{
 "sym": "En",
 "updated": "2026-08-06",
 "verdict": "Clay, and it isn't close \u2014 it turned enrichment from a database subscription into an orchestration layer over every database, and the market rewarded it: $108M ARR end-2025 \u2192 $150M by May 2026, a $5B employee tender in January 2026 on top of the $100M CapitalG Series C at $3.1B. Apollo is the pick when you want the data, the emails, and the sequences in one $49 seat; ZoomInfo when enterprise procurement, compliance, and US direct-dial depth decide; FullEnrich when your only problem is contact hit-rates on lists you already have; Ocean.io when your ICP is 'companies like our best customers' rather than a filter query.",
 "top5": [
  {
   "rank": 1,
   "name": "Clay",
   "maker": "Clay Labs",
   "url": "https://www.clay.com",
   "docs": "https://docs.clay.com",
   "pricing": "Free (100 credits/mo) \u00b7 Launch from $167/mo \u00b7 Growth from $446/mo \u00b7 Enterprise custom, annual",
   "best_for": "Founders and GTM engineers who want one spreadsheet-like canvas that waterfalls dozens of data providers, runs AI research agents on every row, and pushes the result anywhere.",
   "why": "The category-definer: multi-provider waterfalls, Claygent AI research agents, and now MCP for Reps (Claude, ChatGPT, Codex) plus an agent-plugin CLI for coding agents \u2014 enrichment as programmable infrastructure, not a database seat. The numbers validate it: 500% growth in 2024, $150M ARR by May 2026, and a January 2026 tender at $5B \u2014 61% above the August 2025 Series C price.",
   "watch": "The 'Clay tax' is real: you pay Clay credits on top of marked-up provider costs, and bills balloon quietly. It is a power tool \u2014 teams without a dedicated builder stall in table sprawl. Sequencer and CRM-sync ambitions are creeping into neighbors' territory (Sd, Cr).",
   "evidence": [
    {
     "stat": "$150M ARR May 2026, up from $108M at end of 2025; 500% YoY growth in 2024",
     "src": "https://sacra.com/c/clay/"
    },
    {
     "stat": "$100M Series C led by CapitalG at $3.1B post (Aug 2025); employee tender at $5B led by DST (Jan 2026)",
     "src": "https://sacra.com/c/clay/"
    },
    {
     "stat": "MCP for Reps (Claude/ChatGPT/Codex), Claygent Builder, and agent-plugin CLI shipped by mid-2026",
     "src": "https://www.clay.com/blog"
    }
   ],
   "tile_note": "the gtm orchestration layer"
  },
  {
   "rank": 2,
   "name": "Apollo",
   "maker": "Apollo.io",
   "url": "https://www.apollo.io",
   "docs": "https://docs.apollo.io",
   "pricing": "Free (unlimited email credits, fair-use) \u00b7 Basic $49 \u00b7 Professional $79 \u00b7 Organization $119/user/mo (3-seat min)",
   "best_for": "Lean teams that want database, enrichment, and outreach in a single tool \u2014 the canon 'data + outreach in one' pick, with the most generous free tier in the category.",
   "why": "250M+ contacts across 60M companies, 4M users at 600k+ companies, and revenue up more than fivefold since the August 2023 Series D (stated May 2026). It is also winning the agent era's distribution game: Apollo runs inside ChatGPT and Claude via MCP, and HubSpot chose it to power the Breeze Prospecting Agent.",
   "watch": "Data quality is uneven outside US mid-market \u2014 mobiles trail Cognism in Europe. 'Unlimited' email credits are fair-use capped at 1M/year. Its AI-SDR ambitions blur focus, and there has been no priced round since the $1.6B Series D in 2023.",
   "evidence": [
    {
     "stat": "$150M ARR May 2025; revenue 'more than fivefold' above Aug 2023 Series D level as of May 2026",
     "src": "https://sacra.com/c/apollo/"
    },
    {
     "stat": "250M+ contacts, 60M companies, 4M users across 600k+ companies",
     "src": "https://sacra.com/c/apollo/"
    },
    {
     "stat": "Selected as data provider for HubSpot's Breeze Prospecting Agent; Apollo MCP live in ChatGPT and Claude (2026)",
