We Tested 7 Clay Alternatives and Competitors for Data Enrichment in 2025

When I first tried Clay, it felt like the answer.
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Pull leads, enrich data, build workflows no code, just results.

But a few weeks in, I hit a wall.

⚠️ It was slow to set up.

⚠️ Hard to learn.

⚠️ And every new workflow burned through credits fast.

It went from “this is awesome” to “why am I paying so much just to get a list?”

So I did what most people don’t:

I tested 7 other tools myself.

Signed up. Pulled real B2B leads. Checked how accurate the data was.

Measured how fast I could go from filters → to list → to outreach.

If you're in sales, marketing, or just trying to get better leads faster—this blog is for you.

Here's what you're getting:

✅ What Clay does well and where it breaks down

✅ 7 real alternatives I tested (not just listed)

✅ What worked better, what didn’t, and how they compare to Clay

✅ Honest pros, cons, pricing, and who each tool is best for

✅ A simple breakdown to help you pick the right one without wasting time

Let’s get into it.

If you're spending too much time or money on Clay, this blog will help you find a better option.

Let’s begin.

Clay vs 7 Alternatives: Quick Comparison

What We Looked for in a Clay Alternative

Before testing, I made a short checklist of what really matters for B2B data enrichment.

Clay is powerful but not always easy. So I looked for tools that could do the job faster, simpler, and with less setup.

Here’s what I checked during testing:

✅ Speed to Set Up: I didn’t want a tool that takes hours to figure out. It should work within minutes, not days.

✅ Lead Enrichment Quality: I looked for clean, updated leads with real job titles, LinkedIn profiles, company size, and more.

✅ Built-in Outreach: Some tools also let you send emails or sync to CRMs. That’s a big win—no switching between tools.

✅ Pricing Transparency: I wanted clear pricing with no surprise costs or hidden limits. Tools that charge per “action” get tricky fast.

✅ Ease of Use: I picked tools that anyone can use, without needing a developer or writing code.

✅ Who It’s Best For: Each tool fits a different type of user. I made sure to note who it’s good for—whether you're doing cold outreach, running an agency, or just starting.

If a tool checked most of these boxes, it made my shortlist.

Let’s break them down one by one.

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5 Clay Alternatives and Competitors for Data Enrichment in 2025

Clay is powerful, no doubt. It can pull data from dozens of sources, enrich it with APIs, and build advanced lead workflows.

But after using it for a while, I started wondering:

Is there a simpler or faster way to get enriched leads without all the setup?

That’s why I spent a few weeks testing real alternatives. I didn’t just look at features — I signed up, ran lead tests, and tried to build actual outbound flows.

Here’s what I found.

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Here's a full side-by-side comparison of how each tool performed against Clay during our testing:

🔄 Clay vs All 5 Alternatives – Real Testing Summary

1. Leadsforge – The Fastest Tool We Tested

When I started testing tools to replace Clay, Leadsforge was the first one. I wanted to see if it could give me clean, enriched leads without all the setup Clay needs.

With Clay, I had to build a full workflow just to pull leads and enrich them. It worked—but it took time. 

So I signed up for Leadsforge to see if it could do the same thing, faster.

Here’s what happened.

• I created an account, selected a target group (I chose SaaS founders in the U.S.), and hit start. 
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• In less than 10 minutes, I had a full list of leads—already enriched withjob titles, company size, and even funding details.
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• It was simple, fast, and didn’t require any technical steps to get usable results.

If you're looking to generate clean B2B lead lists quickly, Leadsforge is one of the smoothest tools out there.

✅ What Worked Well with Leadsforge:

• Leads are accurate and enriched right out of the box
  
  
• I saved at least 2–3 hours per campaign compared to Clay
  
  
• Built-in filters (industry, revenue, etc.) helped narrow down better-fit leads
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• Leads are ready to export in under 15 minutes

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⚠️ What’s Missing in Leadsforge:

• You can’t build multi-step workflows like Clay
  
  
• No advanced automations or custom logic

 But honestly, if your goal is fast lead generation, you won’t miss those features.

