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Review basis

Research-based review: the AppDuo Editorial Team compiled it from official pages, documentation, app stores, press and user feedback, without hands-on testing. Every claim links to a source with the date it was checked.

10 reference sources

Information updated Nov 10, 2026

How we review
Clay logo

Clay Review

A spreadsheet-style GTM tool that chains data providers and AI research agents

Editorial Team6.7/10Write the first review

By Official AppDuo editorial team · Updated

  • Web
  • Browser extension
  • API
Freemium · $185.00/mo (business plan)
Visit Clay
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Decide at a glance

Our verdict

Clay suits B2B sales and marketing teams with someone dedicated to building workflows, who want many data sources and AI in one table for prospecting and personalised outreach. The trade-offs are paid plans from $167/month, credit-based costs that are hard to budget, a steep learning curve and largely negative Trustpilot reviews.

Best for: GTM teams or agencies that need to enrich lead data from many providers in one table

Skip it if: Newcomers to sales who want a simple, fixed-cost tool that works without setup

Pros

  • Waterfall enrichment falls through to the next provider when one returns nothing
  • Claygent AI research agents, with an Auto-mode that picks a model per row to cut cost
  • A Free plan, a 14-day trial and unlimited seats on every plan

Cons

  • Two credit types (Actions and Data Credits) make cost hard to estimate; Trustpilot reviewers repeatedly say credits drained quickly
  • The cheapest paid plan starts at $167/month (annual), well above per-seat tools such as Apollo.io
All pros and cons · Who is it for?

Pros

  • Frequent releases, with spend controls such as Credit Budgets and Workflow Budgets

Cons

  • Trustpilot shows 2.8/5 from 28 reviews, mostly complaining about a hard-to-learn interface, support and credit refunds

Best for

  • Teams with a technical or sales-ops owner who want to build automated workflows via API and webhooks

Skip it if

  • Teams that need a full CRM, since Clay is a data and automation layer that sits beside one

Problems it solves

Experience & key features

Clay is a go-to-market (GTM) platform from Clay Labs. It began in Brooklyn in 2017 as a spreadsheet that connected data and automated work without code. Its homepage now describes it as infrastructure to get data, run agentic workflows and launch GTM plays.

Each row is a lead or a company. Users add columns to enrich it, for example by waterfalling across several providers, or by asking Claygent to research the web. Sculptor builds filters and AI columns conversationally, and results are pushed to a CRM, email tools or ad platforms. The Clay for Chrome extension pulls data from the open web page into a table. The site gives two different vendor counts: 200+ in one place, 150+ in another.

Clay charges in two units: Actions for each enrichment or AI task, and Data Credits to pay for third-party data. Free includes 500 Actions and 100 Data Credits per month. Launch starts at $167/month billed annually or $185 monthly; Growth at $446 or $495; Enterprise is quoted. Unused Data Credits roll over within a cap, while Actions reset each cycle. Because Data Credit costs vary with data type and AI model, total spend is hard to predict.

Built In reports a $100M Series C in August 2025 at a $3.1B valuation, and Clay's about page links to later, higher valuations. That signals fast growth but says nothing about fit for a given team. Next to CRMs such as HubSpot or Salesforce, Clay is a data and automation layer that sits beside them; compared with Apollo.io it is more flexible but costs more and needs more setup.

Screenshots

Clay interface illustration from the official homepage
Clay interface illustration from the official homepage
Clay promotional image from the official homepage
Clay promotional image from the official homepage

Plans & pricing

Prices last verified Nov 10, 2026

Free

Business

Free

500 Actions and 100 Data Credits per month, up to 200 rows per table. No phone number enrichment and no scheduled enrichment runs. Unlimited seats.

Launch

Business

$185/mo

$167/mo billed yearly

Entry tier is $185/month billed monthly or $167/month billed annually, for 15,000 Actions and 2,500 Data Credits a month. The two are priced separately ($60 + $125 monthly, $54 + $113 annually) and scale up in tiers. Adds phone numbers, job-change signals and email sending; up to 50,000 rows per table.

Growth

Business

$495/mo

$446/mo billed yearly

Entry tier is $495/month billed monthly or $446/month billed annually, for 40,000 Actions and 6,000 Data Credits a month ($205 + $290 monthly, $185 + $261 annually). Adds CRM sync, any HTTP API, webhooks, web intent signals and priority support.

Enterprise

Business

Contact sales

Custom pricing via a demo. Adds SSO/SAML, SCIM, RBAC, IP allowlists, custom CSA and DPA, and 6 months of table version history.

