Best Clay Agencies: 9 Clay Experts Compared (2026)

The best Clay agencies in 2026 are AY Automate for teams that want Clay wired into a full outbound and CRM system, The Kiln and Go Nimbly for Clay-native data architecture, Growth Engine X for high-volume outbound, and RevPartners for HubSpot shops. The right pick depends on whether you need a Clay table built once, or someone to run the whole pipeline around it.

Clay is the enrichment and research layer of most modern outbound stacks. It pulls from dozens of data providers, runs AI research agents on every row, and pushes the result into your CRM or sequencer. Building a table is easy. Building one that stays accurate, stays inside a credit budget, and feeds reps something they actually send is the hard part, and that is why Clay agencies exist.

This guide compares 9 Clay agencies and Clay experts on what they build, their tier in Clay's own partner directory, their published pricing floors, and who each one fits. Every tier and price below was checked on clay.com/experts or the agency's own site on October 21, 2026.

Disclosure: AY Automate wrote this guide and ranks itself first. The reason is scope: we set up Clay and build the automation around it (sequencer, CRM sync, routing, monitoring) in one team. AY Automate is not listed in Clay's partner directory. If you specifically want a Clay-tiered partner, or a team that only does Clay, one of the agencies ranked 2 to 8 will fit better, and we say which below.

Best Clay agencies: a brief overview

• AY Automate: Best overall Clay agency for automation-first teams: Clay enrichment plus the Instantly, HeyReach, CRM and n8n automation around it, built and run by one team.
• The Kiln: Best for a Clay-native data system, built by a team of former Clay employees.
• Growth Engine X: Best for high-volume cold email that runs on Clay, done for you.
• RevPartners: Best for HubSpot companies that want Clay wired into the CRM, at a published fixed price.
• Go Nimbly: Best for enterprise Clay rollouts with governance, training, and change management.
• FullFunnel: Best for mid-market teams that want an Elite Studio partner with a one-month minimum.
• SalesCaptain: Best for SMB done-for-you outbound across email and LinkedIn.
• fuelgtm.io: Best budget pick: one hands-on Clay and Salesforce or HubSpot engineer.
• Sculpted: Best for a fixed-scope, four-week CRM cleanup and enrichment sprint.

Clay's partner directory groups firms into four tiers: Elite Studio, Studio, Advanced Artisan and Artisan. Clay does not publish the criteria behind each tier, so treat the tier as one signal, not a quality score. The directory listed 189 partners when we checked.

1. AY Automate, best overall Clay agency for automation-first teams

AY Automate is an AI automation agency that treats Clay as one layer of an outbound system rather than the whole job. We build the Clay tables (ICP filters, waterfall enrichment, AI research columns, scoring), then wire everything downstream: verified contacts into Instantly or HeyReach sequences, replies and meetings back into your CRM, and n8n jobs that keep the data clean. Our own outbound runs on Instantly, HeyReach, Attio, Unipile and n8n, so the system we hand over is the kind we operate every day.

The Clay agency service is built for teams whose bottleneck is everything around the table: who owns the sending domains, what happens when a lead replies, and how enrichment stays inside a credit budget. A typical build is a signal-based outbound workflow: a buying signal triggers Clay enrichment and verification, the signal becomes the first line of the email, and the reply is logged in the CRM.

Main features

• Clay table design: ICP filters, waterfall enrichment, AI research columns, lead scoring
• Downstream wiring into Instantly, HeyReach, HubSpot, Salesforce or Attio
• n8n automations for routing, deduplication and Slack alerts
• Human approval before messages send, per-day caps and suppression lists, as described in our GTM automation workflow
• Option to place an embedded GTM engineer on your team instead of a project

Best for

• Teams that want one owner for Clay, the sequencer and the CRM sync
• Companies that tried Clay in-house and stalled on the parts after the table
• Revenue operations leads who want documented systems they can run after handover

Pricing

• Scoped Clay and outbound builds: custom quote after a discovery call
• Embedded GTM engineer placement from $60,000/year, with a 90-day replacement guarantee

Pros

• Clay, sending infrastructure and CRM handled by one team, so nothing breaks at the handoff between vendors
• Automation depth beyond Clay (n8n, AI agents, CRM hygiene jobs)
• Choice between a scoped project and an embedded engineer

Cons

• Not listed in Clay's partner directory. Buyers who require a Clay-tiered partner should shortlist The Kiln, Go Nimbly or another Elite Studio firm
• Not the cheapest route if you only need a single enrichment table built

If you want the full scope of what we build on Clay, the Clay agency page lays out the process and deliverables.

