Tool Comparisons

    Act! vs Cognism: CRM Platform vs Data Enrichment Tool Comparison

    Compare Act! (CRM platform) and Cognism (data enrichment tool) side by side. See pricing, features, and integrations to decide which one, or both, your stack needs.

    September 4, 20266 min read
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    The short answer

    Compare Act! (CRM platform) and Cognism (data enrichment tool) side by side. See pricing, features, and integrations to decide which one, or both, your stack needs.

    Reviewed and updated September 4, 2026

    Act! vs Cognism: CRM Platform vs Data Enrichment Tool Comparison

    Act! is a CRM platform; Cognism is a data enrichment tool. Whether you need one, the other, or both depends on which part of the workflow you are buying for: customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking on one side, B2B lead data and contact enrichment on the other. This guide lays out what each vendor publishes.

    The Quick Answer

    Act! is a CRM platform for customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking; Cognism is a data enrichment tool for B2B lead data and contact enrichment. By each vendor's own wording, Act! lists full-featured crm and mobile app and email marketing, and Cognism lists diamond data phone-verified contacts and gdpr and ccpa compliant data.

    Act! publishes an entry price of $30/mo; Cognism uses custom pricing, so the two cannot be compared on list price.

    If your priority is organizing contacts, tracking deals, and forecasting revenue, Act! is the one built for it; for finding accurate contact data for target accounts, that is Cognism. Many teams run one of each.

    Understanding the Core Difference

    Act! is Act! is a CRM and marketing automation platform for small and midsize businesses that unites sales, marketing and customer management in one platform. It is sold as Act! Advantage cloud plans and an Act! Premium Desktop on-premises edition.

    Cognism is Premium B2B sales intelligence platform with GDPR-compliant data, phone-verified Diamond Data contacts, and intent signals.

    The two platforms take different approaches to solving the same core challenge.

    Pricing Comparison

    $30/moAct! entry plan

    Act! Advantage Standard

    Contact SalesCognism entry plan

    Sales Prospecting Standard

    Entry pricing for Act! and Cognism, as published on each vendor's own pricing page.

    Act! Pricing (as of September 2026)

    PlanPriceEmails
    Act! Advantage Standard$30/moBasic Email Marketing (includes 2,500 sends/mo)
    Act! Advantage Professional$45/moEmail Marketing Plus (includes 25,000 sends/mo)
    Act! Advantage Ultimate$60/moMarketing Automation (includes 50,000 sends/mo)
    Act! Premium Desktop$40/mo-
    Enterprise EngagementContact Sales-

    Source: Act! Pricing

    Cognism Pricing (as of September 2026)

    PlanPriceContacts
    Sales Prospecting StandardContact Sales5 seats included; credits allocated per seat
    Sales Prospecting ProContact Sales5 seats included; credits allocated per seat
    CRM EnrichmentContact Sales-
    Data-as-a-ServiceContact Sales-

    Source: Cognism Pricing

    Pricing Analysis

    One or both platforms use custom or contact-based pricing for some tiers. Reach out to their sales teams for exact quotes based on your usage needs.

    Act! offers 5 pricing tiers compared to Cognism's 4, giving you more granularity as you scale.

    Features Breakdown

    Act! lists
    • Full-featured CRM and mobile app
    • Email marketing
    • Interactive quotes and payments
    • Online appointment scheduling
    • Forms, surveys, website chat and event management
    • Reports and interactive dashboards
    • and 4 more listed below
    Cognism lists
    • Diamond Data phone-verified contacts
    • GDPR and CCPA compliant data
    • Intent data powered by Bombora
    • Technographic data
    • Job change and funding alerts
    • Browser extension for LinkedIn
    • and 4 more listed below
    What Act! and Cognism each list on their own pages. The split is by exact wording, so a capability both offer can appear on both sides under different names.

