Navigating the world of data solutions can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to choosing the right provider. If you've been in the industry long enough, you have likely come across People Data Labs. They're a well-known B2B data provider, offering detailed profiles of individuals and companies to help businesses build data-driven solutions. From HR and recruitment to marketing and risk management, PDL's datasets cater to a wide range of industries. But how does their service truly measure up in practice?
To answer that question, I combed through multiple product review sites and noticed a common thread: while honest, the reviews were often divided and didn't address all the key concerns. It became clear that there wasn't a comprehensive review out there to help make an informed decision about People Data Labs. This gap prompted me to create a complete review that digs into every aspect of PDL's service, from pricing and features to real customer feedback.
That brings us to this article, where I'll review People Data Labs against key factors that matter most when evaluating a data provider. Plus, I'll compare PDL with Proxycurl, an industry alternative that's gaining traction for all the right reasons. Let's see how well PDL perform against one of their industry's own.
For those looking for a quick People Data Labs review, here's a snapshot.
| Key Factors | People Data Labs | Proxycurl |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.20 per profile | $0.02 per profile |
| Data Points Variety | Offers Personal Emails ✅ Offers Phone Numbers ✅ Offers Work Emails ❌ Search functionality via API ✅ | Offers Personal Emails ✅ Offers Phone Numbers ✅ Offers Work Emails ✅ Search Functionality ✅ |
| Data Freshness | Data Freshness Guarantee ❌ | Guaranteed Data Freshness (No data older than 29 days) ✅ |
| Data Updates and Flexibility | Updated Monthly by default ✅ | Updated monthly ✅ |
| Inflexible ❌ | Flexibility of choice between freshly scraped, <= 29 days old, or > 29 days old ✅ | |
| Ease of use | Requires considerable technical expertise (steep learning curve) 📈 | Intuitive and effortless to use with standard technical knowledge 😃 |
| GDPR/ CCPA compliance | Yes ✅ | Yes ✅ |
| Data Formats | JSON ✅ | JSON ✅ |
Now, we will go through a detailed review and comparison.
Customer Reviews of People Data Labs ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The company reviews are commendable. Most customers have praised People Data Labs for their accuracy, and appreciated their professional team. It really goes to show how people value their output and great customer support.
"It just works. Set it up one time and it's continued to work with basically no interruption or maintenance."
-Anonymous Reviewer, Computer Software
"Their work teams listen attentively to the concern of our satisfaction, they are people of heart."
-Jonny Martin, CTO
On the flip side, there are instances of raised concerns on the company's poor data recency, high price and a steep learning curve. The high price tag is a major thorn for multiple customers however good the product might be.
"It's a really good tool, unfortunately it's just a bit pricey."
-Gloria, Lead Engineer
"I like everything but the price. It's hard for a small company to get started especially if they need a premium datapoint."
-Anonymous Reviewer, CEO
For those who are just starting out or prioritize up-to-date information, this might be a dealbreaker. These considerations will be discussed further in detail as we go forward. Despite these recurring cons, the overall reviews are positive.
Pricing Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️
People Data Labs offers three different pricing plans: Free, Pro, and Enterprise. The Pro plan starts at $98/month while Enterprise pricing is customizable. The Pro plan also offers a 20% discount when billed annually.
The high price tag is a constant grievance against People Data Labs services. While most users seem happy with the results, the premium cost makes the service almost unattainable for startups and small businesses.
Features Review
Before we review People Data Labs features and contrast it with Proxycurl, let's get something out of the way. People Data Labs (PDL) does not scrape LinkedIn profiles. It is not a LinkedIn scraping service. Their core business lies in buying and combining a myriad of datasets from data vendors, packaging them up in an API and upselling the data.
Conversely, Proxycurl API scrapes data live from data sources such as LinkedIn. Proxycurl's core business is selling the capability to fetch fresh enriched data from legal and ethical sources.
With that, now it's time for People Data Labs feature review:
1. Data Freshness ⭐️⭐️⭐️
People Data Labs offers trackable updates each month through their APIs. By trackable, it means their profile data contains "job last updated" and "location last updated" dates. But that is not enough as most data can be out-dated. You are querying a database of pre-crawled cached data when you call People Data Labs API.
Here's what a few People Data Labs reviewers had to say about data freshness:
"The problem of data recency is one area for constant improvement."
-John Zacharakis, Director of Data Products
"The data is not always perfect in terms of freshness or accuracy, but it is within a tolerable range."
-Anonymous Reviewer, Computer Software
On the other hand, Proxycurl API serves data no older than 29 days. With Proxycurl's freshness guarantee, you can rest assured that you are receiving up-to-date data.
| People Data Labs | Proxycurl |
|---|---|
| Data Freshness Guarantee ❌ | Data Freshness Guarantee ✅ |
2. Data Points Variety ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
People Data Labs enriches people's profiles with their contact data. It provides the users with personal emails and phone numbers.
