Clay Review: Pricing, Features & What the Data Shows
The spreadsheet-meets-data-enrichment platform that lets you waterfall across 75+ data providers.
What Clay Does
Clay is a data enrichment and workflow automation platform that has fundamentally changed how growth teams think about B2B data. Instead of committing to a single data provider like ZoomInfo or Apollo, Clay lets you waterfall across 75+ data providers — querying multiple sources in sequence and using the best result from whichever provider has the data. This approach typically improves contact and company data coverage by 20-40% compared to any single provider, which is why Clay has become the tool of choice for RevOps teams and growth operators who obsess over data quality.
The platform's interface is a spreadsheet-like workspace where each column represents an enrichment step or data transformation. You import a list of companies or contacts, then build enrichment sequences: first try ZoomInfo for email, fall back to Apollo if no result, then try Hunter.io as a third option. AI-powered columns can parse unstructured data, classify companies, write personalized email copy, or score leads based on custom criteria. The result is a flexible enrichment engine that non-engineers can configure without code — though the learning curve is steeper than point-and-click tools.
Clay was founded in 2017 but gained significant traction starting in 2022-2023 as growth teams realized that no single data provider delivers adequate coverage across all segments. The platform doesn't own any proprietary data — it's an orchestration layer that connects to providers you already have access to (ZoomInfo, Apollo, Clearbit, Lusha, and dozens more). This means Clay's value comes from the workflow automation and provider aggregation, not from a proprietary database. You still need subscriptions to the underlying data providers, which adds to total cost.
The practical consideration for buyers is complexity vs. coverage. Clay delivers meaningfully better data coverage than any single provider, but it requires someone on your team who can build and maintain enrichment workflows. Teams with dedicated RevOps or growth ops talent love it. Teams looking for a simple 'give me emails' solution will find it overwhelming. At $149-800/month plus underlying data provider costs, Clay is an investment that pays off primarily for organizations sending high volumes of outbound where marginal improvements in data coverage translate directly to more pipeline.
Clay Key Features
Waterfall Enrichment
Query multiple data providers in sequence for the same data point — try ZoomInfo first, fall back to Apollo, then Clearbit, then Lusha. The platform returns the first successful result, maximizing coverage without manual effort. A typical waterfall for email enrichment across 3 providers improves hit rates by 20-30% compared to any single source. You can build waterfalls for any data type: emails, phone numbers, company firmographics, technographics, or intent signals. Each provider query consumes Clay credits plus whatever the underlying provider charges.
AI-Powered Data Columns
Use OpenAI-powered columns to classify, transform, and enrich data in ways that traditional enrichment tools can't. Common applications: classifying companies by ICP fit based on website copy, writing personalized email opening lines using company news, scoring leads based on custom criteria, or parsing unstructured LinkedIn bios into structured fields. The AI columns are powerful but credit-intensive — each cell in an AI column consumes credits — so they're best used selectively on pre-qualified lists rather than massive raw databases.
75+ Data Provider Integrations
Pre-built connectors to ZoomInfo, Apollo, Clearbit, Lusha, Hunter.io, Cognism, LeadIQ, Bombora, BuiltWith, Owler, and dozens more. Each integration is a drag-and-drop column type — no API configuration required for supported providers. The breadth of integrations means you can mix and match providers for different data types: ZoomInfo for phone numbers, Clearbit for technographics, Bombora for intent, and Apollo for email. Some integrations require your own API key or subscription to the underlying provider.
Spreadsheet-Like Workspace
The core interface looks and feels like a spreadsheet, with rows representing records and columns representing data points or enrichment steps. This is intentionally familiar for ops professionals who live in Excel and Google Sheets. You can filter, sort, deduplicate, and bulk-edit data within the workspace. The spreadsheet metaphor makes it easy to prototype enrichment workflows — add a column, check the results, adjust, repeat. More complex than a simple search interface but more flexible than any single-tool approach.
CRM & SEP Push
Export enriched data directly to Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, Salesloft, Instantly, Apollo, and other downstream tools. The push functionality maps Clay columns to CRM fields, so enriched data flows into the right places without CSV exports. For teams running regular enrichment cycles — weekly lead list building, for example — the automated push eliminates manual data handling. Integration depth varies: Salesforce and HubSpot have the most mature push capabilities.
