You already use Societeinfo. The database is up and running, your firmographic queries are dialed in, SIREN/SIRET enrichment is part of your routine — and yet, on certain campaigns, the ground shifts beneath you: the neighborhood shop that just opened, the local tradesperson nowhere to be found in any registry, the "by area and trade" list you end up rebuilding by hand. That's exactly when the question resurfaces: should you switch, or keep Societeinfo and bring in another data source alongside it?
This guide isn't pitching you a migration. It starts from your current use of Societeinfo and maps out, point by point, what you keep, what changes, and — just as importantly — when staying on Societeinfo is the right call. The framework holds even without naming the brand: it's the trade-off between an established database and a fresh field list that many data teams settle before every campaign.
What you keep by staying on Societeinfo
Before talking about switching, let's honestly lay out what Societeinfo gives you today and what you shouldn't lose. Three real strengths, no hidden caveats.
The depth of the French open-data-enriched database. Societeinfo is licensed by INSEE and INPI, tracks profiles from the Sirene database and connects directly to the commercial courts (RCS), with daily updates of legal data (Societeinfo, product page). For a national reference covering all registered legal entities, this is solid, well-maintained source material — an asset nothing else replicates as-is.
Firmographic filters. The platform segments by criteria — industry, legal form, financial data, company age, signals — and offers a keyword-based semantic search engine. If your work involves precisely targeting a population of established businesses on specific attributes, this is where a structured database shines, and you keep all of it.
Legal reliability and SIREN/SIRET matching. Every record is tied to an official SIREN/SIRET number, which automatically deduplicates companies known under multiple names and ensures reliable cross-referencing with registries. This is valuable for enriching an existing client database or guaranteeing the administrative accuracy of a list (legal name, NAF code, legal form). For qualifying a list with legal data, this level of structure remains a genuine strength — and there's no reason to give it up.
What changes when you add a field list
The friction you feel isn't a bug in Societeinfo: it's a direct consequence of its source. Two points are worth naming, because they draw the precise boundary where a different approach takes over.
First point: the database is, by design, a registry of incorporated entities. The Sirene foundation records legal units, and INSEE clearly distinguishes the legal unit — the registered legal entity — from the establishment, defined as "a geographically distinct production unit" attached to that legal entity. A firmographic database excels on the legal entity and its attributes. But a real physical location with a thin enriched legal footprint — a recently opened neighborhood shop, a local micro-structure, a secondary site poorly documented in terms of contacts — may be less well-served than an established player with a strong administrative trace.
Second point: the credit-based access model, calibrated for recurring, structured use. Societeinfo's public annual plans start at €39/month (3,600 credits/year) and scale up to Scale and Enterprise tiers, with each action (export, enrichment, API query) consuming credits (Societeinfo, pricing page). Perfectly coherent for a team with a steady flow; less suited to exploratory, one-off, or hyper-local needs, where you want to map a territory before committing to volume.
It's precisely on these two points that a field list changes things — not by replacing the database, but by covering its blind spot.
How outsend picks up where the database leaves off
outsend doesn't start from a pre-stored database. It builds the list on demand: you define a trade and a geographic area, and outsend extracts the corresponding real physical establishments from Google Maps — name, address, phone, website, reviews, opening hours — then enriches them (emails, deliverability verification, social networks). It's a fresh, scraped, CSV-exportable list, not a registry extract.
Three concrete consequences for a Societeinfo user looking to cover the blind spot. Freshness: the list reflects the state of Google Maps at the time of extraction, not the last sync of a database. Establishment-level granularity: you get the actual physical location by area, where a database thinks first in terms of legal entity. Inclusion of small structures: a local business present on Google Maps but with a thin legal footprint shows up in a field extraction, even if it barely registers in a firmographic database.
The key point: these outputs cross-reference with your Societeinfo exports. CSVs can be matched by SIRET or by web domain, so the field list doesn't replace your database — it plugs into it to fill what it doesn't cover.
Testing outsend in a week, without disrupting your Societeinfo workflow
No need to migrate to evaluate. A side-by-side test takes a week and doesn't touch your existing database.
- Days 1–2. Pick an area where you know Societeinfo leaves you wanting: a very local sector, proximity trades, recent structures. Run the same target (a trade, an area) on outsend and export the CSV.
