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Clay vs Deepline (2026): visual tables or enrichment in code?

Clay vs Deepline is a choice about where your enrichment lives. Clay is a spreadsheet-style tool where each column calls a data provider, an AI prompt, or an API, and you watch the results fill in row by row. Deepline is a GTM data platform you drive from code: one API and CLI that routes lookups across many providers with waterfall fallbacks, built to be run by Claude Code.

OneGTM is a Clay Artisan Solutions Partner and built client systems in Clay for years. We now start new client builds on Claude Code plus Deepline, and Clay is legacy for us. That is our bias, so below we are specific about where Clay still wins, with prices as each vendor publishes them.

By Garrett Wolfe, founder of OneGTM (Clay Artisan Solutions Partner) and former GTM engineer at Unify. Updated .

Key takeaways

  • Clay has a free plan, then Launch at $167/month and Growth at $446/month billed annually. Deepline is pay as you go at $0.10 per credit with no platform fee.
  • Clay wins for non-technical teams: visual tables, templates, and Claygent research without writing code.
  • Deepline wins when someone technical owns the system: code in git, your own provider keys, and no platform fee.
  • Both do waterfalls across many providers. The difference is the interface and who maintains it.
  • OneGTM moved new client builds from Clay to Claude Code plus Deepline.

Clay

Clay

OneGTM has used this

Spreadsheet-style tables that run 150+ enrichment providers, Claygent AI research, and HTTP calls row by row, with waterfalls, scheduled runs, and CRM sync. OneGTM built client workflows on it for years.

Best for: No-code enrichment and list building

Pricing: Free with 500 actions and 100 data credits a month. Launch $167 per month billed annually ($185 monthly). Growth $446 per month billed annually ($495 monthly). Enterprise custom.

Deepline

Deepline

OneGTM uses this

GTM data platform with one API and CLI that routes enrichment across many providers with waterfall fallbacks, plus plays you can schedule and monitors that fire on new events. Ships Claude Code skills, and lets you bring your own provider keys.

Best for: Enrichment and signal jobs run from Claude Code

Pricing: Pay as you go at $0.10 per credit with no platform fee.

Also consider

Deepline is half of our setup. These two make up the rest. For other routes off Clay, see Clay alternatives.

Claude Code

OneGTM uses this

Anthropic's coding agent. It writes and runs the enrichment, scoring, and sync scripts that call Deepline, and edits them when the logic changes.

Best for: Building and maintaining GTM workflows in code

Pricing: Included in Claude Pro ($20 per month, or $17 billed annually), Max (from $100 per month), and Team plans; or pay API rates.

LeadMagic

OneGTM uses this

Email finder, email validation, mobile finder, and company data through an API and MCP server. Failed lookups do not use credits.

Best for: High-volume email and mobile lookups

Pricing: Essential $99/month for 5,000 credits; Growth $249/month for 20,000; Professional $499/month for 50,000; Ultimate $849/month for 100,000. About 16% less billed annually. No free plan.

Prices are from each vendor's site as of October 2026 and change often, so check before you buy. This is an opinionated list, not a paid ranking. Some links are referral links that may earn us a credit; that never changes what you pay or who makes the list.

Clay vs Deepline at a glance

ToolBest forStarting price
ClayNo-code enrichment and list buildingFree; Launch $167/month billed annually
Deepline (OneGTM uses)Enrichment and signal jobs run from Claude Code$0.10/credit, no platform fee
Claude Code (OneGTM uses)Building and maintaining GTM workflows in codePro $20/month
LeadMagic (OneGTM uses)High-volume email and mobile lookupsEssential $99/month

Starting prices as published by each vendor in October 2026.

Clay vs Deepline pricing compared

Clay charges a monthly platform fee and meters usage on two counters: Data Credits for data from its marketplace providers and Actions for platform work such as running a column, calling an API, or syncing to a CRM. Deepline has no platform fee on pay as you go and bills usage in credits at $0.10 each. The full Clay breakdown is in Clay pricing explained.

  • Entry: Clay Free includes 500 actions and 100 data credits a month. Deepline pay as you go has no monthly fee and no minimum.
  • Paid platform: Clay Launch is $167/month billed annually ($185 monthly) and Growth $446/month billed annually ($495 monthly). Deepline pay as you go charges only for usage.
  • Your own keys: in Clay, using your own provider key saves Data Credits but still spends Actions. In Deepline you pay those providers directly and Deepline routes the calls.
  • Pay as you go limits on Deepline: up to 15 scheduled plays and live monitors combined, 60-day data retention, and 50,000 provider-key calls a month before a per-call charge. Higher plans lift these.
  • Hidden cost on both: the time to build and maintain the workflows. In Clay that is a no-code operator. With Deepline it is someone comfortable running Claude Code.

Features compared

  • Interface: Clay is a visual table you click through, with every step visible per row. Deepline is an API and CLI you drive from scripts or Claude Code.
  • Waterfalls: both try several providers in order until one returns a result. Clay has 150+ providers in its marketplace. Deepline routes across many providers and fills gaps with managed ones when you have no key.
  • AI research: Clay's Claygent researches each row on the web from inside the table, and it is still the easiest way to do that without code. With Deepline, Claude Code does the research step in a script.
  • Version control: Deepline plays have version history, and the scripts around them live in git, so you can review and roll back changes.
  • Scheduling and signals: Clay runs scheduled tables and signal tables. Deepline runs scheduled plays and live monitors that fire on new events.
  • CRM sync: Clay syncs to the major CRMs from the table. Deepline lists CRM sync on plans above pay as you go; on pay as you go, Claude Code writes to the CRM through its API.
  • Templates and community: Clay has a large library of templates, a big user community, and agencies that know it. Deepline is newer, with a smaller community.
  • Debugging: Clay shows you the failed cell. With Deepline you read logs, or ask Claude Code to.

