Clay vs Crustdata (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Clay grades higher than Crustdata: 2.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Clay grades higher on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Clay
Data enrichment tables that query 150+ data providers in one place
Which one is for you
Pick Clay if
- Fits if you build lists with odd criteria no single database sells
- Works for teams that want several data providers behind one bill and don't mind building spreadsheet workflows
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're on your own, as the first paid plan is $167 a month billed yearly, or $185 monthly
- Tight if you're staying free, with 200 rows per table, 100 data credits a month and no phone enrichment
- Watch out: two meters apply, data credits and actions, and extra credits cost 30% more than plan credits
- Skip it if you just want to look someone up, as it's built for building workflows
- Watch out: CRM auto-sync and webhooks start on Growth at $446 a month, and the Clay API is Enterprise only
Pick Crustdata if
- Fits if you are building a product or agent that needs live company and people data
- Works for developers who want pay-per-call credits
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are a small team, as the page says paid plans begin at four figures a month
- Not for you if you want a prospecting screen, as it is an API and data product
- Watch out: contact enrich and live search are listed as enterprise only
- Skip it if you want unused credits to last, as bought credits stay valid for 12 months
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAClayGood | 1.6GPACrustdataWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BLaunch is $167 a month billed yearly with unlimited seats, about $33.40 a head for five, just inside this category's cheaper quarter ($34). It buys 2,500 data credits and 15,000 actions a month. On your own, the whole $167 is yours to pay. | DThe page says enterprise plans start at four figures a month, far above the $167 where the category's dearest tenth begins. Self-serve credit pack prices in dollars are not shown. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan with 100 data credits and 500 actions a month, unlimited seats, waterfalls and Claygent, plus a 14-day trial. But tables stop at 200 rows and there's no phone enrichment. | C$20 in free credits for each new account, one time, with no card mentioned. |
| Features | AWaterfalls across 150-plus providers, where a lookup that finds nothing costs nothing, plus Claygent for web research, job-change signals, its own sequencer and CRM and warehouse sync. No rival here draws on so many sources. | CSearch, enrichment, watchers and real-time endpoints, with an MCP server. Contact enrich and live search are enterprise only, and there is no list-building screen. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record, and this is a web app where the work is building the table itself. If spreadsheet formulas make you nervous, expect a learning curve. | DNo store rating on record. It is an API product, so it needs a developer. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, but with HubSpot, Pipedrive, Attio, Outreach, Instantly, lemlist, Apollo.io and Snowflake on the list, and webhooks from Growth. No desktop or phone apps. | CWeb, with an API and an MCP server and two listed integrations. No apps. |
| Best for | building custom lead lists from many data sources | real-time people and company data over an API |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Clay and Crustdata. How we grade
Where they differ
- Clay also covers workflow automation and email campaigns.
- Crustdata also covers AI agents.
At a glance
| Clay | Crustdata | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $167 per month for 2,500 data credits, billed annually | Not published |
| Free plan | 100 data credits and 500 actions a month, unlimited seats and tables, up to 200 rows per table, waterfalls and Claygent. No phone number enrichment. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day trial of paid plans | $20 in free credits for every new account, one-time |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Clay Labs Inc. | Crustdata Inc. |
| Price read from | clay.com | crustdata.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Clay
- Two meters apply: data credits pay providers for data, and actions count each enrichment or export. Both are sized separately on paid plans.
- Data credits start at $0.05 each; extra credits cost 30% more than plan credits on Launch and Growth.
- Actions reset each billing cycle; data credits roll over up to twice the monthly amount on Launch and Growth.
- The free plan has no phone number enrichment and stops at 200 rows per table.
Crustdata
- Self-serve credit pack prices in dollars are not shown on the pricing page; only credit costs per call are.
- Credits bought stay valid for 12 months, and several endpoints (contact enrich, live search) are listed as enterprise only.
- It is an API and data product, not a prospecting app with a list-building interface.
Key features
Clay
- Waterfall enrichment
- A column asks one data provider after another until a value is found, drawing on more than 150 providers. A lookup that returns nothing costs nothing.
- Claygent
- An AI agent with web research that fills in custom data points a provider does not sell. It is included on every plan, the free one too.
- Audiences and search
- Build lists of companies and people from Clay's search and imports. Paid plans add unlimited search and CSV uploads.
- Signals
- Track job changes, promotions, new hires, company news and social posts from Launch, and website intent from Growth.
- Sequencer and integrations
- Send email from Clay's own sequencer or push leads to Instantly, lemlist, Outreach and HubSpot sequences.
- CRM and warehouse sync
- Growth syncs and enriches CRM records automatically and connects to Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks and Postgres.
Crustdata
- People and company search
- Search about 1B people and 60M+ companies with 350+ filters; billed from 0.03 credits per result, and empty searches are free.
- Enrichment
- A base person profile costs 1 credit; work email, personal email and phone are add-ons that raise the cost to as much as 9 credits.
- Watchers
- Alerts when a person or company changes or a new match appears, billed from 0.5 credits per new result.
- Real-time endpoints
- Live people search (2 credits per profile) and live enrich (7 credits) query the web instead of the index; both are listed as enterprise.
- MCP server
- The same data can be connected to an AI agent through an MCP server as well as through the REST API.
Plans
Clay
Free$0
100 data credits and 500 actions a month, unlimited seats, 200 rows per table, waterfalls, Claygent and your own API keys.
Launch$167
per month for 2,500 data credits, billed annually ($185 monthly)
Plus 15,000 actions a month, phone enrichment, job-change signals and email sending. Data credits alone are $414 a month at 10,000 a month, billed annually.
Growth$446
per month for 6,000 data credits, billed annually ($495 monthly)
Plus 40,000 actions a month, CRM auto-sync, HTTP API and webhook automation, web intent signals, ad audiences and priority support.
EnterpriseCustom
Annual commitment, 100,000+ data credits, Clay API access, SSO, SCIM, role-based access and a dedicated growth strategist.
Crustdata
EnterpriseCustom
Real-time signals and live search; the page says plans start at four figures a month. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Clay
- Annual discount
Save 10% with annual billing
Clay's pricing page marks annual billing as a 10% saving: Launch starts at $167 a month billed yearly against $185 billed monthly.
Crustdata
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Clay or Crustdata?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Clay starts at $167 per month for 2,500 data credits, billed annually, and Crustdata publishes no starting price.
Which has a free plan, Clay or Crustdata?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Clay has a free plan. Crustdata does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.