Clay
- Starting price: Free / $134/mo (annual)
- Free plan: Yes (limited credits)
- Founded: 2017
- HQ: New York, NY
Updated
Clay vs Derrick: Which Is Better in 2026?
- Short answer
- Clay vs Derrick: Clay is a multi-source data enrichment with ai workflows. Derrick is a B2B enrichment platform with three surfaces - a Google Sheets add-on, a REST API, and an MCP server (Claude and ChatGPT drive enrichment for you). Hit rates are noticeably higher (more emails + phone numbers returned per query than Clay) and pricing is lower - free forever with 100 credits/month, paid plans from €9/month. Most teams pair Derrick for data with Clay for outreach.
Email + phone finders like Clay live on data freshness and source diversity. The side-by-side comparison below pits Clay's coverage by region, free-tier ceiling and credit-burn rate against Derrick's flat-credit pool that funds email + phone + LinkedIn + firmographics from one wallet.
Free plan Yes - 100 credits/mo
Starts at €9/mo
Setup time 30 seconds
Where it lives Google Sheets
✓ Free forever · ✓ No credit card · ✓ Cancel anytime · ✓ Your data stays in your Sheet
Trusted by 31,000+ users worldwide.
CURSOR Quick Facts
Clay vs Derrick at a glance
Derrick
★ Recommended- Starting price: Free · Paid from €9/mo
- Free plan: Yes - 100 credits/mo permanent
- Founded: 2023
- HQ: Marseille, FR
Why Derrick wins 01
02
03
Why teams pick Derrick over Clay
3 core reasons SDRs and ops teams switch to Derrick. Click to expand each.
01 Get 5-10h/mo saved with native Sheets workflow
Clay can require significant setup time and complex configuration to build native Sheets workflows, which can slow teams down. Derrick delivers a 100% native Google Sheets experience, eliminating exports, complex setup, and external dependencies to streamline prospecting right in Sheets. By automating data enrichment and validation directly inside Sheets, Derrick saves 5-10 hours per month of manual data wrangling and workflow management. A typical use case is rapid list enrichment and scoring without leaving Sheets, improving efficiency and delivery speed.
02 No credit card needed for rapid setup and trial
Clay makes it clear that rapid setup often stalls without an immediate trial and a no-credit-card path, highlighting the friction of payment barriers. Derrick removes this hurdle by offering a free tier with no card required for quick onboarding and trial, enabling instant exploration of native Google Sheets workflows. Users can start testing real enrichment and 50+ attributes across contacts without commitment, saving time and potentially accelerating time-to-value. Derrick’s free tier credits and 100% native Sheets experience ensure a tangible trial without financial risk or setup delays.
03 Real-time data quality boost without manual validation
Clay highlights that real-time validation can be challenging and data accuracy varies with source freshness, especially for immediate campaign deployment. Derrick delivers a real-time data quality boost directly within 100% native Google Sheets, avoiding manual validation steps and complex setup. Users can expect faster go-to-opportunity timelines with fewer errors, leveraging automated real-time checks across 50+ attributes per contact or company. For quick wins, Derrick’s native Sheets workflow means you validate on the fly without leaving your sheet, reducing delays in outreach cadence.
Honest Comparison 
derrick
What each tool does better
We're upfront - every tool has strengths. Here's where Clay and Derrick each genuinely win.
What Clay does better
- Best-in-class waterfall enrichment
- Claygent AI for research at scale
- Open architecture (HTTP API + custom functions)
What Derrick does better
- Free forever - €0/mo with 100 credits permanent in Google Sheets
- 100+ data points per lead - verified emails, phones, LinkedIn, tech stack, SIRET
- Zero LinkedIn ban risk + real-time email verification built in
- Pair with any sequencer - LaGrowthMachine, Smartlead, Lemlist, HeyReach
Real Annual Cost
True cost over 12 months
Headline pricing rarely tells the whole story. Here's the real cost of running each tool for a year.
| Clay | Derrick | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (monthly) | Free / $134/mo (annual) | €0 (free) · €9/mo paid |
| Annual cost (base) | ~€1,608/yr | €0/yr free · ~€108/yr paid |
| Free plan? | Yes (limited credits) | ✓ Forever - 100 credits/mo |
| Setup cost | Hours to days | 30 seconds via Marketplace |
| Switching cost | CSV export + retraining | Zero - works alongside any stack |
💡 Most teams pay 2-5x more on add-ons (extra seats, phone credits, integrations) than on the headline base price. Derrick keeps everything in one transparent tier.