Automated Table Workflows
Set up enrichment workflows that run automatically on a schedule or when new records are added. A common pattern: Clay monitors a Salesforce report for new leads, automatically enriches them through a waterfall sequence, scores them with AI columns, and pushes the enriched data back to Salesforce with a lead score. This automation transforms Clay from a batch enrichment tool into a continuous enrichment engine. However, automated workflows consume credits continuously, so monitoring credit usage is important to avoid surprise bills.
Who Uses Clay
Growth Ops Lead Enrichment
The primary Clay use case. Growth ops teams import raw lead lists — from events, content downloads, or purchased databases — and run them through multi-provider waterfall enrichment to maximize data coverage. A typical workflow: import 5,000 leads, waterfall across 3 email providers and 2 phone number providers, classify companies by ICP fit using AI columns, score leads by enrichment completeness, and push qualified leads to Salesforce with full firmographic and contact data. The result is typically 30-40% better data coverage than any single provider would deliver. Teams on the Pro plan ($800/month) processing 10,000 leads monthly find the credit economics work well at this scale.
Personalized Outbound at Scale
SDR and growth teams use Clay's AI columns to generate personalized email opening lines, research talking points, and custom value propositions for each prospect — powered by company website data, recent news, and LinkedIn profile information. The workflow: enrich a target account list with firmographic data, use AI columns to analyze each company's website and generate a personalized hook, then push the personalized messaging into Outreach or Instantly for sequencing. This approach delivers personalization quality that would take an SDR hours per prospect, applied across hundreds of prospects automatically. The main constraint is credit consumption — each AI column cell costs credits.
Data Quality & CRM Enrichment Programs
RevOps teams use Clay as a continuous CRM enrichment engine. The automated workflows monitor Salesforce for records missing key data — no phone number, no industry classification, outdated company size — and run targeted enrichment waterfalls to fill gaps. Unlike batch enrichment from a single provider, Clay's waterfall approach catches records that any individual provider would miss. A typical setup monitors Salesforce daily, enriches 500-1,000 records per week, and pushes updated data back automatically. This use case justifies the Clay subscription by improving lead routing, scoring, and sales rep productivity downstream.
Clay Pricing
Starter
2,000 credits/mo
Explorer
10,000 credits/mo
Pro
50,000 credits/mo
Enterprise
Unlimited credits, custom integrations
Clay's pricing is credit-based, which means your actual cost depends on how many enrichment operations you run and which providers you query. The Starter plan at $149/month includes 2,000 credits. Explorer at $349/month provides 10,000 credits. Pro at $800/month offers 50,000 credits. Enterprise pricing is custom with volume discounts.
The critical nuance is credit consumption. A single contact enrichment through a 3-provider waterfall might consume 3-5 credits (one per provider query) plus additional credits for AI column operations. A 5,000-contact enrichment job using a 3-step waterfall and 2 AI columns could consume 25,000+ credits — half the Pro plan's monthly allowance in one job. Credit usage is the most common source of sticker shock for new Clay users.
Importantly, Clay credits only cover the platform fee. You still need subscriptions to the underlying data providers. If you're waterfalling across ZoomInfo, Apollo, and Clearbit, you're paying Clay's subscription plus whatever those three providers charge. For teams already paying for multiple data tools, Clay adds value by orchestrating them more efficiently. For teams starting from scratch, the total stack cost (Clay + 2-3 data providers) can exceed $50K/year.
Compared to using a single provider: a ZoomInfo Advanced subscription costs $25K+/year and delivers good-but-not-complete coverage. Clay Pro ($9,600/year) plus Apollo Professional ($948/year) plus Clearbit ($12K/year) costs more in aggregate but delivers measurably better coverage. The math works for high-volume outbound teams where every additional 10% of data coverage translates directly to more meetings booked.
Job Market Demand for Clay
Clay appears in 26 job postings across 15 companies in our database of 23,338+ analyzed job postings. The average salary range for roles requiring Clay: $118K - $163K.
Department
- Senior Account Executive, Large Enterprise
- Senior Marketing Operations Manager, B2B Sales
- Sr. Financial Analyst - GTM (Sales & Partnerships)
- klaviyo (9)
- brex (2)
- yoodli ai roleplays (1)
- massage envy (1)
- mantra digital (1)
Commonly Used With Clay
Based on job posting co-occurrence data, these tools are most frequently mentioned alongside Clay:
Clay Data Quality & Coverage
Clay itself doesn't own data — it's an enrichment orchestration platform that queries other providers. So data quality is determined by which providers you configure and how you waterfall them.
