Clay
A spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon.
What Clay is best for
The categories Clay is listed in, and how strong a fit it is in each.
Business, Finance & Professional Work
Business strategy, investing, market research, legal, sales, HR, accounting, consulting.
Strong fit
Clay’s biggest strengths
Business, Finance & Professional WorkA spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon.
Where it may not be the best fit
Business, Finance & Professional WorkCredits, 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.
Clay pricing
Clay has a free plan. 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
FreeFree 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
$0LaunchStarts at 15,000 actions and 2,500 data credits a month, adding phone enrichment, unlimited search with Audiences, job-change and other signals, reusable functions across workflows and sending through Clay or an integration
$185/mo · $167/mo yearlyGrowthStarts at 40,000 actions and 6,000 data credits a month, adding CRM and data-warehouse sync, a 250,000-record audience import, the HTTP API, webhooks off any signal, web intent signals and priority support
$495/mo · $446/mo yearlyEnterpriseAdds unlimited search and imports, single sign-on, role-based access control and a dedicated growth strategist. Both paid tiers carry action and data-credit selectors that raise the price above the starting rate, so those figures are floors rather than fixed prices
CustomChecked by hand on 4 September 2026. Prices change often, so confirm on the provider’s own page before spending.
Who makes Clay
A spreadsheet that calls dozens of data providers and models per row. Powerful, and the credit accounting is where the cost hides.
CompanyClay
Founded2017
Based inNew York, US
SectorProductivity & agents
ModelThird-party
StatusPrivate
Primary usersSales teams, Agencies
Free planYes
ComputeThird-party
Public listingNone announced
Best alternatives to Clay
Tools that do comparable work, best fit first, drawn from the catalogue rather than hand-picked. Every one is listed whether or not there is money in it for us.
ChatGPT
Free
Broad professional coverage with strong spreadsheet and chart handling. Good default for analysis you would otherwise do by hand.
View ChatGPT →Claude
Free
The general option most used for professional work — strategy memos, contract reading, financial reasoning over documents you upload.
View Claude →Microsoft 365 Copilot
Paid
Sits inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams, so it works on the documents and meetings a company already has. The closest thing to AI that needs no change of habit.
View Microsoft 365 Copilot →Apollo
Free
Contact data, sequences and call recording in one place, so research and outreach do not live in separate tools.
View Apollo →Beefi
Free
A plain REST API over SEC EDGAR — company records, stock prices, financial statements, insider trades and filings across more than ten thousand listed companies, with a free key and a hundred requests a minute.
View Beefi →ClickUp
Free
Docs, tasks, chat and whiteboards under one AI that can see all of them, which is a genuine advantage over four separate tools.
View ClickUp →Clay by job
Where Clay sits in the wider category pages.
Best AI for Business
Strong fit — Business strategy, investing, market research, legal, sales, HR, accounting, consulting.
Questions about Clay
Is Clay free?
Yes — 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. The cheapest paid tier is Launch, at $185/mo month to month or $167/mo billed yearly.
What is Clay best at?
A spreadsheet where each row can call data providers and models, which makes research that used to take a week into an afternoon. It is listed under Business, Finance & Professional Work.
What should I watch out for with 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.
What are the alternatives to Clay?
6 tools do comparable work: ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Apollo, Beefi, ClickUp. 5 of them have a free plan.
How current is this Clay pricing?
Checked by hand on 4 September 2026. Prices change often — confirm on the provider's own page before spending.