Clay vs Octoparse (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Clay grades higher than Octoparse: 2.8 against 2.6 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 features. Octoparse grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
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
Octoparse
No-code web scraping with ready templates and a cloud runner
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 Octoparse if
- Fits if you want web data such as business listings without writing code
- Works for teams that want scheduled scrapers without running servers
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay on Basic, because custom tasks run on your own computer
- Watch out: proxies, CAPTCHA solving, the AI assistant and pay-per-result templates draw on credits that reset each month
- Pricey if you want the cloud, which starts at $69 a month billed annually ($83 monthly)
- Skip it if you want ready contact data, as it scrapes pages and does not supply emails itself
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAClayGood | 2.6GPAOctoparseGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | BBasic is $19 a month, inside the cheaper quarter of $33.25, and desktop tasks run free on your own computer. The cloud plan most people want is $69 billed annually. |
| 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. | BA free plan with 2,000 template rows a month and 10 saved tasks, and desktop tasks do not count against the rows. |
| 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. | CTemplates, an AI assistant, a task builder, cloud runs and an API. It scrapes pages generally, so lead lists are one use and you build the extraction yourself. |
| 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. | CNo store rating on record. Building a custom task has a learning curve, though the templates skip it. |
| 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. | BWeb, Windows and Mac apps, with an API and an MCP connection. No phone apps. |
| Best for | building custom lead lists from many data sources | scraping business listings without code |
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 Octoparse. How we grade
Price against what you get
Clay starts at $167 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Octoparse starts at $19 a month and scores 2.3.
Clay scores higher, and starts $148 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other lead and email finders on the chart, none scores higher than Clay for less, and 1 scores higher than Octoparse for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Clay also covers email campaigns.
- Octoparse also covers research.
At a glance
| Clay | Octoparse | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $167 per month for 2,500 data credits, billed annually | $19 per month, billed monthly (Basic) |
| 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. | 2,000 template or API rows a month, 10 saved tasks, desktop tasks run on your computer. |
| Free trial | 14-day trial of paid plans | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Made by | Clay Labs Inc. | Octoparse |
| Price read from | clay.com | octoparse.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.
Octoparse
- Proxies, CAPTCHA solving, AI Assistant and pay-per-result templates draw on credits; unused monthly credits reset.
- Custom tasks run on your own computer unless you are on Standard or above.
- Basic is monthly only; annual billing starts at Standard.
- Refunds: 5-day money-back on paid plans, not on Basic after 1,000 rows scraped or after a free trial.
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.
Octoparse
- Template library
- Ready-to-run scrapers for sites such as Google Maps, Amazon, X and TikTok, some priced per result.
- AI Assistant
- Describe the data you need and it builds the scraping task, paid from credits after a free start.
- Desktop task builder
- A Windows and Mac app with auto-detect and drag-and-drop; tasks run on your computer and do not count toward monthly rows.
- Cloud runs
- From Standard, tasks run on Octoparse Cloud with scheduling and automatic IP rotation.
- API and MCP
- Templates and search APIs are reachable by REST API and MCP; unlimited use starts on Standard.
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.
Octoparse
Free$0
2,000 rows a month for templates and AI tasks, 10 saved tasks, community support.
Basic$19
per month, billed monthly only
10,000 rows a month, 20 saved tasks, 3x faster local runs and $1 in monthly credits.
Standard$69
per month, billed annually ($83 billed monthly)
Cloud runs, scheduling, 3 or 6 concurrent tasks, 100 saved tasks and unlimited API and MCP use.
Professional$249
per month, billed annually ($299 billed monthly)
20 concurrent cloud tasks, 250 saved tasks, Drive, Dropbox and S3 export, priority support.
EnterpriseCustom
40+ concurrent runs, sub-accounts and a success manager; 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.
Octoparse
- Annual discount
Save 16% with annual billing
The pricing page says annual billing saves 16% against monthly on Standard and Professional.
- Startups
30% startup discount for a year
Startups can apply for a special 30% discount on Octoparse for one year.
- Education
Student and educator discount
Universities can apply through a student and educators application for a discounted subscription.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Clay or Octoparse?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Octoparse is cheaper to start with: $19 a month, against $167 a month for Clay. Clay starts at $167 per month for 2,500 data credits, billed annually, and Octoparse starts at $19 per month, billed monthly (Basic).
Which has a free plan, Clay or Octoparse?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Clay and Octoparse have a free plan.
Which platforms do Clay and Octoparse run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Octoparse lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.