Comparison
If you need company data for the United Kingdom, you can choose between the official register, official statistics, directories, subscription platforms, list brokers and one-off exports. This page compares the types of sources, not individual providers.
Updated: 4 November 2026 · sources and legal bases checked on 4 November 2026 · by Martin Adamec
In brief
| You want to … | Suitable source |
|---|---|
| Check individual business partners | The Companies House search, company by company. You do not need a list for this. |
| Gauge market size | Official statistics. The ONS figure per industry is on our industry pages, the breakdown by nation and region under Data. |
| Enrich or clean customer data in your CRM | Companies House data for company number and status, plus a one-off export with phone, website and email, matched against your records. |
| Direct mail to one industry and region | One-off export or a list from a broker. Ask for confirmation of the number of records with a complete address. |
| Territory planning for field sales | One-off export with postcode and postcode area, plus the official figure per region for comparison. |
| B2B email campaigns | Possible to limited companies, PLCs and LLPs without consent if you identify yourself and offer an opt-out; sole traders and partnerships outside Scotland need consent or a soft opt-in (regulation 22(3) PECR). Choose a source that shows the legal form. |
| Telephone prospecting | Any list must be screened against TPS and CTPS before you call (regulation 21 PECR); ask whether the provider has done this and when. |
The table can be scrolled sideways.
| Source | What you get | Cost model | Strength | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Companies House register | company number, company name, registered office address, company type, status, incorporation date, accounts dates and up to four SIC codes | free search of individual companies; a free monthly snapshot of all live companies as a download; an API that needs a user account and key | official; the right source for checking a company and for a reliable key (the company number) | no phone numbers, email addresses or websites; sole traders and ordinary partnerships are not on the register; the registered office can be an accountant’s or agent’s address rather than the trading address |
| Official statistics (ONS) | number of businesses by industry, region, legal status, employment and turnover size, plus business births and deaths | free of charge, downloadable workbooks | the best basis for estimating the size of a market | aggregate figures only, no individual businesses |
| Online business directories | entries that businesses created or booked themselves: name, address, often phone and website | free search | good for finding individual providers in a town | completeness depends on who signs up; the directory’s terms of use govern any reuse of the data |
| Subscription sales platforms | search interface with filters, often with contact persons, credit or company figures and CRM integration | usually a monthly or yearly user licence, exports often limited by credits | for ongoing sales work with several users | terms and credits tie you in; the contract governs what may be exported and reused |
| List brokers and list rental | ready-made lists by industry and region, to buy or rent | price per list or per thousand records; rented lists for agreed mailings only | quickly available for direct mail | with rented lists often only a mailing house receives the data; ask how the list was compiled and when it was last screened |
| Your own research on websites | details that businesses publish themselves: name, address, email, often phone, company number and VAT number in the footer | costs working time instead of money | you know exactly where each detail comes from | laborious beyond a few dozen businesses; for sole traders the details are personal data (UK GDPR) |
| One-off export by industry and region (how Contact Database works) | one file with fixed columns (15 at Contact Database), selected by industry, nation, postcode area and required fields | one-off price per selection, no subscription | you pay once for a clearly defined target group and work in your own Excel or CRM | no ongoing access, no lists of contact persons with their roles (named addresses only where a business publishes them on its website); the records are not yet assigned to industries, the quote states scope and the date of the data |
More on the official register: Companies House: what the free data shows and data sources and methodology. Sector registers are listed on the industry pages.
The detailed version is in the guide Buying UK business data: what to check.
Contact Database supplies company data as a one-off export by industry and region, with 15 fixed columns: address, phone, email, website and business category, plus the company number, legal form, SIC code and status where the record is matched with Companies House (matching in progress). Most records have not been matched yet, so an empty legal form does not mean a sole trader or partnership. This fits if you need a clearly defined target group once for CRM, direct mail, a B2B campaign, market analysis or territory planning and continue working with it yourself.
It does not fit if you are looking for named contact persons and their roles, research new prospects every day or want data updated continuously in your CRM. Subscription platforms are built for that.
Good to know: our dataset is built from Overture Maps and company websites, and the matching with Companies House is still running. The current figures are on the database status page, and the price for exporting a whole industry under Pricing. We state the scope, the date of the data and price of an individual selection in the quote.
For limited companies, yes: Companies House publishes a free snapshot of all live companies (5 711 779 on 1 November 2026) and a free search. However, it contains no phone numbers, email addresses or websites, and sole traders and ordinary partnerships are not on it. No public body provides a list with contact details that can be filtered by industry and region.
Because prices and services change often and we are a provider ourselves. A comparison of competitors by us would not be neutral. This page therefore describes types of sources; with the checklist in the guide Buying UK business data: what to check you can compare specific offers yourself.
According to the ONS, 2 786 985 businesses were registered for VAT and/or PAYE in March 2026. The Companies House register held 5 711 779 live companies on 1 November 2026, many of them without trading activity. No company database contains a phone number and email for every business, so ask for the number of records with the field you need.
It depends on how often you need new data. For a single mailing, a CRM data match or territory planning, a one-off export is usually simpler: one price, one file. If you research daily, work with several users and need named contact persons, a subscription platform suits you better.
This page provides general guidance and is not legal advice.
Name the industry, region, the fields you need and the intended use. We tell you what can be delivered and state scope and price before you order.
