D&B Hoovers vs DUNS Number: What's the Difference?

D&B Hoovers vs DUNS Number: What's the Difference

Last updated: August 2026

Both carry the D&B name, and that's exactly why people confuse them. But a DUNS number and D&B Hoovers point in opposite directions — one identifies your business to others, the other helps you find and research other businesses. Here's the difference, cleanly separated.

The Core Difference, in One Line

Your DUNS number is your business's identity — a 9-digit number that tells the world "this is who we are." D&B Hoovers is a paid tool your business could subscribe to in order to look up other companies — a prospecting and research platform, not an identifier at all.

One is about being found and verified. The other is about finding and researching. They share the Dun & Bradstreet name because they draw on the same underlying company database — but you interact with them from opposite directions.

If you haven't registered for a DUNS number yet, start with our Getting Started guide before worrying about sales-intelligence tools.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Same parent company, opposite purpose.

Attribute	DUNS Number	D&B Hoovers
What it is	Unique business identifier	Sales intelligence & prospecting platform
Who it's for	Your own business, to be identified by others	Sales/marketing teams researching other companies
Cost	Generally free to register	Paid subscription
Required by platforms (Apple, Google, etc.)?	Often yes	No
Does it identify your own business?	Yes — that's its purpose	No — it looks up others
Do you need one to use the other?	No	No

WHAT IT DOES

What D&B Hoovers (Now D&B Connect) Actually Does

D&B Hoovers began as a standalone sales-intelligence product built on top of D&B's massive company database, letting subscribers search, filter, and build lists of businesses to target for sales or partnerships. Over time, this functionality has largely been folded into the broader D&B Connect platform, though the "Hoovers" name still appears in some contexts.

Lets subscribers filter companies by industry, size, location, revenue, and other firmographic data.
Provides company and contact-level details useful for building sales prospect lists.
Draws on the same underlying D&B company database that also powers DUNS numbers, PAYDEX scores, and D&B Ratings — just surfaced for a completely different use case.
It is a subscription product, unlike the free DUNS number registration process.

WHY THE CONFUSION

Why These Two Get Confused So Often

The confusion almost always comes down to the shared "D&B" branding rather than any actual functional overlap.

Someone searching "D&B" while trying to register a DUNS number stumbles across Hoovers/D&B Connect marketing pages and assumes it's the same registration process.
Both products live under the same corporate umbrella and share the same core company database, which makes them feel more connected than they functionally are.
Third-party "DUNS agencies" sometimes blur this distinction deliberately, bundling Hoovers-style research tools into DUNS registration packages to justify higher fees — see our Myths & Scams guide for more on this pattern.

Key point: registering for a DUNS number never requires a D&B Hoovers or D&B Connect subscription — if a vendor tells you otherwise, treat that as a red flag.

USING BOTH

Can You Use Both at the Same Time?

Yes — and larger businesses often do, because the two products serve entirely different internal teams.

Your finance or compliance team might care about your DUNS number, PAYDEX score, and D&B Rating for credit and verification purposes.
Your sales or marketing team might separately subscribe to D&B Hoovers/Connect to prospect for new customers.
Neither use case depends on or unlocks the other — they can be adopted completely independently based on what your business actually needs.
For how DUNS numbers relate to D&B's other core products, see the Dun & Bradstreet Explained pillar guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is D&B Hoovers the same thing as a DUNS number?

No. D&B Hoovers is a paid sales intelligence and prospecting platform used to find and research other companies. A DUNS number is your own business's identifier. They are separate products that solve different problems.

Do I need a DUNS number to use D&B Hoovers?

No. You can subscribe to and use D&B Hoovers to research other companies without having a DUNS number yourself, since Hoovers is about looking up other businesses, not verifying your own.

Does using D&B Hoovers get me a DUNS number?

No. Subscribing to D&B Hoovers does not register or assign you a DUNS number. Getting a DUNS number is a separate registration and verification process handled directly through Dun & Bradstreet.

Is D&B Hoovers still called Hoovers today?

The Hoovers brand has largely been folded into D&B Connect, D&B's current sales and marketing intelligence platform, though some legacy references to "D&B Hoovers" still appear.

Can other companies find my business through D&B Hoovers?

Yes. If your business has a D&B profile, other companies using D&B Hoovers or D&B Connect can potentially find and research your business the same way you could research theirs, using data tied to your DUNS number.

Do I need D&B Hoovers if I already have a DUNS number?

Not necessarily. A DUNS number alone is often all that's required for platform registrations, government contracts, or export applications. D&B Hoovers is only useful if you specifically need to prospect for or research other businesses.

D&B Hoovers vs DUNS Number: What's the Difference

The Core Difference, in One Line

Side-by-Side Comparison

You're being verified by someone else

You're trying to find and evaluate others

What D&B Hoovers (Now D&B Connect) Actually Does

Why These Two Get Confused So Often

Can You Use Both at the Same Time?

Frequently Asked Questions

Still Mixing Up D&B's Products?