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CRM · head to head

Clay vs Surfe

Clay logo

Clay

CRM

Data platform for sales teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Surfe logo

Surfe

Sales Enablement

B2B prospecting, enrichment and CRM sync from the browser

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Clay two separate meters run at once, actions and data credits, and a plan can exhaust either independently; Surfe three native CRMs only: Salesforce, HubSpot and Pipedrive. Anything else needs the API or Google Sheets.
  • They diverge on capability: Clay covers Data enrichment, Surfe covers Waterfall enrichment.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 17 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Clay and Surfe actually diverge.

Attributes where Clay and Surfe differ
AttributeClaySurfe
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
PlatformsWebChrome, Web, API
CategoryCRMSales Enablement
Founded2021Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Clay

  • Data enrichment
  • Contact management
  • Workflow automation
  • Integration
  • API access
  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot
  • Zapier

Only in Surfe

  • Waterfall enrichment
  • Chrome extension
  • Buying signals
  • CRM sync and automation
  • API and MCP server
  • Company and people search
  • Prospect list builder

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Clay

  • Data enrichment and intelligencenot Surfe
  • Growth campaign automationnot Surfe
  • CRM workflow integrationnot Surfe

Surfe

  • Enriching LinkedIn prospects with verified email and phone datanot Clay
  • Keeping CRM contact records current as people change rolesnot Clay
  • Timing outreach against funding, hiring or job-change signalsnot Clay
  • Feeding B2B contact data into an AI agent through MCPnot Clay
  • Building target account lists from lookalikesnot Clay

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Clay

  • Two separate meters run at once, actions and data credits, and a plan can exhaust either independently
  • Data credit overage is sold at a 30% premium over the plan rate, so exceeding the allowance costs more per unit than planning for it
  • The free plan allows 500 actions, 100 data credits and 200 rows per table
  • The entry paid plan starts at $167 a month, and both paid prices are starting figures rather than fixed
  • The free plan cannot buy overage at all, so hitting the limit stops work rather than billing for it

Surfe

  • Three native CRMs only: Salesforce, HubSpot and Pipedrive. Anything else needs the API or Google Sheets.
  • API access is an Enterprise feature, so the lower tiers cannot automate beyond the supported connectors even though an API exists.
  • The free tier caps CRM sync at one contact a day, which makes it a demonstration rather than a workable free plan.
  • Mobile number credits are far scarcer than email credits on every tier, 100 a month against 1,000 on Pro, and phone data is usually the reason teams buy a tool like this.
  • Match rates are not published. Enrichment across fifteen providers is a description of method, not a measured outcome, and the figure that decides whether the cost is justified is not on the pricing page.

Pricing, plan by plan

Clay

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 500 actions per month
    • 100 data credits per month
    • Unlimited seats
  • Launch$167/month
    • 15000 actions per month
    • 3000 data credits per month
    • Phone enrichment
  • Growth$446/month
    • 40000 actions per month
    • 6000 data credits per month
    • CRM sync
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Unlimited capabilities across most features
    • SSO
    • Role-based access control

Surfe

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 20 email find credits a month
    • 5 mobile find credits a month
    • Company and people search, 1,000 results a week
  • Essential$49/month
    • 150 email find credits a month
    • 50 mobile find credits a month
    • Full CRM connector
  • Pro$89/month
    • 1,000 email find credits a month
    • 100 mobile find credits a month
    • Search 10,000 results a day
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom credit allowances
    • Unlimited company and people search
    • SSO and SCIM

Which should you pick?

Choose Clay if

  • You need data enrichment.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want contact management.
Clay review

Choose Surfe if

  • You need waterfall enrichment.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Chrome, Web, API.
  • You also want chrome extension.
Surfe review

Questions people ask

Is Clay or Surfe better?
Neither clearly leads. Clay starts at Free and Surfe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Clay or Surfe?
Clay starts at Free and Surfe at Free.
Does Clay or Surfe run on more platforms?
Clay runs on Web. Surfe runs on Chrome, Web, API.
Can I use Clay for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Clay best used for?
Clay is most often used for data enrichment and intelligence, growth campaign automation, crm workflow integration. Of those, data enrichment and intelligence and growth campaign automation are not what Surfe is typically brought in for.
What can Clay do that Surfe cannot?
Clay covers Data enrichment, Contact management, Workflow automation, Integration. Surfe covers Waterfall enrichment, Chrome extension, Buying signals, CRM sync and automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Clay: Can I use Clay for free?

Yes, Clay's free plan includes 500 actions and 100 data credits per month with unlimited seats and tables (200 rows max per table).

Source
Surfe: What does Surfe cost?

Free gives 20 email and 5 mobile credits a month. Essential is $49 a user monthly or $39 billed annually, Pro is $89 or $79 annually, and Enterprise is custom priced with SSO, SCIM and API access.

Source
Clay: How much can I save with Clay's annual billing?

Clay offers significant annual discounts: Launch tier drops from $167/month to $54/month, and Growth tier drops from $446/month to $185/month when billed yearly.

Source
Surfe: Which CRMs does Surfe integrate with?

Salesforce, HubSpot and Pipedrive natively. Surfe is the official Pipedrive data enrichment provider and powers HubSpot's native prospecting agent. Salesloft, Outreach and Lemlist connectors are available from the Pro tier.

Source
Clay: What happens when I exceed my monthly actions or data credits on Clay?

Actions and data credits cost less than $0.01 each when purchased at scale, with unused data credits rolling over up to 2x monthly allocation on paid plans. Customers can bring their own API keys to avoid data credit costs.

Source
Surfe: What is waterfall enrichment?

Looking a contact up across more than fifteen data providers in sequence rather than relying on a single source, so a miss at one provider is retried at the next. It is what drives match rates on contacts a single database would not find.

Source
Clay: Does the Growth plan limit the number of users or team members?

No, Clay's Growth plan supports unlimited seats with 40000 monthly actions, 6000 data credits, and CRM sync, designed for teams with CRM-based workflows and growth campaigns.

Source
Surfe: Can Surfe be used with AI agents?

Yes. Surfe publishes an API and an MCP server, which makes the data reachable from Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok and Perplexity. API access sits on the Enterprise tier.

Source
Surfe: Is the Surfe free plan usable?

For evaluation rather than for work. It includes 20 email and 5 mobile find credits a month and limits CRM sync to one contact a day, which is enough to judge data quality and not enough to prospect with.

Source
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