Lead Generation · head-to-head
Cognism vs Lusha
The short answer
Cognism and Lusha split by criterion and judge; no overall winner emerges. Cognism leads sovereignty (5.5 vs 1.7; 6 judges lean Cognism, 0 Lusha, 0 tie) — its data residency attribute reads EU only, Lusha's US by default — and prospecting compliance (3.7 vs 3.0; 3 lean Cognism, 1 Lusha, 2 ties). Lusha leads CRM sync and export (4.8 vs 4.0; 5 lean Lusha, 1 Cognism) and pricing transparency (4.0 vs 2.0; 5 lean Lusha, 1 Cognism): Lusha publishes prices, Cognism's plans route to a quote. The splits: data coverage ties at 2.8 vs 2.8 (2 lean Cognism, 3 Lusha, 1 tie); data provenance, 1 Cognism, 2 Lusha, 3 ties (4.0 vs 3.7); visitor identification drew 5 ties (2.0 vs 1.7). Weighted totals: Lusha ahead for the SDR lead (4 vs 3.2), RevOps (4.1 vs 3.8), ABM marketer (3.6 vs 3) and skeptic (4 vs 3.5); Cognism for the data protection officer (4 vs 0).
Choose Cognism if
- Your compliance mandate requires personal data stored in the EU — Cognism's data residency attribute reads EU only against Lusha's US by default, and sovereignty leans 6 judges to Cognism, 0 to Lusha, 0 ties.
- Your procurement policy avoids US legal entities — Cognism's legal entity jurisdiction is GB, Lusha's is US.
- A data protection officer signs off on the purchase — that judge's weighted total is 4 for Cognism against 0 for Lusha.
- Your outbound calling puts prospecting compliance first — 3 judges lean Cognism on that criterion against 1 for Lusha, 2 ties.
- You want a privacy notice that names its source categories with a self-service opt-out — cited in Cognism's provenance verdict, where its mean is 4.0 vs 3.7 though judges split 1 Cognism, 2 Lusha, 3 ties.
Choose Lusha if
- Your team runs Salesforce, HubSpot, Monday or Zoho — CRM sync and export leans 5 judges to Lusha against 1 for Cognism, mean 4.8 vs 4.0.
- You need published prices before a sales conversation — Lusha publishes prices, Cognism's plans route to an individual quote, and pricing transparency leans 5 judges to Lusha against 1, mean 4.0 vs 2.0.
- Your buyer sits in the SDR lead, RevOps, ABM marketer or skeptic seat — Lusha's weighted totals lead each: 4 vs 3.2, 4.1 vs 3.8, 3.6 vs 3, 4 vs 3.5.
- You need published volume figures — Lusha's data coverage verdict credits 290M+ contacts, 165M+ emails, 117M+ direct dials and 29M+ companies, with 3 judges leaning Lusha on coverage against 2 for Cognism, 1 tie.
- You must keep exported data after ending the contract — Lusha's CRM sync and export verdict notes terms letting customers keep exported data after termination.
Read this comparison as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.
The bench's picks
Same scores, different priorities: each judge's weighting applied to both products. The split is the finding.
- The SDR Team Lead Cognism Lusha picks Lusha
- The RevOps Manager Cognism Lusha picks Lusha
- The Data Protection Officer Cognism Lusha picks Cognism
- The ABM Marketer Cognism Lusha picks Lusha
- The DACH Sales Director Cognism Lusha picks Cognism
- The Skeptic Cognism Lusha picks Lusha
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Cognism | Lusha | The bench leans |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coverage, accuracy & freshness | Lusha, 3 of 6 judges | ||
| Data sources & lawful basis | Lusha, 2 of 6 judges | ||
| Visitor identification & intent signals | Cognism, 1 of 6 judges | ||
| Prospecting workflow & outreach rules | Cognism, 3 of 6 judges | ||
| CRM sync, enrichment & export | Lusha, 5 of 6 judges | ||
| European sovereignty | Cognism, 6 of 6 judges | ||
| Pricing transparency | no published price | not comparable |
Stars show the bench average per criterion; the lean counts which product each judge scored higher. Open a judge's tab for their reasoning on both sides.
Sovereignty, side by side
| Dimension | Cognism | Lusha |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Incorporated in DE | Incorporated in US |
| Ownership | Not determined | Not determined |
| Data residency | Not determined | US by default |
| Subprocessors | US CLOUD Act reach | US CLOUD Act reach |
Facts, side by side
Only facts both products carry under the same definition — anything else would not be a fair row.
| Compliance · Certifications | yes · yes1 | yes · yes · yes · yes · yes2 |
|---|---|---|
| Data · Public sources | company websites · job postings · news feeds · company registries3 | data brokers and publicly available APIs4 |
| Data · Sources | yes · yes3 | public professional profiles, company websites, business directories, and proprietary data contributions5 |
| Hosting · Provider | Ireland · Amazon Web Services6 | United States of America · Amazon Web Services4 |
| Integrations · Chrome extension | CRM in-browser data access · yes7 | yes8 |
| Legal · Entity | Cognism Ltd1 | Lusha Systems Inc. and/or Lusha Systems Ltd.9 |
| Legal · Entity address | C/O Worldwide Corporate Advisors, St Clements House, 27 Clements Lane, London, England, EC4N 7AE10 | Lusha Systems Inc. · 800 Boylston St. Suite 1410 Boston, MA 021998 |
| Legal · Warranty disclaimer | yes10 | as is / as available, except express warranties9 |