ZoomInfo vs LeadIQ (2026): Data, Pricing and API Compared

ZoomInfo is the pick for volume and a documented API. LeadIQ is the pick for reps who prospect from LinkedIn and spend little. At 1M records, neither tool has a public price.

Verdict

• Pick ZoomInfo if you pull data by API at volume, want free search and lookup, and need published rate limits. Its credit prices run up to 100,000 credits (ZoomInfo pricing, September 2026).
• Pick LeadIQ if reps work from LinkedIn in the Chrome extension, sync to Salesforce or HubSpot, and mostly reveal emails at under 6,750 credits a month (LeadIQ pricing, October 2026).
• Pick neither if you need millions of records through an API on one flat bill. LeadOcean is one option, covered below.

Side by side

ZoomInfo figures were checked in September 2026 and LeadIQ figures in October 2026. Both vendors change plans often, so confirm on their pages before you buy.

Data and coverage

LeadIQ claims the larger database, and neither vendor publishes a method. LeadIQ says 750M+ profiles, refreshed monthly, with up to 200M re-verified (LeadIQ FAQ, October 2026). ZoomInfo claims 500M+ contacts in its API docs, while its Sales page says 420M+.

Phones are where the two differ most. ZoomInfo's Sales page claims 120M+ direct dials and gives no accuracy rate. LeadIQ gives three numbers: an 85% global mobile match rate, 70% in EMEA and over 90% accuracy on verified phones. All are the vendors' own claims, and LeadIQ does not say what the match rate is measured against.

On email, only LeadIQ publishes a bounce rate. It says 2.5% on Verified addresses, and 14% on Verified-Likely addresses from domains that block standard checks (LeadIQ FAQ, October 2026). ZoomInfo claims 174M-plus verified emails, but its Sales page gives no bounce rate.

The products differ beyond the data. ZoomInfo's Sales page lists 300+ filter attributes, buyer intent, website-visitor tracking and a dialer (ZoomInfo Sales, September 2026). LeadIQ centres on the Chrome extension, champion job-change tracking and CRM sync (LeadIQ pricing, October 2026).

API and developer experience

ZoomInfo has the more documented API, and LeadIQ has the more open question marks. ZoomInfo needs an app, a client ID and secret, and a bearer token. LeadIQ is one GraphQL endpoint. Placeholders below stand in for real people.

ZoomInfo: get a token, then enrich a contact.

curl -X POST "https://api.zoominfo.com/gtm/oauth/v1/token" \
  -u "$ZI_CLIENT_ID:$ZI_CLIENT_SECRET" \
  -d "grant_type=client_credentials"

curl -X POST "https://api.zoominfo.com/gtm/data/v1/contacts/enrich" \
  -H "authorization: Bearer $ZI_TOKEN" \
  -H "content-type: application/vnd.api+json" \
  -d '{"data":{"type":"ContactEnrich","attributes":{"matchPersonInput":[{"personId":123456789}],"outputFields":["id","firstName","jobTitle","email"],"requiredFields":["email"]}}}'

ZoomInfo recommends a two-step flow. Search and lookup are free and return IDs. Enrich takes up to 25 contacts, and each record found costs one credit unless it is already under management. A "No match" is not charged (ZoomInfo docs, September 2026).

LeadIQ: its developer reference shows this paged people search.

query {
  flatAdvancedSearch(input: {
    companyFilter: {
      locations: [
        { country: "United States", areaLevel1: "California" }
      ]
    }
    limit: 50
  }) {
    totalPeople
    people { id name title }
    after { key value }
  }
}

Send it as a POST body to https://api.leadiq.com/graphql. For authentication, the reference points to LeadIQ's separate Public API Guide. Offset paging stops at 10,000 results, and a cursor (after) goes deeper (LeadIQ developer docs, October 2026).

Rate limits are the clearest gap. ZoomInfo publishes 5, 25 and 35 requests a second by package, and returns a 429 with Retry-After over the limit (ZoomInfo rate limits, September 2026). LeadIQ publishes none in its developer docs, so ask for one in writing.

Batch size matters at volume. A 1M-record pull is 40,000 enrich calls on ZoomInfo at 25 per call, about 27 minutes at the Standard rate of 25 a second. On LeadIQ's MCP connector, at 10 per request, it is 100,000 requests.

