{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "clay", "name": "Clay", "vendor": "Clay Labs Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://www.clay.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "lead-data", "summary": "Clay is a go-to-market data and automation platform that searches its own database of companies and people and runs enrichment across 150+ data providers. Agents use it through the Public API v0, the clay CLI and a coding-agent plugin.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/clay", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/clay.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/clay.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/clay.json", "repo": "https://github.com/clay-run/agent-plugins", "license": "Proprietary service under the Clay Terms of Service. The agent plugin repository carries no licence file", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.clay.com/public/v0", "packages": [], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "The Public API takes a personal API key in the clay-api-key header, tied to a Clay user and their workspace access, created in the app, with the CLI (clay api-keys create) or by an agent through the plugin. The CLI signs in with OAuth in a browser or with a device code (clay login --device), one workspace per sign-in. Custom functions need API or MCP access switched on per function (https://developers.clay.com/public-api/authentication).", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Free plan with 100 data credits and 500 actions a month. Launch from $167 a month and Growth from $446 a month on the plan cards, while the FAQ on the same page says $185 and $495. Data credits start at $0.05 and actions at under a cent. Failed enrichments aren't charged. The FAQ lists Clay API access under Enterprise, while the developer docs give search limits for Free, Trial and paid plans (https://www.clay.com/pricing, https://developers.clay.com/searches, checked 2026-10-14).", "priceSummary": "$0.05 / credit", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the developer docs, the OpenAPI spec or the pricing page (checked 2026-10-14).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-14" }, "docsUrl": "https://developers.clay.com", "llmsTxt": "https://developers.clay.com/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://developers.clay.com/openapi.json", "capabilities": [ "lead.search", "lead.enrichment", "email.finder", "data.company" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "freemium", "api-key", "openapi", "llms-txt", "cli", "closed-source", "lead-search", "enrichment", "soc2", "webhooks" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-06", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 57.7, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 633, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1076, "categoryRank": 8, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 66, "maintenance": 75, "payments": 30, "reliability": 45, "schema": 84, "security": 48, "transparency": 64 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-14" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "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.", "bestFor": "Agents building prospect lists and enriching contacts or accounts through many providers at once.", "strengths": [ "Public OpenAPI spec, llms.txt and Markdown copies of the docs", "Search and enrichment across Clay's database and 150+ providers through one API", "Failed enrichments use no credits or actions", "CLI with JSON output and typed exit codes, released five times between 25 September and 6 October 2026", "Valid security.txt and SOC 2 Type II listed" ], "weaknesses": [ "API keys carry no scopes and act with the user's workspace access", "The Claude Code plugin auto-approves most clay CLI commands, including ones that spend credits", "No request-rate number published, and error bodies have no stable codes", "Privacy policy dated September 2020 with no retention periods", "Pricing page gives two different prices for Launch and Growth, and says API access is Enterprise" ], "agentNotes": [ "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" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 57.7 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 66, "maintenance": 75, "payments": 30, "reliability": 45, "schema": 84, "security": 48, "transparency": 28 }, "provenanceScore": 99 }, "connect": { "http": "curl https://api.clay.com/public/v0/me \\\n -H \"clay-api-key: $CLAY_PUBLIC_API_KEY\"", "claudeCode": "Set up the Clay plugin by following the steps in https://github.com/clay-run/agent-plugins" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/lead.search", "tool": "https://letme.dev/clay" }, "area": "web-data", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Data credit", "unit": "credit", "usd": 0.05, "note": "Starting price per the pricing FAQ. Used when buying data from Clay's providers. Cheaper at volume" }, { "item": "Launch plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 167, "note": "Plan card headline. The FAQ says from $185 a month" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Clay Labs Inc.", "domain": "clay.com", "domainRegistered": "1992-11-13", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.clay.com/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://www.clay.com/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.clay.com", "changelog": "https://www.clay.com/changelog", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-10-14", "notes": [ "The terms (last updated 23 May 2024) name Clay Labs Inc. with New York law. The privacy policy is dated 11 September 2020.", "clay.com/.well-known/security.txt names security@clay.com and trust.clay.com, expiring 2027-07-31.", "status.clay.com answered with a bot check to both curl and WebFetch, so its components and history weren't read.", "The API answers at api.clay.com and the docs at developers.clay.com.", "RDAP gives clay.com a registration date of 1992-11-13." ], "score": 99 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/clay.json", "live": { "slug": "clay", "probe": { "target": "https://api.clay.com/public/v0", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-14T09:41:46.249843895Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 152, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 149, "p95ms24h": 229, "samples24h": 17, "samples30d": 17, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-14", "probes": 17, "ok": 17 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.clay.com", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-14T08:52:50.29728454Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-14T09:41:46.249843895Z" } }, "answer": "Clay scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Hunter API + MCP's 56.5 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Hunter API + MCP leads on reliability, schema \u0026 documentation, payments \u0026 pricing and transparency \u0026 trust.", "b": { "slug": "hunter", "name": "Hunter API + MCP", "vendor": "Hunter", "vendorUrl": "https://hunter.io", "kind": "http-api", "category": "lead-data", "summary": "Email finder, email verifier, domain search, company discovery and person and company enrichment over a REST API, plus a hosted MCP server that also drives Hunter's leads, lists and cold-email sequences.