Clay vs Lusha
An independent, review-free comparison compiled by the SaaSTracker editorial team. Both products are profiled in full, and neither can pay for placement here.
Still shortlisting? Browse the best in B2B Data Providers for every option we track, with award winners called out.
The short answer
Both sides assessedClay compared with Lusha
Lusha is a precision instrument (dials, one-click reveals); Clay is a factory. SDRs reach for Lusha mid-call; GTM engineers run Lusha as one provider inside Clay waterfalls.
Lusha compared with Clay
Complementary by design: Clay orchestrates, Lusha provides, typically as the premium phone step in a waterfall. Buying Clay doesn't replace Lusha; it rationalizes when Lusha credits get spent.
Choose Clay if
GTM engineers and data-savvy teams building automated, multi-provider enrichment and personalization pipelines.
Choose Lusha if
SDRs and small teams that need reliable phone numbers and emails fast, without committing to an enterprise data contract.
Side by side
13 attributes| Attribute | Clay | Lusha |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Data | Data |
| Starting price | Free plan; paid from $167/mo billed annually (Launch) | Free plan (40 credits/mo); paid from $49.90/mo, or $37.45/mo billed yearly (Starter, 1 user, 400 credits/mo) |
| Pricing model | Two metered allowances per plan, actions (running workflows, including waterfall steps and Claygent) and data credits (data bought from providers), each set on its own slider, with a free plan, two self-serve tiers, and custom Enterprise. CRM auto-sync, webhooks, and the HTTP API integration are gated at Growth. | Freemium with per-plan tiers that each include a set number of seats; one credit pool meters reveals (1 credit per email, 5 per phone number), and Pro and Premium credit allowances expand on a slider. Yearly billing is 25 percent off; Scale is custom. |
| Free plan | 500 actions and 100 data credits per month, unlimited seats and tables, up to 200 rows per table. | 40 credits a month for one user with the extension, enough for a handful of phone reveals or 40 emails. |
| Free trial | 14 days | No |
| Best for | GTM engineers and data-savvy teams building automated, multi-provider enrichment and personalization pipelines. | SDRs and small teams that need reliable phone numbers and emails fast, without committing to an enterprise data contract. |
| Setup time | First enriched table in an hour via templates; a production pipeline (sources, then waterfalls, then scoring, then delivery) typically takes 2-4 weeks to harden. | Ten minutes to first reveal; an afternoon for CRM sync and team credit pooling. |
| Learning curve | The steepest in this report, genuinely a skill. Templates, the academy, and a large creator ecosystem (courses, agencies) flatten it substantially. | The gentlest in the data category. |
| Platforms | Web app, Chrome extension, REST API | Web app, Chrome extension, REST API |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type II, GDPR program | ISO 27701, ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, CCPA |
| Founded | 2017 | 2016 |
| Headquarters | New York City, US | Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Ownership | Venture-backed (private) | Venture-backed (private) |
Strengths and limitations
Clay
Strengths
- Waterfall coverage decisively beats any single data provider.
- Claygent turns open-web research into a scalable, auditable pipeline step.
- Deep native integrations across the modern outbound stack (sequencers, CRMs, signals).
- Template/creator ecosystem compounds, proven workflows are one click away.
Limitations
- Real learning curve, tables, waterfalls, and prompt design reward (effectively require) a technical operator.
- Credit economics are powerful but unforgiving without active management.
- Not a proprietary data source; quality ceilings are its providers'.
- Enterprise governance (SSO, roles, audit) only matures at top tiers.
Lusha
Strengths
- Best-in-class direct-dial accuracy in its price range, the defining differentiator.
- Frictionless extension workflow; fastest time-to-value in the category.
- Genuinely useful free tier keeps evaluation honest.
- Compliance certifications (ISO 27701, SOC 2) ease privacy reviews unusual at this price.
Limitations
- Database breadth and filter depth trail Apollo's at similar spend.
- Credit economics punish careless bulk reveals; phone credits deplete fast.
- The engagement layer is thin: automated email sequences exist on every plan, but calling, multichannel cadences and deliverability tooling live elsewhere.
- Intent/signal features are add-on-grade, not differentiating.
Pricing compared
Clay
Two metered allowances per plan, actions (running workflows, including waterfall steps and Claygent) and data credits (data bought from providers), each set on its own slider, with a free plan, two self-serve tiers, and custom Enterprise. CRM auto-sync, webhooks, and the HTTP API integration are gated at Growth.
