Comparison
There are very different sources for company data: from the official register through statistics to subscription platforms and one-off exports. Which source fits depends on what you want to do.
As of 25 October 2026 · by Martin Adamec
In brief
| You want to … | Suitable source |
|---|---|
| Check individual business partners | The KVK business register: official and searchable per company. You do not need a list for that. |
| Estimate market size | Official statistics. The figure per industry is on our industry pages, the breakdown by province under statistics. |
| A postal campaign or phone outreach to bvs in an industry and region | One-off export or purchased list. Have the number of records with the required field and the legal form confirmed in advance. |
| Ongoing prospecting with contact persons and CRM integration | Subscription sales platform. Check term, quotas and export rights. |
| Newsletters or email marketing | No list solves this: unsolicited commercial email requires prior consent, also for legal entities (Article 11.7 Telecommunications Act), unless the address was published for that purpose. |
Scroll the table sideways.
| Source | What you get | Cost model | Strength | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KVK business register | KVK number, trade name, legal form, address, SBI code and officers of registered businesses and legal entities | look-up on kvk.nl; extracts and data files (KVK Dataservice, API) are paid | official and current; the right source to check individual business partners | no phone numbers, email addresses or websites; terms of use and the Non-Mailing Indicator apply to files obtained; home addresses are shielded |
| Official statistics (CBS, Eurostat) | number of businesses by industry, region, legal form and size | free, open data | the best basis for estimating the size of a market | aggregated figures only, no individual companies |
| Official industry registers | licences and registrations, for example in the BIG register, the AFM registers or the Architects’ Register | usually free | shows authoritatively whether a person or business is authorised or recognised | meant for look-ups, not as an address list; often people rather than companies |
| Online business directories | listings that companies create or pay for themselves: name, address, often phone and website | searching is free | good for finding individual suppliers in a region | completeness depends on who signs up; whether reuse is allowed is set by the directory’s terms |
| Subscription sales platforms | search interface with filters, often with contact persons, financial indicators and CRM integration | usually a monthly or annual licence per user, exports via quotas or credits | for ongoing sales work with several users and a regular need for new prospects | term and quotas bind you; the contract determines what may be exported and reused |
| List brokers | ready-made lists by industry and region, for purchase or rental | price per list or per address; with rental, use for agreed mailings | quickly available for postal campaigns | with rented addresses a mailing house often receives the data instead of you; source and data date are not always stated |
| Your own research on websites | contact details and KVK number that companies state on their website (Article 3:15d Dutch Civil Code) | costs working time instead of money | you know exactly where each data point comes from | time-consuming for more than a few dozen companies; for sole traders the data is personal data (GDPR) |
| One-off export by industry and region (firmdat.nl’s approach) | a file with fixed columns (15 at firmdat.nl), selected by industry, region and mandatory fields (by legal form once the source provides that field) | fixed price per industry or quotation per selection, no subscription | you pay once for a clearly defined target group and work in your own Excel or CRM | no ongoing access; no contact persons; the Dutch database so far relies on one source (Overture Maps), we state scope and data date per quotation |
More about the register: the KVK business register: what is public? and data sources and methodology. The registers per industry are on the industry pages.
firmdat.nl supplies company data as a one-off export by industry and region, with 15 fixed columns from company identity and legal form to phone, email and website; legal form, KVK number and SBI code are only filled where the source provides them, and the current records do not have them yet. That fits if you need a clearly defined target group once and continue working with it yourself, in your CRM, for direct mail or for phone outreach to legal entities.
It does not fit if you are looking for contact persons with name and position, research new prospects daily or want data updated directly in your CRM. Subscription platforms are built for that. And it does not fit email marketing without consent.
Good to know: on 4 November 2026 the Dutch database held 535,638 records from Overture Maps; its status is on database status, the price for the export of a whole industry under pricing. We state scope, data date and price of a selection in the quotation.
For individual look-ups, yes: basic data of a company can be viewed free of charge on kvk.nl. But no government body offers a complete, free list with contact details that can be filtered by industry and region and downloaded. KVK files are paid and subject to terms of use.
Because prices and services change often and we are a supplier ourselves. A comparison of competitors by us would not be neutral. This page therefore describes types of sources; with the checks in buying Dutch company data: eight checks you can compare concrete offers yourself.
According to CBS, 2,450,355 businesses on 1 October 2026 (provisional figure), of which 1,862,975 natural persons. No company database contains phone and email for all of them, so ask for the number of records with the field you need.
It depends on how often you need new prospects. For one campaign or a clearly defined market a one-off export is usually simpler: one price, one file. If you search daily, work with several users and need contact persons, a subscription platform fits better.
This page offers general orientation and does not replace legal advice.
Name the industry, the region and the fields you need. We tell you what can be delivered and state scope and price before you order.
Request a quotation · Sample file · Industries in the Netherlands