- Days 3–4. Cross-reference the two exports by SIRET or web domain. Measure the overlap: how many field establishments were missing or underserved in your firmographic extract?
- Day 5. Qualify a sample of the new entries by contactability (phone, verified email) and compare it to the credit cost that same coverage would have represented.
After a week, you'll know whether the blind spot justifies a field list as a complement — without having changed anything about your Societeinfo usage. To frame the approach upfront, our article on what lead generation means in 2026 lays the groundwork.
When to stay on Societeinfo, without hesitation
Let's be explicit about the segments where Societeinfo remains the best tool — and where switching, or even adding outsend, would bring nothing.
Stay on Societeinfo if your need is precise firmographic targeting of established companies: segmenting by revenue, headcount, legal form, crossing financial signals, guaranteeing administrative accuracy via SIREN/SIRET, enriching an existing CRM database through SIREN matching. outsend doesn't replicate this depth of firmographic coverage on the legal entity, and doesn't try to. Likewise, if you prospect at a steady flow and the credit model fits your cadence, an established database remains the most efficient raw material.
The dividing line isn't "one is better than the other": it's enriched legal entity versus fresh physical establishment. The table below summarizes where each one wins.
| Your need | Societeinfo | outsend (as a complement) |
|---|---|---|
| Precise firmographic targeting (revenue, headcount, legal form) | Extensive | Limited (Sirene cross-referencing possible on export) |
| Enrich / SIREN-match a CRM database | Built for it (official SIREN/SIRET) | Not the target use case |
| Physical establishments by area + trade | Depends on record richness | Core use case |
| Small structures / thin legal footprint | Depends on record richness | Included if present on Google Maps |
| Field freshness | Daily legal data updates | State at time of extraction |
| Exploratory / one-off campaign | Credits, plans from €39/month (annual) | Free alpha (application required) |
| Compliance | Official public sources, GDPR | Public sources, legitimate interest |
The winning scenario: both together
For most teams starting from Societeinfo, the right move isn't a switch but a split. The established database for high-stakes structured accounts, precise firmographic targeting, and SIREN-matching your CRM; the fresh field list for mapping a territory, capturing new entrants, and reaching the small local players the database serves poorly. CSV exports cross-reference by SIRET or web domain, which lets both data sources coexist in the same workflow rather than pitting them against each other.
And if you want to compare the broader French landscape: for Manageo, another enriched French business database, see our outsend vs Manageo comparison; for Pages Jaunes Pro, the legacy directory with professional contacts, see outsend vs Pages Jaunes Pro. These players share the established-database logic, against which field extraction plays a complementary role.
Want a full overview? See all comparison guides for prospecting tool alternatives.
Try outsend for free
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Request free alpha accessFAQ — switching or complementing Societeinfo
Do I have to drop Societeinfo to use outsend?
Rarely. Societeinfo remains a pre-built business database, enriched from official registries (Sirene, INSEE, INPI, RCS) and queryable by firmographic criteria. outsend extracts a fresh on-demand list from Google Maps, trade by trade and area by area. One thinks in terms of enriched legal entity, the other in terms of real physical establishment: in most cases, you run them side by side rather than replacing one with the other.
What strengths from Societeinfo do I keep?
All of those tied to the established database: the richness of the enriched French reference, precise firmographic filters (sector, legal form, financial signals), and legal reliability via SIREN/SIRET matching. Adding a field list takes nothing away from these capabilities — it only covers the blind spot of physical establishments with a thin legal footprint.
Why does a local business slip through my firmographic database?
Because a database works primarily from the registered legal unit. INSEE distinguishes the legal unit from the establishment, defined as a geographically distinct production unit. A real physical location with a thin enriched legal footprint may be less well-served than an established player — even though it appears on Google Maps, and therefore in a field extraction.
What are Societeinfo's pricing tiers if I stay on it?
According to the official pricing page, annual plans start at €39/month (3,600 credits/year) and scale up to Scale and Enterprise tiers. The system is credit-based: each export, enrichment, or API query consumes credits. Pay-as-you-go credits with no expiry are also available.
Are both tools GDPR-compliant?
Yes, both, on public sources. Societeinfo aggregates official data (INSEE, INPI, RCS). outsend draws on public sources (Google Maps, websites), in line with the CNIL's position on legitimate interest. Combining the two doesn't change this framework.