TL;DR
Reddit is full of people building lead lists for free. ManyPI's free plan is first on our list because it finds leads and checks their emails with no card. Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, government registries, LinkedIn search and association directories follow.
Start on ManyPI's free planYou can build a B2B lead list without paying for data. Reddit threads on the subject keep pointing to the same six sources, from public registries that list every company in a country to maps that show every shop on a street. Most give you companies, not emails, so the work is in finding the right person. ManyPI's free plan is first here because it does that part too. These are the free lead sources we found on Reddit, mostly in r/LeadGeneration and r/Entrepreneur.
The quick list
# | Source | Best for | What it gives you | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ManyPI free plan | A first list with checked emails | 50 leads and 50 email checks a month | Sending needs a paid plan |
2 | Google Maps | Local businesses in an area | Name, phone, website, reviews | One card at a time |
3 | OpenStreetMap | Local businesses, as open data | Name, address, often website and phone | Coverage varies by area |
4 | Government registries | Complete lists by industry or event | Every registered company or filing | No emails, often no contact names |
5 | LinkedIn search | The right person's name and title | People by company and role | No emails |
6 | Association directories | Members of a specific trade | Vetted companies, often a contact name | Only members are listed |
1. ManyPI free plan
Most free sources stop at a company name. ManyPI's free plan goes to the person. Describe your customer in one sentence and the agent searches a 600M+ lead database and the live web for companies that fit, then finds the decision maker. Each email is checked against the receiving mail server, so you know which ones are safe to use.
The free plan needs no card and doesn't expire. Each month you get 50 leads found by the agent and 50 email checks. That's enough for a first test campaign. Sending campaigns from ManyPI starts on Starter at $25 a seat a month. The pricing page lists what each plan includes.
A search typed into the ManyPI agent in plain English.
2. Google Maps
The most common free answer on Reddit for local leads. Search a business type and a city and you get names, phone numbers, websites and reviews. Review counts are a rough guide to how established a business is.
It's built for finding a place to visit, not for building a list. You copy one card at a time, and there are no email addresses.
3. OpenStreetMap
OpenStreetMap is a free, open map built by volunteers, and many businesses on it carry a website and phone number. Because it's open data, it can be used to build lists in ways a commercial map's terms often don't allow.
Coverage is strong in cities and in much of Europe, and patchier in rural areas. It's the data source behind ManyPI's Map Search.
Downtown Denver on OpenStreetMap, where many businesses carry their own details.
4. Government registries
Public registries are the most complete free lists there are, because companies are legally required to be in them. A few that come up often:
Registry | Country | What it lists |
|---|---|---|
UK | Every company, with directors and industry codes | |
US | Filings, including Form D for companies that raised money | |
US | Healthcare providers and organisations | |
State licence lookups | US | Licensed contractors, salons, insurers and more |
They give you the company and sometimes a director's name. Emails you'll need to find yourself. We've written guides on using several of them, including newly registered businesses and recently funded startups.
A company search on Companies House, the UK's free public register.
5. LinkedIn search
LinkedIn is the usual place to put a name to a company. Search the company and filter people by title to find who runs the team you sell to. It's free to search, though LinkedIn limits how much a free account can search in a month.
It doesn't give you email addresses. Use it for names, then find and check the address another way.
6. Association directories
Most industries have a trade association, and many publish a member directory: contractors, accountants, manufacturers, wholesalers. Members are usually established businesses, and the listing often names a contact.
Only paying members are listed, so it's never the whole market. Treat these as a source of good accounts, not a complete list.
Six free sources, from a full registry to a checked email.
Making free sources work
Combine them. Take the companies from a registry and the names from LinkedIn, then check the emails with a verifier. That's a full list for free. It just takes time.
Qualify before you dig. Check each company's website before you spend time finding a contact. Ten minutes per poor-fit company adds up.
Check every email. Free lists bounce like paid ones. Our free email verifier checks single addresses against the mail server.
The honest limit of free sources is your time. If a list of 200 takes you two days, work out what those two days are worth before you decide free is cheaper.
Written by
Bastian W.
Content Manager / ManyPI