Leadsets vs Clay: a data API for agents or a workflow platform

The short version

Leadsets and Clay overlap less than the comparison suggests. Leadsets is a data source: a REST API and a remote MCP server at https://mcp.leadsets.ai with eight tools for people and company search, enrichment, email verification and company website scraping. It returns structured JSON with match reasons, verification status and a last-checked date on every field.

Clay describes itself as a GTM data enrichment and workflow platform. It pulls data from many third-party providers into spreadsheet-style tables, runs waterfall enrichment across them, and adds AI research agents (Claygent), signals and CRM and sequencer sync.

Many teams could reasonably use both: Clay as the workspace, Leadsets as one of the sources called from a Clay HTTP API column. Leadsets lists Clay as an integration through that column, and Clay says the HTTP API column is available on its Growth plan and above.

Pricing: flat plans versus credits and actions

Leadsets has a free plan with 1,000 records, one time, no card. Paid plans are flat monthly prices in USD: Solo $29, Pro $99, Team $399 and Max $999. There are no credits. Each plan has fair-use limits per rolling five hours and per week; Pro, for example, allows 15,000 enrichments and 7,500 search records per five hours. Records count only when data comes back. Web scraping is a units add-on from $9 for 1,000 pages. Full limits are on the pricing page.

Clay lists four plans on its pricing page:

• Free: $0 with 500 actions and 100 data credits a month, unlimited seats and up to 200 rows per table.
• Launch: $185 a month, or $167 a month billed annually, with 15,000 actions and 2,500 data credits a month and 50,000 rows per table.
• Growth: $495 a month, or $446 a month billed annually, with 40,000 actions and 6,000 data credits a month, CRM auto-sync and HTTP API integrations.
• Enterprise: custom pricing.

Clay uses two units. Data credits pay for data from its provider marketplace and roll over; actions measure platform work such as running tables, AI calls and exports, and reset each cycle. Clay says no result means no credits or actions are charged, and that top-ups cost a 30% premium on Launch and Growth. Its pricing page states the rollover rules in two different ways. Our Clay pricing breakdown goes through the details.

The model matters more than the headline numbers. Leadsets charges a fixed fee and caps throughput. Clay charges for consumption across a marketplace, so cost depends on which providers and AI steps a table uses.

Data, coverage and email verification

Leadsets serves its own index built from licensed suppliers and public sources it is permitted to use, with nothing scraped from behind a login. Every record is re-checked monthly, and each field carries its source, last-checked date and confidence. Coverage is work emails, roles and company data, plus US personal emails on paid plans. There are no phone numbers.

Clay says it aggregates 50+ built-in data providers on one page and 150+ on others, including Apollo, ZoomInfo, People Data Labs, Lusha, Hunter and Wiza, and says waterfalls routinely triple customers' data coverage. Clay does not publish an independent coverage or accuracy figure. Phone enrichment is available from Launch.

On verification, Leadsets runs a waterfall: syntax, DNS and MX checks, a mailbox-level check, then a second opinion on uncertain or catch-all results. Each address is labelled verified, catch-all, unknown or invalid, and uncertain results are never rounded up to valid. See how Leadsets verification works.

Clay's official verification method is not published. Community answers say Clay's email waterfalls validate with ZeroBounce by default (switchable) and count catch-alls as valid unless the "only mark safe to send" option is enabled. If your list includes catch-all domains, check that setting; our explainer on catch-all emails covers why it affects deliverability.

Agents, API and integrations

Leadsets is built to be called by an agent. Add the remote MCP server to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client, or call the REST API with TypeScript and Python SDKs, idempotency keys, cursor pagination and Retry-After headers. A free get_usage tool tells the agent what is left before a run. Setup steps are in the MCP docs. CRMs and sequencers are reached through skills, the API and CSV rather than native sync.

Clay has a public API with an OpenAPI spec covering routines, search and credits; its Tables API is Enterprise only and rate limits are not published. Clay offers an official MCP for Claude, ChatGPT and Codex that exposes its data providers, research agents and team functions, though plan availability is not published. It also has a CLI and agent plugin for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor. Clay's native integrations are broad: Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics 365, Pipedrive, Attio and others, sequencers such as Outreach, Instantly and Smartlead, and its own email sending.

