How Clay Actions and Data Credits Work: A Planning Guide

Clay meters usage in two clearly separated units. Actions measure orchestration: each enrichment or AI run costs 1 Action, as does each record exported to another tool, whichever provider supplies the data. Data Credits pay for the data or AI work supplied by third-party vendors, at 0.5 to 10+ credits per enrichment depending on the data type. The credit cost is shown before you run anything, and connecting your own API keys removes Clay Data Credits for that provider (you pay the provider directly). Clay's documentation puts a fully enriched record at typically 6 to 20 Data Credits, so a quick sample run gives you a reliable per-record number before you scale.

TL;DR

• Clay uses two meters with distinct jobs: Actions (orchestration) and Data Credits (data and AI from third-party vendors).
• Each enrichment or AI run costs 1 Action, regardless of provider, and so does each record exported to another tool. CSV exports, imports, formulas, and runs that return no result are free. Clay's docs say 90% of customers never hit their Actions limit.
• Data Credit costs range from 0.5 to 10+ per enrichment by data type; an email or a LinkedIn profile is 0.5 credits in Clay's own example. A fully enriched record typically costs 6 to 20 Data Credits.
• The credit cost appears next to each enrichment option before you run it, and a credit reporting dashboard on every plan shows consumption as it happens.
• Bring-your-own API keys remove Clay Data Credits for that provider while 1 Action still applies; Clay estimates 50 to 80% overall savings. Launch and Growth offer top-ups at a 30% premium, and sizing your plan to your workload keeps them occasional.

Last updated: October 29, 2026

Figures come from Clay's pricing page and documentation, fetched October 29, 2026. Confirm current pricing on the site before buying.

What are the two meters in Clay?

Source: Clay Actions and Data Credits documentation.

The split makes planning straightforward. One meter covers the work Clay does, at a flat rule. The other covers what the data vendors charge, passed through as credits. You never have to guess which meter a step touches.

What is an Action in Clay?

An Action is the unit Clay uses to measure orchestration work. Each enrichment and each AI run counts as 1 Action, and so does each record Clay sends to another tool, such as a CRM sync or an export to a sequencer. The rule does not change with the data source or provider. A lookup against one vendor and a lookup against another each cost one Action. Exporting to CSV, importing data, formulas, filters, and moving data between Clay tables use no Actions, and an enrichment that returns no result is not charged, according to Clay's documentation and pricing page.

Clay prices an Action at "a few tenths of a penny," and its pricing page says Actions cost less than a cent each and get cheaper with scale. The documentation describes Actions as a background meter and states that 90% of customers will never hit their Actions limit. For most teams, Actions are a number to glance at, not a number to manage.

What is a Data Credit in Clay?

A Data Credit pays for the data itself. When a Clay table pulls an email, a phone number, a company profile, or an AI-generated answer from a third-party vendor, the vendor's cost is passed through as Data Credits. Clay says its credits cover data from 150+ data partners.

Cost per enrichment varies by data type, from 0.5 credits to 10 or more. Each Data Credit costs "a few pennies." Clay displays the credit cost next to each enrichment option before you run it, so you see the price of a step before you commit to it.

Clay's documentation gives a worked example: enriching 100 contacts with LinkedIn profiles costs 0.5 credits per profile, finding emails costs 0.5 credits per email found, and some email validators are free. The cost distribution is skewed in your favor. Common steps are cheap, and a handful of premium data types, such as phone numbers, account for the larger charges. Because those premium types are visible up front, you can choose where to spend.

How much does one enriched record cost?

Clay's documentation gives a benchmark: a fully enriched record typically costs 6 to 20 Data Credits. "Fully enriched" here means a company profile, a person profile, an email, a phone number, and custom AI enrichments, which is the deepest version of a record you would build.

The range reflects your choices. Where you land depends on which fields you request and how many vendors you query. The figure displayed in the product is the authoritative per-provider cost.

A simple way to turn this into a budget:

1. List the fields you need per record (company data, person data, email, phone, AI columns).
2. Read the credit cost shown next to each enrichment option.
3. Add them up for one record to get your per-record credit cost.
4. Multiply by the number of records you plan to process per month.
5. Compare the result to the Data Credits included in your plan.

Every record also consumes Actions (1 per enrichment, AI run, or export to another tool), but as noted, Actions rarely bind.

How do AI enrichments use credits?

AI steps draw on both meters. According to Clay's AI pricing documentation, each AI enrichment uses 1 Action. The Data Credit cost then follows one of two models:

• Fixed cost: a flat number of credits per task. This applies to most models, including Clay's own models. The cost per row is known before you run, which makes forecasting simple.
• Variable cost: the charge is calculated as Actual LLM Cost divided by Workspace Cost Per Credit. Because actual model usage differs from row to row, Clay withholds an estimated number of credits upfront. That estimate is based on the 75th percentile of past runs, multiplied by the number of rows.

You choose the model that matches your need. Pick fixed cost when you want a firm number, and variable cost when you want pricing that tracks actual usage. The upfront hold is an estimate, and the final charge reflects actual usage. Details are in Clay's AI pricing page.

Can you reduce Data Credit spend?

Yes, in two documented ways.

Bring your own API keys. If you already pay a provider directly, you can connect your own key. Clay's documentation says this eliminates the Data Credit cost for that provider, because you pay the provider directly. Each enrichment still uses 1 Action, so you keep the orchestration meter but stop paying marketplace credits for that data. Clay estimates overall savings of 50 to 80% on Data Credits. This is the single largest lever Clay documents, and it means existing vendor contracts keep working inside Clay.