     "src": "https://www.apollo.io/blog"
    }
   ],
   "tile_note": "data + outreach in one"
  },
  {
   "rank": 3,
   "name": "ZoomInfo",
   "maker": "ZoomInfo (NASDAQ: GTM)",
   "url": "https://www.zoominfo.com",
   "docs": "https://docs.zoominfo.com",
   "pricing": "Quote-only \u00b7 credit-based exports \u00b7 Professional / Copilot Advanced / Copilot Enterprise tiers \u00b7 annual contracts",
   "best_for": "Enterprises that need the deepest US direct-dial and org-chart data, compliance machinery, and a vendor procurement already knows.",
   "why": "Still the enterprise incumbent \u2014 $310.4M Q2 2026 revenue, 1,891 customers above $100k ACV, 76% of ACV upmarket \u2014 and the most aggressive incumbent in going agent-native: its GTM.AI 'headless context layer' ships native MCP connectors for Claude, Codex, and Gemini Enterprise, and held the #1 GTM-connector slot in Anthropic's directory for nine straight weeks.",
   "watch": "The core business is flat-to-declining: +1.2% YoY growth, 89% net revenue retention, and a $650.5M goodwill impairment in Q2 2026, plus outstanding securities litigation. Mid-market buyers keep defecting to Apollo and Clay. Negotiate hard \u2014 the leverage is yours.",
   "evidence": [
    {
     "stat": "Q2 2026: $310.4M revenue (+1.2% YoY), 89% NRR, GAAP net loss $643.7M incl. $650.5M goodwill impairment (Aug 5, 2026)",
     "src": "https://ir.zoominfo.com/news-releases/news-release-details/zoominfo-announces-second-quarter-2026-financial-results"
    },
    {
     "stat": "#1 GTM connector in Anthropic's directory for 9 consecutive weeks (Send research, 100k+ snapshots)",
     "src": "https://ir.zoominfo.com/news-releases/news-release-details/independent-research-ranks-zoominfo-1-gtm-connector-anthropics"
    },
    {
     "stat": "GTM.AI context layer: 100M companies, 500M contacts, native MCP for Claude/Codex/Gemini (2026)",
     "src": "https://ir.zoominfo.com/news-releases"
    }
   ],
   "tile_note": "enterprise incumbent, going headless"
  },
  {
   "rank": 4,
   "name": "FullEnrich",
   "maker": "FullEnrich",
   "url": "https://fullenrich.com",
   "docs": "https://docs.fullenrich.com",
   "pricing": "Trial 50 credits free \u00b7 Pro $55/mo (1,000 credits) \u00b7 Enterprise custom \u00b7 email 1 credit, mobile 10",
   "best_for": "Anyone whose only problem is 'find me the email and mobile for these people' \u2014 maximum hit-rate for minimum spend, no platform to learn.",
   "why": "Waterfall enrichment distilled to its essence: it cascades 20+ providers per lookup and charges only for valid results, which is why it shows up inside other people's stacks \u2014 Clay, n8n, Zapier, Make \u2014 as the contact-data layer. At $55/mo with unlimited users it undercuts a single seat of most databases.",
   "watch": "A point solution by design: no company database or search of its own worth relying on, so you bring the lists. Mobile numbers at 10 credits each make phone-heavy motions pricier than the headline suggests. Young company, thin public track record.",
   "evidence": [
    {
     "stat": "20+ providers per waterfall; 'highest enrichment rate in the market' claim; pay only for valid results",
     "src": "https://docs.fullenrich.com"
    },
    {
     "stat": "Pro $55/mo for 1,000 credits ($0.055/credit); emails 1 credit, mobiles 10, personal emails 3 (Aug 2026)",
     "src": "https://fullenrich.com/pricing"
    }
   ],
   "tile_note": "waterfall contact hit-rates"
  },
  {
   "rank": 5,
   "name": "Ocean.io",
   "maker": "Ocean.io",
   "url": "https://www.ocean.io",
   "docs": "https://docs.ocean.io",
   "pricing": "Pay-as-you-go or from $32/mo (9,000 credits/yr at $0.064) \u00b7 email 1 credit, phone 10 \u00b7 unlimited users",
   "best_for": "Founders who define their ICP as 'companies like our best customers' \u2014 paste your top domains, get AI lookalike accounts, then enrich contacts at them.",
