Clay vs Lusha
Clay and Lusha both end with contact data but arrive by different routes. Lusha is a database you query. Clay is an orchestration layer that queries many databases — potentially including ones like Lusha — and falls through until a field is found. The price gap follows from that difference in scope.
Clay
Data enrichment and automation that chains 100+ providers into one workflow.
Lusha
B2B contact data with a real free tier, priced per credit rather than per lookup.
| Feature | Clay | Lusha |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.5 | 4.2 |
| Starting price | $167/momonthly billing; $54/mo billed annually | $49.9/momonthly billing; same $49.90 list rate billed yearly, cut to $37.45 by a Summer Sale promotion still running 2026-08-25 |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Free tier | 500 actions, 100 credits/month | 40 credits/month, no card |
| Actions | 15,000 (Launch) → 40,000 (Growth) | — |
| Data credits | 3,000 (Launch) → 6,000 (Growth) | — |
| Waterfall enrichment | 100+ providers | — |
| Annual discount | $54/mo billed yearly (Launch) | — |
| Credits | — | 4,800/yr (Starter) → 40,800/yr (Premium) |
| Seats included | — | 1 (Starter) → 5 (Premium) |
| Credit delivery | — | Granted upfront |
Hands-on field test
In progressFor lead-data tools we plan to run a fixed list of 200 known-good contacts through each product and measure match rate, bounce rate on verified addresses, and cost per valid contact. Until measured, we publish no accuracy figures.
The verdict
Lusha is the right tool for most teams that simply need contact data: a free tier to test with, straightforward credits, and a price around $49. Clay is worth its $167 monthly rate only when a single provider demonstrably fails to return the fields you need and you are building repeatable enrichment workflows. Note that Clay drops to $54/mo billed annually, which narrows the gap considerably if you can commit.
Choose Clay if one data source keeps coming up short and you want waterfall enrichment across many providers. Choose Lusha if you want straightforward contact data with a free tier and no workflow-building overhead.
Clay vs Lusha: FAQs
- Is Clay a replacement for Lusha?
- More a layer above it. Clay chains many providers together in a waterfall, and can call data sources as part of that chain. If one provider already covers your market, Clay adds cost and complexity rather than coverage.
- How different are the prices?
- Clay is $167/mo on monthly billing against Lusha's $49.90/mo billed annually — but Clay falls to $54/mo if you commit to a year, which makes them far closer than the headline suggests.
- Do both have free tiers?
- Yes. Lusha gives 40 credits a month with no card. Clay gives 500 actions and 100 credits a month. Both are adequate for judging fit.
- Which is easier to use?
- Lusha, by a wide margin. Clay behaves more like a spreadsheet automation tool than a lookup, and its credit consumption is hard to predict until a workflow exists.
Comparing more than two?
Put Clay, Lusha and up to two others side by side on price, mailboxes, warmup and trials.
Open the comparison table →