Side-by-side pricing breakdown, hidden costs, and negotiation intel for both tools. Verified March 11, 2026.
| Clay | D&B Hoovers | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $185/mo | $49/mo |
| Pricing model | Credit-Based | Credit-Based |
| Free trial | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Annual only | ✓ No | ✓ No |
| Plans | 3 tiers | 2 tiers |
| Hidden costs | 3 flagged | 5 flagged |
| Last verified | March 11, 2026 | May 31, 2026 |
Free plan available with 500 actions and 100 data credits/month. Clay uses two separate currencies: actions (for running workflows and waterfall enrichments) and data credits (for pulling contact/company data from providers). Both deplete independently.
D&B Hoovers is currently piloting a credit-based model with unlimited seats. Pricing below reflects this pilot program, confirm current structure directly with a rep as terms may change.
Clay pricing is fairly fixed on self-serve plans. Enterprise contracts are negotiable with multi-year commits and volume. Competing quotes from ZoomInfo and Seamless are the most effective leverage on enterprise deals, similar price range makes the threat credible.
We went through live negotiations with D&B directly. An AVP stepped in toward the end and effectively took over the negotiations from their side. The offers we received came in 25-35% below list price. Bundle pricing, Hoovers with Bombora intent data, and/or technology mapping was meaningfully discounted and worth asking about even if you only want the base product, as the gap narrows considerably at their offer prices. We were focused on an 80k-320k credit allotment in our negotiations. Multi-year terms are available and worth considering given the built-in 6% annual increase, though the year 1 discount erodes quickly at that rate. Competing quotes from ZoomInfo or Cognism are effective leverage. Negotiate add-ons separately from the base package. We have the full offer breakdown, including line-by-line list vs. offer prices for all four bundle options, in our Sales Intelligence Pricing Report.