- Free$0
- Launch$167
- Growth$446
- EnterpriseCustom
Clay's effective price is workflow-dependent: well-designed tables deliver coverage and personalization no single vendor matches at any price, while naive configurations burn credits alarmingly. Teams treating credit design as part of the craft consistently report it as the stack's highest-ROI line item.
Lusha
Freemium with per-plan tiers that each include a set number of seats; one credit pool meters reveals (1 credit per email, 5 per phone number), and Pro and Premium credit allowances expand on a slider. Yearly billing is 25 percent off; Scale is custom.
- Free$0
- Starter$49.90
- Pro$69.90
- Premium$399.90
- ScaleCustom
Priced above Apollo per record and below enterprise contracts, Lusha's premium buys dial accuracy where it pays for itself in connect rates. For email-centric volume it's the wrong spend; for phone-led motions it's often the highest-ROI data line after the sequencer.
Editorial verdict on each
Clay
Clay is the most consequential product in this report: it moved the center of outbound gravity from databases and sequencers to the orchestration layer between them, and its valuation sprint reflects substance, not froth. The costs are honest, a real learning curve and credit economics that punish sloppiness, but teams that invest in the craft get coverage, research, and personalization nothing else assembles. If your outbound has an engineer, this is their instrument.
Read the full Clay profileLusha
Best ValueLusha is the precision instrument of self-serve B2B data: the extension is still the fastest reveal workflow anywhere, and the dials are the ones that actually connect. It has wisely stopped pretending to be a platform, its future is being the trusted, certified accuracy layer inside bigger stacks, a role the Clay era rewards. Buy it for phones and speed; buy breadth elsewhere.
Read the full Lusha profileClay profile last reviewed 2026-09-26; Lusha last reviewed 2026-09-27. Pricing is compiled from public sources and can change without notice. See our methodology.
The best in B2B Data Providers
26 trackedB2B data providers supply the contact and company information (emails, phone numbers, firmographics, and buying signals) that feeds prospecting lists and enrichment workflows.
The largest self-serve contact database in the category, fused with sequencing, data and execution in one product.
Accurate direct dials and a genuinely usable free tier make Lusha the lowest-friction entry point into paid B2B data.
Founded in 2022 and already at 40,000 users, Prospeo shipped AI Search, lookalikes, and an MCP server in 2025 as its database passed 280M leads.
Semantic search over the live web with contact data attached made prospecting a language problem rather than a database subscription.
Signup to verified emails in five minutes with zero configuration, and failed searches cost nothing, so nobody needs training to get value from Anymailfinder.
Frequently asked questions
6 questionsWhat is the difference between Clay and Lusha?
Lusha is a precision instrument (dials, one-click reveals); Clay is a factory. SDRs reach for Lusha mid-call; GTM engineers run Lusha as one provider inside Clay waterfalls.
Is Clay or Lusha cheaper?
Clay starts at Free plan; paid from $167/mo billed annually (Launch). Lusha starts at Free plan (40 credits/mo); paid from $49.90/mo, or $37.45/mo billed yearly (Starter, 1 user, 400 credits/mo). The billing models differ, so the entry price is rarely the whole cost. Clay pricing model: Two metered allowances per plan, actions (running workflows, including waterfall steps and Claygent) and data credits (data bought from providers), each set on its own slider, with a free plan, two self-serve tiers, and custom Enterprise. Lusha pricing model: Freemium with per-plan tiers that each include a set number of seats; one credit pool meters reveals (1 credit per email, 5 per phone number), and Pro and Premium credit allowances expand on a slider.
Does Clay or Lusha have a free plan?
Clay has a free plan. 500 actions and 100 data credits per month, unlimited seats and tables, up to 200 rows per table. Trial terms: 14 days. Lusha has a free plan. 40 credits a month for one user with the extension, enough for a handful of phone reveals or 40 emails.
Who should choose Clay?
GTM engineers and data-savvy teams building automated, multi-provider enrichment and personalization pipelines.
Who should choose Lusha?
SDRs and small teams that need reliable phone numbers and emails fast, without committing to an enterprise data contract.
What are the best alternatives to Clay and Lusha?
SaaSTracker profiles 26 products in B2B Data Providers. The Summer 2026 awards in the category went to Apollo.io (Category Leader), Prospeo (Momentum), Exa (Innovation). Every profile is compiled from primary sources, so a shortlist can be built from pricing, limitations, and fit rather than from star ratings.
