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The GTM Stack
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Clay

Founder-Friendly
Data EnrichmentData ProvidersGTM Ops & WorkflowOutbound Sequencing

The most powerful enrichment platform you'll spend $800/week on — the ultimate GTM data Swiss Army knife that's worth every penny if you know what you're doing

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GTM Pipeline Position

Prospect
Enrich
Sequence
Deliver
Engage
Analyze
Close

The Verdict

“Clay is the most important tool in the modern GTM stack. Its ability to combine 150+ data providers with AI-powered research and flexible workflows makes it irreplaceable for serious outbound teams. The credit system requires careful management, but the data coverage and workflow capabilities are unmatched.”

Best For

RevOps teams and growth hackers who want to build custom enrichment waterfalls across dozens of data sources with spreadsheet-like flexibility

Not Great For

Non-technical sales reps who just want a list of emails — the learning curve is steep and the credit system can feel like a money pit

Overview

Clay is a GTM data enrichment and workflow automation platform that gives teams access to 150+ data providers in one place. It enables prospecting, data enrichment, AI-powered research via Claygent, and automated outreach — replacing multiple tools with one flexible platform.

Target Users

GTM engineers, growth teams, SDR/BDR teams, outbound agencies, revenue operations

Team Size

all sizes

Capabilities

Key Features

  • 150+ data enrichment providers in one platform
  • Claygent AI research agent
  • Sculptor AI for workflow building
  • Waterfall enrichment (try multiple providers)
  • CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot)
  • Native email sequencer
  • Signals and intent data
  • Conditional logic workflows
  • HTTP API for custom integrations
  • MCP server support

Benefits

  • 2x+ data coverage compared to single providers
  • Replace multiple data tool subscriptions with one platform
  • AI-powered research at scale with Claygent
  • Build and iterate GTM workflows in minutes
  • SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, CCPA, ISO 27001 compliant
AI Features
Claygent AI research agent, Sculptor AI for workflow generation, AI formatting and data transformation, AI conditional logic
Ease of Use
Moderate — spreadsheet-like interface with learning curve for advanced features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • +Unmatched data coverage with 150+ providers
  • +Claygent AI enables research at scale
  • +Flexible credit-based pricing
  • +SOC 2, GDPR, CCPA, ISO 27001 compliant
  • +Used by OpenAI, Anthropic, Rippling, Verkada

Cons

  • -Learning curve for non-technical users
  • -Credit costs can add up quickly at scale
  • -CRM integrations only on Pro+ plans ($720+/mo)
  • -No built-in email sending on lower plans
  • -Can be overwhelming with so many options

Outbound Use Cases

Lead enrichment and waterfall data coverageAI-powered prospect researchAutomated outbound campaign buildingCRM data hygiene and enrichmentIntent-based outbound triggering

Financials & Scale

Pricing Model
usage-based
Starting Price
$0 (free tier)
Cost at Scale
$720-custom/mo for serious usage
Total Funding
$246M
Last Round
Series C, 2024
Users Claimed
300,000+ GTM teams
Free Trial
Yes
PlanPriceLimitsFeatures
Free$0/mo100 credits/mo, 1,200/yr, up to 100/searchUnlimited users, Exporting, AI/Claygent, Rollover credits
Starter$134/mo (annual)2,000 credits/mo (24K/yr), up to 2,000/searchAll Free features, Use your own API key
Explorer$314/mo (annual)10K credits/mo (120K/yr), up to 10,000/searchAll Starter features, HTTP API integration, Webhooks, Email sequencing integrations
Pro$720/mo (annual)50K credits/mo (600K/yr), up to 25,000/searchAll Explorer features, CRM integrations
EnterpriseCustomCustom credits, unlimited rowsAll Pro features, Snowflake, Dedicated Slack support, SSO, Credit analytics
Free Tier Limits
100 credits/month, unlimited users, up to 100 rows per search
Credit Model
credits
Pricing Comparison Note

Clay starts at $149/mo (Explorer) and the power users are on $800/mo+ (Pro/Enterprise) before credits. Apollo is $49/mo with data included. BetterContact is ~$49/mo. PhantomBuster is $69/mo. Clay's premium is justified IF you use the waterfall across 75+ data providers and build complex enrichment workflows. If you just need emails, you're overpaying.

The Reddit Pulse

Sentiment: mixed

Community Pros

  • +Powerful multi-vendor data enrichment
  • +Flexible waterfall enrichment
  • +Great for GTM engineers
  • +Integrates many data sources

Community Cons

  • -Expensive - credits burn fast ($800/week reported)
  • -Steep learning curve for non-technical users
  • -~24% wrong phone numbers reported
  • -Cheaper alternatives emerging (Airscale, Persana)

Reddit Questions

  • ? Is Clay worth the cost?
  • ? Clay alternatives that are cheaper?
  • ? How to avoid burning credits?
Source Thread 1 Source Thread 2

Thinking of Switching?

Apollo
Built-in data + sequencing for 1/10th the cost — less powerful but way simpler
BetterContact
Waterfall enrichment without the learning curve — just email finding
Cargo
More structured GTM orchestration for ops teams who need workflows, not spreadsheets
FullEnrich
Budget waterfall enrichment — does the email finding part without the everything else
PhantomBuster
Scraping and automation without the enrichment depth — cheaper, simpler
Clearbit (HubSpot)
Now part of HubSpot — good enrichment but less flexible

Competitive Landscape

Apollo.ioZoomInfoCognismCargoLusha

Technical Stack

API Access
Compliance
SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, CCPA, ISO 27001
Clay Integration
native
Platforms
Web

Integrations

SalesforceHubSpotOutreachApolloInstantlySmartleadGoogle SheetsSnowflake150+ data providers
CRM Integrations
SalesforceHubSpot
Data Export
CSV, API, CRM sync, Webhooks

Data Intelligence

Coverage by Region
NA: Excellent, EMEA: Strong, APAC: Moderate, LATAM: Moderate
Data Specialty
email-dataphone-datafirmographic-datatechnographic-data
Data Freshness
Varies by provider — real-time for some, periodic for others
Signal Types
job-changewebsite-visitcompany-mentiontechnology-install
Waterfall Compatible
Clay Credits / Action
Varies by provider (1-50+ credits per enrichment)

Head-to-Head Comparisons

Clay vs Cargo

Company Intel

Headquarters
New York, NY
Founded
2020
Leadership
Varun Anand (CEO & Co-founder)
Employees
201-500
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Frequently Asked Questions

Resources & Links

Support Channels
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Pricing Page
#data-enrichment#waterfall-enrichment#gtm-ops#ai-research#claygent#prospecting#workflow-automation#crm-enrichment#outbound