Clay vs Lusha: which prospecting tool is better?
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Lusha is the better fit when you want a simpler way to find verified contact details, monitor buying signals, enrich your CRM, and send email sequences. Clay is the better fit when you want to combine data from more than 150 providers, run AI research, track signals, and build customized GTM workflows. If your main challenge is executing a highly specific outbound motion without manually managing every step, consider Sliq.
Clay vs Lusha at a glance
| Criteria | Clay | Lusha |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Customized enrichment, AI research, signals, and GTM workflows | Verified contact data, buying signals, and simpler prospecting workflows |
| Core product type | GTM data, enrichment, and workflow platform | B2B sales-intelligence platform |
| Data model | Marketplace with 150+ data providers (source) | Verified contact and company data (source) |
| Contact data | Multi-provider waterfalls, phone enrichment, and bring-your-own API keys (source) | Verified email and phone-number reveals (source) |
| Buying signals | Job changes, promotions, new hires, company news, social signals, and web intent on Growth (source) | Job changes, funding events, hiring activity, company growth, and active interest (source) |
| AI capabilities | Claygent, Claygent Builder, Sculptor, AI research, and workflow orchestration (source) | AI recommendations, AI-assisted email sequences, API, MCP, and webhooks (source) |
| Email outreach | Clay Sequencer and email-campaign integrations (source) | Lusha Engage with AI-assisted email sequences (source) |
| CRM workflows | CRM auto-sync and enrichment on Growth (source) | CRM integrations, extension-based enrichment, API, MCP, and webhooks (source) |
| Free plan | 100 data credits and 500 actions per month (source) | Up to 40 credits per month (source) |
| Starting paid price | Launch starts at $185 per month (source) | Starter at $37.45 per month, billed yearly (source) |
| Best alternative for customized outbound execution | Sliq | Sliq |
What is Clay?
Clay is a GTM data, enrichment, and workflow platform. It brings data providers, AI research agents, intent signals, enrichment workflows, and outbound execution tools into one system.
Clay gives users access to more than 150 data providers. Teams can combine providers using waterfalls, bring their own API keys, enrich records with contact and company data, research prospects with AI, track signals, and push qualified contacts into downstream workflows. (source) (source)
Clay also includes native outreach capabilities. Its pricing page says users can send emails with Clay Sequencer on the Free plan and launch email campaigns natively or through campaign-provider integrations on Launch. (source)
How much does Clay cost?
Clay currently offers Free, Launch, Growth, and Enterprise plans. (source)
| Clay plan | Monthly price | Data credits per month | Actions per month | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 100 | 500 | Multi-provider waterfalls, Claygent enrichment, bring-your-own API keys, Clay Sequencer, and up to 200 rows per table |
| Launch | Starts at $185 | 2,500 | 15,000 | Phone enrichment, signals, email-campaign integrations, reusable functions, and up to 50,000 rows per table |
| Growth | Starts at $495 | 6,000 | 40,000 | CRM auto-sync, HTTP API integrations, webhook automation, web-intent tracking, ad audiences, and priority support |
| Enterprise | Custom | 100,000+ | 200,000+ | Data-warehouse sync, unlimited audiences, unlimited row enrichment, SSO, RBAC, and a dedicated Growth Strategist |
Clay says data credits are used to purchase data from its marketplace of more than 150 partners. Actions cover the platform work required to run the workflow, such as routing requests and returning results to a table. Actions cost less than one cent each and get cheaper with scale. (source)
What is Lusha?
Lusha is a B2B sales-intelligence platform for finding verified contact and company data, monitoring buying signals, enriching CRM records, and running prospecting workflows.
Lusha lets users reveal verified contact details while browsing LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, company websites, and supported CRM pages. Contacts can then be saved to lists, sequences, or CRM workflows. (source) (source)
Lusha also brings verified contact data, buying signals, and CRM information into a shared workspace. Its buying-signal product tracks events such as job changes, funding events, hiring activity, company growth, and active interest. (source) (source)
Lusha says it is trusted by more than 280,000 revenue teams. (source)
How much does Lusha cost?
Lusha currently offers Free, Starter, Pro, Premium, and Scale plans. The paid prices below are the per-month rates with annual billing. (source)
| Lusha plan | Monthly price (billed yearly) | Credits | Seats | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 40 per month | 1 seat | Verified emails and phones, basic and advanced filters |
| Starter | $37.45 | 4,800 per year | 1 seat | Contact and company lookalikes, bulk enrichment, AI assistant, and 5 buying-intent topics |
| Pro | $52.45 | 7,200 per year | 2 seats | 2 free seats, API, CSV enrichment, and signals |
| Premium | $299.95 | 40,800 per year | 5 seats | 5 free seats, API Advanced, team management, and credit allocation |
| Scale | Custom | Custom credits | Custom seats | 50%+ off price per credit, SSO, and 25 buying-intent topics with unlimited results |
Credits on paid plans are granted upfront for the year. (source)
How do Lusha credits work?
