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Clay alternative for API

One call returns rows, at 5¢ to $1 a row.

Clay's pricing page lists Clay API access on Enterprise, at custom pricing with an annual commitment. Its Public API runs a Clay function on 1 to 100 items at a time, and you poll until the run completes. Data Credits start at $0.05.

SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. One POST with the records you want in plain words returns the most it can cost, then structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1, plus 5¢ an email. Source URL on every value.

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New accounts get $10 of credit, no card.

SpecStream and the Clay API side by side

SpecStreamClay API
Who can call itAny account. Create a key with its own spending limits, and start with $10 of credit, no card. An agent can also buy one request with no account, by card or in USDCClay's pricing page lists Clay API access on Enterprise, at custom pricing with an annual commitment. HTTP API integrations start on Growth, from $495 a month. The Tables endpoint is marked Enterprise
What you sendThe records you want in plain words, with the conditions every row must meet and the facts to bring back. Or a list of up to 20,000 rows to fill in or checkInputs to a routine: a Clay-managed function for standard jobs such as a work email, or a custom function built in the Clay UI. A function packages the workflow, the input schema, the provider choices, the prompts and the output shape
Records per call1 to 500 rows on one request with count, and a run keeps working until it reaches the count1 to 100 items per run, or a batch run over a JSONL file you upload first
How results come backA 402 reply with how SpecStream read the request, the columns and the most it can cost. After you approve, a status URL holds the rows when the run ends. Each value carries its source URL and read timeThe run is asynchronous: the results endpoint answers with progress counters while it works, and you poll until it completes. A completed run can contain failed items
The unit you pay forA delivered row: 5¢, 15¢ or $1 by how much the row needs, plus 5¢ for an email and 15¢ for a phone. The same rate on every planTwo meters. Actions from under $0.01 each, and Data Credits from $0.05 each. Clay puts a fully enriched record at 6 to 20 Data Credits, which is 30¢ to $1 at the $0.05 rate
What empty work costsNothing. Duplicates, rows you already own and rows a page contradicts are not charged, and a run that finds nothing costs nothingClay's credit refunds page says many actions charge whether or not the provider finds a match, because the provider charges Clay either way
LimitsThe most a run can cost, quoted before it starts and never passed. Each key carries a total, a per run and a monthly limitA per workspace request rate limit. When the Actions run out, you move up to the next Action tier
Plans$10 of credit, no card. Pro $19, Scale $99 and Team $499 a month, all spent as credit at the same row rates. A yearly plan adds 20% more creditFree: 500 Actions and 100 Data Credits a month. Launch from $185 a month: 15,000 Actions and 2,500 Data Credits. Growth from $495: 40,000 Actions and 6,000 Data Credits. Enterprise: custom pricing with annual commitment
InterfacesMCP server at https://api.specstream.ai/mcp, REST API, Python and TypeScript SDKs, a CLI and A2A. Rows also go to HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Attio, Google Sheets, Slack, Zapier, Make, n8n and signed webhooksThe Public API, the Clay CLI, an agent plugin, and MCP

Why developers choose SpecStream over the Clay API

One request in place of a function you build first

On Clay's API your code calls a routine. For anything past Clay's standard jobs, that routine is a custom function someone builds in the Clay UI, with its providers and prompts chosen there. Then your code sends up to 100 items, polls for the run, and pages through the results.

On SpecStream the request is the spec. Send "Software companies in the United States with 50 to 500 employees that use Salesforce, with the head of sales and a work email" and SpecStream reads it into conditions and columns you can check before anything runs, searches the live web, reads each company's pages and returns one typed row per company. A company that fails one condition is not delivered and not billed.

A price per row, known before the run

A row costs 5¢ with up to 5 facts, 15¢ with up to 15 facts and one set of related records, and $1 for a deep row with no limit. A work email adds 5¢. So 1,000 companies with the head of sales and a work email cost at most $200, at 15¢ a row plus 5¢ an email, and the quote says so before you approve it.

On Clay, 1,000 fully enriched records take 6,000 to 20,000 Data Credits by Clay's own estimate, which is $300 to $1,000 at $0.05 a credit, on top of the plan that gives API access. Many enrichment actions charge whether or not the provider finds a match.

The page behind every value

Each value in a SpecStream row carries the source URL and the time it was read. get_find_decisions returns each condition's answer for a row with its reason, the value, the source and the time, so your product can show a user why a company is on the list. replay_find_decisions reads the saved record again at no charge.

The same key runs search and page reading

The key that runs Deep Search also runs the Search API, at $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results and $1 per 1,000 on the fast tier, and the Extract API at $0.80 per 1,000 pages. The Search API scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct) and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 official WideSearch tasks, shown on the benchmarks page.

Other Clay alternatives with an API

FullEnrich

A waterfall service for emails and phones, billed in credits: a work email is 1 credit, a personal email 3 and a mobile phone 10, and a lookup with no verified result costs nothing. Its calculator prices 15,000 credits at $720 a month. SpecStream also finds the people and companies from a description, at 5¢ a row plus 5¢ an email.

