Head to head

Clay vs Firecrawl

Same facts, side by side: starting price, free tier, MCP, API and what each one is actually built for.

Clay

$167/mo Free tier 14 day free trial

Waterfall enrichment plus Claygent research columns for GTM and recruiting list work. Free plan exists; paid starts around $167/mo, with a 14-day trial.

Where Clay fits

  • Sourcers building enriched spreadsheets
  • Teams chaining many data vendors
  • Desks that want Claygent research columns
  • RevOps pushing clean rows to a sequencer or ATS

Firecrawl

$19/mo Free tier

Web scrape, crawl, search and interact API with a hosted MCP server. Free plan available; Hobby is $19/mo, or $16/mo billed yearly.

Where Firecrawl fits

  • Builders who need markdown or JSON from URLs
  • Agents that call Firecrawl over MCP
  • Side projects that fit in 5,000 credits
  • Teams that will grow into Standard at $83/mo yearly

At a glance

DetailClayFirecrawl
Starting price$167/mo$19/mo
Free tier✓Yes✓Yes
Free trial14 day free trialNot on record
MCP server✓Yes✓Yes
Public API✓Yes✓Yes
Listed underLead generation, OutreachLead generation, Sourcing

Where they pull apart

Clay

Stands out: 150+ provider waterfall plus Claygent on every row, with MCP and API.

Watch out: Not a sender. Paid plans start at about $167/mo, with Launch from $185/mo, and credit burn adds up.

Not the right fit for

  • Teams that need Clay to send the email
  • Buyers who want a cheap single-finder

Firecrawl

Stands out: Hosted MCP server and REST API on one credit balance, with 1,000 free credits every month and no card.

Watch out: Hobby is 5,000 credits a month. Search costs 2 credits per 10 results, and extra credits come in $5 increments.

Not the right fit for

  • Non-technical users who will not use an API
  • Crawl jobs that need millions of pages on day one

Pros and cons

Clay

  • Public start at $167/mo
  • 14-day trial documented
  • Waterfall plus Claygent in one table
  • Does not send mail; you still need a sequencer
  • Launch tier costs more, from $185/mo
  • Credit burn is easy to underestimate

Firecrawl

  • Free 1,000 credits a month, no card
  • Hobby from $19/mo or $16 yearly
  • Hosted MCP plus REST API
  • Search uses 2 credits per 10 results
  • Hobby allows 5 concurrent requests
  • Credits roll over only on Scale and up

What each one costs

Clay

$167/mo

Free plan, paid from ~$167/mo. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 7 Sep 2026

Firecrawl

$19/mo

Free includes 1,000 credits a month. Hobby is $19/mo billed monthly or $16/mo billed yearly for 5,000 credits; Standard ($83/mo), Growth ($333/mo) and Scale ($599/mo) are shown at yearly rates. Paid plans can top up credits in $5 increments. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026

Common questions

Is Clay cheaper than Firecrawl?
Firecrawl starts lower, at $19/mo against $167/mo for Clay. That is the entry plan on each side, so the real number depends on seats and the tier you land on.
Can you try Clay or Firecrawl for free?
Clay and Firecrawl carry a free tier on our listing. Clay offers a 14 day free trial.
Does Clay or Firecrawl have an MCP server?
Clay and Firecrawl ship a first party MCP server, so an AI assistant can work the product directly.

Not the pair you wanted?

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Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 7 Sep 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?