Example: one list, two ways

Maya Chen, VP Revenue Operations at Northwind Analytics, wants 100 heads of RevOps at US B2B SaaS companies with 50 to 200 people.

With Leadsets, she asks Claude in plain language. Using the free build an outbound prospect list skill, the agent calls get_usage, search_companies, search_people, enrich_person and verify_email, then returns a Google Sheet with verified addresses in one tab and catch-alls in another. Cost is the flat plan fee.

With Clay, she builds a table: she pulls in accounts, adds a waterfall of email providers, runs Claygent to research each company and syncs the results to HubSpot (CRM auto-sync is on Growth). She can see and edit every step, add phone numbers, and draw on many providers. Each step uses data credits or actions.

Neither path is wrong. The first suits a team that wants an agent to do the work against one source with fixed cost. The second suits a team that wants to design, inspect and share the workflow visually.

When to choose Leadsets

• You want Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or your own agent to search, enrich and verify directly over MCP or REST.
• You want predictable monthly cost with no credits to track.
• You want email labels that separate catch-all and unknown from verified, with field-level checked dates.
• You want hiring signals and company website profiles from scrape_jobs and scrape_company in the same API.
• You already run Clay on Growth and want another source in an HTTP API column.

Leadsets is not a fit today if you need phone numbers, native CRM sync or a completed SOC 2 report (Type I is planned, target Q3 2027).

When to choose Clay

• You want a visual, table-based workflow builder that non-engineers can see and edit.
• You want many providers in one waterfall rather than a single index.
• You need phone numbers, which Clay offers from Launch.
• You need native CRM auto-sync, sequencer integrations or built-in email sending.
• Your procurement requires SOC 2 now: Clay says it completed a SOC 2 Type 2 audit in September 2024.
• You want a free plan with unlimited seats so a whole team can explore.

Questions and answers

Is Leadsets cheaper than Clay?

Leadsets starts at $29 a month flat with no credits, while Clay's Launch plan is $185 a month, or $167 a month billed annually, with 15,000 actions and 2,500 data credits. They price different things: Leadsets sells data with fair-use limits, Clay sells a workflow platform plus consumption across many providers. Compare the cost of your actual monthly volume on each.

Can I use Leadsets inside Clay?

Yes. Leadsets can be called from a Clay HTTP API column to fill emails and roles across a table, and Leadsets publishes a free skill for this. Clay says its HTTP API column is available on Growth and above.

Does Clay have phone numbers and Leadsets not?

Yes. Clay offers phone enrichment from its Launch plan, though not on Free. Leadsets does not offer phone numbers yet and says it will add them only once sourcing rights and costs are clear.

Do Leadsets and Clay both have an MCP server?

Yes. Leadsets runs a remote MCP server at https://mcp.leadsets.ai with eight tools on every plan, including Free. Clay offers an official MCP for Claude, ChatGPT and Codex, but its plan availability is not published.

Which is SOC 2 compliant, Leadsets or Clay?

Clay says it completed a SOC 2 Type 2 audit in September 2024. Leadsets is not SOC 2 certified yet; Type I readiness is underway with a target of Q3 2027. Leadsets runs a GDPR-aligned program and offers a DPA with standard contractual clauses.

How do Leadsets and Clay treat catch-all emails?

Leadsets labels catch-all separately from verified and never rounds it up to valid. Clay's official verification method is not published; community answers say its email waterfalls count catch-alls as valid unless the "only mark safe to send" option is enabled.

Sources · checked 2026-11-09

• Clay pricing
• Clay waterfall enrichment
• Clay integrations
• Claygent
• Clay MCP guide
• Clay SOC 2 Type 2 announcement
• Clay developer docs
• Clay HTTP API integration overview

Prices and features change. If something here is out of date, email support@leadsets.ai and we'll fix it.

Go deeper

• Clay pricing explained
• Clay alternatives
• Apollo vs Clay
• B2B data APIs for AI agents
• Connect Leadsets via MCP

More leadsets vs

• Leadsets vs Apollo: which B2B data tool fits your workflow
• Leadsets vs Lusha: which B2B data source fits your workflow
• Leadsets vs Wiza: B2B data for agents or a per-user prospecting tool
• Leadsets vs ZoomInfo: which B2B data source fits your agent