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hunter", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hunter.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hunter.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hunter.json", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.hunter.io/v2", "packages": [], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "REST takes the key in the `X-API-Key` header (the `?api_key=` query form still works but puts the key in logs). Hosted MCP at mcp.hunter.io uses OAuth for Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini, or the same `X-API-Key` header for other clients. A `test-api-key` returns dummy responses on Domain Search, Email Finder and Email Verifier.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Free plan with 50 credits a month and API access. Starter $49 a month ($34 billed yearly, 2,000 credits), Growth $149 ($104 yearly, 10,000 credits), Scale $299 ($209 yearly, 25,000 credits), Enterprise custom. One credit per email found by Email Finder or Domain Search (Bulk Domain Search is 1 credit per 10 emails), 0.5 per verification, nothing when no result comes back, and repeat lookups count once per billing period. Discover (company search) and Email Count are free. An API-only Data Platform sells search and verification credits in bulk, valid 12 months (https://hunter.io/pricing).", "priceSummary": "$49 / mo", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402 mention in the API docs, MCP docs or pricing (checked 2026-09-30).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 107, "popularity": { "githubStars": 9, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://hunter.io/api-documentation/v2", "llmsTxt": "https://hunter.io/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://hunter.io/openapi.json", "capabilities": [ "email.finder", "email.verification", "lead.search", "lead.enrichment", "data.company", "data.person" ], "tags": [ "lead-search", "enrichment", "email-verification", "hosted", "freemium", "no-card", "mcp", "llms-txt", "openapi", "webhooks", "closed-source" ], "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 56.5, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 670, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1076, "categoryRank": 9, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 54, "maintenance": 63, "payments": 40, "reliability": 50, "schema": 90, "security": 33, "transparency": 78 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Returns 451 for people who asked not to be processed. Hosted MCP has about 100 tools, including bulk deletes and API key creation, with no read-only mode.", "bestFor": "Finding and verifying work emails from a domain or a name, where GDPR handling of the people looked up matters.", "strengths": [ "Returns 451 for people who asked not to be processed", "Privacy policy names its sources, cites a legitimate interest assessment and DPIA, and hosts in Belgium", "Free plan with API and MCP access, no card", "Charges only when an email is found or a verification completes, and repeats in a billing period are free", "OpenAPI JSON, llms.txt, llms-full.txt and a test key with dummy responses" ], "weaknesses": [ "Hosted MCP has about 100 tools, including bulk deletes and API key creation, with no read-only mode", "API key accepted in the `api_key` query string", "Rate limits answer 403 and quota exhaustion answers 429", "No security page, security.txt, bug bounty or certification found", "Status page renders client-side and its history couldn't be read" ], "agentNotes": [ "Treat 451 as final. The person opted out and retrying won't help", "Back off on 403 with a rate-limit message. 429 means the plan's credits are gone", "Send the key in `X-API-Key`, never as `?api_key=`", "Use `test-api-key` to check request shapes without spending credits", "Use the hosted MCP at mcp.hunter.io/mcp, not the deprecated local npm package" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 56.5 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 54, "maintenance": 63, "payments": 40, "reliability": 50, "schema": 90, "security": 33, "transparency": 71 }, "provenanceScore": 84 }, "connect": { "http": "curl \"https://api.hunter.io/v2/domain-search?domain=stripe.com\u0026limit=5\" -H \"X-API-Key: $HUNTER_API_KEY\"", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http hunter https://mcp.hunter.io/mcp" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/email.finder", "tool": "https://letme.dev/hunter" }, "area": "web-data", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Starter plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 49, "note": "2,000 credits. $34 a month billed yearly" }, { "item": "Growth plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 149, "note": "10,000 credits. $104 a month billed yearly" }, { "item": "Scale plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 299, "note": "25,000 credits. $209 a month billed yearly" }, { "item": "Email found or verified", "unit": "credit", "usd": 0.0245, "note": "Starter monthly, $49 for 2,000 credits. One email found is 1 credit, one verification 0.5" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Hunter Web Services, Inc.", "domain": "hunter.io", "domainRegistered": "2012-08-24", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://hunter.io/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://hunter.io/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.hunter.io", "changelog": "https://hunter.io/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-30", "notes": [ "hunter.io served the pricing page in euros from our location. USD figures match the same numbers and third-party reports" ], "score": 84 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hunter.json", "live": { "slug": "hunter", "probe": { "target": "https://api.hunter.io/v2", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-14T09:41:53.937915894Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 106, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 95, "p95ms24h": 159, "samples24h": 248, "samples30d": 3525, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 35, "ok": 35 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 268, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-11", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-12", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-13", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-14", "probes": 100, "ok": 100 