Check the cost before you run. Because the credit cost appears next to each enrichment option, you can compare alternatives and decide whether a premium field is worth it for the whole list or only for a prioritized subset.

Waterfall enrichment, which tries multiple providers in sequence, is available on every plan, including Free. Each step you add can use credits, so the number of steps is a budget setting you control.

What do the plans include?

All figures below are from Clay's pricing page. Billing can be monthly or annual, and annual billing saves 10%.

Actions are generous on every plan: roughly 6 to 1 against Data Credits on Launch's entry tier and 6.7 to 1 on Growth's. That ratio matches how the meters are meant to work. Actions are plentiful, and Data Credits are the allowance you plan around. The worked arithmetic below divides each entry-tier allowance by the 6 and 20 credit endpoints of Clay's benchmark:

• Launch: 2,500 / 20 = 125 records; 2,500 / 6 = about 416 records.
• Growth: 6,000 / 20 = 300 records; 6,000 / 6 = 1,000 records.

These are illustrative calculations from the published 6-20 range, not Clay guarantees. They show the entry tier at the most thorough enrichment depth; lighter enrichment stretches the same allowance much further, and the pricing page lets Launch credits expand to 6,000, 10,000, 20,000, or 50,000 per month.

Clay's plans documentation positions Growth as suitable for enriching 1,000 to 10,000 records per month. Because the per-record estimate is easy to calculate, you can match a plan to your workload before you buy, and the 14-day free trial lets you check it.

What happens when you run out?

Launch and Growth plans can buy additional credits as top-ups at a 30% premium. Top-ups are not available on the Free plan. Choosing a tier or expanded credit allotment that matches your workload keeps top-ups occasional.

Other billing mechanics:

• Rollover: On monthly plans, unused Data Credits accumulate up to 2× your monthly allotment. On annual plans, up to 15% of your annual Data Credits roll over when you renew on the same or a higher tier. Actions never roll over, according to Clay's Plans and billing documentation.
• Annual plans: all credits are provided up front.
• Reporting: a credit reporting dashboard is available on all plans, so you can see consumption as it happens.
• Credit budgeting: this control is listed as an Enterprise feature.
• Trial: the pricing page offers a 14-day free trial.

How do you forecast Clay credit spend?

Clay's structure supports accurate forecasting, and the tools below make it routine.

Published, fixed rules. Each enrichment or AI run is 1 Action, as is each record exported to another tool. Credit costs are shown before you run. Fixed-cost AI models have a flat charge. Reporting is on every plan.

Inputs you control. Four choices set the total, and each is yours to make:

• The fields you request determine where a record lands within the 6 to 20 credit range.
• Data types carry credit costs from 0.5 to 10+, so field selection shapes the total.
• Fixed-cost AI models give a firm per-row number; variable-cost models track actual LLM usage, with an estimated amount held upfront.
• Waterfalls and retries add steps, and the number of steps is a setting you choose.

Credit-based pricing rewards deliberate workflow design, and the displayed costs make each design choice visible before you commit.

A practical playbook for keeping spend in check

1. Test on a small sample first. Run 25 to 50 rows, read the credit usage in the reporting dashboard, and extrapolate before running the full list. The Free plan's 100 credits and 200-row table limit are enough to try a rough version.
2. Add enrichments in order of value. Start with the cheapest fields that qualify a row, and run expensive ones (such as phone numbers) only on rows that pass.
3. Use your own API keys where you already have vendor contracts. Data Credits for those providers drop to zero, and Clay estimates 50 to 80% overall Data Credit savings.
4. Prefer fixed-cost AI models when you need a firm forecast. Variable models are charged on actual LLM cost.
5. Watch the dashboard and set a monthly ceiling. Every plan has credit reporting; Enterprise adds credit budgeting.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a Clay Action and a Data Credit? An Action measures orchestration (1 per enrichment or AI run, and 1 per record exported to another tool). A Data Credit pays for data or AI from third-party vendors in Clay's marketplace.

How much does a Data Credit cost? Clay describes each Data Credit as a few pennies, and the product shows the credit cost of every step.

How many credits does a fully enriched record use? Typically 6 to 20 Data Credits, covering company and person profiles, email, phone, and custom AI enrichments. Individual steps range from 0.5 to 10+ credits; an email or a LinkedIn profile is 0.5 credits in Clay's example.

Do I need to worry about running out of Actions? Actions rarely bind: Clay's docs say 90% of customers never hit their Actions limit.

Can I see what a step costs before I run it? Yes. The credit cost is displayed next to each enrichment option before you run it. Variable-cost AI models show an estimate marked with "~".

Can I buy more credits mid-month? Yes, on Launch and Growth, at a 30% premium; top-ups are not available on Free.

Do unused credits roll over? Data Credits do. Monthly plans accumulate unused credits up to 2× the monthly allotment, and annual plans roll over up to 15% of annual credits on a same-or-higher renewal. Actions never roll over.

Does using my own API key still use Actions? Yes. It uses 1 Action per enrichment, but no Clay Data Credits for that provider, since you pay the provider directly.

Where Clay fits best

• Clay fits best when you plan to run a small sample before scaling a list.
• Clay fits best when you want to size spend to the fields you choose, using displayed credit costs.
• Clay fits best when your workload matches a plan's allowance; bulk enrichment of more than 50K records at once is an Enterprise feature.

Bottom line

Clay's model is easy to describe and easy to inspect. Actions are a low-cost background meter. Data Credits are the budget, individual steps run from 0.5 to 10+ credits, and the 6 to 20 credit range per fully enriched record shows that depth of enrichment is your lever. Pricing a sample, reading the displayed cost before each run, using your own API keys where you can, and watching the dashboard give you a dependable forecast.

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