Free plan limits
The Free plan includes 500 Actions and 100 Data Credits per month, up to 200 rows per table and no phone number enrichment.
Free trial
14-day free trial · no credit card
Cancellation & refunds

The pricing page states no refund policy. According to the plans-and-billing documentation, a mid-cycle upgrade credits unused Actions and Data Credits against the upgrade invoice rather than refunding the card.

Privacy

Clay's privacy policy is dated 11 September 2020. It covers account details, social login data, payment data (stored by Stripe) and information from public databases, marketing partners and social platforms. Clay says it does not sell personal information of visitors and users, and shares data only with contracted service providers, in business transfers or when legally required. The policy does not mention AI training; Data Processing Agreements are available on request. Data is kept while an account exists, then deleted or anonymised. Clay's blog (9 September 2024) announced a completed SOC 2 Type 2 audit, with the report available through its Trust Center. Because Clay aggregates contact data from many third-party providers, customers should review data sources and outreach rules themselves.

Official pricing page

Clay alternatives

HubSpot logo7.3/10

HubSpot

A CRM with a free tier that scales into marketing, sales and service

Freemium
Attio logo7.1/10

Attio

A customisable CRM with built-in AI agents, aimed at startups and sales teams

Freemium
All alternatives

Frequently asked questions

Is Clay free?

Yes. The Free plan includes 500 Actions and 100 Data Credits per month and up to 200 rows per table. Free, Launch and Growth all offer a 14-day trial on the pricing page.

What is the difference between Actions and Data Credits?

Per the docs, each enrichment or execution task, and each AI prompt, uses 1 Action. Data Credits pay for third-party data or AI in Clay's marketplace, with cost varying by data type and model. The pricing page says Data Credits start at $0.05 each.

Do unused credits roll over?

Per the docs, monthly plans accumulate unused Data Credits up to 2x the monthly allowance; annual plans carry over up to 15% of annual Data Credits if you renew on the same or a higher tier. Actions reset each cycle and do not roll over.

Does Clay sell my data?

The policy says Clay does not sell personal information of visitors and users. It dates from 2020 and says nothing about AI training, so businesses needing specific commitments should request a DPA or the SOC 2 report through the Trust Center.

Review evidence & sources10

Scores

Ease of use
6.0
Why this score

A familiar spreadsheet layout, but Trustpilot reviewers call it hard to learn and unintuitive; Clay offers documentation and Clay University to compensate. The interface is English-only.

Features
8.5
Why this score

Per the homepage it combines 150+ data vendors, AI agents, a workflow builder, CRM sync, API, webhooks, email sending and ad sync, the broadest set among enrichment tools.

Value for money
6.0
Why this score

There is a Free plan, but the cheapest paid tier is already $167-185/month and climbs fast with more Data Credits (6,000 Data Credits alone add $261-290/month). Real cost depends heavily on usage.

Performance
7.0
Why this score

No independent performance measurements exist. The score rests on documented limits (50,000 rows per table on Launch) and a steady release cadence, minus points for Trustpilot reviewers who question data quality and slow simple tasks.

Support
6.0
Why this score

Documentation, Clay University and a community exist; priority support starts at Growth. Several Trustpilot reviewers say support was hard to reach or refused credit refunds, while some praise quick replies.

Privacy & security
6.5
Why this score

A SOC 2 Type 2 audit, DPAs on request and a commitment not to sell user data. Points off because the policy dates from 2020, says nothing about AI training, and the product aggregates third-party contact data, leaving compliance risk with customers.

What users say

Sources

Specs & compatibility
Developer
Clay Labs
Headquarters
United States
Launched
2017
Category
Business

Capabilities

  • AI features
  • Public API
  • Integrations
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Templates

Platforms

  • Web
  • Browser extension
  • API

Interface languages

  • English

Integrations

  • CRM
  • Email
  • LinkedIn Ads
  • Meta Ads
  • Google Ads

Support

  • Help center
  • Community forum
  • Email

Change history

  1. Feature.Auto-mode for Claygent picks the AI model per row to optimise cost.
  2. Price.Mid-cycle upgrades now credit unused credits and Actions toward the new plan.
  3. Feature.Credit Budgets added to cap workspace credit spend.
Full change history (7)
  1. Company.Built In reports Clay raised a $100M Series C led by CapitalG at a $3.1B valuation.
  2. Update.Clay announced a completed SOC 2 Type 2 audit.
  3. Price.Self-serve annual plans launched with a 10% discount.
  4. Launch.Clay began in Brooklyn as a no-code spreadsheet for connecting data and automation (year only).
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