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Clay vs Instantly

Comparing Clay and Instantly pricing plans, feature limits, and annual savings for 2026.

Pricing Verdict: Clay is the more affordable entry point for agencies
Starting Price
$0 vs $37

There is a $37/mo difference in entry-level pricing.

Plan Variety
5 vs 8

Clay offers 5 distinct tiers compared to Instantly's 8 options.

Total Features
45 vs 93

We mapped 138 total feature points across both tools for this evaluation.

Side-by-Side Matrix

💰 Price Verdict

Clay starts at Free, making it the most cost-effective choice for and scaling agencies.

ClayFrom $0/mo

Clay is a SaaS tool that provides access to 100+ databases of leads and company research, allowing users to pay for what they use with Clay credits.

Free

Free

0

Starter

$134.00/mo

Save with $1608/yr

Explorer

$314.00/mo

Save with $3768/yr

Pro

$720.00/mo

Save with $8640/yr

Enterprise

Custom

InstantlyFrom $37/mo

Sales Engagement & Lead Intelligence tool

Growth

$37.00/mo

Hypergrowth

$97.00/mo

Light Speed

$358.00/mo

Enterprise

Custom

Growth CRM

$47.00/mo

Hyper CRM

$97.00/mo

Supersonic

$97.00/mo

Hyper Credits

$197.00/mo

* Disclaimer: Pricing and availability may vary based on your location, selected billing cycle, or custom enterprise agreements.

Comprehensive Feature Breakdown

Detailed limit-by-limit comparison of all tiers.

Capabilities
Clay
Free
Clay
Starter
Clay
Explorer
Clay
Pro
Clay
Enterprise
Instantly
Growth
Instantly
Hypergrowth
Instantly
Light Speed
Instantly
Enterprise
Instantly
Growth CRM
Instantly
Hyper CRM
Instantly
Supersonic
Instantly
Hyper Credits
100+ Community AI Templates
10K-200K Instantly Credits Monthly
13 Filters including keywords and lookalikes
1500-2000 Instantly Credits Monthly
40 action columns per table
AI / Claygent
AI prompting support
AI/Claygent
Access to 5 Major LLMs
Access to 5 Major LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic & more)
Access to AI Email Writer Agent
Advanced & Team Reporting
Advanced Opportunities
All Pro features
All pro features
CRM integrations
Calling & SMS
Credit reporting analytics
Custom automation templates
Database of 450M+ B2B Leads
Dedicated Account Manager
Dedicated Slack support
Detailed Lead View
Email sequencing integrations
Emails Monthly
5000
100000
500000
500000+
Everything in Growth
Everything in Growth CRM
Everything in Growth CRM +
Everything in Hyper Growth
Everything in Hyper Growth +
Export to major CRMs & Outreach providers
Exporting
Follow-up AI
Full profile enrichment
Full profile enrichment (Company description, headcount & more)
Instantly AI
Instantly Credits Monthly
1500-2000
5000-7500
10K-200K
Instantly Web Researcher Agent
Integrate with any HTTP API
Integrations
Job posting, News, Technology & Funding enrichment
Leads & Campaigns
Live Chat Support
Master Inbox
People/Company searches
Up to 100/search
Up to 2,000/search
Up to 10,000/search
Up to 25,000/search
Premium Support
Priority AI
Private Clay recipes
Private Deliverability Network
Reporting
Rollover credits
SISR System
Salesflows
Shared Slack Channel
Snowflake
Sources sync hourly
Stripe integration
Tasks & Follow-Ups
Unlimited Email Accounts
Unlimited Email Warmup
Unlimited Seats
Unlimited rows (API)
Unlimited users
Uploaded Contacts
1000
25000
100000
100000+
Use your own API key
Use your own LLM API key
Waterfall Work Email Enrichment with 5+ providers
Webhooks
Website visitors inside CRM

The Detailed Breakdown

Choosing between Clay and Instantly depends heavily on your agency's specific scale and feature requirements. While pricing favors Clay for teams on a budget, the hidden value often lies in the specific limits of their mid-tier plans.

Clay typically caters to teams looking for high-volume lead intelligence, whereas Instantly is often the choice for those prioritizing multi-channel engagement.

💡 Pro Tip: Agencies should look closely at the cost-per-seat on yearly billing, which usually unlocks a 10-20% discount across both platforms.

Clay Highlights

  • AI/Claygent: Included
  • Unlimited users: Included
  • People/Company searches: Up to 100/search
  • Exporting: Included

Instantly Highlights

  • Unlimited Email Accounts: Included
  • Unlimited Email Warmup: Included
  • Uploaded Contacts: 1000
  • Emails Monthly: 5000

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about Clay and Instantly pricing.

Which is cheaper: Clay or Instantly for agencies?
!

For agencies on a tight budget, Clay is the clear winner, starting at $0.00/mo compared to Instantly's entry price of $37.00/mo.

Does Clay offer annual billing discounts?
!

While Clay lists various plans, we recommend checking their official checkout for the latest "billed annually" incentives, which are common in the SaaS industry.

Is there a free trial for Instantly?
!

Most tools in this category, including Instantly, offer either a limited free trial or a money-back guarantee period. We recommend clicking through to their official site to see the current trial terms for 2026.

Does Clay offer custom enterprise pricing?
!

Yes, Clay has at least one custom-priced tier designed for large-scale enterprise needs. Contact their sales team for a tailored quote.

Clay vs Instantly Pricing 2026: Which is cheaper for agencies?