Clay
n8n
| Feature | Clay | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $149/mo | Free / from $24/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.6 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
| Best For | sales-teams, growth-teams, agencies, outbound-heavy-companies | developers, technical-teams, agencies, cost-conscious-teams, ai-builders |
| Founded | 2017 | 2019 |
| Data Enrichment | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Research | ✓ | ✗ |
| Waterfall Enrichment | ✓ | ✗ |
| Outreach Personalization | ✓ | ✗ |
| Crm Integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| List Building | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Messaging | ✓ | ✗ |
| Workflows | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hosting | ✗ | ✓ |
| Code Nodes | ✗ | ✓ |
| Webhooks | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Agents | ✗ | ✓ |
| Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Docker | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Clay Pros
- Aggregates 75+ data sources in one waterfall enrichment
- AI research agent writes personalized outreach copy
- Flexible spreadsheet-like interface for data manipulation
- Integrates with all major CRMs and sequencing tools
✗ Clay Cons
- Expensive for small teams (starter at $149/mo)
- Learning curve for advanced data workflows
- Credit system can be confusing to predict costs
✓ n8n Pros
- Free self-hosting (forever)
- Full JavaScript/Python in every node
- AI agent workflow builder
- No per-task pricing when self-hosted
✗ n8n Cons
- Requires technical setup for self-hosting
- 400+ integrations vs Zapier's 7,000+
- Steeper learning curve than Zapier or Make
The Verdict
Clay is built for sales teams and growth teams, with a focus on data-enrichment and ai-research. n8n targets developers and technical teams and leads with workflows and self-hosting.
On pricing, n8n is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $24/mo compared to $149/mo for Clay. That $125/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Both tools are a solid fit for agencies — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
