Quick Answer
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Clay pricing varies by team size and features, ranging from $0 to $720 per month in 2026. Your actual cost depends on the tier you choose, contract length, and negotiated discounts.

Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.

  • Free tier: Yes
  • Billing: Monthly and annual (save 15-20%)
  • Hidden costs: Add ~35% for implementation, support, and training

Clay offers 5 pricing tiers: Free, Starter, Explorer, Pro, Enterprise. Standard paid plans include Free at $0/month, Starter at $149/month, Explorer at $349/month. The Starter plan is small teams and individual sdrs starting with data enrichment who need phone numbers and basic enrichment workflows.

Compared to other ai sales tools software, Clay is positioned at the premium price point.

Last verified: February 2026 | Sources: 1 pricing pages and reviews

Clay is a data enrichment and workflow automation platform purpose-built for go-to-market teams that need to build, enrich, and activate prospect lists at scale. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in New York, Clay has raised $202M in funding (Series C) at a $1.5B valuation and is trusted by over 300,000 GTM teams including OpenAI, HubSpot, and other leading companies. Unlike traditional sales databases that maintain proprietary contact lists, Clay uses a unique waterfall enrichment approach that searches across 100+ data providers in sequence to maximize data coverage and accuracy.

Clay's pricing is credit-based rather than per-seat, with all plans offering unlimited users. Plans range from Free (100 credits/month) to Pro ($720-$800/month for 50,000 credits), with Enterprise contracts available for custom volumes. The platform's spreadsheet-like interface allows RevOps teams to build custom prospecting workflows with conditional logic, AI-powered research via Claygent, and automated personalization -- all without writing code. However, Clay requires technical expertise to use effectively and does not send emails or make calls, requiring integration with outreach tools.

The higher your Clay plan, the better your credit economics: the Pro plan costs $0.016/credit compared to $0.075/credit on Starter, making it up to 7x more cost-effective at scale. However, hidden costs including credit top-up markups (50% premium), failed enrichment charges, and variable credit consumption per action (1-25 credits) mean actual costs often exceed base subscription prices by 30-50% for teams without optimized workflows.

All Clay Plans & Pricing

Plan Monthly Annual Best For
Free credits: 100/monthsearches: Up to 5,000 people/company searches Free Free 0 Individuals and small teams evaluating Clay's data enrichment capabilities before committing to a paid plan
Starter credits: 2,000/month (24K/year annual)searches: Up to 5,000 people/company searches $149 /month $134 /monthSave 10% Small teams and individual SDRs starting with data enrichment who need phone numbers and basic enrichment workflows
Explorer credits: 10,000/month (120K/year annual)searches: Up to 10,000 company searches/month $349 /month $314 /monthSave 10% Growing GTM teams that need higher credit volumes with webhook and email sequencing integrations for automated workflows
Pro credits: 50,000/month (600K/year annual)searches: Up to 25,000 company searches/month $800 /month $720 /monthSave 10% Scaling GTM teams that need CRM integrations and high-volume enrichment with the best credit economics
Enterprise credits: Custom allocationsearches: Up to 50,000 people/company searches Contact Contact Large organizations requiring enterprise security (SSO), dedicated support, Snowflake integration, and custom credit allocations
View all features by plan

Free

  • 100 credits per month
  • Unlimited users
  • Up to 5,000 people and company searches
  • AI/Claygent access
  • Access to 100+ data integration providers
  • Clay Chrome extension
  • Basic waterfall enrichment
  • Spreadsheet-like interface
  • Pre-built templates
  • Credit rollover (up to 2x monthly allocation)
  • Community support

Starter

  • 2,000 credits per month (24,000/year on annual)
  • All Free features included
  • Unlimited users
  • Up to 5,000 people and company searches
  • Phone number enrichments
  • Use your own API keys (BYOK)
  • Waterfall enrichment across multiple providers
  • AI-powered research with Claygent
  • Credit rollover (up to 2x monthly allocation)
  • Email support