💰 Leadsforge Pricing:

Starts at $49/month with a simple credit-based system, no setup fees or confusing automations like Clay.

If you're short on time and just want quality leads you can use now, Leadsforge is much faster and easier than Clay. 

It may not be as flexible, but for sales teams and agencies who care about speed, it’s a huge time-saver.

Let’s move to the next tool: Apollo.io.

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2. Apollo.io – Better Than Clay If You Want a Huge Lead Database

After trying Leadsforge, I moved on to test Apollo.io.

It is known to have one of the biggest B2B lead databases out there, so I wanted to see how Apollo.io performs compared to Clay.

Clay lets you build smart workflows and pull data from different tools. But the lead data itself depends on which sources you connect. 

With Apollo, the leads are already there. You don’t need extra blocks or APIs.

✅ What I Liked While Testing Apollo.io:

• I could search from millions of contacts using filters like job title, industry, location, company size, and revenue
  
  
• Most leads came with LinkedIn profiles, emails, job titles, and phone numbers
  
  
• I built a cold outreach sequence (email + LinkedIn view) inside Apollo itself
  
  
• It also lets me sync the leads directly to HubSpot without needing Zapier or other tools

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⚠️ What’s Missing in Apollo.io:

• The platform has a lot of features — it felt heavy at first
  
  
• Some emails and phone numbers were outdated (not many, but I noticed it)
  
  
• Many advanced features (like automation and scoring) were locked in higher plans

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💰 Apollo.io Pricing:

• Free Plan – $0/month (limited credits)
  
  
• Basic Plan – $49/month per user
  
  
• Professional Plan – $79/month per user
  
  
• Organization Plan – $119/month per user
  

Discounts are available with annual billing.

Apollo is a good Clay alternative if your main goal is to find a lot of leads fast and run outreach from one place.

If you don’t want to deal with enrichment blocks and API setups, Apollo gives you a complete database and ready-to-use tools.

Let’s look at the next one: Instantly.

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3. Instantly B2B – Fast, Clean, and Outreach-Ready

After testing Leadsforge and Apollo, I wanted to try something even simpler.

That’s when I tested Instantly B2B.

Instantly is built for one thing: getting leads and sending cold emails fast. It’s not as complex as Clay, but that’s actually the point.

With Clay, you can do deep enrichment if you connect different tools. But it takes time.

With Instantly, you get verified B2B leads + email sending in the same place—no setup pain.

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✅ What I Liked While Testing Instantly:

• I signed up and pulled 1,000 leads in under 10 minutes
  
  
• Leads came with job titles, LinkedIn URLs, and company info
  
  
• It has built-in cold email sequences + warmup, so I didn’t need to export anything
  
  
• The dashboard was super clean—no clutter, no confusion

⚠️ What’s Missing in Instantly B2B:

• It’s not built for deep enrichment like Clay (no AI workflows or multi-source pulls)
  
  
• CRM syncs like Pipedrive worked, but needed a little manual setup
  
  
• Only supports email, not LinkedIn steps or multi-channel like Apollo

💰 Instantly Pricing (2025)

• Growth Leads Plan – $47/month
  
  
• Supersonic Plan – $97/month
  
  
• Hyperleads Plan – $197/month
  
  
• Light Speed Plan – $492/month

Pricing is based on the number of leads per month. No free plan available.

If you’re running cold outreach and want speed + simplicity, Instantly is a solid Clay alternative.

It’s not for custom workflows, but if you just need leads + email in one tool, it does the job really well.

Next up, I’ll cover Smartlead.

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4. Smartlead – Deliverability First, Simplicity Second

At one point during testing, I stopped worrying about fancy workflows or multi-source enrichment.

