Clay
- Starting price: Free / $134/mo (annual)
- Free plan: Yes (limited credits)
- Founded: 2017
- HQ: New York, NY
Updated
Clay vs Hunter vs Derrick: Which Is Better in 2026?
- Short answer
- Clay vs Hunter vs Derrick: Clay is a multi-source data enrichment with ai workflows, Hunter is a email finder, verifier and lightweight cold-email platform. 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 or Hunter) and pricing is lower - free forever with 100 credits/month, paid plans from €9/month. Most teams pair Derrick for the data layer with Clay or Hunter 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 Hunter vs Derrick at a glance
Hunter
- Starting price: Free 50 credits/mo · Starter €34/mo (annual)
- Free plan: Yes - 50 credits/mo, 500 recipients/sequence
- Founded: 2015
- HQ: Wilmington, DE (US entity) - team distributed (Paris, remote-first)
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 and Hunter
3 core reasons SDRs and ops teams switch to Derrick. Click to expand each.
01 Save 5–10h/month with 100% native Sheets workflow
Clay and hunter struggle with either setup complexity or limited email-focused data, leaving teams chasing separate tools for enrichment. Derrick delivers a 100% native Sheets workflow, removing exports, complex configs, and external steps. By consolidating 50+ enrichment attributes and real-time validation directly inside Sheets, Derrick can save you 5–10 hours per month through streamlined prospecting without leaving Google Sheets. A quick use-case: auto-enrich a lead list and validate emails in one pass, no switching apps.
02 Real-time data accuracy, no manual verification needed
Clay struggles with real-time accuracy and often requires manual validation to ensure data freshness, while hunter focuses on email discovery rather than multi-dimensional enrichment. Derrick delivers real-time data accuracy within 100% native Google Sheets, eliminating the need for manual verification and reducing error-prone checks. With Derrick, you gain immediate, validated insights across 50+ attributes per contact, saving an estimated 5–10 hours per month in corrections and follow-ups. For fast-paced campaigns, Derrick’s real-time email verification and integrated AI scoring ensure your lists stay current and highly deliverable.
03 No setup hurdles, instant 5-minute rollout for teams
Clay and Hunter require time-consuming setup or narrow focus, slowing team rollout. Derrick eliminates setup hurdles by delivering a 100% native Google Sheets experience with instant 5-minute rollout, no complex config. Teams save measurable time and get ready-to-use prospecting workflows in minutes, not hours, with Derrick’s plug-and-play approach. For quick wins, a typical SaaS team can deploy in 5 minutes and start enriching 50+ attributes per contact without exporting data or learning new tools. Derrick makes fast adoption the default, so you hit go before your morning standup.
Honest Comparison 
derrick
What each tool does better
We're upfront - every tool has strengths. Here's where Clay, Hunter, 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 Hunter does better
- Outstanding email accuracy + verification
- No charge if Hunter can't find it
- Strong free tier + simple onboarding
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 | Hunter | Derrick | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price (monthly) | Free / $134/mo (annual) | Free 50 credits/mo · Starter €34/mo (annual) | €0 (free) · €9/mo paid |
| Annual cost (base) | ~€1,608/yr | ~€600/yr | €0/yr free · ~€108/yr paid |
| Free plan? | Yes (limited credits) | Yes - 50 credits/mo, 500 recipients/sequence | ✓ Forever - 100 credits/mo |
| Setup cost | Hours to days | Hours to days | 30 seconds via Marketplace |
| Switching cost | CSV export + retraining | 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 Hunter vs Derrick: full feature comparison
| Clay | Derrick App | hunter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Works natively in Google Sheets | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Requires LinkedIn Sales Navigator ($100/month) | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Sales Navigator 1-click import | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Email finder with real-time validation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Phone finder from LinkedIn | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Company tech stack lookup | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SimilarWeb & G2 insights integrated | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| AI integration (Claude & ChatGPT) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Automatic AI Lead Scoring | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Data cleaning & normalization | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-platform scraping (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Zapier, Make, n8n integrations | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Public API available | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Native CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce) | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Entry price (paid plan) | 149$/mois | 9€/mois | 49$/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 →
Email Finder + Light Outreach
Clay vs Hunter vs Derrick pricing breakdown
Data Enrichment Clay
Free / $134/mo (annual)
Best for: GTM ops & technical SDR teams
Clay offers real-time data enrichment with flexible plans and a pricing page detailing all tiers and included credits; see full pricing breakdown for complete details and option specifics.
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.
Email Finder + Light Outreach Hunter
Free 50 credits/mo · Starter €34/mo (annual)
Best for: Solo SDRs and small teams doing email-first outbound
Hunter offers a starter plan with essential email discovery tools at a low entry price, plus scalable paid tiers for larger teams; see full pricing breakdown for all details.
