Apollo.io vs Clay

Apollo.io

Apollo is the default choice for a small sales team that wants database, sequencing and dialler in one subscription without a ZoomInfo contract, and the agent layer now does the list-building and first-draft outreach that used to need a separate tool. The catch is the credit meter: AI research, enrichment and exports all draw from a pool that resets monthly, so the sticker price is the floor, not the bill.

Pros

• +Database, sequencing, dialler, enrichment and meeting booking in one tool at $49 per user
• +A real free plan for light use, with no card required
• +MCP server, Chrome extension and Apollo Anywhere put the data inside Claude, ChatGPT, Gmail and the CRM
• +Agents trained on your ICP and playbooks handle list building and first drafts

Cons

• −Credits reset every cycle and do not roll over, and add-on credits bill immediately and recur
• −Data accuracy varies by region and seniority, and bounces still eat sender reputation
• −Price cards on the pricing page load client-side; the annual discount is not stated
• −API access, SSO and advanced security are reserved for the Custom tier

Clay

Clay is the tool to reach for when a prospect list needs more than one data vendor and some judgement per row - the waterfall enrichment and the research agent do in one table what used to take three subscriptions and a VA. It is not a cheap or simple tool: the useful plan starts at a few hundred dollars a month, credits are spent per column per row, and CRM sync and webhooks only arrive on the $446 tier. A one-person outbound effort can live on the free plan; a team that already runs sequences will want Growth and a budget for overages.

Pros

• +Waterfall enrichment tries many providers per field, so coverage is higher than any one vendor
• +Claygent runs open web research per row with a prompt, not just database lookups
• +Free plan has unlimited seats and tables, so a team can trial it without buying seats
• +Large integration and template ecosystem, and the company is well funded

Cons

• −Launch at $167 a month still lacks CRM integrations, HTTP API and webhooks - those start at $446
• −Actions and data credits are two separate meters, and the pricing page itself shows two different credit figures for Launch
• −The spreadsheet metaphor hides real complexity; building a reliable table takes learning time
• −Overage billing makes the monthly bill hard to forecast

Is Apollo.io cheaper than Clay?

They charge in different units, so there is no like-for-like answer: Apollo.io starts at $49/seat/mo, Clay at $167/mo. Entry price is the lowest paid plan as we last verified it.

Does Apollo.io or Clay have a free tier?

Both: Apollo.io has a free tier, and Clay has a free tier.

Which has a public API, Apollo.io or Clay?

Both ship a public API, so either can be built on; the fact table above shows the platforms each one runs on.