B2B intent data providers
Asked as “B2B intent data provider”, and as “B2B buyer intent data vendor”, on behalf of a mid-market B2B software company. 24 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, six models each.
Standing
G2 Buyer Intent and Apollo.ioG2 Buyer Intent and Apollo.io tie at 25%, but they part on sentiment: 8% negative against 30%. The established intent vendors are the criticized ones.
First-choice share
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. Leader at 30% or more of first choices; criticized at 25% or more negative labels. Markers are keyed to the table below.
Negative label rate →
25% negative
30% first choices
Criticized challenger
Criticized default
Accepted challenger
Endorsed leader
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
090%First-choice share →60%
Full standing
| # | Product | First choices | Negative rate | Labels | Quadrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | G2 Buyer Intent | 25% | 8% | 25 | accepted challenger |
| 02 | Apollo.io | 25% | 30% | 10 | criticized challenger |
| 03 | Bombora | 17% | 18% | 34 | accepted challenger |
| 04 | 6sense | 8% | 38% | 32 | criticized challenger |
| 05 | Cognism | 4% | 7% | 14 | accepted challenger |
| 06 | ZoomInfo | 4% | 36% | 22 | criticized challenger |
| 07 | Dealfront | 0% | 0% | 14 | accepted challenger |
| 08 | TrustRadius | 0% | 0% | 12 | accepted challenger |
| 09 | Demandbase | 0% | 32% | 28 | criticized challenger |
Warned against
A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
6sense38%
12 of 32 labels negative · 6 of 6 models · 2 hard negative
“Enterprise platforms like 6sense and Demandbase are designed for larger organizations with bigger budgets.” Claude Opus 4.8, budget prompt
Demandbase32%
9 of 28 labels negative · 6 of 6 models · 2 hard negative
“Skip the enterprise platforms for now. Enterprise platforms like 6sense and Demandbase are designed for larger organizations” Claude Opus 4.8, budget prompt
Bombora18%
6 of 34 labels negative · 5 of 6 models · 1 hard negative
“Avoid enterprise platforms like **6sense**, **Demandbase**, and often **Bombora** if budget is tight” Perplexity Sonar Pro, budget prompt
ZoomInfo36%
8 of 22 labels negative · 4 of 6 models · 1 hard negative
“Massive privacy lawsuits, aggressive contracts, and data-hostage tactics.” Gemini 3.1 Pro, negative prompt
Held under rewording
Whether each model's first choice on the direct prompt survived the paraphrase in this category, under the strict rule.
Claude Opus 5
Changed
Claude Opus 4.8
Changed
GPT-6 Astra
Changed
GPT-5.6 Sol
Held
Gemini 3.1 Pro
Changed
Perplexity Sonar Pro
Changed
Noise floor in this category
Flips between the edition run and its calibration repeat (simulated until 12 September 2026). Six prompts per model is a small sample; the index-wide floor is the number to trust.
Claude Opus 5
0 of 4 flipped
Claude Opus 4.8
2 of 4 flipped
GPT-6 Astra
0 of 4 flipped
GPT-5.6 Sol
1 of 4 flipped
Gemini 3.1 Pro
1 of 4 flipped
Perplexity Sonar Pro
0 of 4 flipped
What each model said, prompt by prompt
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. Bold is the first choice, grey the alternatives, red what the answer argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
| Prompt | Claude Opus 5 | Claude Opus 4.8 | GPT-6 Astra | GPT-5.6 Sol | Gemini 3.1 Pro | Perplexity Sonar Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Direct recommendation What is the best B2B intent data provider for a mid-market B2B software company? | Factors.ai, G2 Buyer Intent, Warmly Bombora against: 6sense, Demandbase | 6sense, ZoomInfo Bombora, Cognism, Demandbase, G2 Buyer Intent | G2 Buyer Intent 6sense, Bombora, Demandbase | G2 Buyer Intent 6sense, Bombora, Demandbase | Cognism Bombora, Dealfront, G2 Buyer Intent against: 6sense, ZoomInfo | 6sense, Bombora Dealfront, Demandbase, G2 Buyer Intent |
Paraphrase Which B2B buyer intent data vendor would you recommend to a mid-sized B2B software company? | G2 Buyer Intent Bombora, Dealfront, HG Insights, RB2B +1 against: 6sense, Demandbase | Bombora 6sense, Demandbase, G2 Buyer Intent against: ZoomInfo | Bombora 6sense, G2 Buyer Intent | G2 Buyer Intent 6sense, Bombora, Demandbase, TechTarget Priority Engine against: ZoomInfo | Apollo.io, G2 Buyer Intent Bombora, Dealfront, ZoomInfo against: 6sense | Bombora 6sense, Cognism, G2 Buyer Intent, ZoomInfo |
Comparative What are the top B2B intent data providers and how do they differ? | Bombora Cognism, Dealfront, G2 Buyer Intent, Intentsify +4 against: 6sense, Apollo.io, Lusha | Bombora 6sense, Demandbase, G2 Buyer Intent, TechTarget Priority Engine +1 | Bombora 6sense, Demandbase, G2 Buyer Intent, Intentsify +3 | 6sense, Bombora, Demandbase G2 Buyer Intent, Intentsify, TechTarget Priority Engine, ZoomInfo | Bombora 6sense, Apollo.io, Cognism, Demandbase +5 | Bombora 6sense, Cognism, Dealfront, Demandbase +4 |