I just wanted my emails to get replies. That’s when I tested Smartlead.

Unlike Clay, which wants you to build things with data, Smartlead felt like it had one clear goal:‍

Send emails. Don’t land in spam. Do it at scale.

I connected a few inboxes, warmed them up using Smartlead’s AI engine, and launched a small outbound sequence. 

And the best part? It worked without me needing to check every 5 minutes.

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✅ What I Liked While Testing Smartlead:

• I signed up and connected multiple email accounts in under 10 minutes
  
  
• The AI-driven warm-up feature improved my email deliverability
  
  
• It has a centralized inbox, so I didn't have to switch between different tools
  
  
• The dashboard was super clean—no clutter, no confusion

⚠️ What’s Missing in Smartlead:

• It’s focused only on email performance — there’s no built-in lead generation or data enrichment
  
  
• No targeting filters — you can’t find leads based on title, industry, or company size like Apollo or Leadsforge
  
  
• Limited personalization — it works well for volume but not for highly tailored campaigns

💰 Smartlead Pricing (2025)

• Basic Plan – $39/month
  
  
• Pro Plan – $94/month
  
  
• Custom Plan – $174/month

Pricing is based on the number of leads per month. No free plan available.

If you’re running cold outreach and want better email deliverability, Smartlead is a solid Clay alternative.

It’s not for custom workflows, but if you just need emails to land in the inbox, it does the job really well.

Next up, I’ll cover Clearbit.

5. Clearbit – Deep Enrichment, But Is It Worth the Price?

By the time I got to Clearbit, I’d already tested tools that focused on finding leads, sending emails, and warming up inboxes.

But Clearbit felt different — it doesn’t try to do everything. It just focuses on one job: enriching your existing leads with solid company data.

I wanted to see if that focus was worth the price, and whether it could replace the enrichment blocks I’d been using inside Clay.

So I connected it to my CRM and let it run. No complicated flows, no browser extensions — it just started filling in the blanks automatically.

✅ What I Liked During Testing:

• The setup was fast. I connected it to my HubSpot CRM, and it started enriching records instantly.
  
  
• The data felt detailed — I got company size, industry, employee count, tech used, and more.
  
  
• It updates in real-time, so I didn’t have to keep re-uploading lists like I did with some other tools.

⚠️ What’s Missing in Clearbit:

• It’s enrichment-only. No outreach. No cold email sequences.
  
  
• It’s built more for sales teams working inside CRMs than for cold outbound campaigns.
  
  
• The pricing isn’t clear on the site, and when I asked for a quote, it felt more like enterprise-level.

💰 Clearbit Pricing (2025)

Clearbit doesn’t share its pricing publicly. 

Based on what I found during research and testing: 

Most teams pay somewhere between $12,000 to $24,000 per year, depending on how much data they enrich and which features they use.

If you're using HubSpot, pricing may be bundled or adjusted based on your CRM usage.

The best way to get exact numbers is to request a custom quote or demo directly from their team.

There’s no free plan anymore, and costs can rise quickly if you're enriching large volumes.

If you're part of a RevOps or CRM-heavy sales team, Clearbit is great for keeping lead data clean and current.

But if you want to build workflows, run outreach, or customize how data flows, Clay still gives you more control.

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6. Floqer - Best for Enrichment-First Workflows

Floqer is built for enrichment-first workflows. Unlike Clay, which often burns credits fast and requires multiple third-party tools, Floqer puts data + workflows + CRM sync into one place.

With Clay, you can stitch sources together, but setup takes time, and the costs pile up.

With Floqer, I was able to build a clean workflow in under 30 minutes and the enrichment quality, especially for HR and Fintech contacts, was noticeably stronger.

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✅ What I Liked While Testing Floqer:

• Pulled accurate HR, Fintech, and E-commerce contacts with fresher job titles and emails than Clay.
  
  
• No extra tools needed, Apollo data + SalesNav search were built in.
  
