Clay vs Apify
AI Automation tools comparison · Updated 2026
Choosing between Clay and Apify? Both are popular AI Automation tools. Clay starts at Freemium and focuses on Waterfall enrichment. Apify starts at Freemium and specializes in Actor marketplace. Here's a detailed side-by-side comparison to help you decide.
At a Glance
Feature Comparison
| Clay | Apify |
|---|---|
| ✓ Waterfall enrichment | ✓ Actor marketplace |
| ✓ 75+ data providers | ✓ Headless browsers |
| ✓ AI research agent | ✓ Proxy management |
| ✓ Personalized outreach | ✓ Cloud infrastructure |
| ✓ CRM integrations | ✓ API access |
| ✓ Claygent AI | ✓ Scheduled runs |
Pricing Comparison
Clay
freemiumFree with 100 credits/mo. Starter $149/mo. Explorer $349/mo. Pro $800/mo.
Apify
freemiumFree with $5/mo platform credits. Starter $49/mo. Scale $499/mo. Enterprise custom.
Pros & Cons
Clay
Pros
- Powerful enrichment
- AI research capabilities
- Multi-provider waterfall
- Great for sales teams
Cons
- Expensive at scale
- Credits can run out fast
- Learning curve
- Complex pricing
Apify
Pros
- Rich Actor marketplace
- Scalable infrastructure
- Good documentation
- Generous free tier
Cons
- Learning curve for custom actors
- Compute costs add up
- Complex pricing
- Debugging can be hard
The Verdict
Both Clay and Apify are strong AI Automation tools. Clay stands out for Powerful enrichment, making it ideal if that's your priority. Apify excels at Rich Actor marketplace, which may be more important for your workflow.
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