Evaluating a Dutch company database: five questions
TL;DR: What you need is a selection that is right on the day you use it. Ask what the vendor counts as a company, which contacts are missing and why, whether you may pass the data on, how often it is refreshed per field or per record, and what the export limits are and what a row costs. Always have a vendor export twenty companies from your target group and check them yourself.
Evaluate a company database with a selection from your own target market and an export you check yourself. Then compare the export allowance and monthly price with the amount of data your work needs.
Every vendor quotes a large number. What you need is a selection that is right on the day you use it. These five questions help you assess an offer, including FirmTrove.
1. What does the vendor count as a “company”?
The KVK trade register counts registrations, and a registration is not the same as an active business with premises and a website. A database promising “all companies” must therefore say whether that means registrations, branches or active businesses. Ask for the denominator: is a branch a separate record, are duplicates merged, and how are ceased businesses marked? FirmTrove counts observed records under a documented method and does not present that count as national coverage.
2. Which contacts are missing, and why?
A list with an email address for every company is rare and often suspect. Role addresses (info@, sales@) are usually legitimate to use; personal addresses fall under the GDPR and, for unsolicited email, under article 11.7 of the Dutch Telecommunications Act. Ask what share of records has a contact, whether it is role or personal, and how the vendor tells them apart. FirmTrove delivers role mailboxes and personal addresses too, labelled as personal data.
3. May you pass the data on?
A public source is not a general licence. KVK register data may not be passed to third parties under its standard terms. Open datasets such as Overture Maps Places require attribution (CDLA-Permissive-2.0). TenderNed and the RVO project database are CC0. Ask per source which licence applies and whether the vendor keeps the source with the field so you can carry the notice forward.
4. How often is it refreshed, per field or per record?
“Updated weekly” can mean something changes every week, not that every record is checked weekly. Ask for the date per field. A proposition from a website ages differently from last year’s contract award. In FirmTrove, website facts and signals carry their own observation and expiry dates; identity fields carry the date of the newest source sighting.
5. What are the export limits and what does a row cost?
Compare plans on what you can actually take with you: rows per month, whether unused allowance lapses, and whether API access is charged separately. A price per company is only honest with a clear denominator. FirmTrove Free gives 100 rows per UTC calendar month. Pro costs €29 a month excluding VAT and starts at 5,000 rows, adding 2,500 each consecutive paid month up to 25,000. Pro Year costs €290 excluding VAT upfront, with 25,000 rows per calendar month from day one. CSV, REST and MCP use the same pool; a CSV export counts every row and machine reads count each delivered company ID once per calendar month. Pro exports have a maximum of 5,000 rows, within the remaining allowance.
Always ask for a trial export
Have a vendor export twenty companies from your target group and check them yourself: is the website right, is the address a role mailbox, is the source shown, and what is missing? An honest export leaves empty fields empty.
What does the monthly price include?
FirmTrove Free includes 100 export rows per month. Pro costs €29 per month excluding VAT, with 5,000 to 25,000 rows per calendar month and up to 5,000 rows per export.
| Plan | Monthly price excl. VAT | Export allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Free | €0 | 100 rows per month |
| Pro | €29 | 5,000 to 25,000 rows per calendar month |
How do you compare a selection with your needs?
Find companies from your target market in the product and inspect the export. Use the company data checking guide for your assessment. You can look up a company registration directly at KVK.
Frequently asked questions
Can I try the export first?
Yes. A free account includes 100 export rows per calendar month.
How much does Pro cost?
Pro costs €29 per month excluding VAT.
Can my software request the same selection?
Yes. REST and MCP provide access with a key from your account.
Pro: €29 a month excluding VAT. Start with 5,000 rows, adding 2,500 each consecutive paid month, up to 25,000 per calendar month. Pro Year: €290 excluding VAT paid upfront, with 25,000 per calendar month from day one.
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