Clay vs ZoomInfo is a choice between building your own enrichment and buying one dataset. Clay is a GTM data and workflow platform that pulls from 150+ data providers and bills on two meters, Actions and Data Credits, from 167 USD a month billed yearly with unlimited seats. ZoomInfo sells its own contact, company and intent data on custom-quoted annual contracts, and publishes no paid price.
Prices checked on 27 September 2026 from each vendor’s own pricing page.
Below, both tools get the same 11 fields, in the same order, taken from their own pricing pages, help centers and docs. Neither was in our own benchmark, so every data figure is labeled as the vendor’s claim.
Clay vs ZoomInfo at a glance
Clay is a self-serve workflow platform priced on two usage meters; ZoomInfo is a quote-only enterprise data platform. Here are the same 11 fields for each.
| Field | Clay | ZoomInfo |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | GTM data and workflow platform: 150+ data providers, AI research agents, signals, CRM and sequencer syncs | Enterprise B2B data platform: contacts, companies, intent |
| Best for | GTM engineers building enrichment and signal workflows who can manage two usage meters | Larger teams buying data, intent and engagement on one contract |
| Entry price | 167 USD a month billed yearly, 185 USD monthly (Launch entry tier). Free: 500 Actions and 100 Data Credits a month | Paid plans not published. ZoomInfo Lite: 0 USD, 10 credits a month |
| Pricing model | Two meters, Actions plus Data Credits; unlimited seats on every plan | Custom quote, seat minimums, credits |
| Contracts | Monthly or annual (save 10%); Enterprise is custom with an annual commitment | Annual, most “billed annually upfront” |
| Email data | Cost varies by provider; Clay’s docs example is 0.5 Data Credits per email found plus 1 Action | 1 credit per exported record; claims 300M+ verified emails |
| Mobile numbers and cost | Yes, from Launch up, through marketplace providers or your own API keys; price per number not published as a fixed figure | Paid plans, inside the exported record; price per number not published |
| Charged on a miss | No: no Data Credits or Actions when an enrichment returns no result | Not published |
| Integrations | CRM sync (Growth and above), Snowflake, BigQuery, Postgres, Databricks, HTTP API, webhooks, Clay MCP | Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, Zoho, SugarCRM, Pipedrive, API, MCP |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and 42001, GDPR, CCPA listed | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, 27017 and 27701, TRUSTe GDPR and CCPA |
| Where it falls short | Two meters to budget, no phones on Free, CRM sync starts on Growth, top-ups cost 30% more | No public price, credits expire, renewal can rise |
For each tool on its own, read our Clay pricing breakdown and our ZoomInfo review.
How are Clay and ZoomInfo different?
Clay and ZoomInfo differ most in where the data comes from, how you are billed for it and who has to run the tool. These six differences change the bill or the daily workflow.
- A workflow platform against one dataset. Clay says you can “Find and enrich data from 150+ providers”, run AI research agents (Claygent) and bring your own API keys. ZoomInfo sells its own data layer, which it says is verified by machine learning, third-party partners and “300+ human researchers.”
- A price list against a quote. Clay publishes every tier except Enterprise, from 167 USD a month billed yearly. ZoomInfo says paid plans “are not published at a fixed price” and every contract is scoped to your usage.
- Two meters against one credit per record. Clay charges Actions for each run and Data Credits for the data returned; its docs say a fully enriched record typically costs 6 to 20 Data Credits. ZoomInfo charges one credit per exported record and says consumption “varies by data depth”.
- Seats. Clay includes unlimited seats on every plan. ZoomInfo paid plans “include a minimum number of seats and scale with headcount”, and two users exporting the same record pay two credits.
- Unused credits. Clay Data Credits roll over up to 2x the monthly amount on Launch and Growth, while Actions reset each billing cycle. ZoomInfo monthly credits cannot be rolled over, and bulk credits expire at the end of the contract.
- Company data and intent. ZoomInfo claims 500M+ professional profiles, 122M+ company records, website visitor data (WebSights) and intent signals from 4,500+ topics. Clay adds job change and other signals from Launch and web intent signals on Growth, on top of the providers you connect.
Clay vs ZoomInfo pricing
Clay publishes its prices and ZoomInfo does not. Here is everything each vendor publishes, plus one third-party figure for ZoomInfo.