2. The Kiln, best for a Clay-native data system

The Kiln is a Clay agency staffed by former Clay employees. They build Clay implementations from the ground up: waterfall enrichment tables, total addressable market (TAM) mapping, AI-written outbound sourced from Clay tables, and inbound lead enrichment and scoring. They also normalize and enrich CRM records.

The Kiln holds Elite Studio status in Clay's directory and keeps its client list small on purpose. Its homepage announces that it has been acquired by 2X, so ask how the acquisition changes team and pricing before you sign. If your priority is the cleanest possible Clay architecture from people who know the product from the inside, this is the strongest specialist pick.

Main features

• Clay implementation and table architecture
• TAM mapping and waterfall enrichment
• AI-written outbound from Clay data
• Inbound enrichment and lead scoring

Best for

• Funded teams that want Clay set up correctly by Clay specialists
• RevOps teams planning to run Clay in-house after the build

Pricing

• $10k+ per month, 3-month minimum (Clay directory profile)

Pros

• Deep product knowledge from a former Clay team
• Elite Studio tier in Clay's directory

Cons

• The $10k+ monthly floor rules out most small teams
• Limited client capacity, so expect a waitlist or a selective intake
• Recently acquired by 2X, so confirm current terms directly

3. Growth Engine X, best for high-volume outbound on Clay

Growth Engine X, founded by Eric Nowoslawski, is a done-for-you cold email agency that runs its list building and validation on Clay. Clients get the campaigns and keep the Clay tables behind them. The agency states it sends more than 8 million emails a month and generated 62,000+ positive responses in 2025.

Its Clay profile says it works with B2B companies whose customer lifetime value is above $5,000. Note that growthenginex.com redirects to coldoutbound.com.

Main features

• Done-for-you cold email at high volume
• Clay list building with Claygent validation
• Client keeps the Clay tables
• Free test campaign for qualifying businesses

Best for

• B2B companies with LTV above $5,000 that want outbound fully run for them
• Teams testing whether cold email works for their market before hiring

Pricing

• Custom quote; 3-month minimum (Clay directory profile)

Pros

• Elite Studio tier and a public, measurable sending scale
• Free test campaign lowers the risk of the first engagement

Cons

• Focused on cold email, not CRM architecture or RevOps
• The LTV threshold excludes lower-ticket businesses

4. RevPartners, best for HubSpot plus Clay

RevPartners is a RevOps firm that sells Clay implementation as a HubSpot-connected GTM engine. The work covers CRM enrichment and standardization, signal-triggered outbound, and scoring models and prospecting dashboards inside HubSpot. The firm states it holds Elite status with both Clay and HubSpot.

It is also one of the few Clay agencies with a published price: a $25,000 one-time Clay implementation with a 90-day launch, including the HubSpot integration and five playbooks. If you are a HubSpot shop, read our guide to the best HubSpot agencies too.

Main features

• HubSpot and Clay integration
• CRM enrichment and field standardization
• Signal-triggered outbound
• Scoring models and prospecting dashboards in HubSpot

Best for

• HubSpot companies that want enriched, scored records inside the CRM
• Buyers who need a fixed price before procurement signs off

Pricing

• Clay implementation: $25,000 one-time, 90-day launch
• RevOps-as-a-Service: $9,850 to $27,000 per month plus a $5,000 onboarding fee (revpartners.io/pricing)

Pros

• Transparent published pricing
• Elite Studio tier in Clay's directory

Cons

• Built around HubSpot, so Salesforce teams get less out of it
• $25,000 up front is a large first commitment

5. Go Nimbly, best for enterprise Clay rollouts

Go Nimbly runs enterprise Clay programs: architecture and integration, governance, credit-cost optimization, and phased rollouts with change management. Use cases include CRM hygiene, territory planning and intent orchestration. Engagements end with documentation, training and 30 days of hypercare.