People Data Labs

A records API over its own database. Pro is $100 a month starting at 1,000 records, and the Free plan of up to 100 records a month hides emails, phones and addresses. SpecStream returns the fields your request names from the live web, with no monthly allowance to size.

Coresignal

A company and employee data API billed in credits: a full company record is 20 credits and an email found 10, with Mini at $49 a month for 2,500 credits. SpecStream bills the delivered row, 5¢ with up to 5 facts, and a search or page read along the way is not billed.

How SpecStream scores

The same numbers as the benchmarks page, from the official tasks and scorers.

SpecStreamParallelExaTavilyPerplexity
Web researchWideSearch, GPT-5.6 Luna60.945.553.047.947.0
Factual accuracySimpleQA Verified, GPT-5.6 Luna9694919494
Factual accuracySimpleQA Verified, GPT-5.6 Sol9997919295

How to switch from the Clay API

Write the records your Clay function produced in plain words, with the facts it returned as the columns you ask for. Or export the Clay table as a CSV and import up to 20,000 rows, and SpecStream fills in or checks each one. Sign up and you get $10 of credit, no card. At 5¢ a row, that is up to 200 rows.

Or send the request from code. This call spends nothing: the 402 reply shows how SpecStream read the request, the columns and the most it can cost.

curl -i https://api.specstream.ai/v1/agent/lists \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"request": "Software companies in the United States with 50 to 500 employees that use Salesforce, with the head of sales and a work email", "count": 25}'

Approve that maximum by card through Stripe's Link agent wallet, or in USDC on Base, Arbitrum or Polygon, and you pay for the rows found. On an account, your agent uses the MCP server at https://api.specstream.ai/mcp with OAuth or an API key, and your team uses the workspace, from the same balance. The MCP guide lists every tool.

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Frequently asked questions

Something we didn't answer? Talk to a human

Does Clay have an API?
Yes. Clay's Public API runs Clay functions on 1 to 100 items per run, searches Clay's company and people data, and reads tables, with the Tables endpoint marked Enterprise. Clay's pricing page lists Clay API access on Enterprise, at custom pricing with an annual commitment. SpecStream's API is open to every account, with $10 of credit and no card.
How much does the Clay API cost?
Clay's pricing page shows no API price: API access is listed on Enterprise, at custom pricing with an annual commitment. Calls spend the same two meters as the app, Actions from under $0.01 and Data Credits from $0.05, at 6 to 20 Data Credits for a fully enriched record. SpecStream costs 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a delivered row, plus 5¢ an email.
What is the best Clay alternative for API work?
SpecStream, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a delivered row. One POST with the records you want in plain words returns the most it can cost, and after approval one structured row per match, with the source URL and read time on every value. The same key runs the Search API and the Extract API.
Can I move a Clay table to SpecStream?
Yes, up to 20,000 rows. Export the table as a CSV and import it, and import is free. SpecStream matches each row to one identity and fills in or checks it. A row that matches pays its rate, and a row that does not costs 5¢.
Does SpecStream have an MCP server?
Yes, at https://api.specstream.ai/mcp, with OAuth or an API key as a Bearer token. Your agent reads a request, gets a quote, and runs it after the maximum is approved, at the same 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row. Setup for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other clients is in the MCP guide.
Does SpecStream charge when it finds nothing?
No. A run that finds nothing costs nothing, and duplicates, rows you already own and rows a page contradicts are not charged. Clay's credit refunds page says many actions charge whether or not the provider finds a match.

Sources

Prices and limits as each page showed them on Nov 12, 2026.

  1. SpecStream pricingspecstream.ai/pricing, read Nov 12, 2026
  2. SpecStream for agentsspecstream.ai/agents.md, read Nov 12, 2026
  3. SpecStream benchmarksspecstream.ai/benchmarks, read Nov 12, 2026
  4. Clay pricingclay.com/pricing, read Nov 12, 2026
  5. Clay docs, Actions and Data Creditsuniversity.clay.com/docs/actions-data-credits, read Nov 12, 2026
  6. Clay docs, credit refundsuniversity.clay.com/docs/credit-refunds, read Nov 12, 2026
  7. Clay developer docs, indexdevelopers.clay.com/llms.txt, read Nov 12, 2026
  8. Clay developer docs, Routines APIdevelopers.clay.com/routines/api.md, read Nov 12, 2026
  9. Clay developer docs, execution modeldevelopers.clay.com/concepts/execution-model.md, read Nov 12, 2026
  10. Clay developer docs, rate limitsdevelopers.clay.com/public-api/rate-limits.md, read Nov 12, 2026
  11. Clay developer docs, Clay-managed functionsdevelopers.clay.com/routines/clay-managed-functions.md, read Nov 12, 2026
  12. FullEnrich pricingfullenrich.com/pricing, read Nov 12, 2026
  13. People Data Labs pricingpeopledatalabs.com/pricing/company, read Nov 12, 2026
  14. Coresignal pricingcoresignal.com/pricing/, read Nov 12, 2026