The key insight is that waterfalling genuinely improves coverage. In independent testing, a 3-provider email waterfall (e.g., Apollo → ZoomInfo → Hunter.io) typically achieves 85-92% email coverage, compared to 70-80% from any single provider alone. Phone number waterfalls show similar improvement: 55-70% coverage across 3 providers vs. 40-55% from the best single source. These gains are real and measurable.
Accuracy varies by provider and data type. Clay surfaces whatever quality the underlying provider returns — it doesn't validate or verify results. This means a waterfall that returns an email from a lower-quality provider as a fallback may deliver a less accurate result than getting no result from a premium provider. Some teams add a verification step (BriteVerify or NeverBounce) as a final column in their Clay workflow to catch bad data from fallback providers.
Freshness is also provider-dependent. ZoomInfo data through Clay is as fresh as ZoomInfo's database. Apollo data through Clay is as fresh as Apollo's. Clay doesn't cache or stale results between queries, so you're always getting the current state of each provider's database. The platform does track which provider returned each data point, so you can audit data provenance and adjust your waterfall order based on which sources perform best for your target segments.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Data waterfalling across 75+ providers improves coverage 20-40%
- Spreadsheet-like UI is intuitive for ops professionals
- AI-powered data transformations and personalization
- Flexible — build custom enrichment workflows without code
- Integrates with CRMs, SEPs, and most sales tools
Cons
- Credit-based pricing can be expensive at scale
- Learning curve for building complex workflows
- Still requires subscriptions to underlying data providers
- Can be slow for very large enrichment jobs
- Relatively new — some features are still maturing
Best for: RevOps teams and growth operators who need data from multiple providers without committing to one
Not ideal for: Teams happy with a single data provider or non-technical users wanting a plug-and-play solution
Clay Alternatives
| Tool | Starting Price | Job Mentions | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZoomInfo | $15,000+/yr | 85 | Mid-market to enterprise sales teams targeting US-based B2B companies |
| Apollo.io | $0 | 37 | Growth-stage startups and SMBs wanting contact data + outreach in one affordable platform |
| Clearbit | $0 | 7 | Product-led growth companies and marketing teams that need real-time data enrichment in their signup and lead capture flows |
| Cognism | Custom (~$15K-25K/yr) | 4 | B2B sales teams targeting European markets or companies that need GDPR-compliant data sourcing |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Clay used for?
Clay is used for B2B data enrichment and outbound workflow automation. You import a list of leads or companies, build enrichment sequences that pull data from 75+ providers, then push the enriched data to your CRM or outreach tools. Think of it as a smart spreadsheet that connects to every data source.
How does Clay compare to ZoomInfo?
ZoomInfo is a single data provider. Clay is a platform that can query ZoomInfo alongside 74 other providers. Clay's advantage is better coverage through waterfalling; ZoomInfo's advantage is deeper single-source data and a simpler all-in-one experience. Many teams use both — ZoomInfo as a primary source and Clay for coverage gaps.
Our Verdict on Clay
Clay is the right choice for RevOps and growth ops teams that need the best possible data coverage and are willing to invest in building enrichment workflows. If you're sending 5K+ outbound messages monthly and your conversion rate is limited by data quality, Clay's waterfall approach delivers measurable improvement over any single provider. The platform rewards teams with dedicated ops talent who can build and optimize workflows.
The trade-off is complexity and total cost. Clay's credit-based pricing plus underlying data provider subscriptions can exceed $50K/year for serious usage — not dramatically cheaper than ZoomInfo alone once you factor in the full stack. The learning curve is real: non-technical users will struggle to build effective waterfall workflows without training. And the platform's power can become a liability if not managed carefully — runaway credit consumption from misconfigured workflows is a common complaint. Teams looking for simple, out-of-the-box contact data should start with Apollo or ZoomInfo instead.
Clay appears in 26 job postings across 15 companies in our database, with an average salary range of $118K-$163K. It co-occurs most frequently with Salesforce (14 mentions), Klaviyo (9), HubSpot (7), and ZoomInfo (5) — confirming its position as an enrichment layer that sits between data providers and CRMs. The strong Klaviyo co-occurrence is notable, suggesting adoption by e-commerce and DTC companies running sophisticated outbound motions alongside email marketing. Clay experience is increasingly listed as a preferred skill in RevOps and growth ops job descriptions.
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