Clay vs Apollo.io: $149 vs $59/mo (2026)
Compare / Clay vs Apollo.io
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Team size
25 seats

Clay vs Apollo.io

AI Sales pricing comparison · 2026

Clay pricing ranges from $0–$800/month, while Apollo.io ranges from $0–$149/user/month. Apollo.io is typically 72% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

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See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Clay pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Apollo.io pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · AI Sales Tools
Side-by-side · live
Clay
Clay is a data enrichment and workflow automation platform purpose-built for go-to-market
verified 27d ago
$684 $1.0K
View pricing →
Apollo.io
Apollo.
verified 27d ago
$684 $1.0K
View pricing →
Verdict · Vendr median · year 1
Apollo.io saves $316 vs Clay · 25 seats
Cheapest $684
Spread 32%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Explorer
$105K/yr
year 1 license · $349/seat
Professional
$30K/yr
year 1 license · $99/seat
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$1.0K/yr
Vendr · n=175
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$684/yr
Vendr · n=14
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 1 sourced fact
Vendr median
Last verified 3w ago
Confidence Medium confidence
Sources 13 sourced facts
8 hidden-cost · 2 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified 3w ago
Confidence Medium confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
No hidden costs documented
5 documented
  • Credit Non-Rollover and Forced Upgrade Pressure
    10-25% of license costs
    2 sources
  • Automatic Annual Renewal Without Notice
    $588-$1,428/user/year
    1 source
  • Domain and Mailbox Lock-In (Rental, Not Ownership)
    5-15% of license costs
    1 source
  • Credits Consumed Without Results and No Audit Trail
    5-10% of license costs
    2 sources
  • Refund Difficulties and Slow Customer Support
    5-15% of license costs
    2 sources
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
No public ratings yet
Best for
Individuals and small teams evaluating Clay's data enrichment capabilities before committing to a paid plan
Trustpilot
1.6/5 (25)
Best for
General users and teams
Watch out
Automatic annual renewal with no advance notice and no option to cancel after payment is processed
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Clay pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Apollo.io pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
AI Sales

Clay

$0–$800
/month
5 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
AI Sales

Apollo.io

$0–$149
/user/month
5 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →

Comparing Clay and Apollo.io for AI Sales solutions in 2026. This comparison covers pricing tiers, features, and value for different business sizes.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Clay Apollo.io
Free Free /month Free /month
Starter $149 /month $59 /month
Explorer $349 /month $99 /month
Pro $800 /month $149 /month
Enterprise Custom Custom

Cost at Scale

Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.

Clay

3 scenarios
$149
Solo SDR or Small Team (Basic Enrichment)
$200/month - Starter plan at $149/month ($134 annually) provides 2,000 credits, sufficient for approximately 165-250 fully enriched contacts per month (at 8-12 credits per contact). Budget an additional $30-50/month for credit top-ups during busy periods. Total annual cost: $1,600-$2,400. Best paired with a separate outreach tool like Instantly or Lemlist ($30-97/month).
$349
Growing GTM Team (High-Volume Enrichment)
$500/month - Explorer plan at $349/month ($314 annually) provides 10,000 credits, sufficient for approximately 830-1,250 enriched contacts per month. Webhook and email sequencing integrations enable automated workflows. Budget 20-30% additional for credit overages ($70-$105/month). Total annual cost: $4,200-$6,000. Note: CRM integration requires upgrading to Pro.
$800
Scaled RevOps Operation (Full Platform)
$1,200/month - Pro plan at $800/month ($720 annually) provides 50,000 credits with native Salesforce/HubSpot CRM integration and the best per-credit economics ($0.016/credit). Supports approximately 4,150-6,250 fully enriched contacts per month. Budget 20-30% for overages and external API costs. Total annual cost: $8,640-$14,400+. Enterprise contracts (median $30,400/year per Vendr) add SSO, Snowflake, and dedicated support.

Apollo.io

3 scenarios
$0/month (free tier with basic features)
Solo / Getting Started
$99/month
Growing Business
Custom pricing — typically negotiated annually, contact sales for quote
Enterprise (100+ users)

Market Intelligence

Clay

Median annual cost
$1,000
Based on
175 deals

Apollo.io

Median annual cost
$684
Based on
14 deals

Continue researching

Clay

Apollo.io

Our Verdict

Choose Clay if their feature set aligns better with your use case. Choose Apollo.io if their platform better fits your specific requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

01 Which is cheaper: Clay or Apollo.io?

Both platforms offer custom pricing that varies based on company size, features needed, and contract terms. Request quotes from both vendors to compare at your specific usage level.

02 How does Clay pricing compare to Apollo.io?

Clay offers 5 pricing tiers starting with Free, while Apollo.io has 5 tiers beginning with Free. Clay's median price is around $314 while Apollo.io's is $74.

03 Which is better for small businesses: Clay or Apollo.io?

Both platforms typically target mid-market and enterprise customers with custom pricing. Small businesses should request quotes from both and compare feature-to-price ratios based on their specific needs.

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