Where to buy email lists, and why building your own is better

The first three sell you a static file: a snapshot that was collected at some point in the past. The last one lets you build the list yourself, today, to your exact filters. That difference decides almost everything that follows.

It's shared

A ready-made file is sold to anyone who pays for it. The people on it get the same pitch from every buyer, and they learn to ignore all of them.

It's stale the day you buy it

People change jobs, companies rename and inboxes close. A file doesn't update itself, and most sellers won't tell you when each record was collected. Read how fast contact data goes stale to see what that does to a list over a year.

It's unverified

An accuracy promise on a sales page is not a check you can see. You pay first and find out how many addresses work when your emails bounce.

Your email platform forbids it

Mailchimp's Acceptable Use Policy prohibits uploading or sending campaigns to purchased, rented, third-party, co-registration, publicly available or partner lists, and says it may suspend or terminate accounts that break the policy. HubSpot's Acceptable Use Policy is just as plain: "You may not email purchased lists." Its help pages add that lists claiming opt-in consent still can't be used in its marketing email tool.

Bounces and spam traps hurt your sender reputation

Mailbox providers watch how many of your emails bounce. Bought lists also tend to carry spam traps: addresses that were never used by a real person and exist only to catch senders who buy or harvest lists. Hitting them can put your domain on blocklists such as Spamhaus, and then even your good emails land in spam. Once bounces pass about 3%, stop and fix the list. Here's why your bounce rate is high.

Consumer lists carry a consent problem

In the UK and EU, marketing emails to individuals generally need their consent. The UK ICO's guidance says consent passed along with a bought list only counts if it named your organisation specifically, or a precisely defined category it falls in, and the soft opt-in exemption never applies to bought lists. The sender carries the responsibility, not the seller. For B2C, a bought list is close to unusable. Read is cold email legal for how the rules differ for business contacts.

Building beats buying on every point above, and ContactYard is the fastest way to build. You search 100M+ verified B2B prospects, including ones other lead databases don't have, and export only the people who match your filters.

• Made to your filters. Job Title, Employee Headcount, Revenue, Company Location, Industry, Keywords, Services and Company Domain. Nobody else gets your exact list.
• Verified before you get it. Every work email is checked before delivery, not taken on trust from the original source.
• Mobiles in the same credit. One credit is one complete contact: the work email, the mobile number when available, and the verification.
• Fresh. Data is refreshed every 30 days, so you build from this month's data, not a file from last year.
• Instant. Results appear in a table straight away. Tick the people you want and export a CSV.

1. Add the job titles you sell to, plus exclusions like Assistant and Intern.
2. Add company filters: Employee Headcount, Company Location and Industry.
3. Tick Email required, and Phone required if you also want to call.
4. Click Search contacts and check the total.
5. Tick the contacts you want and click Export to get your CSV.

Tip: Send cold outreach one to one from a cold email tool on a separate sending domain. Newsletter platforms like Mailchimp are built for people who subscribed to you.

The full walkthrough is in how to build a prospect list.

B2B data platforms are cheaper than files, but they vary widely too. Based on public pricing, at each provider's lowest, most discounted rate, the price per 1,000 contacts looks like this:

The gap gets bigger once you add phones. Other tools typically charge 1 credit for the email, 2 to 10 more for the mobile, and 1 more to verify, so 4 to 12 credits per contact. In ContactYard it is always one.

If you're set on buying, don't pay until the seller answers every point below in writing.

• When was each record collected and last verified? Ask for dates, not "recently".
• How was it collected? Directories, events, co-registration or forms. Harvested addresses are where spam traps hide.
• Is it exclusive? Ask how many times the same file has been sold.
• Can you test a sample? Ask for 100 random records and check them yourself before you buy.
• What happens to bounces? Look for a written replacement or refund for addresses that bounce.
• Do you own it or rent it? Rentals often allow one send, and sometimes the seller sends for you.
• Is there consent that names you? Essential for any consumer or UK and EU list.
• Where will you send from? Not Mailchimp or HubSpot. Their terms forbid purchased lists.
• Start small. Send 100 to 200 emails first and stop if more than 3% bounce.

When people ask where to buy leads, they usually mean contact details for the people most likely to buy. Don't buy someone else's idea of your market. Write down who your best customers are, turn that into filters, and pull the matching people from ContactYard. How to get B2B leads covers the full process.

Build it the same way, with one change: tick Phone required. ContactYard then returns only people with a phone number, and the mobile comes in the same credit as the email, so you can call and email the same list.

1. Add job titles and company filters as above.
2. Tick Phone required.
3. Search, tick the contacts you want and export. The phone number is in its own column, ready for your dialer.

Check the calling rules where you dial, such as the National Do Not Call Registry in the US or the TPS and CTPS in the UK. More on this in how to get phone numbers for cold calling.

Where can I buy email lists?

From list brokers, data vendors and online list marketplaces, which sell static files, or from B2B data platforms, where you build the list yourself. Building it in ContactYard gets you a verified, current list for about $3.30 per 1,000 contacts.

Is it legal to buy an email list?

Buying one is generally legal. Using it is where the rules apply. In the US, CAN-SPAM requires accurate sender details, a physical address and a working opt-out. In the UK and EU, emailing individuals from a bought list needs consent that named you, which bought lists rarely have.

Can I upload a purchased list to Mailchimp or HubSpot?

No. Mailchimp's Acceptable Use Policy prohibits sending to purchased, rented or third-party lists, and HubSpot's says you may not email purchased lists. Both can suspend your account.

How much does an email list cost?

Sellers price per record or per thousand, often with a minimum order, and charge more for extra filters and phone numbers. ContactYard costs $49 a month for 10,000 contacts or $99 a month for 30,000, with the mobile included when available.

Where can I buy an email database?

B2B data platforms sell access to a database instead of a file. ContactYard gives you 100M+ verified B2B prospects to filter, refreshed every 30 days, and you only export the people you want.

How do I get a cold call list?

Search ContactYard with your job titles and company filters, tick Phone required, and export. Each contact includes the work email and the mobile number in one credit.

Skip the file. Start free and build the list you actually need in ContactYard, or see the plans.