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.hunter.io", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-14T08:53:18.026609916Z" }, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://hunter.io/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-13T15:45:23.325243917Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://hunter.io/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-13T14:11:46.776442146Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "hunter.io", "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T13:19:41.019867103Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://hunter.io/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-13T20:17:46.939609815Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:20:54.682281696Z", "fingerprint": "646788a7e0c7" }, { "url": "https://hunter.io/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-13T20:17:49.065782761Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:20:56.84730454Z", "fingerprint": "3d32f5685e97" }, { "url": "https://hunter.io/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-13T20:17:51.024032984Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:20:58.809513027Z", "fingerprint": "c2ea1ffda353" }, { "url": "https://hunter.io/terms-of-service", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-13T20:17:53.043023846Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:21:00.870589486Z", "fingerprint": "8093d765728f" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-14T09:41:53.937915894Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Clay Labs Inc.", "b": "Hunter", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.clay.com/public/v0", "b": "https://api.hunter.io/v2", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "OAuth or key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Proprietary service under the Clay Terms of Service. The agent plugin repository carries no licence file", "b": "none", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "none", "b": "107", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-06", "b": "none", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2024-05-23", "b": "no date given", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2020-09-11", "b": "no date given", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "none", "b": "9 stars", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "3/5 (2)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Clay scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Hunter API + MCP's 56.5 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Hunter API + MCP leads on reliability, schema \u0026 documentation, payments \u0026 pricing and transparency \u0026 trust.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Clay or Hunter API + MCP?" }, { "answer": "Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.", "question": "Do Clay and Hunter API + MCP need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Clay has a hosted endpoint at https://api.clay.com/public/v0 and Hunter API + MCP at https://api.hunter.io/v2.", "question": "Can an agent call Clay and Hunter API + MCP without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Agent ergonomics, 66 against 54", "Security \u0026 auth, 48 against 33", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 75 against 63" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Agents building prospect lists and enriching contacts or accounts through many providers at once.", "slug": "clay", "watchFor": "API keys carry no scopes and act with the user's workspace access" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 50 against 45", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 84", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 30", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 78 against 64" ], "also": [ "Free to start without a card" ], "goodFor": "Finding and verifying work emails from a domain or a name, where GDPR handling of the people looked up matters.", "slug": "hunter", "watchFor": "Hosted MCP has about 100 tools, including bulk deletes and API key creation, with no read-only mode" } ], "job": { "capability": "lead.search", "name": "Lead search" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apollo-vs-clay.json", "title": "Apollo API + MCP vs Clay", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apollo-vs-clay" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apollo-vs-hunter.json", "title": "Apollo API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apollo-vs-hunter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-coresignal.json", "title": "Clay vs Coresignal API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-coresignal" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-crustdata.json", "title": "Clay vs Crustdata API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-crustdata" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-enrich-layer.json", "title": "Clay vs Enrich Layer API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-enrich-layer" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-explorium-agentsource.json", "title": "Clay vs Explorium AgentSource", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-explorium-agentsource" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-fullenrich.json", "title": "Clay vs FullEnrich API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-fullenrich" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-fuse-mcp.json", "title": "Clay vs Fuse MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-fuse-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-gojiberry.json", "title": "Clay vs Gojiberry", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-gojiberry" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-leadmagic.json", "title": "Clay vs LeadMagic API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-leadmagic" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-lusha.json", "title": "Clay vs Lusha API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-lusha" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-people-data-labs.json", "title": "Clay vs People Data Labs", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-people-data-labs" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-prospeo.json", "title": "Clay vs Prospeo API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-prospeo" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-rocketreach.json", "title": "Clay vs RocketReach API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-rocketreach" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-zoominfo.json", "title": "Clay vs ZoomInfo API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-zoominfo" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-hunter.json", "title": "Coresignal API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-hunter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crustdata-vs-hunter.json", "title": "Crustdata API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crustdata-vs-hunter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/enrich-layer-vs-hunter.json", "title": "Enrich Layer