At Orin, we continuously test and compare leading platforms.
Clay shines when you need live data signals, AI‑powered personalization, and flexible workflow automation that fit directly into RevOps, Sales, and Marketing operations without heavyweight contracts or complex deployments.
4.8
G2
4.9
Product Hunt
Stale or incomplete lead data.
Clay enriches contacts and companies in real time from 50+ data sources (LinkedIn, Crunchbase, Clearbit, etc.).
Generic outbound sequences.
Dynamic fields let you personalize at scale with context like funding news, tech stack, or job changes.
Manual prospect research.
Clay automates repetitive research (e.g., scraping job postings, scanning websites) with AI‑driven fields.
Disconnected GTM stack.
Clay integrates natively with Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Apollo, and more, syncing enriched leads directly into playbooks.
Time‑consuming data quality assurance.
Clay's AI checks detect bad emails or mismatched records before pushing them to sales.
Slow intent signal detection.
Clay monitors live data like job changes or website updates, alerting sales the moment prospects show buying intent.
Weak customer success insights.
Clay can enrich post‑sale accounts with news and hiring signals, helping CS teams spot churn risks or upsell opportunities.
Clay is designed for GTM teams that need fresh data, scalable personalization, and automation to power modern sales and marketing. Its core features bring research, enrichment, and orchestration into one connected platform.
Data enrichment & research
Pull firmographic and intent data from 50+ live sources.
Uses waterfall logic to unify results, deduplicate records, and fill gaps automatically.
Built‑in email verification and firmographic cleanups.
Integrations & API
Native integrations: Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Apollo, Outreach, SalesLoft, Gong, Brevo, MailerLite, Klaviyo.
Webhooks & REST API for custom workflows.
Zapier/Make connectors for extended automations.
Personalization at scale
Dynamic fields that insert unique insights into outreach messages.
AI‑assisted copy suggestions tuned for outbound personalization.
Templates for ABM campaigns, outbound, and customer success check‑ins.
Clay Tables & Collaboration
Workspace to organize enriched leads and workflow outputs.
Supports multi‑user collaboration with permissions for RevOps, Sales, and Marketing.
Real‑time updates ensure all team members work from the same live data set.
Workflow automation
No‑code builder to chain enrichment + filters + triggers.
Push enriched leads into Salesforce, HubSpot, or Outreach automatically.
Trigger alerts in Slack or Gong when ICP prospects match new signals.
Clay Signals & Triggers
Custom alerts based on live events (funding, hiring, job changes).
Pushes signals into Slack, email, or CRM tasks instantly.
Helps reps act on buying intent the moment it appears.
Clay AI & enrichment fields
AI generates contextual insights (e.g., “recently expanded to EMEA”).
Can parse unstructured data (websites, PDFs, LinkedIn posts).
AI validation reduces noise by scoring lead quality before export.
When Clay may not be ideal
Heavily regulated enterprises needing HIPAA or FedRAMP compliance should consider Salesforce Data Cloud.
Large companies that need bundled sales engagement tools (dialer, sequencing) may prefer Apollo.io or Outreach.
Where Clay is better:
Real‑time enrichment: Pulls live data from 50+ APIs vs static databases that refresh monthly/quarterly.
Personalization at scale: Dynamic fields + AI personalization make outbound more relevant vs ZoomInfo’s static exports.
Flexible workflow automation: No‑code builder + direct CRM sync vs ZoomInfo requiring manual exports or integrations.
Pricing model: Usage‑based pricing scales better for mid‑market teams vs ZoomInfo’s locked annual contracts.
Intent signal agility: Clay alerts reps in real time on funding, hiring, or tech signals vs slower updates in ZoomInfo.
Collaboration & speed: Multi‑user workspaces with live updates let RevOps and Sales act faster than siloed data pulls.
Where ZoomInfo / Salesforce win:
Database breadth: ZoomInfo offers one of the largest proprietary databases, while Salesforce integrates deeply into its CRM ecosystem.
Advanced revenue intelligence: Salesforce Data Cloud ties directly into CRM objects for cross‑cloud analytics and Einstein AI.
Compliance & governance: Enterprise teams in regulated sectors trust ZoomInfo/Salesforce certifications (GDPR, SOC2, HIPAA).
Native CRM depth: Salesforce Data Cloud embeds enrichment directly into CRM objects with no need for external syncing.
Scalability for global teams: ZoomInfo’s massive coverage and Salesforce’s infrastructure typically make them better for 1k+ seat deployments.
Choose Clay if you:
Run B2B outbound or marketing campaigns and need fresh, enriched data daily.
Prefer flexible, usage‑based pricing without long contracts.
Want to personalize outreach with live signals (funding, hiring, etc).
Need fast setup without a complex implementation cycle.
Clay is ideal for RevOps and GTM teams who value speed, personalization, and flexible integrations over static databases.
Choose ZoomInfo or Salesforce if you:
Operate in industries where scale of contacts matters more than depth of enrichment.
Want built‑in intent data and compliance certifications.
Already run your GTM stack on Salesforce and want natively integrated enrichment.
Need enterprise‑level governance, compliance, and AI analytics tied to your CRM.
ZoomInfo and Salesforce are best for large outbound and enterprise sales, marketing and RevOps teams.
Step 1: Complete the groundwork
Map your ICP attributes (industry, headcount, tech stack).
Define which enrichment signals matter (hiring, funding, etc).
Connect Clay to your CRM and outreach tools before building workflows.
Set governance rules for deduplication and verification.
Step 2: Run your first GTM workflows like a pro
Start with a “trigger + enrich + push to CRM” workflow.
Layer AI personalization fields into outbound templates.
Test enrichment accuracy on a small campaign before scaling.
Align RevOps, sales, and marketing on what qualifies as a “ready” lead.
Monitor Clay dashboards; tune filters and fields for data quality.
Setting up Clay is simple – but building a GTM stack that supports your business model, workflows, and growth plans takes more than just clicking “connect.”
At Orin, we help you design your Clay setup, integrate it with your workflows and tools, and align your reporting with what your team and leadership care about.