Feature-by-Feature
Clay vs Derrick: full feature comparison
| Derrick App | Clay | |
|---|---|---|
| Works natively in Google Sheets | ✓ | ✕ |
| Requires LinkedIn Sales Navigator ($100/month) | ✕ | ✕ |
| Sales Navigator 1-click import | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email finder with real-time validation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Phone finder from LinkedIn | ✓ | ✓ |
| Company tech stack lookup | ✓ | ✓ |
| SimilarWeb & G2 insights integrated | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI integration (Claude & ChatGPT) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Automatic AI Lead Scoring | ✓ | ✓ |
| Data cleaning & normalization | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-platform scraping (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) | ✕ | ✓ |
| Zapier, Make, n8n integrations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Public API available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Native CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce) | ✕ | ✓ |
| Entry price (paid plan) | 9€/mois | 149$/mois |
| Permanent free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Rollover credits to next month | ✓ | ✕ |
| Simple and transparent credit system | ✓ | ✕ |
| Simple setup & onboarding | ✓ | ✕ |
| Complete documentation | ✓ | ✓ |
Pricing in a nutshell Data Enrichment derrick
best value for money
Results first.
Discover Derrick →
Clay vs Derrick pricing breakdown
Data Enrichment Clay
Free / $134/mo (annual)
Best for: GTM ops & technical SDR teams
Clay offers a real-time data enrichment platform with pricing that starts with a free tier and scalable paid plans; details vary by usage and data sources-see full pricing breakdown for complete pricing details.
Results first.
Complexity removed.
Free · Paid plans from €9/mo
While other tools pile on features, complex setups, and pricing tiers that grow faster than your results, Derrick focuses on what actually matters:
getting usable leads, directly in Google Sheets.
No heavy workflows, No endless configuration. No learning curve.
Migration Guide
How to switch from Clay to Derrick in 3 steps
Derrick is a Google Workspace app - no formulas to learn, no pipelines to migrate, no engineering work. Add it to Google Sheets and you're enriching in under a minute.
1
~30 sec Install Derrick from Google Workspace Marketplace
Click the install button on our Marketplace listing and grant Google Sheets access. No credit card required - you start with 100 free credits per month.
2
~30 sec Open any Google Sheet → Extensions → Derrick
Open a Sheet with your prospect list (paste a CSV from Clay, scrape from LinkedIn Sales Navigator, or import from your CRM). Click Extensions → Derrick and the sidebar opens with all enrichment features ready to use.
3
~1 min Enrich your list with one click
Select the column with names, LinkedIn URLs, or company domains. Pick what you want - emails, phone numbers, LinkedIn data, company info, tech stack - and click "Enrich". Derrick fills the columns directly in your Sheet. No exports, no pipelines, no waiting.
Install Derrick free →
100 free credits / month · No credit card · Cancel anytime
Decision in 60 seconds
Which one is right for you?
Pick Clay if…
- You specifically need gtm ops & technical sdr teams
- Best-in-class waterfall enrichment
- Claygent AI for research at scale
- You're already invested in the Clay ecosystem
Pick Derrick if…
- You want B2B enrichment directly in Google Sheets
- You need a usable free plan (100 credits/mo, no card)
- You don't want long contracts, lock-in, or sales calls
- You need 100+ data points per lead in one tool
What teams say after switching from Clay
See what our customers say about Derrick.
"This app saved me so much time and effort. Great for anyone looking to build a contact list or network at scale quickly. As a start-up it's been invaluable."
Alex Clark
Director | SaaS GTM Leader
"Working pretty nifty compared to Snov.Io. Price wise it does give a fair shake, and IMO better interface since it's google sheets."
David Sire
Mortgage Broker at Zero Point Mortgage
"Derrick is a very simple and user-friendly app to enrich your contacts database. Best thing: you can test it for free. And then the price is so low, it's a no brainer."
Etienne Grange
CEO Form'actions
"Super easy to enrich linkedin urls using this tool. Both personal and company url data can be easily enriched with a click of a button."
Zaid Bilal
RevOps Professional
"Amazing Tool, I would like to advocate this to my colleagues. So that you can get more users. Keep it Up. 5 Stars!"
Asif Hanzala
Lead Generation Specialist at IdeaPeel
"This app is fantastic. Brilliantly created to help small and mid sized businesses."