Who should pick Clay

  • Teams where the person running enrichment does not write or read code.
  • Ops and marketing people who want to see every row and fix a single cell by hand.
  • Teams that rely on Claygent for per-row web research and want it without building anything.
  • Companies with working Clay tables and no technical owner to rebuild them. Keep what works.

Who should pick Deepline

  • Teams with a GTM engineer, or a founder comfortable running Claude Code.
  • Anyone whose Clay bill has grown faster than the pipeline it produces.
  • Teams that already pay data providers directly and want to use those keys without a platform fee on top.
  • Builders who want enrichment logic in git where it can be reviewed, tested, and rolled back.

Migrating from Clay to Deepline

We have done this for our own client builds. The main risk is a rebuilt workflow quietly returning different results, so we check parity against the Clay output before switching anything off.

  • Export each Clay table's configuration: columns, providers, waterfall order, prompts, and conditions.
  • Have Claude Code write the equivalent Deepline script for each table, one table at a time.
  • Run both on the same sample of rows and compare match rates and outputs field by field.
  • Move scheduled runs and CRM syncs only after the outputs match.
  • Keep Clay on its lowest plan for a billing cycle in case you need to check old tables, then downgrade.

The verdict

For new builds with a technical owner, we pick Deepline with Claude Code. There is no platform fee, we use our own provider keys, the logic sits in git, and Claude Code can change a waterfall or a scoring rule in minutes. Every new OneGTM client build starts here.

Clay still wins when nobody on the team writes code. The visual table is easier to learn, Claygent is the quickest way to research rows without building anything, and the template library and community are much larger. If your Clay tables work and nobody can own code, keep them.

Both are good tools. The question is who will maintain the system a year from now.

When to get help moving off Clay, or making it cheaper

OneGTM rebuilds Clay tables as Deepline and Claude Code workflows, checks the outputs match, and hands you the code. If you are staying on Clay, we cut the credit and action spend instead. For Coastal Recruiting, accepted candidate intros went from 72 to 340 a month, a 4.7x increase.

  • Your Clay bill keeps climbing and nobody can say which tables pay for themselves.
  • You want enrichment in code but do not want to lose what your Clay tables do.
  • You have a technical person and want them running Claude Code on GTM work.

Book a call

Clay vs Deepline FAQ

Is Deepline better than Clay?
For teams with someone technical, often yes: there is no platform fee on pay as you go, you can use your own provider keys, and workflows live in code that Claude Code can edit. For non-technical teams, Clay is better because of its visual tables, Claygent, and templates. OneGTM moved new client builds to Deepline and Claude Code.
Is Deepline cheaper than Clay?
Usually, at volume. Deepline is pay as you go at $0.10 per credit with no platform fee. Clay Launch is $167 a month and Growth $446 a month billed annually, before usage. Clay's free plan is cheaper for very small jobs.
Clay vs Deepline: which is easier to use?
Clay. It is a visual table where you add columns and watch results fill in. Deepline is an API and CLI, and it is easiest to run through Claude Code, so it suits people comfortable with a terminal.
Can Deepline replace Claygent?
Deepline handles data lookups. Per-row web research is done by Claude Code in the same workflow. Claygent is still simpler if you want that research inside a table without writing code.
Can I use my own API keys in Clay and Deepline?
Yes, in both. In Clay your own keys save Data Credits but still use Actions. In Deepline you pay the provider directly and Deepline routes the calls, with a monthly allowance of provider-key calls on pay as you go.
How do I migrate from Clay to Deepline?
Export each table's columns, providers, waterfall order, and prompts, have Claude Code rebuild it as a Deepline script, run both on the same sample rows, and switch over only once the outputs match.
Does OneGTM still use Clay?
For existing client systems built on it, yes. New client builds start on Claude Code plus Deepline. OneGTM is a Clay Artisan Solutions Partner and still recommends Clay to teams without a technical owner.

Paying more for Clay than the pipeline it produces?

Related

  • Clay pricing explained: Plans, Actions, Data Credits, and how to cut your Clay bill.
  • Clay alternatives: What to use instead of Clay, organized by the job you need done.
  • Claude Code for GTM: Custom GTM tooling, data pipelines, and internal apps built with AI coding agents.
  • Best data enrichment tools: The enrichment stack OneGTM runs, plus the main alternatives and what each costs.
  • Apollo vs ZoomInfo: Pricing, data coverage, and intent side by side, plus the API-first data stack OneGTM uses instead.
  • Attio vs HubSpot: Seat pricing, onboarding fees, and features side by side, from a team that runs on Attio and builds HubSpot.
  • Instantly vs Smartlead: Pricing, sending limits, and features side by side, with which one OneGTM uses and why.
  • HeyReach vs Expandi: Per-sender pricing and features side by side, with which one OneGTM uses for LinkedIn outreach.

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