Budget constrained What is the best B2B intent data provider for a company with a limited budget? | RB2B, Warmly Bombora, Clay, Cognism, G2 Buyer Intent against: 6sense, Demandbase, ZoomInfo | Apollo.io Dealfront, RB2B, Saleshandy against: 6sense, Cognism, Demandbase +1 | Apollo.io Bombora, Dealfront | Apollo.io Dealfront, RB2B against: 6sense, Bombora, Demandbase | Apollo.io Dealfront, Lead411, UpLead against: 6sense, Bombora, Demandbase +1 | Apollo.io Dealfront, Lead Onion against: 6sense, Bombora, Demandbase |
Scale constrained We are a 500 person company evaluating a B2B intent data provider. What should we look at? | no first choice | no first choice | no first choice | no first choice | no first choice | no first choice |
Negative framing Which B2B intent data providers should I avoid or be cautious about? | no first choice against: Bombora, Seamless.AI, ZoomInfo | no first choice | no first choice against: 6sense, Apollo.io, Bombora +2 | no first choice against: 6sense, Bombora, Demandbase +4 | no first choice 6sense, Bombora, Demandbase against: Apollo.io, Exact Data, Seamless.AI +1 | no first choice |
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
Category-scoped readings
None. Every name in this category resolved on its own.
Unresolved, counted raw
None awaiting human review.
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.
Every prompt and answer
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, latency and cost. Full answer text is in the responses download on the Data page.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recommendation | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 15:30 | yes | 23 | 50 s | $0.22 |
| Direct recommendation | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 15:30 | no | 0 | 22 s | $0.06 |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 15:32 | yes | 5 | 36 s | $0.29 |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 15:33 | yes | 7 | 48 s | $0.23 |
| Direct recommendation | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 15:32 | yes | 10 | 51 s | $0.07 |
| Direct recommendation | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 15:31 | yes | 20 | 11 s | $0.01 |
| Paraphrase | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 15:34 | yes | 21 | 58 s | $0.25 |
| Paraphrase | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 15:35 | yes | 24 | 54 s | $0.20 |
| Paraphrase | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 15:36 | yes | 4 | 31 s | $0.29 |
| Paraphrase | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 15:37 | yes | 6 | 44 s | $0.23 |
| Paraphrase | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 15:36 | no | 0 | 26 s | $0.03 |
| Paraphrase | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 15:35 | yes | 20 | 11 s | $0.01 |
| Comparative | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 15:39 | yes | 45 | 71 s | $0.31 |
| Comparative | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 15:40 | yes | 21 | 65 s | $0.25 |
| Comparative | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 15:42 | yes | 10 | 68 s | $0.51 |
| Comparative | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 15:44 | yes | 10 | 102 s | $0.37 |
| Comparative | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 15:41 | yes | 10 | 47 s | $0.05 |
| Comparative | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 15:40 | yes | 20 | 11 s | $0.02 |
| Budget constrained | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 15:45 | yes | 41 | 52 s | $0.21 |
| Budget constrained | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 15:47 | yes | 38 | 143 s | $0.27 |
| Budget constrained | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 15:49 | yes | 5 | 31 s | $0.42 |
| Budget constrained | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 15:49 | yes | 3 | 35 s | $0.17 |
| Budget constrained | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 15:48 | yes | 6 | 40 s | $0.05 |
| Budget constrained | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 15:47 | yes | 20 | 9 s | $0.01 |
| Scale constrained | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 15:51 | yes | 26 | 70 s | $0.21 |
| Scale constrained | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 15:51 | no | 0 | 37 s | $0.07 |
| Scale constrained | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 15:53 | yes | 4 | 53 s | $0.22 |
| Scale constrained | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 15:54 | yes | 7 | 83 s | $0.23 |
| Scale constrained | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 15:52 | no | 0 | 34 s | $0.03 |
| Scale constrained | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 15:51 | yes | 18 | 13 s | $0.02 |
| Negative framing | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 15:56 | yes | 42 | 78 s | $0.37 |
| Negative framing | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 15:57 | yes | 34 | 68 s | $0.29 |
| Negative framing | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 16:00 | yes | 5 | 51 s | $0.48 |
| Negative framing | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 16:01 | yes | 7 | 67 s | $0.30 |
| Negative framing | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 15:59 | yes | 18 | 87 s | $0.05 |
| Negative framing | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 15:57 | yes | 20 | 14 s | $0.02 |