Explorer

  • 10,000 credits per month (120,000/year on annual)
  • All Starter features included
  • Unlimited users
  • Up to 10,000 company searches per month
  • Webhooks for workflow automation
  • Email sequencing integrations
  • Advanced waterfall enrichment
  • Higher credit rollover cap
  • 53% lower cost per credit vs Starter
  • Priority email support

Pro

  • 50,000 credits per month (600,000/year on annual)
  • All Explorer features included
  • Unlimited users
  • Up to 25,000 company searches per month
  • Native CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot)
  • Bi-directional CRM sync
  • Advanced workflow automation
  • Optimal cost per credit ($0.016/credit)
  • Up to 7x cheaper per credit than Starter
  • Advanced lead scoring
  • Priority support

Enterprise

  • Custom credit allocation
  • All Pro features included
  • Unlimited users
  • Up to 50,000 people and company searches
  • Unlimited rows of data
  • AI prompting support and guidance
  • Data engineering with Snowflake
  • Dedicated Slack support channel
  • Credit reporting and analytics dashboard
  • SSO (Single Sign-On) for security
  • Custom onboarding and training
  • Dedicated Customer Success Manager
  • Custom integrations and workflows
  • SOC 2 Type II compliance
  • Advanced compliance controls
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Hidden Costs to Budget For

Watch for 6 hidden costs
  • Credit Top-Up Overages (50% Markup): When you exhaust your monthly credits, Clay offers top-ups starting at 250 credits, but at 1.5x your plan's unit price -- a 50% markup over your normal credit rate. A really successful outreach campaign or busy month can force expensive top-ups, and teams that underestimate monthly consumption routinely see actual costs 30-50% higher than their base subscription. Budget for at least 20% overage on top of your plan cost.
  • Failed Enrichment Credit Loss: Credits are consumed for every enrichment attempt, regardless of whether Clay finds the data you requested. Failed searches still cost credits -- you're paying for the attempt, not the result. Users report that 15-30% of enrichment attempts fail to return usable data, effectively reducing your credit allocation by that amount. There are no refunds or credits returned for unsuccessful lookups.
  • Variable Credit Costs Per Action (1-25 Credits): Different actions consume vastly different credit amounts. Basic data enrichments cost 1-2 credits, but specialized lookups like mobile phone numbers can cost up to 25 credits depending on the provider. A typical lead enrichment (email, phone, company data) costs 8-12 credits per contact. This variability makes budget forecasting extremely difficult, and teams that assume 1 credit per action dramatically underestimate actual consumption.
  • Testing Burns Real Credits (No Sandbox): Building and testing workflows in Clay uses real credits -- there is no free sandbox or test environment. Every test run consumes production credits, so you're spending money before your campaign is even live. Teams report burning 500-2,000 credits during initial workflow setup and testing phases, which on the Starter plan (2,000 credits/month) could consume your entire monthly allocation before any real outreach begins.
  • Bring Your Own API Key Costs: While Clay supports 100+ data providers through its integrations, many premium enrichment sources require you to bring your own API keys (BYOK). These external API costs (for providers like Clearbit, Hunter, ZoomInfo) are charged separately by those providers and are not included in Clay's credit pricing. Teams can easily spend $200-$1,000+/month in external API costs on top of their Clay subscription.
  • Learning Curve and Workflow Optimization Investment: Clay is designed for technical users who understand conditional logic, data architecture, and AI prompt tuning. It typically requires a dedicated 'Clay owner' or RevOps specialist to build and maintain workflows effectively. Unoptimized workflows burn credits rapidly -- running enrichments on every row without filters or logic wastes 2-5x the credits of an optimized setup. Budget 20-40 hours for initial setup and ongoing 5-10 hours/month for maintenance.
Tip

Ask your Clay sales rep about these costs upfront. Getting them in writing before signing can save you from surprise charges later.

