Act! vs Clay: CRM Platform vs Data Enrichment Tool Comparison

Act! vs Clay: CRM Platform vs Data Enrichment Tool Comparison

Act! (CRM platform) and Clay (data enrichment tool) sit next to each other in many outbound stacks. They are not substitutes for each other on every job, so this comparison covers pricing, features, and integrations for each and points out where the two meet.

The Quick Answer

Act! is a CRM platform for customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking; Clay is a data enrichment tool for B2B lead data and contact enrichment. By each vendor's own wording, Act! lists full-featured crm and mobile app and email marketing, and Clay lists 150+ data provider integrations and ai-powered enrichment (claygent).

Act! offers a lower entry point at $30/mo compared to Clay at $185/mo.

If your priority is organizing contacts, tracking deals, and forecasting revenue, Act! is the one built for it; for finding accurate contact data for target accounts, that is Clay. Many teams run one of each.

Understanding the Core Difference

Act! is Act! is a CRM and marketing automation platform for small and midsize businesses that unites sales, marketing and customer management in one platform. It is sold as Act! Advantage cloud plans and an Act! Premium Desktop on-premises edition.

Clay is Data enrichment and workflow automation platform with 150+ integrations and AI-powered enrichment (Claygent).

The two platforms take different approaches to solving the same core challenge.

Pricing Comparison

$30/moAct! entry plan

Act! Advantage Standard

$185/moClay entry plan

Launch

Act! Pricing (as of September 2026)

Source: Act! Pricing

Clay Pricing (as of September 2026)

Source: Clay Pricing

Pricing Analysis

Act! is more affordable at the entry level ($30/mo vs $185/mo). For teams with tight budgets or those just getting started with customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking and B2B lead data and contact enrichment, this price difference matters.

Act! offers 5 pricing tiers compared to Clay's 3, giving you more granularity as you scale.

Features Breakdown

Act! lists

• Full-featured CRM and mobile app
• Email marketing
• Interactive quotes and payments
• Online appointment scheduling
• Forms, surveys, website chat and event management
• Reports and interactive dashboards
• and 4 more listed below

Clay lists

• 150+ data provider integrations
• AI-powered enrichment (Claygent)
• Unlimited users on all plans
• Credit rollover
• Workflow automation
• Data waterfall enrichment
• and 3 more listed below

Act! Key Features

• Full-featured CRM and mobile app
• Email marketing
• Interactive quotes and payments
• Online appointment scheduling
• Forms, surveys, website chat and event management
• Reports and interactive dashboards
• Marketing automation
• Lead scoring
• Project management
• Accounting integration

Clay Key Features

• 150+ data provider integrations
• AI-powered enrichment (Claygent)
• Unlimited users on all plans
• Credit rollover
• Workflow automation
• Data waterfall enrichment
• Custom API key support
• HTTP API integration
• Webhooks

The two lists below are a diff of each vendor's own feature list by exact wording, so a capability both tools offer can appear on either side under a different name.

Listed only by Act!

• Full-featured CRM and mobile app
• Email marketing
• Interactive quotes and payments
• Online appointment scheduling
• Forms, surveys, website chat and event management
• Reports and interactive dashboards
• Marketing automation
• Lead scoring
• Project management
• Accounting integration

Listed only by Clay

• 150+ data provider integrations
• AI-powered enrichment (Claygent)
• Unlimited users on all plans
• Credit rollover
• Workflow automation
• Data waterfall enrichment
• Custom API key support
• HTTP API integration
• Webhooks

Integration Ecosystem

Act! Integrations

Act! connects with: Outlook, Google Contacts, Slack, Eventbrite, SurveyMonkey, Wufoo, BigCommerce, Ecwid, Shopify, Volusion, Facebook, Freshdesk, Zendesk, FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online, Xero.

Clay Integrations

Clay connects with: Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Close, Apollo.io, Clearbit, ZoomInfo, Lemlist, Instantly, Smartlead, OpenAI, Google Sheets, Airtable, Notion.

Integrations listed only by Act!: Outlook, Google Contacts, Slack, Eventbrite, SurveyMonkey, Wufoo, BigCommerce, Ecwid, Shopify, Volusion, Facebook, Freshdesk, Zendesk, FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online, Xero.

Integrations listed only by Clay: Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Close, Apollo.io, Clearbit, ZoomInfo, Lemlist, Instantly, Smartlead, OpenAI, Google Sheets, Airtable, Notion.

Use Case Recommendations

Best Fit for Act!

• Budget-conscious teams looking for an affordable CRM platform
• Teams that need a wide feature set (10 capabilities listed)
• Organizations with complex tech stacks needing broad integration support (16 integrations)
• Enterprise buyers who prefer custom pricing and dedicated support

Best Fit for Clay

• Mid-market to enterprise teams with established B2B lead data and contact enrichment budgets
• Enterprise buyers who prefer custom pricing and dedicated support
• Revenue operations teams building targeted prospect lists
• Marketing teams enriching CRM data for segmentation

Feature Comparison Summary

Getting Started Checklist

1. Define your customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking and B2B lead data and contact enrichment requirements and monthly budget
2. Estimate your expected contacts and deals and data credits or contact lookups to find the right tier
3. List the integrations your team currently relies on
4. Sign up for free trials or demos of both platforms
5. Run a small test with each tool before making a commitment
6. Evaluate the onboarding experience and support quality

Final Thoughts

Act! serves the customer relationship management and sales pipeline tracking side of an outbound stack and Clay the B2B lead data and contact enrichment side. Act! offers a more accessible entry point at $30/mo, while Clay starts at $185/mo. Your decision should weigh pricing against the specific features that matter most for your workflow.

Start with a trial of each to see which platform fits your team's daily process. The best tool is the one your team actually uses consistently.

Pricing and features verified as of September 2026. Visit Act! and Clay for current information.