The Sage Group plc vs ZoomInfo: Strategic Comparison

This in-depth comparison examines The Sage Group plc and ZoomInfo across revenue, market value, business model, competitive positioning, and long-term growth strategy. Whether you are researching The Sage Group plc on its own, evaluating ZoomInfo, or weighing the two companies side by side, the breakdown below highlights where each company leads and where the gap between The Sage Group plc and ZoomInfo is widest.

On the headline numbers, annual revenue is ~$3.3B (FY2025) for The Sage Group plc and $1.2B (FY2025) for ZoomInfo, while their respective market capitalizations stand at $11.5B and $1.1B. The Sage Group plc is headquartered in United Kingdom and ZoomInfo in United States, and those different home markets shape how each company competes.

The Sage Group plc: Sage is Britain's main home-grown business software company. Rather than chase large corporations, it focuses on small and mid-sized businesses: accountants, retailers, manufacturers, non-profits and service firms that need dependable bookkeeping, payroll and reporting. Operations are reported in three regions: North America, UKIA (UK, Ireland, Africa and Asia) and Europe. The company is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.

ZoomInfo: ZoomInfo started in 2007 as DiscoverOrg. Founders Henry Schuck and Kirk Brown put $25,000 on their credit cards while Schuck was still in law school, and they set out to compile accurate org charts and contact details for sales teams. With backing from TA Associates, The Carlyle Group and Great Hill Partners, DiscoverOrg acquired Zoom Information, Inc. in February 2019 and adopted its name. ZoomInfo went public on Nasdaq on June 4, 2020, the first major tech IPO of the COVID-19 period. A series of acquisitions followed, including Chorus.ai and RingLead in 2021. Revenue passed $1 billion in 2022 but has hovered around $1.2-1.25 billion since. In May 2025 the company changed its ticker from ZI to GTM, and it now pitches itself as an AI go-to-market platform. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.

The Sage Group plc and ZoomInfo pursue distinct approaches to generating revenue, and understanding how each company operates is the foundation of any fair comparison between The Sage Group plc and ZoomInfo.

The Sage Group plc business model: Sage makes money mainly from software subscriptions. In FY25, recurring revenue was ~$3.22 billion (£2,436 million), or 97% of the ~$3.32 billion (£2,513 million) total, and software subscription revenue made up about 83% of the group. The remaining ~$102 million (£77 million) came mostly from professional services and licences. Products cover three needs: accounting and financial management (Sage Intacct, Sage 50, Sage 200, Sage Accounting), HR and payroll (Sage Payroll, Sage People, Sage HR), and add-ons such as AutoEntry data capture and AI features in Sage Copilot. Sage sells directly and through accountants and value-added resellers, who often recommend software to their small business clients.

ZoomInfo business model: ZoomInfo sells subscriptions, mostly annual or multi-year contracts priced by seats, data credits and product modules. Customers use the platform to find companies and contacts, enrich CRM records, track buyer intent and record sales calls (Chorus). Management splits the base into upmarket customers and down-market small businesses. As of June 30, 2026, 76% of annual contract value (ACV) came from upmarket customers and 1,891 customers paid $100,000 or more in ACV. Net revenue retention was 89% in Q2 2026. The data-as-a-service business, which delivers ZoomInfo data straight into customers' warehouses and systems, grew more than 20% in 2025 and made up nearly a fifth of ACV.

The durability of a company's moat often decides long-term winners. Here is how the competitive advantages of The Sage Group plc stack up against those of ZoomInfo.

The Sage Group plc competitive advantage: Sage's edge rests on local compliance and switching costs. Each country Sage serves has its own tax, payroll and e-invoicing rules, and Sage has built that compliance into its products over four decades, for example supporting HMRC's Making Tax Digital rules in the UK. Once a business has years of ledger history and payroll data in Sage, moving to another system is costly and risky, which helps explain why 97% of revenue is recurring. Its accountant and reseller channel adds another layer of distribution that new entrants find hard to copy.

ZoomInfo competitive advantage: ZoomInfo's main assets are its large, continuously updated B2B data set, its integrations with CRM and marketing systems, and a base of large enterprise customers that make up most of its contract value.

Future prospects matter as much as current results. The growth strategies below explain how The Sage Group plc and ZoomInfo each plan to expand from here.

The Sage Group plc growth strategy: Sage's growth strategy has three parts: sell Sage Intacct to more mid-sized companies, especially businesses outgrowing QuickBooks, and in new countries; add AI features through Sage Copilot and AI agents that customers can pay more for; and move remaining desktop users to cloud-connected subscriptions. Bolt-on acquisitions, such as Lockstep (2022) and Brightpearl (2022), add workflow and commerce capabilities.

ZoomInfo growth strategy: Management is focused on enterprise accounts, data-as-a-service delivery, Copilot and GTM.AI. It is also returning cash to shareholders through buybacks and has been repurchasing senior notes at a discount.

A closer look at the financial trajectory of The Sage Group plc and ZoomInfo rounds out the comparison.

The Sage Group plc: Sage moved from one-off desktop licences to subscriptions over the past decade. That shift lowered reported growth for a few years but left the group with a highly recurring revenue base. In FY25 (year to 30 September 2025), underlying total revenue grew 10% to ~$3.32 billion (£2,513 million), annualised recurring revenue rose 11% to ~$3.4 billion (£2,574 million), underlying operating profit rose 17% to ~$792 million (£600 million), and the margin widened by 1.5 points to 23.9%. Underlying basic EPS rose 18% to 43.2p. Sage paid a full-year dividend of 21.85p and announced a buyback of up to $396 million (£300 million). In the first half of FY26, revenue rose 11% to ~$1.8 billion (£1,363 million), underlying operating profit rose 15%, and the interim dividend was raised 8%. Nine-month FY26 revenue was ~$2.72 billion (£2,062 million), up 11%. Full-year FY26 results are expected in November 2026. The Sage Group plc is a massive British multinational enterprise software company, sustaining a market valuation typically over $10 billion and acting as the UK's second-largest technology company.

ZoomInfo: Revenue climbed from $144.3 million in 2018 to $1,098.0 million in 2022, then levelled off: $1,239.5 million in 2023, $1,214.3 million in 2024 and $1,249.5 million in 2025. FY2025 net income was $124.2 million, with GAAP operating income of $225.7 million, adjusted operating income of $445.9 million (36% margin) and unlevered free cash flow of $454.9 million. ZoomInfo bought back more than $400 million of stock in 2025 and authorized another $1 billion. In Q2 2026, revenue was $310.4 million (up 1.2%), and a $650.5 million goodwill impairment produced a GAAP operating loss of $622.0 million. Adjusted operating income was $110.0 million.