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 Hunter if…
- You specifically need solo sdrs and small teams doing email-first outbound
- Outstanding email accuracy + verification
- No charge if Hunter can't find it
- You're already invested in the Hunter 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 vs Hunter
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
Derrick vs Clay: which is better for data enrichment?
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Both Derrick and Clay excel at data enrichment, but they serve different team needs. Clay is powerful for complex workflow automation and multi-source data aggregation, making it ideal if you need sophisticated prospecting sequences and extensive integrations. However, Derrick offers a more streamlined approach that lives directly in Google Sheets, eliminating the need for CSV exports and complex setup. If your team prioritizes speed, simplicity, and cost efficiency without sacrificing data quality, Derrick's native Google Sheets environment, real-time email validation, and built-in AI capabilities deliver faster time-to-value with significantly less operational overhead.
Is Derrick a good alternative to Clay for Google Sheets users?
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Yes, Derrick is an excellent alternative to Clay for Google Sheets users. Unlike Clay, which requires external platforms and CSV exports, Derrick operates natively within Google Sheets, eliminating setup complexity and saving five to ten hours monthly. While Clay excels at workflow automation, Derrick offers integrated AI scoring with Claude and ChatGPT, real-time email validation, and fifty plus enrichment attributes per contact. For Google Sheets-first teams, Derrick's streamlined approach, rollover credits, and no credit card requirement for the free tier provide greater flexibility and faster implementation than Clay's more complex configuration demands.
Derrick vs Clay: differences in features and pricing?
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Derrick operates as a Google Sheets native platform, eliminating the need for CSV exports and complex external configurations that Clay requires. While Clay excels at workflow automation across multiple data sources, Derrick streamlines the entire process directly within Sheets with real-time email validation and integrated AI powered by Claude and ChatGPT for automatic scoring and segmentation. Pricing-wise, Derrick offers rollover credits starting at just nine dollars monthly with no credit card required for the free tier, whereas Clay's pricing structure demands upfront commitment. For teams prioritizing simplicity and speed without technical overhead, Derrick delivers a more straightforward alternative to Clay's feature-heavy approach.
Which has better pricing Derrick or Clay for small teams?
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For small teams choosing between Derrick and Clay, Derrick generally offers more cost-efficiency and simplicity. Derrick is 100% native Google Sheets with no CSV exports or complex setups, plus monthly reusable credits and a free tier, which translates to predictable costs as you scale. Clay, while strong in real-time data enrichment and multi-source sourcing, can require more configuration and ongoing data validation, potentially increasing time-to-value and total cost for smaller teams. Derrick’s pricing tiers (Free 100 credits, Small 4000 credits for 9€, up to XL 100000 credits for 175€) plus credit rollovers provide a clear, flexible budget path, making it a pragmatic choice for budget-conscious small teams prioritizing speed and ease of use.
Clay vs hunter: which offers more comprehensive enrichment?
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Hunter specializes primarily in email discovery and verification, while Clay offers broader data enrichment across 50+ sources with workflow automation capabilities. However, neither platform matches the comprehensiveness of Derrick's enrichment approach. Derrick provides 50+ attributes per contact and company directly within Google Sheets, combining real-time email validation with integrated AI scoring from Claude and ChatGPT. Unlike Hunter's email-focused limitations or Clay's complex setup requirements, Derrick delivers streamlined, native enrichment without external platforms, making it ideal for teams prioritizing both depth and simplicity in their prospecting workflow.
Can Derrick replace both Clay and hunter for your workflow?
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Derrick can replace some workflow elements provided by Clay and Hunter, but not every feature they offer. Derrick excels as a 100% native Google Sheets enrichment platform with real-time email validation, AI-driven scoring and segmentation, and extensive automation via 3000+ integrations, all without CSV exports or complex setup. Clay provides multi-source data enrichment and advanced outbound automation, while Hunter specializes in accurate email discovery and verification. If your workflow centers on fast, in-Sheets enrichment, scoring, and scalable, low-friction outreach, Derrick can cover a large portion of needs. However, for highly specialized data sources, firmographic depth, or multi-channel enrichment beyond email, you may still rely on Clay or Hunter to complement Derrick. In short, Derrick can replace many of their workflow components for simplicity and speed, with potential trade-offs in data depth (Clay) and pure email discovery breadth (Hunter).
One-on-one
Clay vs Derrick - solo duel
Drop the third-party context and see how Clay compares to Derrick alone.
Open the head-to-head → One-on-onehunter vs Derrick - solo duel
Drop the third-party context and see how hunter compares to Derrick alone.
Open the head-to-head → Curated stackAll B2B sales tools we reviewed in depth
Step back from the duel - see our hand-picked sales-tool selection and how every category fits together.
See the full curation → Keep Exploring