API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/enrich-layer-vs-hunter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/explorium-agentsource-vs-hunter.json", "title": "Explorium AgentSource vs Hunter API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/explorium-agentsource-vs-hunter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fullenrich-vs-hunter.json", "title": "FullEnrich API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fullenrich-vs-hunter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fuse-mcp-vs-hunter.json", "title": "Fuse MCP vs Hunter API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fuse-mcp-vs-hunter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gojiberry-vs-hunter.json", "title": "Gojiberry vs Hunter API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gojiberry-vs-hunter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-people-data-labs.json", "title": "Hunter API + MCP vs People Data Labs", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-people-data-labs" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-zoominfo.json", "title": "Hunter API + MCP vs ZoomInfo API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-zoominfo" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-clearbit.json", "title": "Clay vs Clearbit", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-clearbit" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-dropcontact.json", "title": "Clay vs Dropcontact API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-dropcontact" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-fullcontact.json", "title": "Clay vs FullContact", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-fullcontact" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clearbit-vs-hunter.json", "title": "Clearbit vs Hunter API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clearbit-vs-hunter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dropcontact-vs-hunter.json", "title": "Dropcontact API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dropcontact-vs-hunter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fullcontact-vs-hunter.json", "title": "FullContact vs Hunter API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fullcontact-vs-hunter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-leadmagic.json", "title": "Hunter API + MCP vs LeadMagic API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-leadmagic" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-lusha.json", "title": "Hunter API + MCP vs Lusha API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-lusha" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-prospeo.json", "title": "Hunter API + MCP vs Prospeo API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-prospeo" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-rocketreach.json", "title": "Hunter API + MCP vs RocketReach API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-rocketreach" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 5, "clay": 45, "edge": "hunter", "hunter": 50, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 6, "clay": 84, "edge": "hunter", "hunter": 90, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 12, "clay": 66, "edge": "clay", "hunter": 54, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 15, "clay": 48, "edge": "clay", "hunter": 33, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 10, "clay": 30, "edge": "hunter", "hunter": 40, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 12, "clay": 75, "edge": "clay", "hunter": 63, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 14, "clay": 64, "edge": "hunter", "hunter": 78, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Clay scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Hunter API + MCP's 56.5 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Hunter API + MCP leads on reliability, schema \u0026 documentation, payments \u0026 pricing and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do lead search.", "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.", "hunter": "Returns 451 for people who asked not to be processed. Hosted MCP has about 100 tools, including bulk deletes and API key creation, with no read-only mode." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-hunter", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-hunter.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-hunter.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-hunter.min.md" }, "markdown": "Clay scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Hunter API + MCP's 56.5 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Hunter API + MCP leads on reliability, schema \u0026 documentation, payments \u0026 pricing and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do lead search.\n\n- Clay: grade C, 57.7/100, rank #633 of 1076. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/clay.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/clay.json\n- Hunter API + MCP: grade C, 56.5/100, rank #670 of 1076. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hunter.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hunter.json\n- Best lead, contact and company data APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/lead-data/index.md\n- All 171 leads comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lead-data/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Clay (C)\n\nGood for: Agents building prospect lists and enriching contacts or accounts through many providers at once.\n\nAhead on:\n- Agent ergonomics, 66 against 54\n- Security \u0026 auth, 48 against 33\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 75 against 63\n\nWatch for: API keys carry no scopes and act with the user's workspace access\n\n### Hunter API + MCP (C)\n\nGood for: Finding and verifying work emails from a domain or a name, where GDPR handling of the people looked up matters.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 50 against 45\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 84\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 30\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 78 against 64\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: Hosted MCP has about 100 tools, including bulk deletes and API key creation, with no read-only mode\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Clay | Hunter API + MCP | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 45 | 50 | Hunter API + MCP +5 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 84 | 90 | Hunter API + MCP +6 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 66 | 54 | Clay +12 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 48 | 33 | Clay +15 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 40 | Hunter API + MCP +10 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 63 | Clay +12 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 64 | 78 | Hunter API + MCP +14 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **57.7 · C** | **56.5 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Clay | Hunter API + MCP |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Clay Labs Inc. | Hunter |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.clay.com/public/v0` | `https://api.hunter.io/v2` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary service under the Clay Terms of Service. The agent plugin repository carries no licence file | none |\n| Tools exposed | none | 107 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-06 | none |\n| Terms last updated | 2024-05-23 | no date given |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2020-09-11 | no date given |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |\n| Popularity | none | 9 stars |\n| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**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.