RUBINLAKE vs Clay
Clay is a workbench: you build tables, buy data from more than 150 providers and let AI agents do the research. RUBINLAKE is finished, with its own data for the DACH region. Find out which tool fits your task.
How do I build exactly the data process I need?
A table as a toolbox: data from more than 150 providers in a waterfall, AI agents for open web research, workflows, CRM and warehouse sync, sequences and ad audiences. The value appears once someone builds it.
Which companies in the DACH region fit, and whom do I contact there?
A finished application with its own data: 7M+ companies with register data and annual accounts, 47M+ person profiles, 82 signal types and the handover to your CRM. From €59 a month.
Facts as of September 19, 2026
Task check
What do you need to get done?
Pick your task. Clay is the more powerful tool and the cheaper entry. It assumes someone will build with it.
- Clay
- RUBINLAKE
- A draw
Better fit
RUBINLAKE
- Clay
- 35
- RUBINLAKE
- 95
The bars show how well a tool fits this one task. It is our assessment, not a measurement and not an overall score.
RUBINLAKE is the better choice here.
- Search, signals and contacts are set up
- 7 days free, with no setup
- Clay pays off once someone builds the table, often a role of its own in the team
One list, two routes
Build view and ready view
The same task: a list of fitting companies in the DACH region with the right people. On the left the route through a table you build, on the right the finished route. Sample data, schematic.
How do I build this list?
A typical table, schematic
Target list: robotics, Bavaria, 50 to 250 employees
- Table
- columns set up by hand
- Providers
- waterfall across 3 sources
- AI agent
- researches the web per row
- Usage
- actions and data credits
- Result
- your list, your logic
- Setup: hours to days, depending on ambition
- Next: into the CRM or a sequence
Where is the list, and whom do I contact?
Sales perspective · Structure & growth
New site in Leipzig announced, 60 jobs planned. Priority 82, three sources.
- Head of ProcurementEmail verified, mobile available1 credit
- Head of OperationsEmail verified1 credit
Schematic view with sample data. The table does not show any provider's interface. The same list can be reached in Clay as well; the route there is the difference.
Strengths
Where each tool is stronger
We start with Clay. It can do things we never will.
Where Clay is stronger
- Build everything yourselfTables, functions and workflows with your own logic, up to processes that exist nowhere else.
- More than 150 data providersA marketplace instead of a contract, queried in a waterfall: when the first source has nothing, the next one answers.
- AI research per rowAgents research the open web and answer questions that are in no database.
- CRM and warehouseTwo-way sync and bulk enrichment, for teams with their own data architecture.
- Connects to everythingSequencer, ad audiences, MCP, an API and a command line, for AI agents too.
Where RUBINLAKE is stronger
- Finished, not a toolkitSearch, signals, contacts and CRM handover are set up. Nobody has to build a table first.
- Our own data for DACH7M+ companies with register number, status and annual accounts, rather than bought-in sources.
- Signals from German news82 event types with priority and sources, in the sales or the supplier perspective.
- Costs that stay predictableOne plan price and credits per action, instead of two currencies that grow with usage.
- In German, with supportInterface, help and team in German, based in Frankfurt.
Every criterion
The comparison in detail
Clay facts from the provider's public pages, as of September 19, 2026. Shaded cells show which side has the edge.
- available
- partial
- not available
| Criterion | Clay | RUBINLAKE |
|---|---|---|
| Data | ||
| Own database | not availableNo data of its own; data is bought inSource | available7M+ companies and 47M+ person profiles in the DACH region |
| Data providers | availableMore than 150 providers in a waterfallSource | not availableNot provided |
| Commercial register | not availableNot describedSource | availableRegister number, status and annual accounts |
| Contact data | availableThrough the providers you buySource | availableVerified email 1 credit, mobile number 5 credits |
| Building and using | ||
| Custom workflows | availableTables, functions and automationsSource | not availableNot provided |
| AI research | availableAgents research the open web per rowSource | partialAssistant in the platform, without open web research per row |
| Usable straight away | partialThe value appears once someone builds the tableSource | availableSearch, signals and contacts are set up |
| Signals | ||
| Events | availableJob changes, news, web intent through providersSource | available82 event types with priority and sources |
| German-language sources | partialDepends on the provider you buySource | availableMostly German-language news |
| Procurement perspective | not availableNot providedSource | availableSupplier perspective |
| Hand over | ||
| CRM | availableTwo-way sync with the major systemsSource | availableHubSpot, Pipedrive and Zoho in one click |
| Data warehouse | availableSync with the warehouseSource | not availableNot available |
| MCP server | availableFor AI tools, plus an API and a command lineSource | not availableNot available |
| Terms | ||
| Prices | availablePublished, from $167 a monthSource | availablePublished, from €59 a month |
| Free | availableA free plan with 500 actions a monthSource | partial7-day trial with every feature |
| Seats | availableUnlimited on every planSource | partial1, 3 or 10 depending on the plan |
| Predictability | partialTwo usage units, actions and data creditsSource | availableA plan price and credits per action |
All information without guarantee. Prices exclude VAT. Clay bills in US dollars and in two usage units; RUBINLAKE bills in euros per plan. Report a mistake
Both together
RUBINLAKE as the source, Clay as the workbench.
