# Clay Evaluate Clay plans, data credits, actions, waterfalls, CRM controls and retention. Canonical page: https://quillwell.com/guides/software/clay/ Updated 2026-11-05 Publisher: Quillwell Guides (https://quillwell.com/guides/about/). Editorial standards: https://quillwell.com/guides/editorial/ ## The short answer - Consider Clay when the team needs to combine sources, enrichment, research and destinations, and can own the resulting workflow. - [Clay pricing](https://www.clay.com/pricing?version=published) separates data credits from actions. Provider and AI choices, plan gates and externally billed API keys affect the total. - A configurable workflow needs a named owner, a small test and explicit CRM field rules; a template alone does not establish safe behavior. ## Follow a record through the workflow [Clay documents](https://university.clay.com/docs/sources) table sources including CSV, CRM and webhooks. For a hypothetical authorized account list, map each row to a company, request selected attributes, review uncertain or AI-derived values, then send approved fields to a destination. Clay also supports prospecting; do not assume every workflow starts with a supplied list. Separate provider access from the orchestration around it. A researched or inferred AI field should carry its source and review status; it is not the same as a verified contact result. Decide what a reviewer must inspect before an update can reach a CRM. ## Budget data credits, actions and external bills [Clay’s pricing page](https://www.clay.com/pricing?version=published) lists Free with 100 data credits and 500 actions per month and a 200-row table limit. On the monthly billing view, Launch starts at $185 per month with 2,500 data credits and 15,000 actions. Growth starts at $495 per month on monthly billing with 6,000 data credits and 40,000 actions. Launch and Growth list 50,000 rows per table. Confirm the billing term, plan version and current checkout for your account. Clay says data credits purchase marketplace data or AI while actions meter platform execution. Using your own provider key avoids Clay data credits for that provider but still uses actions and can incur charges under the provider’s contract. Clay’s pricing FAQ says no-result enrichments consume neither data credits nor actions, but its [refund guide](https://university.clay.com/docs/credit-refunds) says no-data results are refunded only for listed actions and some actions charge without a match. Check the particular action and rerun rules. Its [CSV export documentation](https://university.clay.com/docs/actions-data-credits) says CSV downloads consume neither, even though the pricing page describes exporting data broadly as an action. Treat CSV downloads and other destination actions separately. Clay says Launch and Growth unused data credits can accumulate to twice the monthly amount; actions reset each billing cycle. Enterprise rollover is conditional on renewal. Check cancellation and downgrade rules in [the credit guide](https://university.clay.com/docs/actions-data-credits) before relying on a balance. ## Choose the stop condition [Clay’s work-email example](https://university.clay.com/lessons/enriching-people-data) tries providers in sequence and stops on a valid email or when the list is exhausted; it describes refunds for unsuccessful providers in that example. Ordering changes which provider is queried first. Do not assume identical success, refund or validation rules for every enrichment. Disable or constrain automatic runs until a small authorized fixture has been reviewed. Record each row’s input, provider, status, action and data-credit usage, including retries. Test duplicate handling and conditional columns with both matching and missing inputs before allowing a recurring run. ## Protect the CRM destination Specify the matching key, create-versus-update behavior, eligible records and field-by-field overwrite rules for the actual connection. Keep a pre-run export with record IDs and test populated fields alongside blank ones. Check errors and retries at the destination; a completed enrichment is not proof of exactly-once CRM writes. Assign an owner for mappings, provider credentials, exceptions and scheduled jobs. Before expanding a workflow, verify the destination permissions and whether the selected plan supports the required CRM sync. Clay’s [pricing](https://www.clay.com/pricing?version=published) lists CRM auto-sync and enrichment on Growth; confirm account eligibility. ## Keep the output and the recipe [Clay’s table-version guide](https://university.clay.com/docs/table-versions) lists 30 days of history for Launch and Growth, 180 days for Enterprise and no version history on Free or Trial. History is not a substitute for a backup. Clay’s [audience privacy guide](https://university.clay.com/docs/audiences-security-privacy) says deleting a workspace removes workspace data after 30 days; deleting an audience removes its definition but leaves underlying shared records. Confirm contractual deletion and subprocessors for the actual data flow. Export the columns, identifiers and provenance required downstream, and document provider order, conditional logic, credentials and schedules separately. [Clay’s auto-delete documentation](https://university.clay.com/docs/auto-delete) describes forwarding and removing rows for certain table workflows and says it does not apply to CSVs. Check whether the configured destination has received and reconciled records before relying on deletion. ## Alternatives to consider Compare the starting input, the task and the handoff before replacing a product. The options below serve different parts of the workflow. - [Apollo alternatives](https://quillwell.com/guides/compare/apollo-alternatives/) - [Clay vs FullEnrich](https://quillwell.com/guides/compare/clay-vs-fullenrich/) ### Other contact enrichment software we checked **** [ApolloApollo combines prospect search, contact enrichment and engagement workflows.](https://quillwell.com/guides/software/apollo/) Consider Apollo for a combined prospecting and engagement workflow. **** [FullEnrichFullEnrich finds contact details through a waterfall and can push results to HubSpot.](https://quillwell.com/guides/software/fullenrich/) Consider it for waterfall enrichment with field rules. [The contact enrichment software guide](https://quillwell.com/guides/contact-enrichment-software/) ## Common questions ### Are Clay runs free with my own API key? [Clay](https://www.clay.com/pricing?version=published) says the provider’s own key avoids Clay data credits for that provider but uses actions. The provider can also bill you separately. ### Does a Clay waterfall always query every provider? [Clay’s work-email example](https://university.clay.com/lessons/enriching-people-data) stops when a valid email is found or the provider list is exhausted. Check the conditions for the specific workflow. ### Does Clay charge for a CSV download? [Clay’s credit documentation](https://university.clay.com/docs/actions-data-credits) says CSV export consumes neither actions nor data credits. Other destination actions can have different rules. ## Sources and scope We read the linked vendor documentation on November 5, 2026. Vendor statements are not independent measurements of accuracy or coverage. We have not tested these products, connected accounts or changed CRM records. Confirm current plan terms, processing and availability for your account. Inclusion and corrections are free; editorial conclusions are independent of paid placements. Sponsorship never changes this page. [How we research](https://quillwell.com/guides/editorial/). ## Sources 8 vendor pages, checked November 5, 2026 [Clay: pricing](https://www.clay.com/pricing?version=published) Checked 2026-11-05. Plans, data credits, actions and rollover. [Clay: actions and data credits](https://university.clay.com/docs/actions-data-credits) Checked 2026-11-05. Export and credit rules. [Clay: people enrichment](https://university.clay.com/lessons/enriching-people-data) Checked 2026-11-05. Work-email waterfall and small tests. [Clay: sources](https://university.clay.com/docs/sources) Checked 2026-11-05. CSV, CRM and webhook sources. [Clay: table versions](https://university.clay.com/docs/table-versions) Checked 2026-11-05. Plan-specific version retention. [Clay: audiences security and privacy](https://university.clay.com/docs/audiences-security-privacy) Checked 2026-11-05. Workspace deletion and audience records. [Clay: auto-delete](https://university.clay.com/docs/auto-delete) Checked 2026-11-05. Row forwarding and deletion. [Clay: credit refunds](https://university.clay.com/docs/credit-refunds) Checked 2026-11-05. Action-specific refunds and no-data exceptions. [Suggest a correction or send a vendor fact update](https://quillwell.com/guides/request/?type=correction&page=/software/clay/)