    Act! Key Features

    • Full-featured CRM and mobile app
    • Email marketing
    • Interactive quotes and payments
    • Online appointment scheduling
    • Forms, surveys, website chat and event management
    • Reports and interactive dashboards
    • Marketing automation
    • Lead scoring
    • Project management
    • Accounting integration

    Cognism Key Features

    • Diamond Data phone-verified contacts
    • GDPR and CCPA compliant data
    • Intent data powered by Bombora
    • Technographic data
    • Job change and funding alerts
    • Browser extension for LinkedIn
    • CSV enrichment
    • On-demand mobile verification
    • Target market analysis lists
    • Unlimited admin access

    The two lists below are a diff of each vendor's own feature list by exact wording, so a capability both tools offer can appear on either side under a different name.

    Listed only by Act!

    • Full-featured CRM and mobile app
    • Email marketing
    • Interactive quotes and payments
    • Online appointment scheduling
    • Forms, surveys, website chat and event management
    • Reports and interactive dashboards
    • Marketing automation
    • Lead scoring
    • Project management
    • Accounting integration

    Listed only by Cognism

    • Diamond Data phone-verified contacts
    • GDPR and CCPA compliant data
    • Intent data powered by Bombora
    • Technographic data
    • Job change and funding alerts
    • Browser extension for LinkedIn
    • CSV enrichment
    • On-demand mobile verification
    • Target market analysis lists
    • Unlimited admin access

    Integration Ecosystem

    Act! Integrations

    Act! connects with: Outlook, Google Contacts, Slack, Eventbrite, SurveyMonkey, Wufoo, BigCommerce, Ecwid, Shopify, Volusion, Facebook, Freshdesk, Zendesk, FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online, Xero.

    Cognism Integrations

    Cognism connects with: Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, SalesLoft, Pipedrive, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Bullhorn, Zapier.

    Integrations listed only by Act!: Outlook, Google Contacts, Slack, Eventbrite, SurveyMonkey, Wufoo, BigCommerce, Ecwid, Shopify, Volusion, Facebook, Freshdesk, Zendesk, FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online, Xero.

    Integrations listed only by Cognism: Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, SalesLoft, Pipedrive, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Bullhorn, Zapier.

    Use Case Recommendations

    Best Fit for Act!

    • Budget-conscious teams looking for an affordable CRM platform
    • Organizations with complex tech stacks needing broad integration support (16 integrations)
    • Enterprise buyers who prefer custom pricing and dedicated support

    Best Fit for Cognism

    • Enterprise buyers who prefer custom pricing and dedicated support
    • Revenue operations teams building targeted prospect lists
    • Marketing teams enriching CRM data for segmentation
    • Sales teams researching target accounts

    Feature Comparison Summary

    FeatureAct!Cognism
    Starting Price$30/moContact Sales
    Top Tier PriceContact SalesContact Sales
    Total Features Listed1010
    Integrations168
    FoundedN/A2015

    Getting Started Checklist

    1. Define your customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking and B2B lead data and contact enrichment requirements and monthly budget
    2. Estimate your expected contacts and deals and data credits or contact lookups to find the right tier
    3. List the integrations your team currently relies on
    4. Sign up for free trials or demos of both platforms
    5. Run a small test with each tool before making a commitment
    6. Evaluate the onboarding experience and support quality

    Final Thoughts

    Act! serves the customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking side of an outbound stack and Cognism the B2B lead data and contact enrichment side. Act! publishes an entry price of $30/mo, while Cognism uses custom pricing for its plans, so compare on features and on the quote you receive. Your decision should weigh pricing against the specific features that matter most for your workflow.

    Start with a trial of each to see which platform fits your team's daily process. The best tool is the one your team actually uses consistently.

    Pricing and features verified as of September 2026. Visit Act! and Cognism for current information.

    Act!CognismCRM PlatformData Enrichment ToolComparisoncrmdata-enrichment
    Byline

    About the author.

    Tim Carden

    Tim Carden is CMO / CTO at RevenueFlow, which builds and operates outbound revenue engines for B2B companies. Studied at McGill University.

    Tim Carden · CMO / CTO

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