Marseille, FR
4.8/5 G2 4.8/5 Capterra
Why Derrick wins

Why teams pick Derrick over Lemlist and Cognism

3 core reasons SDRs and ops teams switch to Derrick. Click to expand each.

01

Save time with native Google Sheets enrichment, no CSV or setup

Derrick faces a major time sink when relying on Lemlist or Cognism: enrichment workflows that require CSV exports or separate setup steps, breaking native Google Sheets workflows. Derrick delivers 100% native Google Sheets enrichment-no CSVs, no complex setup-so teams stay within Sheets and move faster. This saves hours monthly by eliminating manual data exports and reimports, and users typically see a 5-10h/month time reduction. For quick usability, Derrick leverages seamless Sheets-side enrichment to populate 50+ attributes per contact without leaving the spreadsheet.

02

AI-powered lead scoring for smarter prioritization

Lemlist and Cognism provide outreach and data access, but neither delivers AI-driven lead scoring to automatically prioritize high-intent prospects at volume. Derrick differentiates by embedding AI lead scoring within a native Google Sheets workflow, using Claude and ChatGPT to automatically score, segment, and summarize leads without exporting data or configuring external tools. This translates to faster triage, with actionable scores and ready-to-action segments, reducing time-to-first outreach by up to 30% in pilot teams. With Derrick, you gain real-time scoring that updates as new signals come in, keeping prioritization aligned with your evolving ICP.

03

Real-time data verification without manual validation bottlenecks

Lemlist and Cognism both struggle with real-time verification at scale, often requiring manual checks to maintain accuracy and deliverability. Derrick bypasses these bottlenecks by performing live data validation directly within a 100% native Google Sheets workflow, eliminating exports and complex setups. This translates to measurable gains: up to 20-30% faster prospect validation cycles and reduced wasted outreach due to outdated or incorrect contact data. In practice, Derrick ensures instant email verification and up-to-date details as you prospect, without the friction of external validation steps.

Honest Comparison

What each tool does better

We're upfront - every tool has strengths. Here's where Lemlist, Cognism, and Derrick each genuinely win.

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.

Lemlist Cognism Derrick
Starting price (monthly) $63/seat/mo (annual) Custom (~$15K platform + $1.5K/seat) €0 (free) · €9/mo paid
Annual cost (base) ~€756/yr ~€180/yr €0/yr free · ~€108/yr paid
Free plan? No (14-day free trial) No (demo + custom quote only) ✓ 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

Lemlist vs Cognism vs Derrick: full feature comparison

Lemlist Derrick App Cognism
Works natively in Google Sheets
Requires LinkedIn Sales Navigator ($100/month)
Sales Navigator 1-click import
Email finder with real-time validation
Phone finder from LinkedIn
Company tech stack lookup
SimilarWeb & G2 insights integrated
AI integration (Claude & ChatGPT)
Automatic AI Lead Scoring
Data cleaning & normalization
Multi-platform scraping (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook)
Zapier, Make, n8n integrations
Public API available
Native CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce)
Entry price (paid plan) 39$/mois 9€/mois 1000$/mois
Permanent free plan
Rollover credits to next month
Simple and transparent credit system
Simple setup & onboarding
Complete documentation
Pricing in a nutshell

Lemlist vs Cognism vs Derrick pricing breakdown

Migration Guide

How to switch from Lemlist 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 Lemlist, 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 Lemlist if…

  • You specifically need multichannel outbound teams
  • Best multichannel outreach UX
  • Lemwarm = built-in deliverability
  • You're already invested in the Lemlist ecosystem
Read full Lemlist review →

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
Read full Cognism review →

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
Try Derrick free →

What teams say after switching from Lemlist vs Cognism

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

Reviewed on Product Hunt

"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

Reviewed on Product Hunt

"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

Reviewed on Capterra

"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

Reviewed on Capterra

"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

Reviewed on Capterra

"This app is fantastic. Brilliantly created to help small and mid sized businesses."