Clay pricing
| Clay plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Entry tier includes, a month | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 0 USD | 0 USD | 500 Actions, 100 Data Credits; no phone enrichment | Unlimited |
| Launch | 167 USD a month | 185 USD a month | 15,000 Actions, 2,500 Data Credits; phone enrichment | Unlimited |
| Growth | 446 USD a month | 495 USD a month | 40,000 Actions, 6,000 Data Credits; CRM sync, HTTP API, webhooks | Unlimited |
| Enterprise | Custom, annual commitment | Custom | 100,000+ Data Credits and 200,000+ Actions | Unlimited |
Each paid plan scales both meters separately. On Launch billed monthly, Data Credits run from 2,500 for 125 USD to 50,000 for 2,125 USD a month, and credit top-ups cost a 30% premium. If you bring your own API key, a run uses no Data Credits and 1 Action. Our Clay alternatives guide covers tools with a single meter.
ZoomInfo pricing
- ZoomInfo Lite: 0 USD, 10 credits a month (25 with Community Edition), no credit card and no contract. A reveal shows a business email and a direct or office phone. Integrations need a paid plan.
- Paid plans: quoted and annual, “Most paid plans are billed annually upfront.” ZoomInfo names the quote drivers as team size, credit volume, features such as intent and WebSights, integrations and API access, and contract length.
- Third-party data: Vendr, a software buying marketplace, reports a median ZoomInfo contract of 33,500 USD a year across 1,573 purchases, from 7,213 to 155,820 USD. That is Vendr’s data, not a ZoomInfo price.
ZoomInfo’s own pricing article warns that “Renewal pricing can increase from the initial contract rate”. Our ZoomInfo pricing guide covers each credit type.
ZoomInfo cost vs Clay: what a year and a contact cost
Clay’s entry paid tier costs 2,004 USD a year billed yearly (167 USD a month), or 2,220 USD billed monthly. ZoomInfo publishes no paid price; the median contract Vendr reports is 33,500 USD a year, and the range it shows starts at 7,213 USD.
- Clay, per contact: at the Launch entry tier a Data Credit costs 5 cents (125 USD for 2,500) and an Action 0.4 cents (60 USD for 15,000). In Clay’s own docs example an email find costs 0.5 Data Credits per email found plus 1 Action, about 3 cents. A fully enriched record at 6 to 20 Data Credits costs 0.30 to 1.00 USD before Actions. Phone numbers have no fixed price: Clay’s docs say “emails are cheap, phone numbers are expensive” and show each provider’s cost in the product.
- ZoomInfo, per contact: not published. The closest figure is our math on Vendr’s median: at 33,500 USD a year, one exported record costs 6.70 USD if you export 5,000 a year and 0.67 USD at 50,000. That is third-party data, not a ZoomInfo price.
Clay is cheaper to start, but its per-contact cost depends on the providers you pick, so price a sample table of your real records before you compare it with a ZoomInfo quote.
Credit rules that change the real price
The list price is only half of the cost; the credit rules decide how much of it you use. Here are the same five rules for each tool.
| Credit rule | Clay | ZoomInfo |
|---|---|---|
| How credits are counted | 1 Action per enrichment run, plus Data Credits that vary by provider; with your own API key, no Data Credits and 1 Action | 1 credit per exported record; “Credit consumption varies by data depth”; Monthly, Bulk and AI Action Credits |
| Looking up a contact again | Not published | Records under management can be re-pulled or re-enriched free for up to 1 year; views are capped per user, and each view of an email or phone uses one, even for the same contact |
| Same record, two users | Not published; seats are unlimited | Two credits: “if User A and User B both export the same record, two credits will be charged” |
| Unused credits | Data Credits roll over up to 2x the monthly amount on Launch and Growth (Enterprise up to 15% of prior-year credits); Actions reset each billing cycle | Monthly credits cannot be rolled over or transferred; Bulk Credits expire at the end of the contract |
| What a miss costs | Nothing: “If an enrichment returns no result, you’re not charged Data Credits or Actions.” | Not published |
Which has better data, Clay or ZoomInfo?
We cannot rank them: neither Clay nor ZoomInfo was in our benchmark, and Clay’s data quality depends on the providers you connect, so the answer rests on vendor claims until you test both.
- Clay claims you can “Find and enrich data from 150+ providers” and that “the most-used enrichments cost 50% fewer credits on average.” Verification runs through validator providers in its marketplace, and Clay says “select validator providers are free in Clay under new pricing”.
- ZoomInfo claims “300M+ Verified Emails”, “135M+ Direct Dial Numbers”, “87% Mobile Number Accuracy” and a “96% Email Deliverability Rate”, with data verified by machine learning, third-party partners and “300+ human researchers.”
For measured coverage on the 8 providers we did test, see our B2B data provider comparison.
A third option: Scalelist, if mobiles are the job
If you are comparing Clay and ZoomInfo because you need a list, not a platform, a pay-per-result tool may fit better than either. Scalelist is an AI Lead Finder: you describe the people you want in one sentence and get them back with verified work emails and mobile numbers.