Proxycurl takes it one step further by offering the same plus verified work emails that do not bounce.
| People Data Labs | Proxycurl |
|---|---|
| Offers Personal Emails ✅ | Offers Personal Emails ✅ |
| Offers Phone Numbers ✅ | Offers Phone Numbers ✅ |
| Offers Work Emails ❌ | Offers Work Emails ✅ |
3. Data Updates and Flexibility ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This aspect is rarely talked about in the customer reviews, but is an important consideration. People Data Labs update their datasets monthly by default. Access to fresh data is a sign of a good provider. But a great provider allows you flexibility and control over your data options. Sure you might want fresh data now, but if your needs change, it is important your provider is there to cover you.
Proxcurl also updates their datasets regularly, but with Proxycurl, you have the added flexibility and freedom to choose the freshness of data you want from our API requests. You can choose between freshly scraped data, data that's 29 days or younger or historical data older than 29 days.
| People Data Labs | Proxycurl |
|---|---|
| Updated Monthly by default ✅ | Updated regularly ✅ |
| Inflexible ❌ | Flexibility of choice between freshly scraped, <= 29 days old, or > 29 days old ✅ |
Ease of Use ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
People Data Labs reviewers had much to say about the platform's steep learning curve. While many were happy with the results, several pointed out the platform's requirement for a high degree of technical knowhow. Here are a few customer reviews from SourceForge.
"There was a bit of a learning curve initially when getting familiar with all the features and functionalities of the platform."
-Jurnee, CEO
"It is a bit technical to use so if you're not a techie be prepared to learn something new."
-Anonymous Reviewer, Founder
This doesn't diminish the value that People Data Labs provides; rather, it's important to view this as a disclaimer to understand what to expect before making a commitment.
In contrast, Proxycurl adopts a user-first approach, offering a platform that is easy to navigate, regardless of your technical background. Actually, we take pride in enabling businesses to build and scale data-driven applications without worrying about a dedicated data-science team.
Just take a look at what some customer had to say about using the product in their reviews:
"They have a pretty decent API documentation that explains how to use their product without any complexity."
-Victor, Project Manager
"Proxycurl makes it super easy to use LinkedIn apis. The process otherwise is quite tedious and manual to create an app.With Proxycurl we got up and running in minutes. We love it!"
-Anonymour Reviewer
Use Cases for People Data Labs
The list for industries that do not use data would be shorter than those who do. HR and recruitment, sales and marketing, and risk management are major use cases for People Data labs.
-
HR and Recruitment: Widen candidate data range with contact information and resume attributes.
-
Sales & Marketing: Enhance leads for sales and marketing platforms.
-
Risk Management: Identify and cross-reference individual information, fraud detection, and credit risk analysis.
These are just a few use cases for their service. There are countless other applications depending on your specific needs. The key is identifying your need for a data solution, and then making an informed decision before committing to a provider. Check out Alternatives to People Data Labs to browse your options.
The Final Verdict
Overall, our review of People Data Labs ends with a solid rating of 4 out of 5, largely due to its features and services. The biggest deal breaker for many businesses, especially those operating on tight budgets, is the high price. Those who opt for the service despite the high price, often find themselves frustrated by its out-dated data or steep learning curve. Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives offering comparable, if not better, service.
Proxycurl stands out as a more cost-effective, reliable and user-friendly option. Proxycurl delivers the freshest data without skimming off your budget. Save time and money without compromising by choosing Proxycurl. Sign up with your work email today and receive 100 free credits!
FAQs
Is People Data Labs free?
People Data Labs is NOT a free service. They do have a free plan, where you get access to their datasets and select fields, but to get your hands on their full product and fields, you need to subscribe to one of their paid plans. The pricing is customized based on data volume, access needs, and usage frequency. However, be advised, you CANNOT sign up using your personal email. Their system only allows sign ups through work emails.
Where do People Data Labs get their data from?
People Data Labs has many data sources including open-source datasets, publicly available data, governmental public records and others. The gist is, they are all publicly available, and so are legally compliant.
Who owns People Data Labs?
People Data Labs is a privately held company. It was founded in 2015 by Sean Thorne and Joseph Drinkwater, who are still involved in the company's operations, aiming to revolutionize access to professional and B2B data.
What are the main competitors of PDL?
People Data Labs’ main competitors include Proxycurl, Clearbit, ZoomInfo, and Lusha. Each competitor provides similar data solutions, yet have a specialization of their own. Check out Top 11 People Data Labs Alternatives & Competitors for more.
How are People Data Labs and Proxycurl different?
Proxycurl and People Data Labs both provide data services, but they differ in scope and focus. Proxycurl focuses on providing real-time, verified B2B contact and company data specifically for sales, marketing, and lead generation. People Data Labs offers broader data, focusing more towards employee records and demographic information, often used for CRM enrichment, fraud detection, and people-search applications.