   "why": "The lookalike-first alternative to filter-query prospecting: AI lookalike filters plus waterfall enrichment from 16+ sources under one credit system, strong in Europe where US-centric databases thin out. Credible enough that Clay itself partnered with Ocean.io for B2B lookalike prospecting.",
   "watch": "Contact depth trails ZoomInfo and Apollo in the US; it is company-first, people-second. Small vendor \u2014 most capability claims are single-source from its own site. No orchestration layer; treat it as a targeting engine feeding a bigger stack.",
   "evidence": [
    {
     "stat": "AI lookalike filters + waterfall enrichment from 16+ data sources; $0.064/credit at 9,000-credit annual minimum (Aug 2026)",
     "src": "https://www.ocean.io/pricing"
    },
    {
     "stat": "Clay partnership for B2B lookalike prospecting (2026)",
     "src": "https://www.clay.com/blog"
    }
   ],
   "tile_note": "lookalike account targeting"
  }
 ],
 "matrix": {
  "cols": [
   "Entry price",
   "Own database",
   "Waterfall enrichment",
   "Mobile numbers",
   "Orchestration",
   "MCP / agent access",
   "Free tier"
  ],
  "rows": [
   [
    "Clay",
    "$167/mo",
    "No \u2014 marketplace of providers",
    "Core feature",
    "Via providers (credit-heavy)",
    "Best-in-class (tables, signals, ads, sequencer)",
    "MCP for Reps + agent CLI",
    "Yes, 100 credits/mo"
   ],
   [
    "Apollo",
    "$49/user/mo",
    "Yes \u2014 250M contacts",
    "No (single source)",
    "Yes, credit-metered",
    "Sequences + workflows built in",
    "MCP in ChatGPT/Claude",
    "Yes, generous"
   ],
   [
    "ZoomInfo",
    "Quote-only",
    "Yes \u2014 500M contacts",
    "No",
    "Strongest US direct dials",
    "GTM Studio",
    "GTM.AI native MCP connectors",
    "Trial only"
   ],
   [
    "FullEnrich",
    "$55/mo",
    "No \u2014 20+ providers",
    "Core feature",
    "Yes, 10 credits each",
    "None",
    "API + no-code hooks",
    "50-credit trial"
   ],
   [
    "Ocean.io",
    "$32/mo",
    "Yes + 16-source waterfall",
    "Yes",
    "Yes, 10 credits each",
    "Light (API)",
    "API only",
    "Trial"
   ],
   [
    "Cognism",
    "Quote-only",
    "Yes \u2014 EU/UK strongest",
    "No",
    "Verified mobiles (Pro tier)",
    "Light",
    "None public",
    "No"
   ],
   [
    "Breeze Intelligence",
    "HubSpot credits",
    "Yes \u2014 ex-Clearbit",
    "No",
    "No",
    "HubSpot workflows",
    "Breeze agents (Apollo-powered)",
    "With HubSpot"
   ],
   [
    "Common Room",
    "Quote-only",
    "400M+ directory",
    "Yes (Person360)",
    "Via waterfall",
    "Revenue control plane",
    "RoomieAI agents",
    "Trial"
   ]
  ]
 },
 "rules": [
  {
   "if": "You have a GTM engineer \u2014 or a founder willing to become one \u2014 and more than one data source",
   "then": "Clay Growth. Treat provider credits as COGS, set rollover alerts, and feed it Ocean.io lookalikes when filter queries stop describing your ICP."
  },
  {
   "if": "You are pre-seed and doing your own outbound this quarter",
   "then": "Apollo free or Basic at $49 \u2014 database, enrichment, and sequences in one seat. Graduate to Clay when you outgrow single-source data."
  },
  {
   "if": "Your lists exist and the only gap is emails and mobiles",
   "then": "FullEnrich at $55/mo (BetterContact is the runner-up) \u2014 a 20-provider waterfall beats any single database on hit rate, per the whole market's move to waterfalls."
  },
  {
   "if": "Enterprise procurement, compliance review, or US phone coverage decides",
   "then": "ZoomInfo \u2014 and negotiate hard: 1.2% growth and 89% NRR (Q2 2026) means the leverage sits with you."
  },
  {
   "if": "You already run HubSpot",
   "then": "Turn on Breeze Intelligence credits and the Apollo-powered prospecting agent before buying any standalone tool \u2014 the ex-Clearbit engine is already in your CRM."
