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Updated 4 September 2026 · Independent comparison

Apollo vs Clay:
which should you use?

Apollo and Clay, side by side. Find the one that fits what you need to do.

Find your best fit

The 30-second answer

Apollo contact data, sequences and call recording in one place, so research and outreach do not live in separate tools. Clay a spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon.

Pricing, simplified

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2 of 2 have a free plan 0 of 2 prices re-read automatically · how we know No paid placement

The 30-second comparison

If you only read one section, make it this one. Rows where both sides say the same thing are left out — the point is where they differ. Where each row came from is listed underneath.

Apollo and Clay side by side, with the better fit for each row.
CategoryApolloClayBetter fit
What it's built forContact data, sequences and call recording in one place, so research and outreach do not live in separate tools.A spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon.Tie
Free planYes. Free plan with 75 credits per seat per monthYes. Free plan with no strings attached: 500 actions and 100 data credits a month, unlimited seats and tables, up to 200 rows a table, multi-provider waterfalls, Claygent enrichment and your own API keysTie
Cheapest way to pay$65 a month.$185 a month.Apollo
What the paid tiers cost
  • One person, from $65/month
  • Per seat, from $119/month billed yearly
  • One person, from $185/month
  • Enterprise, priced on request
Tie
What to watch out forContact data is never as accurate as the counter suggests, and the AI writes on top of whatever it found. Every plan is metered in credits, so what you pay tracks how much you export rather than how many people log in.Credits, not seats, so the bill tracks how much you run rather than how many people use it. The paid rates are starting points that the action and data-credit selectors push upward. Easy to spend a lot without noticing.Tie
Made byApollo.io — San Francisco, US.Clay — New York, US.Tie

Apollo is ahead on 1 of the 6 rows compared — cheapest way to pay — and it is not about how well it does the job. On fitness for the work, it and Clay are level. Treat this as a tiebreaker, not a recommendation.

Ahead on the small print

Apollo

Contact data, sequences and call recording in one place, so research and outreach do not live in separate tools.

✓ Contact data, sequences and call recording in one place, so research and outreach do not live in separate tools. ✓ You want the cheaper paid plan, $65 against $185 ✓ Free plan with 75 credits per seat per month ✓ It is aimed at working professionals
Choose Clay instead if…

A spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon.

Clay is the better answer when the job is what it was built for rather than what the pick above does broadly.

✓ A spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon. ✓ Free plan with no strings attached: 500 actions and 100 data credits a month, unlimited seats and tables, up to 200 rows a table, multi-provider waterfalls, Claygent enrichment and your own API keys ✓ It is aimed at working professionals ✓ Paid plans start at $185 a month

How we know

Every row that separated these two, and where it came from. Nothing here is a hands-on test — if a line rests on a vendor’s own pricing page, it says so and links it.

The 1 row that decided this page, with the source for each.
RowFavoursWeightWhere it came from
Cheapest way to payApolloEverything elseFrom each vendor’s own pricing page. Dates and pages are listed below.

The prices

Apollo. Read by hand on 4 September 2026, because Apollo cannot be read automatically: apollo.io draws its ladder in JavaScript. The fetch step read $0.02 off the page — a credit unit rate, not a plan — which looks like a successful read and never changes, so the watch was worse than none. Checked by hand against the vendor page, both billing toggles. apollo.io/pricing

Clay. Read by hand off clay.com on 4 September 2026. It is not on the monthly re-check, so confirm there before paying. clay.com/pricing

The ratings

The category these two share. Business, Finance & Professional Work — both are listed there in the catalogue, and the fit recorded against each listing is a judgement made here, by hand.

The nine-category grid below. Derived from what each product is listed for, by one script, once per build — so the same pair always reads the same. It is a derivation, not a review.

What this is not

Neither product was run side by side to produce this page. Nobody was paid to appear on it and nothing here is ranked by commission.

To put the same question to both and read the answers yourself, run them side by side — that is a live test, and this is not.

Choose based on what you’re doing

All ten categories, including the ones where neither of these is the answer. These ratings are derived from what each product is listed for, not from running it — a rating here is a reading of the record, and the record is linked.

01

General-Purpose AI Assistants

Questions, brainstorming, explanations, everyday tasks, decision-making, general advice.

Apollo
Not a good fit
Clay
Not a good fit
Best choice: Neither
02

Search, Research & Academics

Web research, deep research, books, academic papers, citations, news, fact-checking.

Apollo
Not a good fit
Clay
Not a good fit
Best choice: Neither
03

Writing, Communication & Language

Emails, reports, essays, editing, summarizing, translation, presentations.

Apollo
Not a good fit
Clay
Not a good fit
Best choice: Neither
04

Coding, Data & Technical Work

Programming, debugging, data analysis, spreadsheets, math, engineering, technical research.

