Buying a Company Database: What to Know Before You Pay
Updated 2026-08-14 · 6 min read
Buying a company database usually goes wrong for one reason: people buy volume instead of fit. A file with 40,000 rows looks like a bargain — until it turns out only 600 of them match your target audience.
Here's a practical framework for evaluating price, quality, and delivery.
What you're actually paying for
Raw data is public in Estonia. You pay for four things: assembling sources, cleaning and deduplicating, filterability, and freshness.
If a seller can't tell you when the data was last refreshed, you're paying for a stale file.
Five common mistakes
- Buying the entire country when you only sell to one sector
- Not requesting a sample from the exact segment you're actually buying
- Not checking what share of records have an email or phone number
- Buying a dataset that can't be linked in your CRM by registry code
- Not planning for updates — the same file still in use two years later
Self-compiled vs. ready-made database
A ready-made database works when your target audience matches an entire sector or the whole market. A self-compiled selection works when you have several criteria — for example, construction companies in Harju County, 5–49 employees, revenue over €200,000.
Kontabase's builder lets you assemble these filters before paying, shows the record count and price live, and gives you a free 25-row sample from exactly that selection.
Delivery and format
Require a file that's ready to download immediately in XLSX or CSV format, with clearly named columns that open in Excel without encoding errors. Special characters must be correct — this is the most common technical issue with Estonian datasets.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much does a company database cost?
- Price depends on the number of records and fields. Kontabase's builder shows the exact price right after you select filters, before you pay.
- Do I get the database immediately?
- Yes. After payment, a download link is sent to your email right away, and the file also remains available on your orders page.
Build your list and try it for free
Choose an industry, county, and company size, see the record count and price instantly, and download a free 25-row sample.