Clay vs Persana (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Clay grades higher than Persana: 2.8 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Clay grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on the free plan, 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
Persana
Credit-based prospect data, enrichment and AI outreach agents
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 Persana if
- Fits if you want enrichment, research and outreach agents in one place
- Works for a small team that wants to start on the free credits
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you need phones: 10 credits each, so Starter's 24,000 yearly credits cover 2,400 numbers
- Skip it if you want it settled, as the banner says it's joining forces with Rox and plans may change
- Pricey if you need volume: Unlimited is $600 a month billed annually
- Watch out: unlimited searches and exports are subject to fair use, and only Starter's monthly price was visible
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAClayGood | 2.4GPAPersanaFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | C$68 a month billed annually for 24,000 credits a year, $85 monthly. That's the middle of the range, below the $74 dearer quarter. |
| 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. | CA free plan with 50 credits, enough for 50 emails or 5 phones, with unlimited users. |
| 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. | BWaterfall enrichment, people and company search, AI research, signals, sequencing and CRM sync. It covers the job. |
| 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. Tables, agents and signals to set up. |
| 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, with eight listed integrations and no desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | building custom lead lists from many data sources | credit-based enrichment with AI agents |
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 Persana. 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. Persana starts at $68 a month and scores 2.7.
Clay scores higher, and starts $99 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 Persana 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.
- Persana also covers sales pipeline and AI agents.
At a glance
| Clay | Persana | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $167 per month for 2,500 data credits, billed annually | $68 per month, billed annually ($85 billed monthly) |
| 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. | 50 credits, enough for 50 emails or 5 phone numbers, with unlimited users and 100+ data providers. |
| Free trial | 14-day trial of paid plans | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Clay Labs Inc. | Persana AI |
| Price read from | clay.com | persana.ai |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 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.
Persana
- Phones cost 10 credits each, so Starter's 24,000 credits a year cover 2,400 numbers.
- Annual prices are shown by default; only Starter's monthly price ($85) was visible on the page.
- The site banner says Persana is joining forces with Rox, so plans and pricing may change.
- Unlimited searches and exports are subject to fair use and anti-abuse terms.
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.
Persana
- Waterfall enrichment
- Looks up emails and phone numbers across more than 100 data providers in turn. One email found costs 1 credit and one phone found costs 10 credits.
- People and company search
- Builds lists from firmographic and technographic filters, with the number of results per search rising from 500 on Free to unlimited on the Unlimited plan.
- AI research and agents
- Persana Quantum research agents gather account details for each row. Autopilot AI agents on the Unlimited plan and AI SDR on Enterprise run outreach.
- Signals and triggers
- The Pro plan tracks job changes, intent data, hiring triggers and news, and webhooks accept feeds from RB2B, Clearbit and Warmly.
- Sequencing and CRM sync
- Growth connects to sequencers such as Smartlead, Instantly, Salesloft and Outreach. Pro adds HubSpot and Salesforce, and Unlimited can send email itself.
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.
Persana
Free$0
50 credits (50 emails or 5 phones), searches up to 500 results, CSV export, email and phone waterfalls.
Starter$68
per month, 24,000 credits a year, billed annually ($85 monthly)
2,000 credits a month, searches up to 7,000 results, credit rollover and credit reports.
Growth$151
per month for 60,000 credits a year, billed annually
Adds email sequencing integrations, company lookalikes, your own API key and webhooks or HTTP API. Searches up to 20,000.
Pro$400
per month for 216,000 credits a year, billed annually
Adds account-based marketing, CRM integration, signal triggers and funding data. Up to 10,000 exports and premium support.
Unlimited$600
per month for 600,000 credits a year, billed annually
Unlimited searches and CSV exports under fair use, Autopilot AI agents, email sequencing and sending, Slack support.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom credits and plan, AI SDR full-service option, custom playbooks and a dedicated account team. 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.
Persana
- Annual discount
20% off with annual billing
The pricing page toggle labels annual billing as a 20% saving over monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Clay or Persana?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Persana is cheaper to start with: $68 a month, against $167 a month for Clay. Clay starts at $167 per month for 2,500 data credits, billed annually, and Persana starts at $68 per month, billed annually ($85 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Clay or Persana?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Clay and Persana have a free plan.
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.