Clay alternatives
Clay alternatives: an honest comparison
Intakra makes this page, and Intakra is one of the options below. Facts about other tools come from their own pricing pages, checked October 6, 2026, and are linked so you can confirm them.
Short answer
- Contact data and sequences, cheaper: Apollo.
- A finished outbound tool, priced per seat: Unify.
- Enterprise data depth and org charts: ZoomInfo.
- Just want to know which accounts on your list to call now, with nothing to build: Intakra.
- You like building your own workflows: stay on Clay. Nothing here beats it at that.
Who Clay is still best for
A workspace for building your own prospecting workflows: tables, data from many providers, AI research steps (Claygent), and an email sequencer. Clay says you can buy data from 200+ providers in one place. If you have someone who enjoys building, and you want to combine providers, run AI research on each row, and wire the results into your own outreach, Clay goes deeper than any tool on this page.
People usually look elsewhere for one of three reasons. Someone has to build and maintain the tables. Usage is metered in two units, Data Credits and Actions, so cost follows how much your workflows run. And CRM auto-sync starts on the Growth plan, from $495 a month. None of that is a flaw for a team that wants a builder. It is a poor fit for a team that wants an answer.
Source: clay.com/pricing, checked October 6, 2026.
Clay vs the alternatives
Short facts from each vendor’s own pricing page. Scroll sideways on a phone.
Clay compared with Apollo, Unify, ZoomInfo and Intakra, checked October 6, 2026| Checked October 6, 2026 | Clay | Apollo | Unify | ZoomInfo | Intakra (us) |
|---|
| What it is | Build-your-own data and workflow tool | Contact database plus sequences | Outbound tool with data built in | Enterprise B2B data platform | Heads-ups when a listed company starts a project |
|---|
| Published starting price | Free plan; Launch from $185/mo ($167/mo billed yearly) | Free plan; paid from $49/mo | Free plan; $20 per seat/mo | Not published (quote) | From $199/mo (Starter, 300 accounts) |
|---|
| How usage is priced | Data Credits plus Actions; unlimited seats | Per plan, with credits | Per seat, with credits per seat | Custom contract | By number of accounts watched; every plan has every feature |
|---|
| Contact data (emails, phones) | Yes, from many providers | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
|---|
| Sends email for you | Yes (sequencer) | Yes | Yes | Yes (engagement tools) | No |
|---|
| CRM sync | Auto-sync from Growth ($495/mo) | Yes | Read-only on Pro; read-write on Business | Yes | Push a lead to HubSpot, Salesforce or Attio in one click |
|---|
| What you have to build | Tables, enrichment steps, workflows | Lists and sequences | Lists and sequences | Lists, plays, integrations | Nothing: add accounts, describe what you sell |
|---|
| Tells you when to call, with dated proof | If you build it (job-change and web-intent signals on paid plans) | Signals features; check its plans | Job-change and hiring signals; website intent on Business | Intent data and alerts | Yes: 12 kinds of projects, each with a rough time frame |
|---|
Sources: clay.com/pricing, apollo.io/pricing, unifygtm.com/pricing, zoominfo.com/pricing, intakra.com/pricing. Prices are as listed on October 6, 2026 and change often; confirm with each vendor. Product names are trademarks of their owners. Intakra is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
The alternatives, one by one
1. Apollo
A contact and company database (Apollo lists 240M contacts and 30M companies) with email sequences and CRM integrations in the same tool.
- Pick it if
- Most of what you did in Clay was finding emails and phone numbers, then sending sequences. Apollo does that out of the box, with a free plan and paid plans listed from $49 a month.
- Skip it if
- You relied on Clay to combine many data providers or to run custom AI research steps. Apollo is one database, not a builder.
Source: apollo.io/pricing, checked October 6, 2026.
2. Unify
An outbound tool with data built in (it lists 1.1B+ people and 65M+ companies from 40+ sources), AI-written sequences, job-change and hiring signals, and a dialer.
- Pick it if
- You want something closer to a finished outbound tool than a builder, priced per seat: a free plan, then $20 and $60 per seat a month, with custom Business plans.
- Skip it if
- You need read-write CRM sync or website intent on a small budget. Unify lists those on its custom Business plan.
Source: unifygtm.com/pricing, checked October 6, 2026.
3. ZoomInfo
One of the largest B2B data platforms: contact and company data, org charts, intent data, and workflow tools for large sales teams.
- Pick it if
- You are a larger team that needs broad contact coverage and org charts and is fine with a sales-led contract. ZoomInfo does not publish prices; you request a quote.
