Clay
- Starting price: Free / $134/mo (annual)
- Free plan: Yes (limited credits)
- Founded: 2017
- HQ: New York, NY
Updated
Clay vs LeadIQ vs Derrick: Which Is Better in 2026?
- Short answer
- Clay vs LeadIQ vs Derrick: Clay is a multi-source data enrichment with ai workflows, LeadIQ is a enterprise lead intelligence platform with waterfall enrichment and ai message writer. 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 LeadIQ) 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 LeadIQ 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 LeadIQ vs Derrick at a glance
LeadIQ
- Starting price: Free 50 credits/mo · Pro $150/mo (annual)
- Free plan: Yes - 50 credits/mo permanently free
- Founded: 2015
- HQ: San Francisco Bay Area, CA (with Singapore engineering)
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 LeadIQ
3 core reasons SDRs and ops teams switch to Derrick. Click to expand each.
01 Real-time validation without data quality compromises
Clay and LeadIQ provide real-time validation capabilities, but users report inconsistencies in data freshness and verification speed across geographies, risking compromised accuracy during fast-paced outreach. Derrick delivers truly real-time validation within 100% native Google Sheets, eliminating data exports and sync lags that slow campaigns. By validating emails instantly and enriching 50+ attributes per contact, Derrick reduces bounce risk and boosts deliverability, saving teams 5-10 hours per user per month. For quick wins, Derrick’s real-time checks can be applied directly to freshly gathered leads in Sheets without complex setups.
02 Rapid, no-code setup for complex enrichment journeys
Clay and LeadIQ excel at data discovery and real-time verification, but both require setup time and ongoing tuning to handle complex enrichment journeys. Derrick delivers a rapid, no-code setup that turns Google Sheets into a full enrichment hub without complex configurations, avoiding the typical onboarding drag. With 50+ enrichment attributes per contact and real-time validation, Derrick accelerates journey creation, saving 5-10 hours per month while ensuring data freshness. Practical use: launch multi-step enrichment sequences directly in Sheets, with credits that are repaid monthly for flexibility.
03 No-code, AI-powered data profiling for faster targeting
Clay and LeadIQ struggle with real-time, AI-powered profiling at scale, often lacking seamless no-code workflows for instant targeting updates. Derrick differs by delivering 100% native Google Sheets enrichment with embedded AI (ChatGPT and Claude) for automatic profiling and segmentation without code. This translates to faster targeting and higher accuracy, saving up to 5-10 hours per month while keeping credits reportable and actionable within Sheets. For quick use cases, Derrick auto-summarizes profiles and surfaces actionable segments directly in your sheet, avoiding setup frictions.
Honest Comparison 
derrick
What each tool does better
We're upfront - every tool has strengths. Here's where Clay, LeadIQ, 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 LeadIQ does better
- Waterfall enrichment from 9 data providers
- Scribe AI message writer for personalization
- Job-change tracking creates warm re-engagement
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 | LeadIQ | Derrick | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price (monthly) | Free / $134/mo (annual) | Free 50 credits/mo · Pro $150/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 permanently free | ✓ 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 LeadIQ vs Derrick: full feature comparison
| Clay | Derrick App | LeadIQ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 39$/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 →
Enterprise Lead Intelligence + AI Personalization
Clay vs LeadIQ 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 starting at a free tier and paid options based on usage, with details on a dedicated pricing page. See full pricing breakdown for complete details and inclusions.
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.
Enterprise Lead Intelligence + AI Personalization LeadIQ
Free 50 credits/mo · Pro $150/mo (annual)
Best for: Enterprise SDR teams running Salesforce/HubSpot motions
LeadIQ offers starter plans with accessible entry pricing and a free tier, plus paid options that scale with credits and user seats; see the full pricing breakdown for complete details. View complete pricing details on the LeadIQ pricing page.
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 LeadIQ if…
- You specifically need enterprise sdr teams running salesforce/hubspot motions
- Waterfall enrichment from 9 data providers
- Scribe AI message writer for personalization
- You're already invested in the LeadIQ 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 LeadIQ
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 quick setup and usage?