  }
 ],
 "field": [
  {
   "name": "Cognism",
   "maker": "Cognism",
   "note": "EU/UK data leader with human-verified mobiles; Standard/Pro tiers, quote-only, 5-seat minimum \u2014 the ZoomInfo alternative for Europe",
   "url": "https://www.cognism.com",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "quote-only",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "Breeze Intelligence",
   "maker": "HubSpot",
   "note": "The ex-Clearbit engine reborn as HubSpot-native enrichment credits; its Prospecting Agent is powered by Apollo data",
   "url": "https://www.hubspot.com/products/artificial-intelligence",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "credit packs w/ HubSpot",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "Clearbit",
   "maker": "HubSpot",
   "note": "The original enrichment API, acquired by HubSpot (closed Feb 2024); standalone product gone \u2014 clearbit.com is now a 'joined HubSpot' landing page pointing to Breeze",
   "url": "https://clearbit.com",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "\u2014",
   "status": "acquired"
  },
  {
   "name": "Findymail",
   "maker": "Findymail",
   "note": "Email/phone finder with <5% bounce guarantee; Starter $99/mo (5k credits) plus CRM Datacare hygiene service from $500/mo",
   "url": "https://www.findymail.com",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "$99/mo",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "BetterContact",
   "maker": "BetterContact",
   "note": "FullEnrich's closest waterfall rival \u2014 20+ providers, 4-layer verification, pay only for valid data",
   "url": "https://www.bettercontact.rocks",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "free 50 credits",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "LeadMagic",
   "maker": "LeadMagic",
   "note": "Enrichment built API/CLI/MCP-first for GTM teams and AI agents; $49.99/mo entry, credit rollover, 3,000+ teams",
   "url": "https://leadmagic.io",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "$49.99/mo",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "Prospeo",
   "maker": "Prospeo",
   "note": "Email and mobile finder that shows up as a top performer inside most waterfall stacks",
   "url": "https://prospeo.io",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "free tier",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "Dropcontact",
   "maker": "Dropcontact",
   "note": "French, algorithm-only enrichment \u2014 no stored personal database, the strict-GDPR pick; strong on French/EU companies",
   "url": "https://www.dropcontact.com",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "free 50 emails",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "Hunter",
   "maker": "Hunter.io",
   "note": "The domain-search original, now an all-in-one outreach platform; Starter $49/mo, still the simplest email finder alive",
   "url": "https://hunter.io",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "free 50 credits/mo",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "Lusha",
   "maker": "Lusha",
   "note": "Freemium extension-led contact data (40 free credits/mo); added AI recommendations and GTM workflows; also a Clay data partner",
   "url": "https://www.lusha.com",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "free 40 credits/mo",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "Kaspr",
   "maker": "Cognism",
   "note": "Cognism's SMB LinkedIn extension \u2014 500M+ phone numbers and emails in one click",
   "url": "https://www.kaspr.io",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "free to start",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "Wiza",
   "maker": "Wiza",
   "note": "Real-time LinkedIn scrape-and-verify (850M+ contacts) rather than a stale database; 500k+ users",
   "url": "https://wiza.co",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "free 25 credits",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "RocketReach",
   "maker": "RocketReach",
   "note": "Veteran lookup tool, 700M+ professionals; solid for one-off finds, not an orchestration play",
   "url": "https://rocketreach.co",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "free trial",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "Seamless.AI",
   "maker": "Seamless.AI",
   "note": "Real-time search engine for contacts, 1M+ users; pivoting into agents and MCP; polarizing data-quality reputation",
   "url": "https://seamless.ai",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "free 50 credits",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "People Data Labs",
   "maker": "People Data Labs",
   "note": "The build-your-own option: 1.5B person profiles by API for products and internal pipelines, not a GTM UI",
   "url": "https://www.peopledatalabs.com",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "free API tier",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "Explorium",
   "maker": "Explorium",
   "note": "Repositioned as 'the B2B data foundation for AI agents' \u2014 AgentSource API + MCP server, 146M businesses / 767M profiles",
   "url": "https://www.explorium.ai",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "freemium",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "Common Room",
   "maker": "Common Room",
