Buying business address lists can cost thousands — for data that's often outdated and incomplete. The good news: there are numerous free and legal sources for company addresses in Germany and beyond. This guide covers 7 of them, rates their quality, and explains how to use them efficiently for B2B prospecting.
Why free business address data is available
Many company records are publicly accessible by law — from official trade registers to platforms businesses maintain themselves. The key is using these sources systematically rather than manually clicking through them one by one. For GDPR considerations when using this data for outreach, see our GDPR-compliant B2B lead generation guide.
Source 1: Google Maps / Places API
Google Maps is the most comprehensive business directory in the world — over 200 million listings updated daily, with address, phone, website, and opening hours. Programmatic access is available via the Google Places API.
- Cost: $200 free monthly credit covers thousands of queries
- Data quality: Very high — maintained by Google and businesses themselves
- GDPR: Compliant when using the official API with publicly visible data
Source 2: Companies House / Trade Registers
In the UK, Companies House (companieshouse.gov.uk) offers free access to all registered companies — name, registered address, directors, and filing history. Germany has the Handelsregister (handelsregister.de) for similar data. Both are publicly mandated and fully legal to use.
- Cost: Free
- Data quality: High — legally required to be accurate
- Limitation: No bulk export, manual lookup is time-consuming
Source 3: Industry Directories (wlw, Europages)
Platforms like Wer-liefert-was (wlw.de) and Europages list B2B suppliers with detailed company profiles — particularly strong for manufacturing, wholesale, and technical services. Browsing is free; bulk export typically requires a paid plan.
Source 4: LinkedIn (Free Tier)
LinkedIn's free search lets you filter companies by industry, size, and location using Boolean operators. Ideal for finding decision-makers once you have a target company list. Limitation: no bulk export, and monthly search limits apply without a premium plan.
Source 5: anilead.io (Free to Start)
anilead.io combines Google Places API, web crawler email extraction, and Claude AI scoring in one platform. The free tier lets you generate your first qualified lead list — with emails and AI scores — in minutes, without any technical setup.
Comparison Table
| Source | Data Quality | Effort | Cost | GDPR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Places API | Very high | Medium (API setup) | Free up to ~$20 | Compliant |
| Companies House | High | High (manual) | Free | Fully compliant |
| Industry directories | High | Medium | Free (browsing) | Compliant |
| LinkedIn Free | Very high | High (manual) | Free | Compliant |
| anilead.io | Very high | Very low | Free to start | Fully compliant |
How anilead.io automates the entire process
Instead of manually working through multiple sources, anilead.io consolidates everything: define your target industry and region, and the platform finds company addresses via Google Places, extracts emails via web crawler, scores leads with Claude AI, and exports directly to HubSpot. What used to take hours now takes minutes.
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