Clay
- Starting price: Free / $134/mo (annual)
- Free plan: Yes (limited credits)
- Founded: 2017
- HQ: New York, NY
Updated
Clay vs UpLead vs Derrick: Which Is Better in 2026?
- Short answer
- Clay vs UpLead vs Derrick: Clay is a multi-source data enrichment with ai workflows, UpLead is a b2b contact database with real-time email verification on unlock. 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 UpLead) 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 UpLead 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 UpLead vs Derrick at a glance
UpLead
- Starting price: Free 5 credits trial · Essentials $74/mo (annual)
- Free plan: 7-day free trial - 5 credits
- Founded: 2017
- HQ: Covina, CA
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 UpLead
3 core reasons SDRs and ops teams switch to Derrick. Click to expand each.
01 Real-time enrichment without setup complexity
Clay and UpLead both require separate setup steps or fragmented workflows to deliver real-time enrichment, which slows time-to-prospect and can cause configuration drift. Derrick eliminates setup complexity by delivering 100% native Google Sheets enrichment with a single, unified workflow, no CSV exports or technical juggling required. Teams save 5-10 hours per month and deploy lists faster, with real-time validation and 50+ enrichment attributes per contact. A quick use case: import a list in Sheets, enrich instantly, and start outreach without leaving the sheet.
02 Affordable verification at scale with flexible credits and no card required
Clay and UpLead require separate verification workflows or higher per-record costs, limiting scalable, cost-controlled verification. Derrick delivers affordable scale with flexible credits and no card required, letting teams tap into monthly rollovers and real-time validation without upfront commitment. With credits priced to scale (e.g., 4,000 credits for 9€) and credits rollovers, you can verify at volume while controlling spend, potentially reducing per-verification costs. Derrick’s native Google Sheets integration streamlines batch verification without complex setup, accelerating time-to-value for high-volume campaigns.
03 Seamless Data Quality via Real-Time Validation Automation
Clay and UpLead both struggle with real-time validation at scale, often requiring separate verification steps or facing data freshness gaps. Derrick delivers seamless data quality by embedding real-time validation automation directly in 100% native Google Sheets, avoiding complex setups. This results in immediate bounce-free delivery and up-to-date contact data, reducing validation time by up to 40% per campaign. With Derrick, teams can trust instantly verified records without leaving their worksheet, enabling faster, higher-confidence outreach.
Honest Comparison 
derrick
What each tool does better
We're upfront - every tool has strengths. Here's where Clay, UpLead, 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 UpLead does better
- Best accuracy positioning in mid-market contact data
- Highest G2 score in B2B contact data (4.7/5 across 824 reviews)
- Bundled intent + technographics + filters at mid-tier
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 | UpLead | Derrick | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price (monthly) | Free / $134/mo (annual) | Free 5 credits trial · Essentials $74/mo (annual) | €0 (free) · €9/mo paid |
| Annual cost (base) | ~€1,608/yr | ~€60/yr | €0/yr free · ~€108/yr paid |
| Free plan? | Yes (limited credits) | 7-day free trial - 5 credits | ✓ 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 UpLead vs Derrick: full feature comparison
| Clay | Derrick App | UpLead | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 99$/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 →
B2B Contact Database (Verified-on-Unlock)
Clay vs UpLead 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 paid tiers starting at a low entry price and a potential free tier; full pricing details and plan breakdown are available on the dedicated Pricing Clay page-see full pricing breakdown for 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.
B2B Contact Database (Verified-on-Unlock) UpLead
Free 5 credits trial · Essentials $74/mo (annual)
Best for: Mid-market SDR teams who care most about email accuracy
UpLead offers pay-per-verified-record pricing with entry-level plans and scalable tiers; exact prices vary by verifications and volume. See full pricing breakdown for complete details and options.
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 UpLead if…
- You specifically need mid-market sdr teams who care most about email accuracy
- Best accuracy positioning in mid-market contact data
- Highest G2 score in B2B contact data (4.7/5 across 824 reviews)
- You're already invested in the UpLead 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 UpLead
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 the better data enrichment partner?
