Head to head · Lead enrichment · October 2026 research run
Clay vs Clearbit
Clay scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Clearbit's 13.5 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do lead enrichment.
Best lead, contact and company data APIs for AI agents · All 171 leads comparisons
Which one, for what
Clay C
Best for Agents building prospect lists and enriching contacts or accounts through many providers at once.
Ahead on
- Reliability, 45 against 30
- Schema & documentation, 84 against 0
- Agent ergonomics, 66 against 0
- Security & auth, 48 against 8
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 0
- Maintenance & community, 75 against 4
Also in its favour
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
Watch for
API keys carry no scopes and act with the user's workspace access
Clearbit F
Best for Only for teams that already hold a Clearbit contract.
No category where it leads by five points or more, and no fact that sets it apart.
Watch for
No public API or MCP server an outside agent can call
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Clay | Clearbit | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 45 | 30 | Clay +15 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 84 | 0 | Clay +84 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 66 | 0 | Clay +66 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 48 | 8 | Clay +40 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 30 | 0 | Clay +30 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 75 | 4 | Clay +71 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 64 | 66 | Clearbit +2 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | C 57.7/100 | F 13.5/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Clay | Clearbit |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Clay Labs Inc. | HubSpot, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | https://api.clay.com/public/v0 | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the Clay Terms of Service. The agent plugin repository carries no licence file | Proprietary service under the Clearbit Terms of Service (30 May 2025), provided by HubSpot, Inc. under the Clearbit brand |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-06 | 2025-12-08 |
| Terms last updated | 2024-05-23 | 2025-05-30 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2020-09-11 | 2026-08-31 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |
Verdicts
Clay
A documented Public API with an OpenAPI spec, llms.txt and plan-capped search, plus a JSON-first CLI released several times a fortnight, give agents Clay's people search and multi-provider enrichment. Keys have no scopes, the Claude Code plugin auto-approves most CLI calls, and the privacy policy dates from 2020.
Clearbit
There is no public API or MCP server an outside agent can call today. Clearbit's APIs still run for existing customers behind a login, and its free tools and Logo API were retired in 2025. HubSpot's Breeze Intelligence is the route for new buyers, through HubSpot rather than Clearbit.
Before you call either
Clay
- Fetch GET /search/query-mode/reference before writing a search query
- Poll routine results until a terminal 200, since 202 means still running
- Expect HTTP 402 when a plan's search cap is hit, and tell the user the reset date
- Check GET /credits/balance before large batch runs
- Ask the user before enabling the plugin's auto-approve hook in a shared workspace
Clearbit
- Don't plan to call Clearbit. Hand the task to a person with an existing Clearbit account, or use HubSpot's Breeze Intelligence through HubSpot
- Replace logo.clearbit.com links, which stopped working after 8 December 2025
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Clay or Clearbit?
Clay scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Clearbit's 13.5 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.
Do Clay and Clearbit need an API key?
Clay takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Clearbit needs an API key.
Can an agent call Clay and Clearbit without installing anything?
Clay has a hosted endpoint at https://api.clay.com/public/v0. No hosted endpoint is listed for Clearbit.
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Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/clay-vs-clearbit.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/clay.json·/api/v1/tools/clearbit.json - From a terminal
anchor compare clay clearbit(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "clay", "b": "clearbit"}at/mcp, no key