When Clay’s pricing jumps or your team needs simpler workflows, you start looking around. That’s fair.
But here’s the thing: in 2026, nobody should be spending their day clicking buttons in outreach software anymore. The real question isn’t which tool has the best waterfall enrichment – it’s whether you need a tool at all, or an AI employee that knows the winning strategy and does the work.
That said, if you’re committed to the DIY tool approach, here are the most credible Clay alternatives for B2B outbound lead generation and sales outreach.
1. Apollo
Apollo combines data, personalization, and outreach execution in one platform, eliminating the need for separate tools required with Clay. You get contact databases, sequencing, and analytics under one roof – no need to pipe data to Instantly or Smartlead.
Native outreach functionality means you can build lists, write sequences, and launch campaigns without leaving the platform. The contact database includes direct dials and verified emails, with A/B testing built in to optimize your approach. For teams coming from traditional CRM workflows, the learning curve is manageable.
But data quality can be inconsistent, especially outside North America. The AI personalization lags behind newer platforms, and the heavy focus on volume metrics pushes you toward more sends rather than better conversations. You’ll still spend significant time on manual list building and research.
Pricing starts around $49 per user per month, with custom pricing for enterprise features.
Best for mid-market teams that want an all-in-one platform and don’t mind doing their own research and personalization.
2. ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo serves as a comprehensive Go-To-Market intelligence platform with 275M+ contacts, intent data, technographic insights, and built-in multi-channel outreach capabilities. The massive B2B database offers strong coverage of enterprise contacts, making it easier to find senior decision-makers at large companies.
Intent signals help identify companies actively researching solutions like yours. The platform includes conversation intelligence features that analyze customer interactions and provide actionable insights. Customer reviews praise the implementation for quality service and simplicity.
Custom enterprise pricing typically puts it out of reach for SMBs, often running $15,000 to $40,000+ annually. The steep learning curve and heavy platform can overwhelm smaller teams. You still need significant manual work to turn data into actual outreach, and the platform doesn’t write or personalize messages for you.
Best for enterprise and mid-market businesses with dedicated sales ops teams and budget to match.
3. Persana.ai
Persana.ai functions as a cost-effective Clay alternative with AI-powered prospect recommendations and hyper-personalized outreach capabilities at lower price points. The AI suggests prospects based on your ideal customer profile and previous wins, removing some of the manual prospecting work.
Automated personalization runs at scale, and setup is easier than Clay’s complex waterfall logic. The pricing makes it accessible to smaller teams looking for AI assistance.
The database is smaller than Apollo or ZoomInfo, and the feature set remains less mature overall. You still manage sequences and follow-ups manually. Limited proven case studies exist for manufacturing and industrial use cases.
Pricing starts around $49 per month.
Best for smaller B2B teams looking for AI assistance without enterprise complexity or cost.
4. Warmly
Warmly specializes in intent-driven outbound prospecting by engaging prospects showing real-time buying signals like website visits. The platform identifies anonymous website visitors and reveals company details, triggering outreach based on actual buyer behavior rather than cold assumptions.
Integration with your existing tech stack is straightforward, and the focus on warm prospects already showing interest can dramatically improve conversion rates. When someone visits your pricing page multiple times, Warmly helps you reach out at the moment of peak interest.
The platform only works if you have meaningful inbound traffic to your website. Limited outbound prospecting capabilities mean it’s not suitable for cold audiences or entering completely new markets where nobody knows you yet.
Custom pricing is based on website traffic volume.
Best for B2B companies with established web presence looking to convert existing traffic into pipeline.
5. Artisan
Artisan automates early and middle stages of outbound sales through AI business development representative “Ava” that finds leads, researches them, and builds multichannel sequences. Rather than positioning itself as a tool, Artisan acts as an AI BDR that handles research and personalization automatically.
Multichannel outreach spans email, LinkedIn, and calls. The platform is more autonomous than traditional sales tools, requiring less manual intervention for routine prospecting tasks.
The technology is still relatively new with limited track record in traditional industries. Personalization can feel generic and doesn’t always hit the mark. Like most AI outreach tools, it’s often optimized for volume over depth – sending more messages rather than better ones.
Contact for custom pricing.
Best for tech-forward teams willing to experiment with AI-first sales approaches.
6. Saleshandy
Saleshandy offers built-in B2B lead finder with 700M+ contacts and email deliverability optimization specifically designed for cold email outreach. The strong focus on email deliverability – SPF, DKIM, DMARC monitoring – helps keep your messages landing in inboxes rather than spam folders.