- How you pay: 1 credit per lead found, 1 per email found, 20 per mobile found, and nothing when nothing is found. Plans run from 29 USD a month for 500 credits to 649 USD for 20,000, with one meter, no seats and no annual contract (Scalelist plans and credits).
- Measured: in our own benchmark, Scalelist found a phone number for 87% of the North America list, 73% in EMEA, 75% in APAC and 85% in Latin America.
- Where it is not the better buy: on emails alone it is not the cheapest, since a Scalelist credit costs 3.25 to 5.8 cents against about 3 cents in Clay’s docs example. A mobile costs 0.65 to 1.16 USD at list price. There is no workflow builder, signals, intent data or org chart, and HubSpot is the only native CRM. Teams that already run Clay can call Scalelist through its API.
The direct matchups are in Scalelist vs Clay and Scalelist vs ZoomInfo.
Describe the buyers you would build a Clay table for or look up in ZoomInfo, and see how many match before you spend a credit.
Describe your buyer in one sentenceHow to choose between Clay and ZoomInfo
Clay or ZoomInfo comes down to who will run the tool and how much company data you need beyond contacts.
- Decide who will build. Clay needs someone to set up tables, pick providers and budget two meters. ZoomInfo is bought ready to search.
- Price your real volume on both meters. Multiply your records by 6 to 20 Data Credits for full enrichment, add the Actions, and ask ZoomInfo how many credits a record with a mobile uses on your quote.
- Check where the data must land. Clay’s CRM auto-sync, HTTP API and webhooks start on Growth at 446 USD a month billed yearly. ZoomInfo connects to Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics and more, but only on a paid plan.
- Get ZoomInfo’s terms in writing. The seat minimum, credits per seat, whether a record with no phone still costs a credit, rollover and the renewal cap.
- Test on the same 100 contacts in the regions you sell into before you commit a year, and count connected calls.
Still deciding? Compare ZoomInfo competitors, or read Clay vs Apollo, ZoomInfo vs Apollo, Lusha vs ZoomInfo, Cognism vs ZoomInfo and ZoomInfo vs LeadIQ.
FAQ
Is Clay better than ZoomInfo?
It depends on who will run it. Clay suits teams with a GTM engineer who wants to build enrichment and signal workflows from 150+ providers, with unlimited seats and a published price. ZoomInfo suits larger teams that want one dataset with org charts and intent under an annual contract. Neither was in our benchmark, so test data quality on your own accounts.
ZoomInfo cost vs Clay: which is cheaper?
Clay, at the entry level. Clay Launch costs 167 USD a month billed yearly, or 2,004 USD a year, and 185 USD billed monthly. ZoomInfo does not publish paid prices; Vendr, a buying marketplace, reports a median ZoomInfo contract of 33,500 USD a year. Clay’s per-contact cost then depends on the providers you choose, so price a sample of your records first.
How much does a phone number cost on Clay and ZoomInfo?
Neither publishes a fixed price. Clay shows each phone provider’s Data Credit cost inside the product, says “emails are cheap, phone numbers are expensive”, and offers phone enrichment only from the Launch plan. ZoomInfo includes mobile numbers in exported records on paid plans, charges one credit per exported record and says consumption varies by data depth.
Does Clay or ZoomInfo charge for contacts it cannot find?
Clay does not: “If an enrichment returns no result, you’re not charged Data Credits or Actions.” Unused Actions still reset each billing cycle. ZoomInfo does not publish whether an exported record with no email or phone uses a credit, and its monthly credits do not roll over, so ask for both rules in writing before you sign.
Which has more accurate data, Clay or ZoomInfo?
We cannot rank them, because neither was in our benchmark. ZoomInfo claims 87% mobile number accuracy and 135M+ direct dials from its own dataset. Clay’s accuracy depends on the providers and validators you connect from its marketplace of 150+. Run the same 100 contacts you already know through both, then a paid month of your real list, and count connected calls.
Is there an alternative to Clay and ZoomInfo for mobile numbers?
Yes. Scalelist, an AI Lead Finder, returns verified work emails and mobile numbers from a one-sentence description, with no workflow to build. It charges 20 credits per mobile found and nothing for a miss, on one meter with no seats and no annual contract. It has no signals, intent data or workflow builder, and HubSpot is its only native CRM. New accounts get 20 free credits.
Sources
- Clay: Pricing
- Clay University: Actions and Data Credits
- ZoomInfo: How much does ZoomInfo cost
- ZoomInfo help center: Overview of credits
- ZoomInfo help center: ZoomInfo Lite credits explained
- ZoomInfo: Data
- ZoomInfo: Trust center
- Vendr: ZoomInfo pricing data