- Skip it if
- You want to start self-serve this week, or you only need to know which accounts to call now.
Source: zoominfo.com/pricing, checked October 6, 2026.
4. Intakra (us)
Watches public sources for the companies on your list and emails you when one starts a project you could help with: the proof, what it usually means for what you sell, and a rough time frame.
- Pick it if
- You sell to a known list of companies and the hard part is knowing when to call, not finding more names. Nothing to build.
- Skip it if
- You need contact data, email sending, website visitor identification, or a place to build custom workflows. Intakra does none of those.
Source: intakra.com/pricing.
Who Intakra is for
Teams that sell to a known list of companies, where one well-timed call beats a hundred cold emails. That is usually account executives and SDRs with a list of 100 to 2,500 companies, founders who do their own selling, and the sales leaders and RevOps people who set that list. What they sell varies: CRM and data tools, security, finance systems, IT and implementation services, staffing, logistics. You don’t need more names. You need to know which of the companies you already know just started something.
Each heads-up is a short email (or a Slack message) with three parts:
- What happened, with dates and links. For example, “Acme Corp is hiring its first RevOps lead”, with the job post dated and linked so you can check it.
- What it usually means for what you sell. One short line, like “teams in this spot often review their CRM and data tools.” When the proof names a role, such as a new CFO or a first security hire, the heads-up says so. It does not name people or give contact details.
- A rough time frame. Like “best in the next 6 weeks”. Then one click: Push to CRM, Not relevant, or Remind me later.
Intakra sorts what it finds into 12 common kinds of projects. A few, with the rough time frames Intakra uses (counted from the first proof):
| Kind of project | Teams in this spot often buy | Best time to call |
|---|
| Finance / ERP modernization | ERP, FP&A, AP automation | Busiest around day 75, tapers off by about day 180 |
| Government contract recompete | teaming partners, capture / proposal support, compliance tooling | Busiest around day 60, tapers off by about day 180 |
| Geographic expansion | facilities / real estate services, local recruiting, IT and network setup | Busiest around day 60, tapers off by about day 150 |
| Security program build-out | identity / SSO, endpoint security, SIEM / monitoring | Busiest around day 45, tapers off by about day 120 |
Pricing is on the page: Starter $199/mo for 300 accounts, Pro $499/mo for 1,000 accounts, Scale $1,499/mo for 2,500 accounts. Every plan has every feature. Free for 14 days on 150 accounts. No card needed.
What Intakra does not do: contact data, writing or sending email, website visitor identification, or custom workflows. If you need those, keep Clay or pick one of the tools above for that part.
Questions
What is the best Clay alternative?
It depends on what you used Clay for. For contact data and sequences in one cheaper tool, look at Apollo. For a finished outbound tool priced per seat, look at Unify. For enterprise data depth and org charts, look at ZoomInfo. If you mostly used Clay to work out which accounts to call this week, Intakra does that one job without anything to build. If you like building workflows, Clay is still the strongest option.
How much does Clay cost?
As of October 6, 2026, Clay's pricing page lists a free plan (100 Data Credits and 500 Actions a month), Launch from $185 a month billed monthly ($167 billed yearly, with 2,500 Data Credits and 15,000 Actions a month), Growth from $495 a month ($446 billed yearly, with 6,000 Data Credits and 40,000 Actions a month), and custom Enterprise plans. Every plan has unlimited seats. Check clay.com/pricing for current numbers.
Is there a free Clay alternative?
Apollo and Unify both list free plans, and Clay itself has one. Intakra does not have a free plan; it has a free trial: Free for 14 days on 150 accounts. No card needed.
Is Intakra a Clay replacement?
Only for one use. Clay is a place to build enrichment and outbound workflows. Intakra watches job posts, SEC filings, government contracts, layoff notices and company website changes for the companies on your list, and emails you when one starts a project you could help with. It has no contact data and sends nothing for you, so if you used Clay for those, you still need a tool that does them.
Can I use Clay and Intakra together?
Yes. There is no built-in Clay integration, but Intakra has a REST API (an API key from Settings) that returns your open heads-ups, and Clay lists HTTP API integrations on its Growth plan. A common split: Intakra tells you which company to work and why now; Clay finds the people and runs the outreach.
Who makes this page?
Intakra does. We are one of the options on it, so weigh our take with that in mind. Facts about other tools come from their own pricing pages, checked on October 6, 2026, and are linked so you can confirm them.
Know when a company you sell to starts a new project.
Add your accounts and tell us what you sell. We check public sources every day and email you when something relevant happens. Free for 14 days on 150 accounts. No card needed.