   "note": "Signal-first intelligence: Person360 waterfall enrichment + job-change/dark-funnel signals + RoomieAI agents over a 400M contact directory",
   "url": "https://www.commonroom.io",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "quote-only",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "Cargo",
   "maker": "Cargo (YC)",
   "note": "GTM-infrastructure-as-code \u2014 data models, plays, and agents in TypeScript or visual builder; the engineer's Clay alternative, 10k+ GTM engineers",
   "url": "https://www.getcargo.ai",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "free tier",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "Unify",
   "maker": "Unify",
   "note": "Warm-outbound platform with a 1.1B-person, 40-source waterfall baked in; $40M Series B \u2014 sits on the border with element Sd",
   "url": "https://www.unifygtm.com",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "quote/trial",
   "status": "active"
  },
  {
   "name": "ZoomInfo legacy Enterprise API",
   "maker": "ZoomInfo",
   "note": "The old api-docs.zoominfo.com Enterprise API is formally deprecated in favor of docs.zoominfo.com / GTM.AI connectors \u2014 migrate before renewals",
   "url": "https://api-docs.zoominfo.com",
   "oss": false,
   "entry": "\u2014",
   "status": "sunsetting"
  }
 ],
 "signals": [
  {
   "fact": "Sales intelligence market $4.99B in 2026 \u2192 $9.15B by 2031 (12.89% CAGR)",
   "src": "https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/sales-intelligence-market"
  },
  {
   "fact": "Clay: $108M ARR end-2025 \u2192 $150M by May 2026; $5B employee tender (Jan 2026) just five months after the $3.1B Series C",
   "src": "https://sacra.com/c/clay/"
  },
  {
   "fact": "Apollo revenue up 'more than fivefold' since Aug 2023 Series D (company statement, May 2026); still valued at 2023's $1.6B on paper",
   "src": "https://sacra.com/c/apollo/"
  },
  {
   "fact": "Incumbent decline while the category grows: ZoomInfo Q2 2026 +1.2% YoY, 89% NRR, $650.5M goodwill impairment (Aug 5, 2026)",
   "src": "https://ir.zoominfo.com/news-releases/news-release-details/zoominfo-announces-second-quarter-2026-financial-results"
  },
  {
   "fact": "Enrichment is going agent-native: ZoomInfo GTM.AI MCP connectors for Claude/Codex/Gemini, Apollo MCP inside ChatGPT and Claude, Clay's MCP for Reps, and MCP-first upstarts (LeadMagic, Explorium AgentSource) all shipped by mid-2026",
   "src": "https://ir.zoominfo.com/news-releases"
  },
  {
   "fact": "Data providers are becoming embedded layers: Clearbit dissolved into HubSpot Breeze (2024), Apollo now powers HubSpot's Breeze Prospecting Agent (2026)",
   "src": "https://www.apollo.io/blog"
  }
 ],
 "notes": "Charter: ranked on data coverage/hit-rate, workflow leverage per dollar, agent-readiness (MCP/API), and momentum; no affiliate consideration. Pricing caveat: apollo.io/pricing renders client-side, so Apollo tier prices ($49/$79/$119 annual) are taken from G2's pricing snapshot \u2014 re-verify at renewal; ZoomInfo, Cognism, and Common Room publish no prices at all. Source caveat: Clay and Apollo ARR figures are Sacra (aggregator) estimates quoting company statements \u2014 no audited numbers exist; ZoomInfo's #1-connector study was vendor-amplified (research by Send). Conflict resolved: Clay's valuation appears as $3.1B (Aug 2025 Series C) and $5B (Jan 2026 tender) in different sources \u2014 both are real, the tender is secondary-market pricing, not a priced round; we cite both. The known claim 'Clay $100M Series C at $3.1B' checks out (CapitalG, Aug 2025). Kaspr ownership listed as Cognism per its 2022 acquisition; Kaspr's own homepage is ambiguous about branding. Scope pointers: AI SDRs that use this data to send (Artisan, 11x, Amplemarket, and Unify's outbound half) \u2192 Sd; CRMs that store it (Attio, HubSpot) \u2192 Cr; intent/ABM suites (6sense, Demandbase, Bombora) have no home element and get no entries here. Findymail's advertised entry price roughly doubled ($49-class to $99 Starter) versus 2024-era coverage \u2014 vendor page wins.",
 "sources": [
  "https://www.clay.com/pricing",
  "https://www.clay.com/blog",
  "https://sacra.com/c/clay/",
  "https://sacra.com/c/apollo/",
  "https://www.g2.com/products/apollo-io/pricing",
  "https://www.apollo.io/blog",
  "https://docs.apollo.io",
  "https://ir.zoominfo.com/news-releases/news-release-details/zoominfo-announces-second-quarter-2026-financial-results",
  "https://ir.zoominfo.com/news-releases/news-release-details/independent-research-ranks-zoominfo-1-gtm-connector-anthropics",
  "https://www.zoominfo.com/pricing",
  "https://fullenrich.com/pricing",
  "https://docs.fullenrich.com",
  "https://www.ocean.io/pricing",
  "https://clearbit.com",
  "https://www.findymail.com/pricing/",
  "https://www.cognism.com/pricing",
  "https://hunter.io/pricing",
  "https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/sales-intelligence-market",
  "https://www.explorium.ai",
  "https://www.commonroom.io",
  "https://www.getcargo.ai/",
  "https://www.unifygtm.com",
  "https://leadmagic.io",
  "https://www.bettercontact.rocks"
 ],
 "element": {
  "number": 31,
  "name": "Enrichment",
  "group": "Sales & Revenue",
  "essential": true,
  "edition": "v2026.Q3",
  "revision": "r7",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0 \u2014 cite elems.ai",
  "url": "https://elems.ai/e/en.html"
 }
}