Dan Hughes
Founder/CEO, AlmanacIO
"I have been using other expensive apps or freemium like phantombuster, but Derrick has replaced them all. I love the simplicity of the Google sheet add-in, but what is best is the efficiency it delivers."
Julien Walon Cohen
CEO & Co-founder @ Diffly | B2B Sales Advisor
"The LinkedIn scraping and email finder combo is incredibly powerful. I can build a complete prospect list with contact info in under an hour. Absolute must-have for outbound."
Michael Kim
SDR Team Lead at CloudScale
"Have tested over 10+ LI scraper apps, Derrick beats them all. Simple to use, accurate data, and affordable price."
AJ Alexander
Opportunity Prospector
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the main difference between Derrick and Clay for enrichment?
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Derrick operates natively within Google Sheets with real-time email validation and 50+ enrichment attributes, eliminating the need for CSV exports or complex workflow setup that Clay requires. While Clay aggregates data from multiple sources and offers automation capabilities, it demands significant configuration time and relies on third-party data freshness. Derrick streamlines the entire process directly in your spreadsheet with built-in AI scoring using Claude and ChatGPT, rollover credits, and no credit card needed for the free tier, making it faster to deploy and more cost-effective for teams prioritizing simplicity and speed over complex integrations.
Is Derrick a good alternative to Clay?
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Yes, Derrick is an excellent alternative to Clay, especially if you prioritize simplicity and speed over complexity. While Clay excels at aggregating multiple data sources, it requires significant setup time and can overwhelm non-technical teams. Derrick operates natively within Google Sheets, eliminating the need for CSV exports or complex configurations, saving five to ten hours monthly. Both platforms offer strong email validation and data enrichment, but Derrick's integrated AI with Claude and ChatGPT enables automated lead scoring and segmentation directly in your spreadsheet. Additionally, Derrick's rollover credits and no credit card requirement for the free tier make it more flexible for teams with variable prospecting volumes. For organizations seeking streamlined, accessible enrichment without technical overhead, Derrick delivers faster time-to-value.
How does Clay pricing compare to Derrick?
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Clay's pricing model operates on a credit-based system similar to Derrick, but with key differences in flexibility and value. Clay charges per enrichment action across its data sources, while Derrick offers more affordable entry points starting at zero dollars with two hundred credits and no credit card required. Derrick's credits roll over monthly, so unused credits don't disappear, giving you better budget control. For teams already using Google Sheets, Derrick eliminates expensive third-party tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, potentially saving over a thousand euros annually while delivering comparable enrichment depth with integrated AI capabilities for scoring and segmentation.
Can Derrick replace Clay for LinkedIn prospecting?
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Derrick cannot be a direct one-to-one replacement for Clay for LinkedIn prospecting, but it can cover the core needs more simply and cost-effectively. Derrick is 100% native to Google Sheets, eliminating complex setup and CSV exports, and it offers real-time email validation and 50+ enrichment attributes per contact, plus AI-driven scoring and segmentation. While Clay provides robust data enrichment from multiple sources and built-in outbound automation, Derrick emphasizes speed, ease of use, and budget flexibility with monthly rollovers and a free tier. For teams prioritizing simplicity, speed, and Google Sheets-centric workflows, Derrick can replace Clay for LinkedIn prospecting workflows, though users should validate data depth and multi-source enrichment needs on a case-by-case basis.
Which tool is better for small teams: Derrick or Clay?
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For small teams, Derrick offers a streamlined advantage over Clay. Derrick operates natively within Google Sheets, eliminating complex setup and CSV exports, which saves five to ten hours monthly. It includes real-time email validation, integrated AI scoring with Claude and ChatGPT, and rollover credits with no credit card required for the free tier. Clay excels at high-volume prospecting but demands more technical expertise and workflow configuration. For resource-constrained teams prioritizing speed and simplicity, Derrick's direct-in-spreadsheet approach delivers faster time-to-value with lower friction.
What are Clay’s main features and advantages?
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Clay’s main features center on real-time data enrichment and outbound automation. It pulls data from multiple sources (web scraping, API integrations, and third-party databases) into one interface, offers a visual no-code workflow builder for multi-step prospecting sequences, and provides strong email validation and company intelligence. Its native integrations with sales tools like HubSpot and Salesforce help deploy lists quickly. The key advantages include speed in building targeted lists, flexible data sourcing, and transparent data provenance. For those prioritizing simplicity and speed, Derrick offers a more streamlined alternative with 100% native Google Sheets, no complex setup, and credits that roll over, making it easier to start and scale without heavy configuration.
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