Dan Hughes

Founder/CEO, AlmanacIO

Reviewed on Product Hunt

"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

Reviewed on G2

"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

Reviewed on Capterra

"Have tested over 10+ LI scraper apps, Derrick beats them all. Simple to use, accurate data, and affordable price."

AJ Alexander

Opportunity Prospector

Reviewed on Capterra

Frequently Asked Questions

Derrick vs Lemlist: which is better for multi-channel outreach?

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For multi-channel outreach, Lemlist excels at email and LinkedIn automation with strong personalization features, making it ideal for teams focused on volume outreach campaigns. However, Lemlist requires significant data preprocessing and lacks native lead scoring. Derrick complements this approach by providing enriched prospect data directly in Google Sheets with real-time email validation and integrated AI scoring, eliminating manual list refinement. For teams wanting seamless multi-channel preparation without complex integrations, combining Derrick's data quality with Lemlist's automation delivers superior results than either platform alone.

Is Derrick a good alternative to Lemlist for intent-based leads?

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Yes, Derrick is an excellent alternative to Lemlist for intent-based leads, though they serve different purposes. Lemlist excels at outreach automation and email sequencing, while Derrick focuses on data enrichment and lead intelligence. Derrick provides 50+ enrichment attributes per contact and company, real-time email validation for better deliverability, and integrated AI scoring with Claude and ChatGPT. Unlike Lemlist, Derrick operates natively in Google Sheets without complex integrations, saving teams 5-10 hours monthly. For intent-based prospecting, combine Derrick's enrichment capabilities with Lemlist's outreach automation to maximize campaign effectiveness and data quality.

How do Derrick, Lemlist, and Cognism compare in pricing?

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Derrick offers flexible, rollover credits starting at just 9€ monthly with no credit card required for the free tier, making it the most accessible option. Lemlist focuses on outbound automation and email sequencing with AI personalization, typically ranging from mid-tier to enterprise pricing. Cognism positions itself as a premium intelligence platform with higher costs, excelling in data verification but requiring substantial manual configuration. Derrick's native Google Sheets integration eliminates costly exports and complex setups, delivering 50+ enrichment attributes at lower price points while maintaining real-time email validation for superior deliverability compared to both competitors.

What’s the difference between Derrick and Cognism for data enrichment?

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Derrick and Cognism serve different parts of the data enrichment journey. Cognism excels at high-quality B2B contact and company data, real-time verification, and intent signals for account-based strategies, with strong GDPR/CCPA compliance-great for enterprise-grade targeting. Derrick, by contrast, is 100% native to Google Sheets, offering deep enrichment across 50+ attributes per contact, real-time email validation, integrated AI scoring and segmentation, and easy, low-friction automation with 3,000+ integrations and roll-over credits. For teams prioritizing sheet-native workflows and cost-effective scalability, Derrick enhances data readiness before outreach, while Cognism fuels deeper intelligence and precision at scale.

Lemlist vs Cognism: which offers better review scores?

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Both Lemlist and Cognism maintain strong user satisfaction ratings, though they excel in different areas. Lemlist users praise its intuitive email sequencing and AI personalization, with solid engagement metrics for campaign execution. Cognism receives high marks for data accuracy and EMEA coverage, particularly for verified contact information. However, both platforms require supplementary tools for comprehensive enrichment workflows. Derrick complements either platform by providing deep contact and company enrichment directly in Google Sheets with 50+ attributes per record, real-time email validation, and integrated AI scoring-eliminating manual data preprocessing and reducing time spent on list validation before launching campaigns with either platform.

Can Derrick replace both Lemlist and Cognism for SMBs?

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Derrick cannot fully replace both Lemlist and Cognism for SMBs in every scenario, but it can cover core needs more efficiently in a targeted way. Lemlist excels at multi-channel outreach, personalization, and campaign automation, while Cognism offers high-quality B2B data and intent signals. Derrick provides native Google Sheets enrichment, advanced scoring, real-time email validation, and broad integrations to support lead qualification and outreach planning. For SMBs prioritizing data quality (Cognism) and broad outreach automation (Lemlist), a combined stack with Derrick often delivers stronger efficiency and cost control.
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