Clay vs Apollo.io (2026)
A head-to-head on price, free access, and staying power. Both live and price-verified as of Jul 21, 2026.
The verdict, first
Clay
- if you lean toward the more recent build, from 2017.
- if it is built for SMB & enterprise teams.
Apollo.io
- if it starts cheaper, at $49/mo against $185/mo.
- if a longer track record matters to you; it has run since 2015.
What each one is
Clay
What sets it apart Waterfall enrichment across a marketplace of 150-plus data providers, querying sources in sequence to raise match and fill rates, combined with Claygent, an AI agent that researches companies and people from the web.
Clay is a data-enrichment and outbound platform built around a spreadsheet interface: teams assemble tables of accounts or people, then enrich each row by drawing from a marketplace of 150-plus data providers. Its defining mechanic is the waterfall, which queries providers in sequence until one returns a match and so lifts fill rates beyond what any single source gives. The product also runs an AI research agent, Claygent, to scan websites and summarize findings, and it suits technical GTM and RevOps operators comfortable with conditional logic rather than reps wanting a turnkey tool. Pricing is credit-based, splitting "data credits" for sourced records from "actions" for platform and workflow runs.
Sources Clay pricing page · Clay homepage · Clay blog: Data Enrichment · First Round Review: Clay's Path to Product-Market Fit
Apollo.io
What sets it apart Combines a native B2B contact database with built-in outreach sequences, a dialer, and CRM enrichment in a single workspace, rather than only supplying data or only automating sends.
The platform pairs a B2B contact database (Apollo cites 230M+ contacts and 30M+ companies) with the outreach tooling to act on it: prospecting filters, multi-step email and call sequences, a built-in dialer, and enrichment that syncs to Salesforce and HubSpot. What sets it apart from standalone data vendors or standalone sequencers is that both sit in one workspace, letting a rep move from finding a contact to messaging them without exporting elsewhere. Access to that data is metered by credits (email, mobile, export, and data pools) that reset each billing cycle, so export volume tends to drive cost more than seat count. It fits SDRs, account executives, and revenue teams from individual users to larger organizations, with a free plan and paid tiers starting at $49 per user per month billed annually.
Sources Apollo.io homepage · Apollo.io pricing page · Salesmotion - Apollo.io Pricing Breakdown 2026
Side by side
| Metric | Clay | Apollo.io |
|---|---|---|
| From $/mo | $185 | $49 |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Founded | 2017 | 2015 |
| Best for | SMB & enterprise | solo & SMB & enterprise |
| Status | Live | Live |
ALL FIGURES = LOWEST PAID MONTHLY PLAN · STATUS & PRICE VERIFIED JUL 21, 2026
Where they differ
Price
Apollo.io is the cheaper entry at $49/mo, versus $185/mo for Clay. Both prices are the lowest paid monthly plan, verified Jul 21, 2026.
Free access
Both Clay and Apollo.io offer a permanent free tier - you can trial either at no cost. A permanent free tier lowers the risk of committing before you have validated the fit.
Track record
Apollo.io has been operating since 2015; Clay since 2017. For a tool you build a business process on, a longer survival record matters.
Questions of record
Clay or Apollo.io - which is better in 2026?
Is Clay cheaper than Apollo.io?
Does Clay or Apollo.io have a free tier?
Are Clay and Apollo.io still maintained?
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