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Derrick offers faster setup and usage compared to Clay, primarily because it's fully native to Google Sheets with no complex configuration required. You can start enriching data immediately without learning Clay's workflow automation interface or managing multiple integrations. Clay requires significant setup time for custom workflows and data source configuration, making it better suited for teams with technical resources. Derrick eliminates this friction entirely, allowing non-technical users to enrich prospect lists in minutes rather than hours, with built-in AI features and real-time email validation ready to use right out of the box.
Is Derrick a viable alternative to Clay for enrichment?
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Yes, Derrick is a strong alternative to Clay for enrichment, particularly if you prioritize simplicity and speed over complex automation workflows. While Clay excels at building sophisticated multi-step prospecting sequences, Derrick delivers streamlined data enrichment directly within Google Sheets without requiring CSV exports or extensive setup. Derrick provides 50+ enrichment attributes per contact with real-time email validation, integrated AI capabilities using Claude and ChatGPT, and rollover credits that Clay doesn't offer. For teams seeking faster time-to-value and lower operational overhead, Derrick's native Sheets environment eliminates the learning curve associated with Clay's workflow builder, making enrichment accessible to non-technical users while maintaining enterprise-grade data quality.
Derrick vs Clay vs LeadIQ: which has the best pricing?
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Derrick offers the most flexible and affordable pricing structure with plans starting at zero dollars for 100 credits, no credit card required, and rollover credits each month. Clay and LeadIQ operate on subscription models with higher minimum commitments and limited transparency on per-credit costs. Derrick's Small plan at nine dollars per month provides exceptional value compared to Clay's complex tiering and LeadIQ's enterprise-focused pricing. For budget-conscious teams, Derrick delivers the best cost-to-value ratio with transparent, scalable pricing that grows with your needs.
Which has the clearer difference Derrick vs LeadIQ?
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Derrick offers a much clearer, distinct difference when compared to LeadIQ: Derrick is 100% native to Google Sheets, eliminating CSV exports and complex setups, and provides a seamless, end-to-end prospecting center directly inside Sheets. LeadIQ excels at real-time contact verification and CRM integrations, but Derrick adds unmatched simplicity with 50+ enrichment attributes per contact, real-time email validation for deliverability, AI-driven scoring and segmentation, and a generous, roll-over credit model across 3,000+ Zapier/Make/n8n integrations. If you want a fast, hands-off setup that keeps prospecting entirely within Sheets while maintaining advanced enrichment, Derrick is the clearer differentiator.
Does Clay vs LeadIQ cover pricing, features, and reviews effectively?
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Both Clay and LeadIQ cover these aspects adequately but with notable trade-offs. Clay excels at workflow automation and data aggregation across multiple sources, making it strong for teams building complex prospecting sequences, though data accuracy varies by source and requires careful configuration. LeadIQ prioritizes contact verification and CRM integration with a user-friendly interface, best for straightforward lead generation but limited in deeper enrichment capabilities. Neither platform offers the simplicity of Derrick's native Google Sheets integration, which eliminates CSV exports entirely and provides real-time email validation with built-in AI scoring, allowing teams to enrich and qualify prospects directly within their existing workflow without complex setup or switching between platforms.
Can Derrick replace both Clay and LeadIQ for your workflow?
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Derrick cannot fully replace both Clay and LeadIQ for every aspect of your workflow, but it can replace core pain points for many teams. Derrick excels as a 100% native Google Sheets enrichment and outreach hub, offering real-time email validation, AI-driven scoring and segmentation, and 3,000+ integrations via Zapier/Make/n8n, all without CSV exports or complex setup. Clay specializes in multi-source real-time data enrichment and automated prospecting workflows, with strong sourcing but sometimes variable data accuracy and a steeper learning curve. LeadIQ shines in accurate real-time contact verification and seamless CRM integration, with strong list-building for account-based prospecting but more limited deep enrichment. If your needs center on rapid, sheet-based prospecting, lightweight enrichment, and flexible credits with rollover, Derrick can cover a large portion of the workflow and keeps you lean. For deep data enrichment or highly personalized, high-accuracy targeting at scale, you might still pair Derrick with Clay or LeadIQ to fill gaps.
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-oneLeadIQ vs Derrick - solo duel
Drop the third-party context and see how LeadIQ 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
