Apollo.io vs Clay

Choose Apollo.io if…

• Startups and small sales teams that want contact data and outreach sequencing in one affordable tool
• You need Browser extension, which Clay doesn't list
• Free plan with no time limit for light prospecting
• Data, email sequences and dialer in one product

Choose Clay if…

• RevOps and growth teams that want to build custom enrichment and prospecting workflows from many data sources
• Combines 150+ data providers so one tool can fill gaps another misses
• AI research agent generates custom data points from the web

What is Apollo.io?

Apollo.io combines a large B2B contact and company database with the tools to act on it. Sales reps search for prospects by role, company size, industry and other filters, reveal verified emails and phone numbers, and then send them through email sequences, a dialer or a CRM sync without leaving the app. A Chrome extension shows contact details while browsing professional profiles and company sites, and enrichment keeps existing CRM records up to date. Newer features add AI research assistants and agents that draft outreach and prioritise accounts. Apollo is popular with startups and small sales teams because it has a free plan with no time limit and paid tiers far cheaper than older enterprise data vendors; usage is metered in credits that reset each billing cycle and don't roll over. It runs in the browser, with the Chrome extension and integrations for Salesforce, HubSpot and the major email providers. Data quality varies by region and industry, as with every vendor in this space.

What is Clay?

Clay looks like a spreadsheet, but each column can call a data provider, an AI model or another app. Go-to-market teams load a list of companies or people, then run 'waterfalls' that try several providers in turn until they find an email, phone number or firmographic detail, and use Clay's AI research agent (Claygent) to answer custom questions from the web. Results can feed CRM records, ad audiences, Clay's own email sequencer or an outside sequencing tool. It suits RevOps people and so-called GTM engineers who like building workflows more than reps who just want to look up a contact. Pricing has a free tier with unlimited seats and small monthly allowances, then paid plans metered in two units: actions for platform work and data credits for purchased data. You can plug in your own provider API keys to avoid data credit costs. It runs in the browser. The flexibility comes with a learning curve, and costs can be hard to predict at volume.