RUBINLAKE vs Clay
RUBINLAKE is ready to use, with its own data for the DACH region. Clay is a workbench: you build tables, buy data from more than 150 providers and let AI agents do the research. Find out which tool fits your task.
Facts as of September 19, 2026
answers
Which companies in the DACH region fit, and whom do I contact there?
How do I build exactly the data process I need?
register depth
knowing to acting
Scores from the market map, 0–10
See the market mapTask check
What do you need to get done?
Pick your task. RUBINLAKE's strengths are listed first. Clay is the more powerful tool and the cheaper entry. It assumes someone will build with it.
- RUBINLAKE
- Clay
- A draw
Better fit
RUBINLAKERUBINLAKE 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
fit for this task, 0–100
The bars show how well a tool fits this one task. It is our assessment, not a measurement and not an overall score.
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 finished route, on the right the route through a table you build. Sample data, schematic.
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
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
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
Our strengths first. Clay can do things we never will.
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.
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.
Every criterion
The comparison in detail
Clay facts from the provider's public pages, as of September 19, 2026. The side ahead on a criterion is marked “edge”.
- available
- partial
- not available
| RUBINLAKE | Clay |
|---|---|
| Data | |
| Own database | |
| available· edge7M+ companies and 47M+ person profiles in the DACH region | not availableNo data of its own; data is bought in Source |
| Commercial register | |
| available· edgeRegister number, status and annual accounts | not availableNot described Source |
| Data providers | |
| not availableNot provided | available· edgeMore than 150 providers in a waterfall Source |
| Contact data | |
| availableVerified email 1 credit, mobile number 5 credits | availableThrough the providers you buy Source |
| Building and using | |
| Usable straight away | |
| available· edgeSearch, signals and contacts are set up | partialThe value appears once someone builds the table Source |
| Custom workflows | |
| not availableNot provided | available· edgeTables, functions and automations Source |
| AI research | |
| partialAssistant in the platform, without open web research per row | available· edgeAgents research the open web per row Source |
| Signals | |
| German-language sources | |
| available· edgeMostly German-language news | partialDepends on the provider you buy Source |
| Procurement perspective | |
| available· edgeSupplier perspective | not availableNot provided Source |
| Events | |
| available82 event types with priority and sources | availableJob changes, news, web intent through providers Source |
| Hand over | |
| CRM | |
| availableHubSpot, Pipedrive and Zoho in one click | available· edgeTwo-way sync with the major systems Source |
| Data warehouse | |
| not availableNot available | available· edgeSync with the warehouse Source |
| MCP server | |
| not availableNot available | available· edgeFor AI tools, plus an API and a command line Source |
| Terms | |
| Predictability | |
| available· edgeA plan price and credits per action | partialTwo usage units, actions and data credits Source |
| Free | |
| partial7-day trial with every feature | available· edgeA free plan with 500 actions a month Source |
| Seats | |
| partial1, 3 or 10 depending on the plan | available· edgeUnlimited on every plan Source |
| Prices | |
| availablePublished, from €59 a month | availablePublished, from $167 a month Source |
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.
01RUBINLAKE
SourceCompanies, register data and signals from the DACH region.02Clay
EnrichMore fields through the provider waterfall.03Clay
OrchestrateWorkflows, scoring and handover to your systems.04RUBINLAKE
Reach outVerified email and mobile number for the contact.
Pricing
Pricing compared: both published, different models
RUBINLAKE has a plan price in euros and credits per action. Clay bills in US dollars and in two usage units: actions for steps run and data credits for data bought. We put both models side by side without converting between them.
RUBINLAKE
- Essential
- €59 / month
- 1 seat, 500 credits per month
- Premium
- €199 / month
- 3 seats, 2,000 credits per month
- Enterprise
- €449 / month
- 10 seats, 5,000 credits per 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.
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
If you need a finished database for the DACH region and want to start tomorrow, RUBINLAKE fits. If someone on your team builds data processes and wants to combine many sources, Clay 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.
- Up and running in two minutes
- Development & hosting in Germany
What it costs
From €59 a month, cancel monthly, no extra charges. The trial ends on its own.
Compare pricingData sources
Over 1 million sources, processed in Frankfurt am Main in line with the GDPR.
Our securityMore comparisons
11 providers compared side by side, with method and sources.
See overview