Apollo
Bad fit
Clay
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
05

Business, Finance & Professional Work

Business strategy, investing, market research, legal, sales, HR, accounting, consulting.

Apollo
Good fit
Clay
Good fit
Best choice: Tie
06

Image & Design

Image generation, photo editing, logos, graphics, product design, advertising creatives.

Apollo
Bad fit
Clay
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
07

Video

Video generation and editing, clipping, subtitles, avatars, animation and motion capture.

Apollo
Bad fit
Clay
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
08

Audio, Voice & Music

Voice generation, transcription, music, dubbing, sound cleanup and podcast production.

Apollo
Bad fit
Clay
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
09

Marketing & Content Creation

Social media, SEO, advertising, copywriting, content ideas, scripts, brand development.

Apollo
Not a good fit
Clay
Not a good fit
Best choice: Neither
10

Productivity, Automation & Personal Life

AI agents, workflows, scheduling, meetings, organization, shopping, travel, personal finance.

Apollo
Not a good fit
Clay
Not a good fit
Best choice: Neither
Pick Apollo if

Contact data, sequences and call recording in one place, so research and outreach do not live in separate tools.

by Apollo.io
Contact data, sequences and call recording in one place, so research and outreach do not live in separate tools.
You want the cheaper paid plan, $65 against $185
Free plan with 75 credits per seat per month
It is aimed at working professionals
Pick Clay if

A spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon.

New York, US
A spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon.
Free plan with no strings attached: 500 actions and 100 data credits a month, unlimited seats and tables, up to 200 rows a table, multi-provider waterfalls, Claygent enrichment and your own API keys
It is aimed at working professionals
Paid plans start at $185 a month

Pricing, simplified

The plans people actually compare, read from each vendor’s own page.

PricingSimple, up-to-date plan overview.
Apolloby Apollo.io
Clayby Clay
Free version
Apollo
Yes — Free plan availableFree plan with 75 credits per seat per month
Clay
Yes — Free plan availableFree plan with no strings attached: 500 actions and 100 data credits a month, unlimited seats
Individual plans
Apollo
Basic $65 / month$49 / month (annual)
Professional $99 / month$79 / month (annual)
Clay
Launch $185 / month$167 / month (annual)
Growth $495 / month$446 / month (annual)
Business plans
Apollo
From $119 / user / month (annual)Organization
ClayNot sold to teams
Enterprise
ApolloNot published
Clay
Custom pricing
View full details
ApolloView Apollo pricing
ClayView Clay pricing
Interactive

Tell us what you use AI for

Pick your main job and the verdict below changes to match. Every answer is on the page already, so this works as a reader, not a lookup.

The verdict for that job
Evenly matched
Close call. Both cover business, finance & professional work at the same level; both have a free plan you can start on; Apollo is cheaper to start paying for, $65 against $185.
6 rows compared

Frequently asked questions

Is Apollo or Clay better?

Apollo is ahead on 1 of the 6 rows compared — cheapest way to pay — and it is not about how well it does the job. On fitness for the work, it and Clay are level. Treat this as a tiebreaker, not a recommendation. both have a free plan you can start on; Apollo is cheaper to start paying for, $65 against $185. Apollo: Contact data, sequences and call recording in one place, so research and outreach do not live in separate tools. Clay: A spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon.

Is Apollo or Clay cheaper?

Apollo — paid plans start at $65 a month against $185 a month.

Do Apollo and Clay both have free plans?

Yes. Apollo: Free plan with 75 credits per seat per month. Clay: Free plan with no strings attached: 500 actions and 100 data credits a month, unlimited seats and tables, up to 200 rows a table, multi-provider waterfalls, Claygent enrichment and your own API keys.

What should I watch out for?

Apollo: Contact data is never as accurate as the counter suggests, and the AI writes on top of whatever it found. Every plan is metered in credits, so what you pay tracks how much you export rather than how many people log in. Clay: Credits, not seats, so the bill tracks how much you run rather than how many people use it. The paid rates are starting points that the action and data-credit selectors push upward. Easy to spend a lot without noticing.

Read more

Apollo

What it is for, who makes it, what it costs and what to use instead.

Clay

What it is for, who makes it, what it costs and what to use instead.

Best AI for Business

Business strategy, investing, market research, legal, sales, HR, accounting, consulting.

How we compare AI tools
Every row is generated from the same record the rest of the site is built on, so this page cannot drift from what we say elsewhere. We separate winner, tie and depends rather than forcing each category into a ranking, and we drop rows where both sides say the same thing. A pick is only called an overall pick when it leads on rows about how well the tool does the job; a lead that rests on price or audience alone is labelled as one. Nothing here is a hands-on test — how we know lists the source and date behind every deciding row.