On MCP, both use OAuth. LeadIQ's server has 23 tools and also saves prospects to lists and exports them to Salesforce (LeadIQ developer docs, October 2026). ZoomInfo's official server needs a GTM AI account or a ZoomInfo subscription with data credits. LeadIQ's pages disagree on its free tier. The developer docs say a free account can connect, while the MCP page says you need a paid subscription (LeadIQ MCP page, October 2026). Confirm with LeadIQ before you plan on it.

Pricing

LeadIQ is cheaper for email-only work at small volume, and ZoomInfo is cheaper once phones and volume enter. The examples below use list prices at the volume shown.

ZoomInfo's self-serve route is GTM AI data credits. List price falls with purchase size. It is $0.45 for 100 credits, $0.41 at 1,000 and $0.38 at 2,500 to 10,000. Then $0.32 at 15,000 to 20,000, $0.29 at 30,000 to 50,000 and $0.25 at 100,000 credits ($25,000). The slider stops there (ZoomInfo pricing, September 2026). Platform plan prices are not published, and zoominfo.com/pricing blocks automated reading.

LeadIQ's Pro plan runs from 200 to 6,750 credits a month. That is $20 at 200 credits and $290.25 at 6,750, or $15 and $217.69 billed yearly at 25% off. Above 6,750, Enterprise is annual only with a custom quote (LeadIQ pricing, October 2026). The top rate is $290.25 / 6,750 = $0.043 a credit.

At 10,000 records a month

• ZoomInfo: 10,000 data credits x $0.38 = $3,800 at list. A record is charged once per 12 months, so repeat lookups of the same contact add nothing (ZoomInfo docs, September 2026).
• LeadIQ, email only: 10,000 records x 1 credit = 10,000 credits. The slider stops at 6,750, so there is no public price. The top plan covers 6,750 emails (LeadIQ pricing, October 2026).
• LeadIQ, email and phone: 10,000 x 11 credits = 110,000 credits. The top plan covers about 613 people (6,750 / 11). Anything larger is Enterprise.

At 1M records a month

• ZoomInfo: no public 1M price. The slider tops out at 100,000 credits for $25,000, and larger volumes go to Enterprise. Do not multiply $0.38 by 1,000,000, because $0.38 is the $1,000 tier only (ZoomInfo pricing, September 2026).
• LeadIQ: no public 1M price. 1,000,000 email credits is about 148 times the largest slider position (1,000,000 / 6,750). With email and phone it is 11,000,000 credits (LeadIQ pricing, October 2026).

The unit price tells the rest. At LeadIQ's top rate, an email costs $0.043, against ZoomInfo's $0.38 a record. An email and phone costs 11 x $0.043 = $0.473, which is above ZoomInfo's $0.38 at 10,000 credits. At the $20 plan it is $1.10 a person (11 x $0.10), against ZoomInfo's $0.45 for the smallest pack.

ZoomInfo charges per record, not per field, but which fields you can read depends on your account. LeadIQ's GraphQL API runs on its own ratesheet. The docs say exact rates vary by plan, so the MCP rates are a guide, not a quote (LeadIQ developer docs, October 2026).

Where ZoomInfo wins

• Published limits and a bigger enrich batch: 25 contacts per call, against 10 on LeadIQ's MCP connector.
• Free search and lookup, so you pay only to enrich a record you chose.
• Credit prices you can read up to 100,000 credits, against 6,750 on LeadIQ.
• A cheaper email and phone record at volume, if your account can read the phone field: $0.38 against $0.473 at LeadIQ's top rate.
• 300+ filter attributes, intent data and website-visitor tracking in one suite.

Where LeadIQ wins

• Far cheaper for email-only work: $0.043 a credit at the top plan, against ZoomInfo's $0.38 a record.
• A low entry point: $20 a month for 200 credits, or $15 billed yearly.
• A rep workflow out of the box: the Chrome extension, champion job-change tracking and sync to Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach and Gong (LeadIQ Enterprise page, October 2026).
• A larger claimed database and a published phone match rate and email bounce rate, which ZoomInfo's Sales page does not give.
• An MCP server that saves prospects to lists and exports to Salesforce.

If you need volume through an API

LeadOcean is a data API and MCP server with no credits and no seats. It is not a sales suite and has no Chrome extension. Pro costs $499 a month flat, with unlimited searches, enrichments and lookups, and the Free plan gives 1,000 records one-off with no card. Both plans get the same REST API and 12-tool MCP server, and POST /v1/exports returns up to 50,000 rows per request (LeadOcean exports docs, September 2026). Test it on a list you already know, then read ZoomInfo alternatives and pricing.

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