  
• The workflow builder felt like a mix of AirTable (clarity) + N8N (flexibility).
  
  
• The support team actually responded fast—unlike Clay’s slow, robotic replies.
  
  

⚠️ What’s Missing in Floqer:

• Smaller community right now, so fewer tutorials/resources than Clay.
  
  
• No outreach functionality — you’ll need to connect it with Outreach, Salesloft, or Apollo.
  
  
• The starting price is still premium compared to some lighter alternatives.
  

Floqer Pricing (2025)

No free plan, but overall 20–30% less than Clay for the same enrichment power.

• Starting price: $499/month
  
  
• Pricing depends on workflow complexity + data volume.
  
  
• Credits are cheaper and more transparent than Clay’s.
  

If you’re running enrichment-heavy GTM workflows and want Clay-level power without Clay’s cost + complexity, Floqer is a strong alternative. 

It won’t replace your sequencer, but for data quality and workflows inside your CRM, it does the job really well.

7. Coldreach.ai – Better Intent-Signal Based Outreach

Coldreach isn’t built just for data pulls.

It’s designed to monitor your ICP 24/7, detect buying signals, and send personalized outreach to inboxes without requiring you to run the campaigns yourself.

While Clay helps you build enrichment workflows, Coldreach feels closer to having an SDR on payroll, but automated.

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✅ What I Liked While Testing Coldreach.ai:

• Intent signals actually worked — it monitored accounts in real time and flagged when someone hit a trigger (like job changes).
  
  
• Personalization was built in — no exporting to another tool, the AI generated tailored emails directly.
  
  
• 24/7 monitoring — unlike tools where you run static lists, Coldreach kept tracking prospects continuously.
  
  
• Setup was fast — I had an AI SDR running in a few minutes, without complex workflows.
  
  

⚠️ What’s Missing in Coldreach.ai:

• Less flexible than Clay if you want to design custom enrichment workflows.
  
  
• Works best for email, no native multi-channel like LinkedIn steps yet.
  
  
• Premium positioning, not the cheapest option if you’re a solo founder testing cold email for the first time.
  

💰 Coldreach Pricing (2025)  

Pricing is based on the number of monitored accounts and AI SDR usage. No free plan, but you can book a demo to see tailored use cases.

If you want hands-off SDR coverage that continuously finds and engages leads, Coldreach is a solid alternative to Clay and Apollo. 

It won’t give you raw data tables like Clay, but if your priority is timing + personalization at scale, it does the job really well.

That wraps up the tool testing.

Now, I’ll share how to choose the right one for your team, depending on your goals. Ready?

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How To Choose the Right Clay Alternative for Your Team

After testing all five tools, one thing became clear:‍

No single Clay alternative does everything.

Each one solves a different problem — some are faster, some are cleaner, and some just keep things simple.

So if you’re still stuck on which one to pick, here’s how I’d break it down based on what you need right now.

I’ve laid out the real-world scenarios I faced while testing, and which tool actually worked best in each case.

🔍 Quick Match Guide

The real trick is figuring out what problem you want to solve first.

If you’re just getting started, go for speed and simplicity. If you're scaling, pick based on data control or deliverability priorities.

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Final Verdict

After trying all five, one thing was clear:

Clay gives you power — but you’ll need time, setup, and a few extra tools to make it all work.

The tools I tested made things simpler:

• Leadsforge was the fastest — enriched leads in minutes
  
  
• Apollo.io gave me reach and precision at scale
  
  
• Instantly was easy and fast to launch cold emails
  
  
• Smartlead helped me fix inboxing without touching a thing
  
  
• Clearbit quietly enriched CRM records in the background
  

✅ If you want full control and have the time, Clay still holds up.

🚀 But if you want to move fast and start sending today?

👉 Go with Leadsforge.‍

It’s the one I’d actually use again — no fluff, no setup headaches, just clean leads and real campaigns that work.