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The choice between Derrick and Clay depends on your team's priorities. Clay excels at workflow automation and integrating multiple data sources into complex prospecting sequences, making it ideal for high-volume outreach campaigns. However, Clay requires significant setup time and can be complex for beginners. Derrick offers a more streamlined alternative that's 100% native to Google Sheets, eliminating CSV exports and technical configuration. Derrick delivers real-time email validation, 50+ enrichment attributes, and integrated AI tools for scoring and segmentation, all without requiring external platforms. For teams prioritizing simplicity, speed, and native spreadsheet workflows, Derrick provides a faster path to prospecting without the learning curve Clay demands. Both platforms serve different needs, but Derrick's approach is more accessible for teams wanting immediate productivity without extensive setup overhead.
Is Derrick a viable alternative to Clay for automation?
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Yes, Derrick is a highly viable alternative to Clay for automation, particularly if you prioritize simplicity and speed over complex workflow setup. While Clay excels at sophisticated multi-step enrichment sequences, it requires significant technical expertise and setup time. Derrick streamlines the entire process by operating natively within Google Sheets, eliminating CSV exports and complex configurations that consume 5-10 hours monthly. Both platforms offer real-time data enrichment and automation, but Derrick's integrated AI capabilities with Claude and ChatGPT enable automated scoring and segmentation directly in your spreadsheet. For teams seeking faster deployment, lower learning curves, and flexible rollover credits without upfront commitments, Derrick delivers comparable automation functionality with substantially less friction than Clay's workflow-building approach.
Which saves more with pricing: Derrick or Clay?
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Derrick offers more cost flexibility with rollover credits that don't expire monthly, while Clay charges based on usage without credit carryover. Derrick's pricing starts at just nine dollars for four thousand credits with no credit card required for the free tier, whereas Clay typically involves higher setup costs and ongoing subscription fees. Additionally, Derrick eliminates the need for LinkedIn Sales Navigator, saving you around twelve hundred dollars annually compared to similar platforms. For teams prioritizing budget efficiency and monthly cost control, Derrick's transparent credit system provides better long-term savings than Clay's subscription-based model.
Derrick vs Clay: what’s the main difference in features?
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The main difference in features between Derrick and Clay centers on how each platform handles prospecting workflows and data enrichment. Derrick is a 100% native Google Sheets platform that transforms Sheets into a complete prospecting hub with no CSV exports or complex setup, over 50+ enrichment attributes per contact, real-time email validation, built-in AI (Claude and ChatGPT) for scoring and segmentation, and extensive automation through 3000+ integrations via Zapier/Make/n8n. Clay, by contrast, emphasizes real-time data enrichment and outbound automation across multiple data sources with a visual workflow builder and strong integrations to CRM tools, but it requires more setup and ongoing validation to maintain data quality. If you prioritize simplicity, speed, and in-Sheets workflows with flexible credit-based pricing, Derrick offers clear advantages; if you need a broader multi-source enrichment and automated outreach in a single interface with strong native integrations, Clay provides depth-though potentially with more configuration and data quality considerations.
Can Derrick replace both Clay and UpLead for you?
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Derrick can serve as a comprehensive replacement for both Clay and UpLead, but the fit depends on your priorities. Derrick eliminates the need for external platforms by operating entirely within Google Sheets, saving significant setup time compared to Clay's complex workflow configuration. Unlike UpLead's contact-focused verification, Derrick provides fifty plus enrichment attributes per contact and company with real-time email validation. The integrated AI capabilities using Claude and ChatGPT enable advanced segmentation and scoring that neither platform offers natively. However, if you require Clay's extensive workflow automation or UpLead's specialized verification at massive scale, combining Derrick with complementary tools may optimize your data strategy further.
Clay vs UpLead: which is the better data quality solution?
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Clay vs UpLead: which is the better data quality solution? Both offer strong real-time data validation and reliable CRM integrations, but they target different needs. UpLead excels in verified contact data accuracy and straightforward validation workflows, making it ideal for teams prioritizing data cleanliness before outreach. Clay emphasizes end-to-end prospecting workflows, data enrichment from multiple sources, and real-time verification within a single interface, which benefits high-volume outbound teams. If your priority is pure data quality and verification depth, UpLead is a solid choice. If you want seamless enrichment, multi-source data fusion, and automation in one sheet-based workflow, Clay is compelling-though you may need additional validation steps for peak accuracy. Derrick, while not a direct substitute for either, can complement both by providing advanced scoring, segmentation, and process automation, while offering a native Google Sheets experience that can streamline data handling and reduce setup time compared to Clay’s broader integration approach.
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-oneUpLead vs Derrick - solo duel
Drop the third-party context and see how UpLead 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