\n\n**Hunter API + MCP.** Returns 451 for people who asked not to be processed. Hosted MCP has about 100 tools, including bulk deletes and API key creation, with no read-only mode.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Clay\n\n1. Fetch GET /search/query-mode/reference before writing a search query\n2. Poll routine results until a terminal 200, since 202 means still running\n3. Expect HTTP 402 when a plan's search cap is hit, and tell the user the reset date\n4. Check GET /credits/balance before large batch runs\n5. Ask the user before enabling the plugin's auto-approve hook in a shared workspace\n\n### Hunter API + MCP\n\n1. Treat 451 as final. The person opted out and retrying won't help\n2. Back off on 403 with a rate-limit message. 429 means the plan's credits are gone\n3. Send the key in `X-API-Key`, never as `?api_key=`\n4. Use `test-api-key` to check request shapes without spending credits\n5. Use the hosted MCP at mcp.hunter.io/mcp, not the deprecated local npm package\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Clay or Hunter API + MCP?\n\nClay scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Hunter API + MCP's 56.5 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Hunter API + MCP leads on reliability, schema \u0026 documentation, payments \u0026 pricing and transparency \u0026 trust.\n\n### Do Clay and Hunter API + MCP need an API key?\n\nBoth take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.\n\n### Can an agent call Clay and Hunter API + MCP without installing anything?\n\nYes. Clay has a hosted endpoint at https://api.clay.com/public/v0 and Hunter API + MCP at https://api.hunter.io/v2.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-hunter.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-hunter.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"clay\", \"b\": \"hunter\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare clay hunter`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/clay.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hunter.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Clay or Hunter API + MCP\n\n- [Apollo API + MCP vs Clay](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apollo-vs-clay.md)\n- [Apollo API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apollo-vs-hunter.md)\n- [Clay vs Coresignal API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-coresignal.md)\n- [Clay vs Crustdata API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-crustdata.md)\n- [Clay vs Enrich Layer API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-enrich-layer.md)\n- [Clay vs Explorium AgentSource](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-explorium-agentsource.md)\n- [Clay vs FullEnrich API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-fullenrich.md)\n- [Clay vs Fuse MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-fuse-mcp.md)\n- [Clay vs Gojiberry](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-gojiberry.md)\n- [Clay vs LeadMagic API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-leadmagic.md)\n- [Clay vs Lusha API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-lusha.md)\n- [Clay vs People Data Labs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-people-data-labs.md)\n- [Clay vs Prospeo API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-prospeo.md)\n- [Clay vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-rocketreach.md)\n- [Clay vs ZoomInfo API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-zoominfo.md)\n- [Coresignal API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coresignal-vs-hunter.md)\n- [Crustdata API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crustdata-vs-hunter.md)\n- [Enrich Layer API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/enrich-layer-vs-hunter.md)\n- [Explorium AgentSource vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/explorium-agentsource-vs-hunter.md)\n- [FullEnrich API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fullenrich-vs-hunter.md)\n- [Fuse MCP vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fuse-mcp-vs-hunter.md)\n- [Gojiberry vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gojiberry-vs-hunter.md)\n- [Hunter API + MCP vs People Data Labs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-people-data-labs.md)\n- [Hunter API + MCP vs ZoomInfo API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-zoominfo.md)\n- [Clay vs Clearbit](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-clearbit.md)\n- [Clay vs Dropcontact API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-dropcontact.md)\n- [Clay vs FullContact](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-fullcontact.md)\n- [Clearbit vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clearbit-vs-hunter.md)\n- [Dropcontact API + MCP vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dropcontact-vs-hunter.md)\n- [FullContact vs Hunter API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fullcontact-vs-hunter.md)\n- [Hunter API + MCP vs LeadMagic API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-leadmagic.md)\n- [Hunter API + MCP vs Lusha API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-lusha.md)\n- [Hunter API + MCP vs Prospeo API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-prospeo.md)\n- [Hunter API + MCP vs RocketReach API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hunter-vs-rocketreach.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-14", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Clay vs Hunter API + MCP", "url": "" } ], "description": "Clay scores 57.7 (C) to Hunter's 56.5 (C) for lead search. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Clay C 57.7", "Hunter API + MCP C 56.5", "scores" ], "h1": "Clay vs Hunter API + MCP", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-clay-vs-hunter.png", "path": "/compare/clay-vs-hunter", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Clay vs Hunter for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-14", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-hunter" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2550, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }