People Data Labs vs Clearbit: Pricing, Data & Trust (2026)

Choosing between two data enrichment tools often comes down to trust, price, and where the data actually lives. People Data Labs and Clearbit both launched in 2015, but their paths have diverged sharply — one remains independent, the other was bought by HubSpot in January 2024.

Acquisition: Clearbit acquired by HubSpot (2024) ·
CEO: Sean Thorne (People Data Labs) ·
Data Breach: People Data Labs experienced a security incident in 2020 ·
Snowflake Offer: People Data Labs provides a free company dataset on Snowflake Marketplace ·
HubSpot Integration: Clearbit is now part of HubSpot

Five quick facts, one clear pattern: People Data Labs and Clearbit started as equals but now occupy very different positions in the B2B data stack.

The differences show up clearly in a side-by-side comparison.

The pattern: Independence versus ecosystem lock-in sets the two apart more than any feature checklist.

Is People Data Labs legit?

What data does People Data Labs collect?

• People Data Labs provides B2B contact and company data, including email addresses, phone numbers, job titles, and firmographic information (SyncGTM (B2B data review platform)).
• They also offer deeper resume data and work history fields that many competitors do not cover (FullEnrich (comparison tool for enrichment APIs)).

Has People Data Labs had a data breach?

Yes. In 2020, a large data exposure was reported involving an unprotected Elasticsearch server. Although the server was not owned by People Data Labs directly—Have I Been Pwned (public breach notification service) states it was likely left unsecured by a customer—the incident exposed personal data including email addresses and phone numbers. Twingate (cybersecurity blog) reported that the dataset contained 1.2 billion personal records.

Is People Data Labs compliant with GDPR?

People Data Labs markets its compliance posture, but no public GDPR audit or certification is widely available. Given the 2020 exposure, third-party sources like FullEnrich note that the breach has raised ongoing trust concerns among European buyers.

How much does Clearbit cost?

Does Clearbit offer a free tier?

Clearbit historically offered a free tier with limited API calls, but since the HubSpot acquisition the product has been rebranded as Clearbit by HubSpot. Landbase (pricing intelligence site) reports that pricing is now tied to HubSpot credits, with some free elements remaining for HubSpot CRM users.

How does Clearbit’s usage-based pricing work?

According to Derrick App (third-party tool directory), Clearbit API access in 2026 starts around $45/month plus a mandatory HubSpot subscription tier. Warmly (revenue intelligence blog) describes the pricing as “opaque and unstable” after the acquisition, making it difficult for standalone buyers to predict costs.

How much does People Data Labs cost?

Is People Data Labs free?

People Data Labs offers a free tier for limited usage, including a free Company Dataset available on Snowflake Marketplace (cloud data marketplace).

What is the pricing model for People Data Labs?

Paid plans are quote-based, but third-party aggregators give estimates. NinjaPear (API pricing comparison site) lists Person Data starting around $98/month, Company Data around $100/month, and IP Enrichment around $95.40/month on the lowest plans. These are not official prices, so enterprise buyers should expect custom quotes.

Who bought Clearbit?

What does the HubSpot acquisition mean for Clearbit users?

HubSpot (CRM platform that acquired Clearbit in late 2023/early 2024) officially integrated Clearbit services into its own product family. Users who rely on Clearbit outside HubSpot now face potential feature deprecation and pricing changes. Crustdata (data comparison blog) notes that the two companies no longer compete in exactly the same space post-acquisition.

When was Clearbit acquired?

HubSpot announced the acquisition in late 2023 and completed it by January 2024. The exact financial terms were not disclosed.

Who is People Data Labs?

Who founded People Data Labs?

People Data Labs was founded in 2015 and is led by CEO Sean Thorne. The company focuses on providing B2B contact and company data through APIs and bulk data feeds.

What types of data does People Data Labs provide?

• Person-level data (email, phone, job title, work history, location)
• Company-level data (firmographics, technology stack, funding, headcount)
• IP enrichment and intent signals

Compared to Clearbit, SyncGTM highlights that People Data Labs offers stronger resume and work history coverage, while Clearbit historically emphasized business firmographics more heavily.

Six key differences, one takeaway: the two platforms now serve different primary audiences.

A final comparative table shows where each excels.

The implication: The gap is not just features but entire ecosystem strategy.

What’s clear and what’s not

For any team choosing between these two, the decision is less about feature parity and more about ecosystem lock-in and data risk. People Data Labs offers broader independent coverage but carries a breach history that compliance teams must evaluate. Clearbit provides a clean record and deep HubSpot integration at the cost of vendor lock-in. The trade-off is clear: independence with baggage versus convenience with a leash.

For B2B teams already inside the HubSpot ecosystem, Clearbit is the natural choice—integration is seamless, and the pricing, while opaque, is bundled into an existing subscription. For everyone else—particularly privacy-conscious businesses or those using Salesforce, Salesloft, or a custom stack—People Data Labs offers more flexibility, albeit with a due diligence requirement on data sourcing.

The catch: Your CRM stack and your risk tolerance define the winner more than any feature chart will.