Lusha uses credits to reveal contact details. (source)
| Lusha action | Credit cost |
|---|---|
| Reveal a verified email address | 1 credit |
| Reveal a phone number | 10 credits |
Lusha’s Free plan includes up to 40 credits per month, along with basic prospecting features, the browser extension, and CRM integrations. Teams that need a fully customizable plan or more than the included seats are directed to the Scale plan and contact sales. (source)
What is the main difference between Clay and Lusha?
The main difference is how much of the GTM system you want to build yourself.
Clay is primarily a flexible workflow-building platform. Teams can combine more than 150 data providers, use waterfalls, run AI research, track signals, define routing logic, enrich CRM records, and trigger outreach. (source) (source)
Lusha is primarily a packaged sales-intelligence platform. It helps users find verified contact details, monitor buying signals, reveal contacts while browsing LinkedIn or company websites, enrich CRM records, and send email sequences through Lusha Engage. (source) (source)
Choose Clay when you want to build a customized prospecting and enrichment system. Choose Lusha when you want a simpler path from finding a contact to reaching out.
Is Clay or Lusha better for finding contact data?
Lusha is generally the simpler choice when the main goal is finding verified contact details. Clay is more useful when you want to combine multiple data sources and build enrichment logic around the results.
Lusha charges one credit to reveal a verified email address and 10 credits to reveal a phone number. Its browser extension lets users reveal contact details directly inside LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, company websites, and CRM pages. (source) (source)
Clay gives users access to more than 150 data providers and lets them combine providers through waterfall enrichment. Teams can also bring their own API keys and use Claygent to generate custom research fields. (source) (source)
| Requirement | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Reveal a verified email quickly | Lusha |
| Reveal a phone number quickly | Lusha |
| Prospect while browsing LinkedIn | Lusha |
| Compare several enrichment providers | Clay |
| Use waterfall enrichment | Clay |
| Bring your own data-provider API keys | Clay |
| Add AI research to contact enrichment | Clay |
Is Clay or Lusha better for enrichment?
Clay is the stronger fit for customized enrichment workflows. Lusha is the stronger fit when you want verified contact and company data to flow into your prospecting or CRM process with less setup.
Clay lets teams run multi-provider waterfalls, enrich phone numbers, add custom data fields with Claygent, bring their own API keys, auto-sync CRM records on Growth, and integrate with external APIs. (source)
Lusha’s extension lets users reveal verified contact details directly from LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, company sites, and CRM pages. Its Workspace combines verified data with buying signals and CRM information. Lusha also supports API, MCP, and webhooks for connecting verified data to external workflows and AI agents. (source) (source) (source)
| Requirement | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Build a multi-provider waterfall | Clay |
| Define custom enrichment logic | Clay |
| Add AI-generated research fields | Clay |
| Auto-sync and enrich a CRM | Either, depending on complexity |
| Reveal contact details while browsing | Lusha |
| Add verified records to a sequence quickly | Lusha |
| Use verified data inside an external AI workflow | Lusha |
Is Clay or Lusha better for buying signals?
Both Clay and Lusha support buying signals. Clay is better when signals need to feed a customized workflow. Lusha is better when you want named buying signals and verified contact data inside one packaged sales-intelligence platform.
Clay’s Launch plan tracks job changes, promotions, new hires, company news, and social signals. Clay’s Growth plan adds web-intent tracking and webhook automation. (source)
Lusha tracks job changes, funding events, hiring activity, company growth, and active interest. Its Workspace combines these signals with verified contact data and CRM context. (source) (source)
| Signal requirement | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Track job changes and promotions | Either |
| Track funding events and company growth | Lusha |
| Feed signals into a custom routing workflow | Clay |
| Combine named signals with verified contacts | Lusha |
| Track web intent inside the same workflow platform | Clay Growth |
| Trigger external workflows through webhooks | Either |
Is Clay or Lusha better for email outreach?
Lusha is the simpler fit when you want to find verified contacts and send personalized email sequences from one platform. Clay is more flexible when email outreach is one step inside a larger enrichment and workflow system.
Lusha Engage lets users create email sequences directly inside Lusha. It connects to Gmail or Microsoft Outlook, includes an AI Email Assistant, and supports up to 1,000 emails per user per day. Lusha says Engage and the AI Email Assistant are available to Lusha users at no extra charge. (source)
Clay includes Clay Sequencer on its Free plan. Its Launch plan also supports native email campaigns and integrations with external email-campaign providers. (source)
Choose Lusha when you want a more packaged contact-data-to-email workflow. Choose Clay when outreach should happen after enrichment, scoring, research, or signal-based routing.
