Accuracy is the hidden price
A contract that looks cheap per record gets expensive fast when a third of the records bounce. Track your own bounce and wrong-number rate for a month, put that number into the accuracy input, and the effective cost per usable contact tells you what you're really paying.
Renewal leverage
Walk into renewal with three numbers from this page: cost per usable record, cost per closed deal, and seat utilisation.
- • Unused seats are the easiest cut — audit logins for the last 60 days first.
- • Ask for accuracy SLAs or credits rather than a flat discount; it compounds.
- • Compare cost per closed deal against your other channels, not against list price.
- • If ACV is small, volume vendors rarely pay back — cheaper enrichment plus tighter targeting usually wins.
Coverage beats count
Ten thousand records outside your ICP are worth less than five hundred inside it. Before renewing, check how much of the vendor's coverage actually overlaps your defined segment — that overlap, not total database size, is what you're buying.
FAQ
How do I measure data accuracy honestly?
Sample 200 records, attempt contact, and log bounces, wrong numbers, and role changes. The share that reached the right person is your accuracy rate — most teams find it 10–20 points below what they assumed.
Should unused seats count as cost?
Yes, they're already paid for. This model spreads the full contract across reps, which is why cost per rep spikes when licences sit idle.
What's a reasonable cost per closed deal?
Under 5% of ACV is comfortable for a data platform, 5–10% is defensible if it's your primary source, and above 10% usually signals a targeting problem.
Can I model a multi-year contract?
Run it one year at a time. Multi-year discounts only help if utilisation and accuracy hold — model year two with lower usage to see how the discount really performs.
How this calculator is built
Independently maintained
Written by Sam Doshi and the RevenueLab editorial team. We don't sell the data feeds this tool is built on.
Sourced from primary data
Benchmarks come from public AdSense / Stripe / IRS disclosures and reader-submitted data — never third-party "$X per view" claims. Full methodology.
Last editorial review
Reviewed on a rolling quarterly cycle. Dated reviews are published on the methodology record for each calculator.
Editorial standards
See our editorial policy and disclaimer. Results are estimates, not advice.