Clay vs Apollo: Which Sales Tool Should You Actually Use?

If you're comparing Clay and Apollo, you're probably building an outbound sales process and trying to figure out which tool fits. Here's the thing: they're not direct competitors. Clay is a data enrichment and workflow platform. Apollo is a sales engagement tool with a built-in contact database. You might need one, both, or neither depending on what you're trying to do.

Let's break down what each tool actually does, what they cost, and which one makes sense for your setup.

What Clay Actually Does

Clay is a data enrichment platform that pulls information from 75+ data providers into one interface. Instead of paying for 10 different data tools, you connect them all to Clay and run waterfall enrichment - if provider A doesn't find an email, it tries provider B, then C, and so on.

The real power is in the automation. You can build workflows that find companies matching specific criteria, enrich them with contact data, score leads based on signals, and push them to your CRM or email tool. It's like Zapier meets a data warehouse, but built specifically for prospecting.

Clay doesn't send emails. It doesn't have a dialer. It prepares and organizes data so your sales tools can actually work.

Clay Pricing

Clay starts at $149/month for the Starter plan, which includes 12,000 credits. Credits are consumed when you enrich data - different providers cost different amounts of credits. Finding an email might cost 1-3 credits, while enriching company technographics could cost 10+ credits.

The Pro plan runs $349/month with 60,000 credits. The Enterprise plan is custom pricing for teams that need more volume and white-glove support.

The credit system is confusing at first. You're not paying per record - you're paying per enrichment action. If you're smart about your waterfall setup, you can stretch credits pretty far by hitting cheaper providers first.

Try Clay here if you need to enrich data from multiple sources without managing 10 different subscriptions.

What Apollo Actually Does

Apollo is a sales engagement platform with a massive B2B contact database built in. You can search for contacts based on job title, company size, industry, and other filters, then immediately add them to email sequences or call lists.

The database has over 275 million contacts. Quality varies - some emails are fresh, some bounce. Apollo shows intent data and buying signals to help you prioritize who to reach out to first.

Beyond the database, Apollo handles the actual outreach. You can build multi-step email sequences, make calls through the built-in dialer, and track everything in their CRM. It's an all-in-one system for teams that want database + engagement in one tool.

Apollo Pricing

Apollo has a free plan that lets you export 60 contacts per month with 10 mobile credits. It's enough to test the database quality but not enough to run real outbound volume.

The Basic plan is $49/user/month (billed annually) and includes unlimited email credits, 900 export credits, and 120 mobile credits per year. Most small teams start here.

The Professional plan costs $79/user/month and adds advanced filters, more integrations, and better sequence features. The Organization plan is $119/user/month with API access and advanced analytics.

If you're comparing to Clay, the key difference is Apollo charges per user while Clay charges for data enrichment credits. Apollo makes more sense if you want an all-in-one tool. Clay makes sense if you're building a custom stack.

Clay vs Apollo: What's Actually Different

These tools aren't competing for the same job. Here's what each does better:

Data Quality and Enrichment

Clay wins here because it aggregates 75+ data sources. If one provider doesn't have an email, Clay checks another. This waterfall approach means higher coverage rates - you'll find more contacts with accurate data.

Apollo's database is solid but you're limited to what Apollo has. If they don't have the email, you're stuck. The trade-off is convenience - everything is in one place without needing to connect external providers.

For niche industries or hard-to-find contacts, Clay's multi-provider setup finds data Apollo misses. For common B2B personas (SaaS founders, marketing directors, etc.), Apollo's database works fine.

Workflow Automation

Clay is built for complex workflows. You can trigger actions based on if/then logic, score leads using custom formulas, and chain together dozens of steps before pushing data to your CRM or email tool.

Apollo has basic automation but it's focused on email sequences and task creation. You're not building elaborate data pipelines - you're running outbound campaigns.

If you need to enrich companies with technographic data, check for hiring signals, score them against ICP criteria, and then route to different sequences based on score, you need Clay. If you just want to find CMOs at SaaS companies and email them, Apollo handles it.

