Head to head

Clay vs Staffing Engine

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

Staffing Engine

Sales-quoted

Staffing Engine is lead-conversion AI for staffing firms. Conversational agents, real-time lead routing, and StaffingGPT sit on top of the ATS. Pricing is demo-quoted.

Where Staffing Engine fits

  • Staffing firms leaking inbound web and job-board leads
  • Multi-branch agencies that need fair lead distribution
  • Desks that live in Teams or Slack and will claim leads there
  • Operators who want 24/7 candidate and client chat on SMS or email

At a glance

DetailClayStaffing Engine
Starting price$167/moSales-quoted
Free tier✓Yes–No
Free trial14 day free trialNot on record
MCP server✓Yes–No
Public API✓Yes–No
Listed underLead generation, OutreachEngagement, Lead generation

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

Staffing Engine

Stands out: Leads import, enrich, and route by branch, skill, location, source, or team, with click-to-claim in Microsoft Teams or Slack so speed-to-lead is visible.

Watch out: There is no public seat or conversation price. Value depends on ATS, SMS, and calendar integrations being live. This is conversion of existing leads, not a net-new job-lead marketplace.

Not the right fit for

  • In-house TA without an agency lead queue
  • Buyers who need a published per-conversation rate

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

Staffing Engine

  • 24/7 conversational agents on SMS and email
  • Teams/Slack click-to-claim routing
  • Bullhorn-backed staffing-specific design
  • Demo-quoted, no public price
  • Needs a populated ATS lead flow to pay off
  • Not a sourcing database

What each one costs

Clay

$167/mo

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

Checked 7 Sep 2026

Staffing Engine

Sales-quoted

Staffing Engine does not publish a rate card. The site is demo-led (Get a Demo). Quotes follow a recruiting-acceleration walkthrough. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026

Common questions

Can you try Clay or Staffing Engine for free?
Clay carries a free tier on our listing. Clay offers a 14 day free trial.
Does Clay or Staffing Engine have an MCP server?
Clay ships a first party MCP server, so an AI assistant can work the product directly.

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