MarketBetter vs Clay: Data Enrichment vs SDR Workflow Automation [2026]
Clay has become one of the most talked-about tools in B2B sales. With 75+ data providers, AI-powered enrichment, and a credit-based system, it promises to transform how GTM teams prospect.
But there's a critical gap in Clay's approach that most reviews won't tell you: Clay enriches data. It doesn't tell your SDRs what to do with it.
MarketBetter takes the opposite approach. Instead of giving your team a spreadsheet of enriched contacts and hoping they figure out the next step, MarketBetter delivers a daily SDR playbook — a prioritized list of exactly who to contact, how to reach them, and what to say.
This isn't a better-or-worse comparison. It's a fundamentally different philosophy. Let's break it down.
What Clay Does Well
Clay is a data enrichment powerhouse. Here's what it brings to the table:
- 75+ data providers — Access to contact, firmographic, technographic, and intent data from dozens of sources in one platform
- Claygent (AI research agent) — Send AI to research leads, scan websites, and summarize findings automatically
- Sculptor — Describe a workflow in plain language and Clay builds it for you
- Credit-based pricing — Pay for what you use, not per seat (unlimited users on all plans)
- Enrichment waterfall — Query multiple providers to maximize data coverage, often hitting 80-90% verified accuracy
If your team's primary bottleneck is finding and enriching leads, Clay is genuinely impressive.
Where Clay Falls Short for SDR Teams
Here's what G2 reviewers, Reddit users, and Trustpilot feedback consistently flag:
1. Steep Learning Curve
Clay isn't plug-and-play. Multiple reviews mention needing "Clay partners" for implementation. One common complaint: "Salespeople don't really use it" because the interface requires technical fluency that most SDRs don't have.
2. Credit Costs Add Up Fast
Clay's credit system sounds flexible until you do the math:
| Plan | Monthly Credits | Monthly Cost | Cost per 1,000 Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 100 | $0 | $0 |
| Starter | 2,000 | $149 | ~$75 |
| Explorer | 10,000 | $349 | ~$31 |
| Pro | 50,000 | $800 | ~$16 |
| Enterprise | Custom | Contact sales | Variable |
A single enrichment action costs 1-5+ credits. An SDR team running 500 leads/week through a 3-step enrichment workflow could burn through 7,500+ credits monthly — that's the Explorer plan minimum. Add AI research and you're firmly in Pro territory.
3. Data Without Direction
This is the fundamental issue. Clay tells you who your prospects are. It doesn't tell you:
- Which prospects to prioritize today
- What channel to use (email, call, LinkedIn)
- What message will resonate based on their behavior
- When to follow up and how urgently
Your SDRs still need to interpret the data, build their own workflows, and decide what matters. That's the exact manual work you're trying to eliminate.
How MarketBetter Approaches It Differently
MarketBetter isn't a data enrichment tool. It's an SDR operating system that turns signals into action.
The Daily SDR Playbook
Every morning, each SDR gets a prioritized task list:
- Who to contact (ranked by buying intent and fit)
- Why they're worth contacting (visited pricing page, matched ICP, job change signal)
- How to reach them (suggested channel, timing, message framework)
- What to say (personalized talking points based on their activity)
Instead of "here's 500 enriched leads, figure it out," MarketBetter says: "Call Sarah at Acme Corp today. She visited your pricing page twice this week, her company matches your ICP, and here's what to say."
Website Visitor Identification
MarketBetter identifies companies visiting your website in real time — not just company name, but what they looked at, how long they stayed, and which pages signal buying intent. This data feeds directly into the playbook.
Clay doesn't have visitor identification. You'd need to bolt on a separate tool (like Clearbit Reveal or RB2B) and manually connect the data.
Built-In Execution Tools
MarketBetter includes the tools SDRs actually need to act on insights:
| Capability | MarketBetter | Clay |
|---|---|---|
| Website visitor identification | ✅ Built-in | ❌ Not available |
| Daily SDR playbook | ✅ Automated | ❌ Not available |
| Smart dialer | ✅ Built-in | ❌ Not available |
| Email sequences | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Sequencer (new) |
| AI chatbot | ✅ Built-in | ❌ Not available |
| Data enrichment | ✅ Integrated | ✅ 75+ providers |
| Intent signals | ✅ First-party + third-party | ✅ Third-party only |
| AI message generation | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Claygent |
| CRM integration | ✅ Native | ✅ HubSpot/Salesforce |
The Core Difference
Clay = data enrichment layer (upstream of action) MarketBetter = SDR workflow engine (data → action → outcome)
Clay gives your team better data. MarketBetter gives your team better outcomes.
Pricing Comparison
Clay
- Free: 100 credits/month ($0)
- Starter: 2,000 credits/month ($149/mo or $134/mo annual)
- Explorer: 10,000 credits/month ($349/mo or $314/mo annual)
- Pro: 50,000 credits/month ($800/mo or $720/mo annual)
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Unlimited users on all plans. But credits burn fast — a team of 5 SDRs enriching 100 leads/day could easily need the Pro plan.
Hidden cost: Clay doesn't include a dialer, visitor identification, or playbook. You'll need SalesLoft/Outreach ($100-180/user/month) plus a visitor ID tool ($200-500/month) on top. Real cost for a 5-person SDR team: $2,000-4,000/month across the full stack.
MarketBetter
MarketBetter publishes transparent pricing on its website. Everything is included — visitor identification, playbook, dialer, email sequences, AI chatbot, and enrichment. No per-credit surprises, no bolt-on tools needed.
See current MarketBetter pricing →
When to Choose Clay
Clay is the right choice if:
- Your team has technical RevOps talent who can build and maintain complex enrichment workflows
- Your primary bottleneck is data quality, not SDR productivity
- You already have a sales engagement platform (SalesLoft, Outreach) and just need better data feeding into it
- You want maximum customization and are willing to invest time in setup
- Your use case is marketing enrichment (enriching CRM records, audience building) rather than SDR outbound
When to Choose MarketBetter
MarketBetter is the right choice if:
- Your SDRs are drowning in tabs and need a single task list
- You want visitor identification + outbound in one platform
- You need a smart dialer built for warm outbound calls
- Your team needs to know what to do, not just who to target
- You want to go live in days, not weeks of workflow building
- You're measuring speed-to-lead and meetings booked, not credits consumed
The Bottom Line
Clay and MarketBetter solve different problems at different stages of the sales workflow.
Clay answers: "Who are these leads and what do we know about them?" MarketBetter answers: "Here's exactly what your SDRs should do right now to book meetings."
If your team already has a system for turning data into action and just needs better inputs, Clay is excellent. If your team needs the full workflow — from signal detection to prioritized action to execution — MarketBetter eliminates the gap between data and revenue.
The question isn't which tool has more data providers. It's whether your SDRs know what to do when they sit down at 8 AM.