Is Clay or Lusha easier to use?
Lusha is generally easier to start with when you mainly want contact data, buying signals, prospect lists, and email sequences. Clay offers more flexibility, but users need to make more decisions about data providers, enrichment logic, signals, and workflow design.
Lusha’s extension is designed for revealing contact details while browsing LinkedIn, company websites, or CRM pages. Lusha Engage then lets users place those contacts into email sequences. (source) (source)
Clay gives users a larger set of building blocks: more than 150 providers, waterfalls, Claygent, signals, Sculptor, reusable functions, API integrations, webhooks, CRM auto-sync, and Sequencer. (source) (source)
The extra flexibility can be valuable, but it also creates more setup work.
Is Clay or Lusha cheaper?
Lusha is easier to start with at a lower price when you mainly need verified contact reveals. Clay’s Free plan is more useful when you want to experiment with enrichment workflows, and its paid plans are priced for production GTM systems.
Lusha Free includes up to 40 credits per month. Its paid plans start at $37.45 per month for Starter with annual billing, then $52.45 for Pro and $299.95 for Premium. A verified email costs one credit, while a phone number costs 10 credits. (source)
Clay Free includes 100 data credits and 500 actions per month. Clay Launch starts at $185 per month with 2,500 data credits and 15,000 actions. (source)
| Use case | Relevant starting point |
|---|---|
| Reveal a small number of contact details | Lusha Free: up to 40 credits per month |
| Entry-level Lusha prospecting | Lusha Starter: $37.45 per month, billed yearly |
| More seats and signals on Lusha | Lusha Pro: $52.45 per month, billed yearly |
| Reveal a verified Lusha email | 1 credit |
| Reveal a Lusha phone number | 10 credits |
| Build a basic Clay workflow | Clay Free: 100 data credits and 500 actions per month |
| Build production workflows in Clay | Clay Launch: starts at $185 per month |
| Purchase data through Clay | Data credits vary by provider |
| Run workflow steps in Clay | Actions cost less than $0.01 each |
The comparison is not purely about price. Lusha is designed around contact reveals and packaged prospecting. Clay is designed around building customized GTM workflows.
Does Clay or Lusha have better AI capabilities?
Clay has the stronger AI workflow-building capabilities. Lusha is more focused on grounding prospecting, CRM workflows, and external AI agents in verified contact data and buying signals. Sliq is different because it is an AI outbound agent designed for teams that want to describe and run a highly specific outbound motion rather than build the system manually.
Claygent Builder is a centralized workspace for building, testing, and deploying AI agents for account research, lead scoring, outbound copywriting, and persona classification. Sculptor lets users describe a GTM problem in natural language and deploy it as a live Clay workflow. (source) (source)
Lusha uses AI to recommend prospects, generate personalized email sequences, and power workflows through verified data. Its homepage also says teams can connect Lusha data through APIs, MCP, and webhooks to power CRM workflows, AI agents, and automations. (source) (source)
Sliq is itself an AI outbound agent. It is designed for outbound workflows that are too custom, specific, conditional, or research-heavy to manage manually. Users describe the exact motion they want to run in plain English, and Sliq helps execute it. (source)
| Tool | Role of AI | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Clay | Lets teams build AI research agents, scoring agents, copywriting agents, and live GTM workflows (source) | Teams that want to construct a customized GTM system |
| Lusha | Uses AI for recommendations and email sequencing, while grounding external AI agents in verified data through API, MCP, and webhooks (source) | Teams that want verified prospect data and simpler AI-assisted prospecting |
| Sliq | Is an AI outbound agent for highly customized workflows described in plain English (source) | Teams with outbound workflows that are too specific, conditional, or research-heavy to manage manually |
What if you do not want to build the workflow yourself?
Clay and Lusha solve different parts of outbound.
Clay gives teams building blocks for data, enrichment, AI research, signal tracking, routing, and outreach. Lusha gives teams verified contact data, buying signals, prospecting tools, CRM integrations, and email sequences. (Clay source) (Lusha source)
A different type of product may be more useful when the hard part is not accessing data or assembling tools, but executing a highly specific outbound motion. For example:
- Research each account before deciding whether outreach is worthwhile.
- Skip prospects that already use a competitor or fail a custom qualification rule.
- Monitor selected prospects on LinkedIn before sending a message.
- Route prospects differently based on research findings, signals, activity, or replies.
- Ask a person to step in for high-value prospects.
- Coordinate prospecting, research, LinkedIn engagement, outreach, follow-up, and human review.
Sliq is designed for these more customized outbound workflows. Instead of manually assembling every step, users describe the exact motion they want to run in plain English. Sliq acts as an AI outbound agent that helps execute it. (source)
This approach is sometimes called agentic outbound: an outbound system where an AI agent decides and executes the next step for each prospect instead of pushing every lead through the same preset path.
Can you use Clay and Lusha together?
Yes. Clay and Lusha can be complementary.
Lusha can provide verified contact and company data. Clay can then add enrichment from other providers, run AI research, score accounts, apply routing rules, and push qualified prospects into outreach workflows. (Lusha source) (Clay source)
A typical workflow could look like this:
- Build or import an account list.
- Use Lusha to reveal verified emails and phone numbers.
- Send those records into Clay.
- Add enrichment from other providers.
- Run AI research with Claygent.
- Score and route prospects.
- Push qualified records into an outreach workflow.
This stack provides more flexibility, but it also creates more setup and workflow-management work.
When should you use Clay?
Clay is the better choice when:
- You want to combine multiple data providers.
- You want waterfall enrichment.
- You want AI research on prospects and companies.
- You want to track signals and feed them into customized workflows.
- You want to define enrichment, scoring, and routing logic.
- You want CRM auto-sync and webhook automation on a higher-priced plan.
- You want outreach to trigger after research or qualification.
Sources: Clay homepage and Clay pricing.
When should you use Lusha?
Lusha is the better choice when:
- You want verified emails and phone numbers.
- You want a browser extension for prospecting on LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, company websites, or CRM pages.
- You want named buying signals alongside contact data.
- You want to enrich CRM records with less setup.
- You want email sequences through Lusha Engage.
- You want an AI Email Assistant at no extra charge.
- You want to use Lusha data inside external workflows or AI agents through API, MCP, or webhooks.
- You prefer a more packaged sales-intelligence workflow.
Sources: Lusha homepage, Lusha extension, Lusha buying signals, and Lusha Engage.
Final verdict: should you choose Clay or Lusha?
Choose Clay when you want a flexible GTM data, enrichment, AI-research, and workflow-building platform.
Choose Lusha when you want a simpler sales-intelligence platform for verified contact data, buying signals, prospecting, CRM enrichment, and built-in email sequences.
Consider Sliq when your outbound workflow is too custom, specific, conditional, or research-heavy to manage manually. Sliq is an AI outbound agent: users describe the exact motion they want to run in plain English, and the agent helps execute it.
FAQ
Is Clay a replacement for Lusha?
Not exactly. Clay is a flexible enrichment and GTM workflow platform that lets teams combine data providers, AI research, signals, and routing logic. Lusha is a packaged sales-intelligence platform for finding verified contact details, monitoring buying signals, and sending email sequences. (Clay source) (Lusha source)
Is Lusha a replacement for Clay?
Not exactly. Lusha can replace some prospecting and contact-data workflows, but Clay is more configurable. Clay is designed for teams that want to combine several data providers, build enrichment waterfalls, run AI research, and define routing logic. (source)
Can you use Clay and Lusha together?
Yes. Lusha can provide verified contact data, while Clay can add enrichment from other providers, run AI research, score records, and route prospects into downstream workflows. (Lusha source) (Clay source)
Does Clay have contact data?
Yes. Clay gives users access to more than 150 data providers. Users can run multi-provider waterfalls, enrich phone numbers, bring their own API keys, and combine enrichment with AI research. (source)
Does Lusha have buying signals?
Yes. Lusha tracks buying signals such as job changes, funding events, hiring activity, company growth, and active interest. (source)
Does Lusha support email sequences?
Yes. Lusha Engage lets users create personalized email sequences, connect Gmail or Microsoft Outlook, use an AI Email Assistant, and send up to 1,000 emails per user per day. (source)
Does Clay support email outreach?
Yes. Clay includes Clay Sequencer and email-campaign integrations. Users can trigger outreach after enrichment, AI research, signal detection, or scoring. (source)
Which tool is better for enrichment?
Clay is the stronger fit for customized enrichment workflows because it supports multi-provider waterfalls, AI research, bring-your-own API keys, and configurable workflow logic. Lusha is the simpler fit when the goal is revealing verified contact details and pushing them into a CRM or email sequence. (Clay source) (Lusha source)
Which tool is easier to use?
Lusha is generally easier to start with because it provides a more packaged prospecting workflow. Clay offers more flexibility, but teams need to define more of the enrichment, research, and routing logic themselves.
What is the difference between a GTM workflow platform and an AI outbound agent?
A GTM workflow platform gives teams tools for building outbound systems. An AI outbound agent helps run the workflow itself. Sliq is designed for outbound motions that are too custom, specific, conditional, or research-heavy to manage manually. (source)
Related: What is agentic outbound? · What is an AI outbound agent? · Best AI outbound agents for founders