# Clay vs Lusha API + MCP

> Lusha scores 62.3 (B) to Clay's 57.7 (C) for lead search. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-lusha
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-lusha.md (~2,450 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-lusha.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-lusha.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-14

Lusha API + MCP scores 62.3 (B) on agent readiness against Clay's 57.7 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Clay leads on agent ergonomics. Both do lead search.

- 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
- Lusha API + MCP: grade B, 62.3/100, rank #462 of 1076. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lusha.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/lusha.json
- Best lead, contact and company data APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/lead-data/index.md
- All 171 leads comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lead-data/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Clay (C)

Good for: Agents building prospect lists and enriching contacts or accounts through many providers at once.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 66 against 51

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where Lusha API + MCP loses 4 points for them

Watch for: API keys carry no scopes and act with the user's workspace access

### Lusha API + MCP (B)

Good for: Sales teams that want contact and company enrichment, signals and prospecting from one vendor, with a free plan to start.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 75 against 45
- Security & auth, 59 against 48
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 30
- Maintenance & community, 82 against 75
- Transparency & trust, 80 against 64

Watch for: At least 1 credit per request even when nothing matches


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Clay | Lusha API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 45 | 75 | Lusha API + MCP +30 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 84 | 83 | Clay +1 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 66 | 51 | Clay +15 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 48 | 59 | Lusha API + MCP +11 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 40 | Lusha API + MCP +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 82 | Lusha API + MCP +7 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 64 | 80 | Lusha API + MCP +16 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -4 | |
| **Total** | | **57.7 · C** | **62.3 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Clay | Lusha API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Clay Labs Inc. | Lusha |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.clay.com/public/v0` | `https://api.lusha.com` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the Clay Terms of Service. The agent plugin repository carries no licence file | none |
| Tools exposed | none | 50 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `com.lusha.mcp/mcp` |
| Last release | 2026-10-06 | 2026-09-23 |
| Terms last updated | 2024-05-23 | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2020-09-11 | 2026-09-01 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes, with an opt-out |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |

## 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.

**Lusha API + MCP.** API key on every plan, including Free with 40 credits a month. At least 1 credit per request even when nothing matches.

## Before you call either

### Clay

1. Fetch GET /search/query-mode/reference before writing a search query
2. Poll routine results until a terminal 200, since 202 means still running
3. Expect HTTP 402 when a plan's search cap is hit, and tell the user the reset date
4. Check GET /credits/balance before large batch runs
5. Ask the user before enabling the plugin's auto-approve hook in a shared workspace

### Lusha API + MCP

1. Batch up to 25 contacts a request. A single bulk request costs 1 credit, not 1 per contact
2. Ask for phones only when needed. A phone is 5 credits against 1 for an email
3. Use the Buying Group endpoint. Decision Makers was retired on 2026-09-04
4. Use `/v3/lookalike/contacts` for contact lookalikes
5. Back off exponentially on 429. Free keys stop at 100 requests a day

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Clay or Lusha API + MCP?

Lusha API + MCP scores 62.3 (B) on agent readiness against Clay's 57.7 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Clay leads on agent ergonomics.

### Do Clay and Lusha API + MCP need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Clay and Lusha API + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Clay has a hosted endpoint at https://api.clay.com/public/v0 and Lusha API + MCP at https://api.lusha.com.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-lusha.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clay-vs-lusha.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "clay", "b": "lusha"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare clay lusha`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/clay.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/lusha.json

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