Clay

Clay uses a freemium model with paid plans reported around $149/month for Starter (roughly 2,000 credits), $349/month for Explorer (roughly 10,000 credits), and $800/month for Pro, plus custom Enterprise pricing. Importantly, platform fees are separate from data credits used to buy data and AI from marketplace vendors, so real spend depends heavily on usage. Verify current tiers and credit allocations on Clay's official pricing page, as plans have changed recently.

Clay uses waterfall enrichment, which queries data providers one after another until it finds the information you need, such as an email or company attribute. This maximizes coverage because if the first provider comes up empty, subsequent sources are tried automatically. You configure these workflows in a spreadsheet-style interface where each column can run enrichment, AI research, or logic.

Claygent is Clay's AI research agent that scours the web to answer custom questions about target companies and people. You can prompt it to find details like recent funding, tech stack, hiring activity, or other criteria you define. It effectively automates manual research that reps would otherwise do by hand across many websites.

Clay's data marketplace aggregates more than 200 data providers in one place, and it syncs ad audiences to LinkedIn, Meta, and Google. It also connects to CRMs including Salesforce and supports webhooks on higher tiers for pushing data into other systems. A Clay MCP server is available for connecting to AI tooling.

Clay supports webhooks and CRM integrations, and API access is tied to specific paid tiers rather than being universally available on every plan. Some third-party sources note API availability has shifted with recent plan changes. Confirm current API access for your intended plan directly with Clay before purchasing.

Yes. Clay restructured its plans, and features such as API and CRM access that were previously on the Explorer tier now sit in a higher Growth tier, raising effective costs for some mid-market users. Because credits and platform fees are billed separately, the net impact depends on how much data you consume. Review the latest plan details on Clay's site to understand where features now land.

Clay offers a free trial, but the research does not confirm a permanent free plan. Paid plans start at $185/month for the Launch tier, which includes 10,000 credits. The platform uses a credit-based system where enrichment and actions consume credits.

The research mentions webhooks are available starting with the Explorer plan ($349/month) and references a data marketplace, but specific integration details were not found in our research. Check the official Clay website for a complete list of supported integrations.

Clay is considered ahead in terms of features, particularly for multi-source enrichment where it outperforms single-database tools like Apollo or ZoomInfo. However, alternatives like Seamless.AI offer real-time data search, while ZoomInfo provides an all-in-one solution. Clay's DIY approach requires more setup but offers greater flexibility than finished platforms.