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Updated 4 September 2026 · Independent comparison

Clay vs Intercom:
which should you use?

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

Find your best fit

The 30-second answer

Clay a spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon. Intercom answers customer questions from your own help content and hands over to a person when it cannot, inside the support inbox.

Pricing, simplified

Start free. Upgrade when you need more.

1 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.

Clay and Intercom side by side, with the better fit for each row.
CategoryClayIntercomBetter fit
What it's built forA spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon.Answers customer questions from your own help content and hands over to a person when it cannot, inside the support inbox.Tie
Free planYes. 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 keysNo. Paid from the start.Clay
Cheapest way to pay$185 a month.$39 a month.Intercom
What the paid tiers cost
  • One person, from $185/month
  • Enterprise, priced on request
  • One person, from $39/month
Tie
What to watch out forCredits, 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.Billed partly per resolution, from $0.99 a Fin outcome on top of every seat, so cost scales with volume rather than headcount. The entry price advertised is a new-customer offer against a $29 to $39 seat, and Fin can be bought on its own with no seats if you already run a helpdesk. Answer quality tracks your documentation.Tie
What it asks of youExpects some technical comfort to get going.No setup — it works in a browser.Tie
Made byClay — New York, US.Intercom — San Francisco, US.Tie

Neither leads on the 7 rows above: 1 each. The job decides it, not the table.

Too close to call

Clay or Intercom

Neither leads on the rows above — the job decides it.

✓ A spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon. ✓ You want to start without paying anything ✓ 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
Choose Intercom instead if…

Answers customer questions from your own help content and hands over to a person when it cannot, inside the support inbox.

Intercom 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. ✓ You want to start without paying anything ✓ 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

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 2 rows that decided this page, with the source for each.
RowFavoursWeightWhere it came from
Free planClayHow well it does the jobFrom each vendor’s own pricing page. Dates and pages are listed below.
Cheapest way to payIntercomEverything elseFrom each vendor’s own pricing page. Dates and pages are listed below.

The prices

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

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

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

Search, Research & Academics

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

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

Writing, Communication & Language

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

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

Coding, Data & Technical Work

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

Clay
Bad fit
Intercom
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
05

Business, Finance & Professional Work

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

Clay
Good fit
Intercom
Good fit
Best choice: Tie
06

Image & Design

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

Clay
Bad fit
Intercom
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
07

Video

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

Clay
Bad fit
Intercom
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
08

Audio, Voice & Music

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

Clay
Bad fit
Intercom
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
09

Marketing & Content Creation

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

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

Productivity, Automation & Personal Life

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

Clay
Not a good fit
Intercom
Not a good fit
Best choice: Neither
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.
You want to start without paying anything
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
Pick Intercom if

Answers customer questions from your own help content and hands over to a person when it cannot, inside the support inbox.

San Francisco, US
Answers customer questions from your own help content and hands over to a person when it cannot, inside the support inbox.
You want the cheaper paid plan, $39 against $185
You would rather not configure anything first
It works in a browser with nothing to set up

Pricing, simplified

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

PricingSimple, up-to-date plan overview.
Clayby Clay
Intercomby Intercom
Free version
Clay
Yes — Free plan availableFree plan with no strings attached: 500 actions and 100 data credits a month, unlimited seats
Intercom
No — paid from the startPaid from the start
Individual plans
Clay
Launch $185 / month$167 / month (annual)
Growth $495 / month$446 / month (annual)
Intercom
Essential $39 / month$29 / month (annual)
Advanced $99 / month$85 / month (annual)
Expert $139 / month$132 / month (annual)
Fin AI Agent —
Business plans
ClayNot sold to teams
IntercomNot sold to teams
Enterprise
Clay
Custom pricing
IntercomNot published
View full details
ClayView Clay pricing
IntercomView Intercom 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; only Clay has a free plan; Intercom is cheaper to start paying for, $39 against $185.
7 rows compared

Frequently asked questions

Is Clay or Intercom better?

Neither leads on the 7 rows above: 1 each. The job decides it, not the table. only Clay has a free plan; Intercom is cheaper to start paying for, $39 against $185. Clay: A spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon. Intercom: Answers customer questions from your own help content and hands over to a person when it cannot, inside the support inbox.

Is Clay or Intercom cheaper?

Intercom — paid plans start at $39 a month against $185 a month.

Do Clay and Intercom both have free plans?

Clay does — 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. Intercom does not.

What should I watch out for?

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. Intercom: Billed partly per resolution, from $0.99 a Fin outcome on top of every seat, so cost scales with volume rather than headcount. The entry price advertised is a new-customer offer against a $29 to $39 seat, and Fin can be bought on its own with no seats if you already run a helpdesk. Answer quality tracks your documentation.

Read more

Clay

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

Intercom

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.