Anyone building in Clay who takes the DACH region seriously needs a source with register data. It can be ours.
- RUBINLAKE1SourceCompanies, register data and signals from the DACH region.
- Clay2EnrichMore fields through the provider waterfall.
- Clay3OrchestrateWorkflows, scoring and handover to your systems.
- RUBINLAKE4Reach outVerified email and mobile number for the contact.
Pricing
Pricing compared: both published, different models
Clay bills in US dollars and in two usage units: actions for steps run and data credits for data bought. RUBINLAKE has a plan price in euros and credits per action. We put both models side by side without converting between them.
Clay
- Free
- $0
- 500 actions and 100 data credits a month, unlimited seats
- Launch
- from $167 a month
- 15,000 actions a month, phone numbers, signals, sequencer
- Growth
- from $446 a month
- 40,000 actions a month, CRM and warehouse sync, web intent
- Enterprise
- on request
- Single sign-on, role-based access, a dedicated contact
- Two units
- actions and data credits
- Actions for steps run, data credits for data bought; both can be increased in steps
- Trial
- 14 days
- On the paid plans, alongside a permanently free plan
The cost depends on how many steps run and which data is bought.
Source: www.clay.com · Facts as of September 19, 2026
RUBINLAKE
- Essential, 1 seat, 500 credits
- €59 / month
- Premium, 3 seats, 2,000 credits
- €199 / month
- Enterprise, 10 seats, 5,000 credits
- €449 / month
- Annual billing
- about 20% cheaper
- Credits come as an annual balance instead of monthly.
- Trial
- 7 days free
- No credit card, with 60 credits, 25 contacts and 10 companies.
Signals, register data and annual accounts are included in the plan. Per action: verified email 1 credit, mobile number 5 credits.
If someone on your team builds data processes and wants to combine many sources, Clay fits. If you need a finished database for the DACH region and want to start tomorrow, RUBINLAKE fits.
Transparency
We love transparency. That is why this page also says where others are better.
Competitive intelligence is what RUBINLAKE does every day for sales, procurement and recruiting teams. We hold ourselves to the same standard: public sources, a date and an honest verdict for every task.
Frequently asked questions about Clay and RUBINLAKE
For teams that want a finished solution, yes: RUBINLAKE provides company data from the register and annual accounts, signals and verified contacts for the DACH region, without anyone having to build anything. If you want to build your own data processes across many providers, Clay is the better fit.
Clay has a free plan with 500 actions a month, Launch from $167 and Growth from $446 a month, plus Enterprise on request. It is billed in two units: actions and data credits. RUBINLAKE costs €59 (Essential), €199 (Premium) or €449 (Enterprise) a month, less when paid yearly, and can be cancelled any month.
None of its own. Clay is a marketplace: you buy data from more than 150 providers, queried one after another until one returns the field. How good the data is depends on which providers you choose. RUBINLAKE works from its own database for the DACH region.
That depends on the providers you buy rather than on Clay itself. Register data and annual accounts from Germany, Austria and Switzerland are not described as a data source on Clay's public pages. RUBINLAKE has 7M+ companies in the DACH region with register number, status and annual accounts.
Yes. Anyone building in Clay who wants to cover the DACH region needs a source with register data and signals. Our API in the Enterprise plan brings that data into your own processes.
Not for simple lists, but for the full benefit, yes. Clay runs its own university, a community and a job board for the role that works with it. In many teams one person builds the tables for everyone. RUBINLAKE is built so that anyone in sales can start without training.
No, not at the moment. RUBINLAKE has an AI assistant in the platform and a public, documented API in the Enterprise plan. Clay additionally offers MCP, an API and a command line.
Finished, not a toolkit.
7 days free, with every feature and no credit card.