Full hidden costs breakdown →

Frequently Asked Questions

01 How much does Clay cost?

Clay offers five pricing tiers: Free ($0 with 100 credits/month), Starter at $149/month ($134/month annually with 2,000 credits), Explorer at $349/month ($314/month annually with 10,000 credits), Pro at $800/month ($720/month annually with 50,000 credits), and Enterprise with custom pricing. All plans include unlimited users -- pricing is based on credit volume, not per-seat. Annual billing saves approximately 10% across all paid plans. Higher-tier plans offer significantly better per-credit economics, with Pro being up to 7x cheaper per credit than Starter.

02 Does Clay have a free plan?

Yes, Clay offers a free forever plan with 100 credits per month, unlimited users, up to 5,000 people and company searches, AI/Claygent access, and access to 100+ data integration providers. The free plan also includes Clay's Chrome extension and credit rollover up to 2x your monthly allocation (200 credits max). However, the free plan does not include phone number enrichments, CRM integrations, or webhooks. The 100-credit limit is very restrictive for meaningful prospecting -- a single contact enrichment can cost 8-12 credits.

03 What is Clay?

Clay is a data enrichment and workflow automation platform that helps go-to-market teams build, enrich, and activate prospect lists at scale. Unlike traditional sales databases (ZoomInfo, Apollo), Clay doesn't maintain its own contact database. Instead, it uses a 'waterfall' enrichment method -- searching across 100+ data providers in sequence until it finds the information you need. The spreadsheet-like interface lets you build custom prospecting workflows with conditional logic, AI-powered research (via Claygent), and automated personalization, all without writing code. Clay is trusted by 300,000+ GTM teams including OpenAI and HubSpot.

04 How do Clay credits work?

Clay uses a credit-based system where different actions consume different amounts of credits. Basic people and company searches are free (counted separately), but data enrichments cost 1-25 credits depending on the action and provider. Typical contact enrichments cost 8-12 credits per lead. Unused credits roll over to the next month, but only up to 2x your monthly allocation. For example, the Explorer plan (10,000 credits/month) can accumulate a maximum of 20,000 credits. When credits are exhausted, top-ups are available at 1.5x your plan's unit price (50% markup).

05 Clay vs Apollo.io?

Clay and Apollo serve different purposes despite both being in the sales tools category. Apollo is an all-in-one platform with its own 210M+ contact database, built-in email sequences, and a dialer -- it's designed for direct prospecting and outreach. Clay is a data enrichment and orchestration platform that aggregates data from 100+ providers using waterfall enrichment but doesn't send emails or make calls. Clay is better for technical RevOps teams building custom workflows, while Apollo is better for SDRs who want a complete prospecting-to-outreach solution. Clay starts at $149/month (credit-based), while Apollo starts at $49/user/month (per-seat).

06 Is Clay worth the price?

Clay provides excellent value for technically savvy GTM teams that can fully leverage its workflow automation and waterfall enrichment capabilities. The Pro plan at $720/month offers the best credit economics at $0.016/credit. However, Clay's value depends heavily on operational discipline -- teams that optimize workflows, use filters efficiently, and avoid unnecessary enrichments see strong ROI, while those that run unoptimized workflows can burn through credits 2-5x faster than expected. Clay is most cost-effective when you have a dedicated Clay owner and clear enrichment strategies.

07 Does Clay integrate with my CRM?

Native CRM integrations with Salesforce and HubSpot are only available on the Pro plan ($800/month or $720/month annually) and above. Lower-tier plans (Free, Starter, Explorer) do not include direct CRM integrations, though you can export data manually or use webhooks on the Explorer plan to connect with other tools. The Pro plan enables bi-directional CRM sync, allowing you to enrich existing CRM records and push enriched data back automatically. Enterprise plans add Snowflake integration for data warehouse connectivity.

08 How does Clay's waterfall enrichment work?

Waterfall enrichment is Clay's core technology that searches multiple data providers in sequence to maximize data coverage. When you request an enrichment (like finding someone's email), Clay tries Provider A first. If it fails, Clay automatically tries Provider B, then Provider C, and so on across its 100+ integrated sources. This approach typically yields higher match rates than any single provider, but each attempt in the waterfall consumes credits regardless of success. You can customize the waterfall order and select which providers to use for each enrichment type, optimizing for cost vs coverage.