Match rate is a denominator problem
A vendor that quotes a 94 percent match rate is reporting on the share of input rows that returned any phone number or email. The denominator is whatever input you sent — including rows that other vendors filter out (LLCs, deceased owners, vacant land parcels). Two vendors with identical underlying data can return wildly different match rates by varying what they choose to skip.
A more honest comparison uses a fixed input batch. Take 100 properties through three vendors, hold the input constant, and compare the share of returns that pass a basic verification check 24 hours later. That number — usually 30 to 50 percent lower than the headline match rate — is what shows up in dialer outcomes.
Match rate without a verification step is inflated by 20 to 40 percent in most vendor marketing.
Recency beats match rate when the goal is to actually reach someone
A 98 percent match rate sourced from public records last refreshed in 2024 returns mostly disconnected numbers. A 78 percent match rate sourced from carrier data refreshed inside 60 days converts to dialer-contact rates roughly two to three times higher. Ask vendors for last-refresh dates on their phone data, not just on their public-records ingest.
The shorthand for this is "where does the number come from." If the vendor sources phone numbers from county records and consumer-marketing databases, expect a 12 to 24 month staleness floor. If they source from carrier or telecom partner data, expect under 90 days. The price difference between the two tiers is usually less than the difference in usable-lead yield.