Sending Outbound

Apollo has native email sequences and a built-in dialer. Clay has neither. If you use Clay, you'll need to connect it to an email tool like Instantly, Smartlead, or Lemlist.

This isn't necessarily a weakness. Dedicated cold email tools often have better deliverability features than Apollo's built-in sequences. But it does add complexity and cost to your stack.

Apollo is better if you want everything in one platform. Clay is better if you're okay managing integrations in exchange for best-in-class tools for each function.

Team Collaboration

Apollo is designed for sales teams. Multiple users can work from the same database, sequences, and CRM. You can assign leads, track who's doing what, and manage everything from one dashboard.

Clay is more technical. It's built for ops people who set up data pipelines that feed sales tools. Your AEs probably won't work directly in Clay - they'll work in the CRM or email tool that Clay feeds.

Which One Should You Actually Pick?

Here's how to decide:

Pick Apollo if:

• You want an all-in-one system for finding contacts and running outbound
• You're selling to common B2B personas that are well-represented in Apollo's database
• You have multiple sales reps who need to work from the same platform
• You prefer simplicity over customization
• Your budget is tight and you can't afford multiple tools

Pick Clay if:

• You need the highest possible data coverage by pulling from multiple providers
• You're building complex lead scoring or enrichment workflows
• You already have preferred tools for CRM and email, and you need a layer that connects them
• You're in a niche industry where single-provider databases fall short
• You have someone technical who can build and maintain data workflows

Use both if:

• You have the budget and want best-in-class for each function
• You use Apollo's database as one input, but Clay to enrich and score before pushing to your email tool
• You're running high-volume outbound where deliverability and data quality directly impact ROI

Most early-stage teams start with Apollo because it's simpler and cheaper. As you scale and need better data coverage or more complex workflows, you add Clay to the stack.

Real-World Setup Examples

Scenario 1: Solo founder doing outbound
Use Apollo. You get database + sequences + CRM in one $49/month tool. Clay would be overkill and you'd still need to pay for a separate email tool.

Scenario 2: Agency prospecting for niche clients
Use Clay. Apollo's database won't have enough coverage for specific niches like "CMOs at insurance tech companies with 50-200 employees." Clay lets you pull from specialized providers and build custom audiences.

Scenario 3: Sales team running multiple campaigns
Start with Apollo for simplicity. If data quality becomes a bottleneck, add Clay to enrich Apollo contacts before they go into sequences. Push enriched data back to Apollo or export to a dedicated cold email tool.

Scenario 4: Revenue ops building a data warehouse
Use Clay as your enrichment layer that feeds your CRM. Connect it to Apollo (as one data source), plus 10 other providers. Build workflows that score, route, and update records automatically. Your AEs work in the CRM, never touching Clay directly.

Alternatives Worth Considering

If neither Clay nor Apollo feels right, here are other tools in this space:

Amplemarket is similar to Apollo but with better AI-powered personalization. It's pricier but has stronger engagement features.

Reply combines database, sequences, and multichannel outreach (email + LinkedIn + calls). Good middle ground between Apollo's simplicity and Clay's flexibility.

Findymail is a data provider with excellent email verification. Cheaper than Clay if you just need emails without complex workflows.

For more options, check out our full guide to best cold email tools and sales intelligence tools.

The Bottom Line

Clay and Apollo serve different parts of your sales stack. Apollo is an all-in-one platform for teams that want simplicity. Clay is a data enrichment powerhouse for teams that need the best possible data coverage and custom workflows.

If you're just getting started with outbound, Apollo is the easier path. If you're scaling and hitting data quality issues, Clay solves that problem better than anything else.

Most mature sales orgs end up using both - Clay for enrichment and workflow automation, Apollo (or another tool) for the database and sequences.

Start with Clay here if you need world-class data enrichment, or go with Apollo if you want database + outreach in one platform.