The affordable entry point makes cold outreach accessible to smaller teams. The interface is simple and straightforward, with unlimited email sending on higher plans.
Personalization capabilities remain basic. Limited research and enrichment features mean you’ll need additional tools for prospect intelligence. No native LinkedIn or multi-channel sequencing exists, and data quality can be inconsistent for European markets.
Pricing starts at $25 per month with a free trial available.
Best for small teams or solo founders focused purely on cold email who need strong deliverability at low cost.
7. Lusha
Lusha operates as an easy-to-use, cost-effective Clay alternative with AI-powered prospect recommendations for scaling prospecting efforts. The Chrome extension makes prospecting from LinkedIn simple and fast. Data accuracy for direct dials and emails is good, and implementation is quick with a user-friendly interface.
Reasonable pricing makes it accessible to small teams just getting started with outbound prospecting.
The platform is limited to data enrichment – it doesn’t handle outreach. You’ll need separate tools for sequences and follow-ups. The database is relatively small compared to ZoomInfo or Apollo, and no AI writing or personalization features exist.
Pricing starts around $29 per user per month.
Best for sales reps who need quick contact data while prospecting manually on LinkedIn.
8. Outreach
Outreach functions as an AI revenue workflow platform for enterprise revenue operations teams focused on sales forecasting and pipeline management. The enterprise-grade sales engagement platform offers deep CRM integrations and workflow automation.
AI-powered forecasting and deal insights help large teams predict revenue more accurately. The platform is proven at scale with large sales organizations that have complex needs.
Built for massive enterprise teams, it’s overkill for SMBs. Expensive and complex implementation requires dedicated sales ops support. The steep learning curve and high cost – typically $100+ per user per month – put it out of reach for most mid-market companies. You still need to handle manual prospecting and research.
Best for large B2B enterprises with 50+ sales reps and dedicated revenue operations teams.
9. Nimbler
Nimbler presents as a simpler, leaner alternative to Clay with AI capabilities for autonomous, hyper-personalized campaigns requiring less manual setup. The simpler setup removes Clay’s complex workflow builder, and AI-driven personalization runs at scale.
Lower barrier to entry makes it accessible to teams new to sales automation. Pricing is more affordable than enterprise platforms.
The smaller user base means less community support and fewer integrations compared to established platforms. As a newer platform, it has less proven track record. You still need to handle manual list building and strategy.
Contact for pricing information.
Best for mid-market teams looking for AI personalization without Clay’s complexity.
Why you might not need a tool at all in 2026
Here’s what we learned after testing 33 sales outreach tools: most are optimized for activity, not outcomes. They default to bigger lists, more cadence steps, and analytics focused on opens and send volume – not actual conversations or booked meetings.
The problem isn’t the tools themselves. It’s that you still need to build and research your lists, write and personalize sequences, monitor deliverability and sender reputation, manage follow-ups and hand-offs, and analyze what’s working. That’s a full-time job. Or several.
In 2026, the winning approach isn’t finding a better tool – it’s getting an AI employee that handles the entire outbound process from research to booked meetings. That means specialized agents for list building, enrichment, research, decision-maker identification, deliverability, and outreach writing – all working together with human supervision.
The difference? AI automation for B2B lead generation shifts your team from button-clickers to closers. Instead of spending 60% of your time on admin tasks and prospecting, you focus on the conversations that actually generate revenue.
Making the right choice for your team
If you’re committed to a DIY tool approach, choose based on four factors.
Your team size and budget determine what’s viable. Enterprise platforms like ZoomInfo and Outreach require significant investment and dedicated ops support. Smaller teams do better with Apollo, Saleshandy, or Persana.
Your primary channel matters. Focused on cold email? Saleshandy wins on deliverability and cost. Need multi-channel including LinkedIn? Apollo or Artisan make more sense.
Your market affects data quality. Selling in North America? Most tools work fine. Expanding to Europe or other regions? Data quality and multilingual outreach become critical considerations.
Your internal capacity is the deciding factor. Do you have someone who can build lists, write sequences, monitor deliverability, and optimize campaigns? If not, tools alone won’t solve your problem.
But if you’re looking to actually generate qualified pipeline without hiring more SDRs or drowning in software, consider whether you need a tool at all – or an AI-powered outreach service that handles the entire process from research to booked meetings.
See how Sera’s six AI agents replace both tools and specialists to deliver qualified meetings on autopilot.