B2B data providers in India: how to choose a company database

Four kinds of "company database"

"Company database India" can mean four quite different things. Knowing which one you need saves money.

1. Official company records. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) website shows a registered company's name, CIN, status, registered office address and directors, and the GST portal shows a business's legal name and address. Free and authoritative, but one company at a time, and without phone numbers.
2. Company information platforms. Financial statements, filings, ownership and credit risk for companies, by subscription. Built for due diligence, lending and research, not for calling.
3. Contact data providers. Ready lists of businesses and professionals with phone numbers, emails and addresses, for sales and marketing. Starleads is one of these.
4. Contact-finder tools. Look up one person's work email or phone, usually priced per credit. Good for a few named targets, expensive for thousands.

A 10-point checklist before you pay

1. Real sample rows from the exact list you will get, not a generic demo.
2. Field coverage: the share of rows with a mobile, an email, a contact name and an address.
3. A build or update date, so you know how fresh it is.
4. De-duplication: one business once, not three times under different spellings.
5. The source explained in plain words: directories, websites, registrations, member lists.
6. A usable format: Excel or CSV with separate columns for city, state and PIN code.
7. The price per usable contact, not per row.
8. Delivery and an invoice: how and when you receive the file, and a proper invoice for your books.
9. A removal process: a way for people to have their details taken out. A seller who has one takes data seriously.
10. Guidance on lawful use: DND rules for calls and SMS, opt-outs for email.

Warning signs of a bad data seller

• "Crores of contacts" for a few hundred rupees, with no sample.
• Sold only over WhatsApp, with no company name, address or invoice.
• Promises that every one of millions of numbers is "100% verified".
• Personal data such as bank customers, students or patients. Avoid it: it is not B2B data, and using it can put your business at legal risk.
• No way to see what is inside until you pay, and no refund if the file does not match the description.

Which data you need, by what you want to do

• Sell to businesses in one city or industry: an industry list for that city, or the city's business directory. Start from cities and states.
• Get on companies' approved vendor lists: the people who buy, in the Purchase & Procurement Heads list (7,20,929 contacts). The purchase-manager guide explains vendor registration.
• Reach the decision-maker in small firms: Business Owners & Proprietors (3,27,377) or CEOs, MDs & Directors (38,331).
• Sell HR, payroll or hiring services: the HR Professionals list (18,069). The HR database guide explains who is in it.
• Run an email campaign: a list where nearly every contact has an email; see the business email list guide.
• Check a company before a deal: its MCA record and GST registration, not a contact list.

How Starleads answers the checklist

We would rather you judge us by the checklist than by our word:

• Every list shows 60 real contacts and has a free Excel sample.
• Every list shows the share of contacts with each field before you buy, and the month it was rebuilt.
• Contacts are cleaned and de-duplicated, with mobile numbers in +91 format.
• 6,318 ready-made lists across 140 industries and 467 cities, each for ₹499 (bulk data, one industry across all of India, ₹1,999), paid by UPI or bank transfer, delivered as an Excel file in your account with an invoice.
• Anyone can ask to have their details removed on our Remove my data page, and every list page explains the DND rules.

See the facts in one place on About Starleads, or browse lists by city and state.