Its engagement tiers run from about three months (Foundations) to six months and longer (Enterprise). That pace suits companies where Clay touches several departments and needs rules about who can spend credits and change tables.

Main features

• Enterprise Clay architecture and integrations
• Governance and credit-cost optimization
• Phased rollouts with change management
• Training and 30-day hypercare

Best for

• Enterprise RevOps teams rolling Clay out across regions or business units
• Companies that need training built into delivery

Pricing

• $10k+ per month, 3-month minimum (Clay directory profile)

Pros

• Governance and enablement are part of the scope, not extras
• Elite Studio tier in Clay's directory

Cons

• Enterprise pace and price
• Not a done-for-you outbound shop

6. FullFunnel, best for an Elite partner on a short commitment

FullFunnel builds what it calls a Clay Data Engine (Enterprise or Pro tiers), administers Clay for clients, runs managed GTM teams, and ships pre-built agents for stalled-lead reactivation, referral intelligence and CRM enrichment. The firm states it has served 1,000+ B2B organizations since 2013.

Its Clay profile lists a $5k+ monthly floor and a one-month minimum, the lowest commitment among the Elite Studio firms we checked.

Main features

• Clay Data Engine build
• Ongoing Clay administration
• Managed GTM teams
• Pre-built reactivation and enrichment agents

Best for

• Mid-market teams that want an Elite Studio partner without a quarter-long lock-in

Pricing

• $5k+ per month, 1-month minimum (Clay directory profile)

Pros

• Shortest minimum among Elite Studio firms checked
• Broad GTM services if you need more than Clay

Cons

• Clay is one service line in a broad agency, so ask who on the team works on your tables

7. SalesCaptain, best for SMB email and LinkedIn outbound

SalesCaptain runs Clay-powered outbound across cold email and LinkedIn: list building, personalization, CRM enrichment into HubSpot or Salesforce, and Clay and AI tool enablement for sales teams. Its Clay profile lists a one-month minimum and "any budget."

Its website calls the firm a Clay Enterprise Partner. Clay's own directory lists it as Advanced Artisan, so rely on the directory when comparing tiers.

Main features

• Done-for-you email and LinkedIn outbound
• Clay list building and personalization
• CRM enrichment into HubSpot or Salesforce

Best for

• SMB and mid-market teams that want multichannel outbound with a short commitment

Pricing

• Custom quote; 1-month minimum (Clay directory profile)

Pros

• Low commitment and flexible budgets
• Covers email and LinkedIn in one engagement

Cons

• Partner claims on its site differ from Clay's directory listing
• Outbound-led, with less depth in enterprise data architecture

8. fuelgtm.io, best budget Clay and CRM engineer

fuelgtm.io is the consultancy of Esteban Lopez Betancourt, a Salesforce-certified admin and platform developer. He builds Clay enrichment and account research, syncs it to HubSpot or Salesforce, and adds n8n and AI automations for CRM hygiene and orchestration.

The profile carries Advanced Artisan status and a First-100 Solutions Partner badge, with a 5.0 rating from 7 reviews on the directory, the most reviews we saw among the partners we checked.

Main features

• Clay enrichment and account research
• Salesforce and HubSpot sync
• n8n and AI automations for CRM hygiene

Best for

• Startups that want a hands-on Clay engineer rather than an agency team

Pricing

• $5k+ per month, 1-month minimum (Clay directory profile)

Pros

• Direct access to the person doing the work
• Salesforce certifications plus Clay depth

Cons

• A solo practice, so capacity and coverage are limited
• Does not run outbound campaigns for you

9. Sculpted, best for a fixed CRM enrichment sprint

Sculpted sells a fixed-scope, four-week CRM Clean-up Sprint: an ICP audit, CRM cleanup, custom enrichment logic, and scored, tiered accounts. Everything is built inside your own Clay account and documented in Notion and Loom, with optional two-week add-on sprints. It works with HubSpot and Salesforce.

The site says its founder was among the first 100 Clay Experts. We could not find a Sculpted profile in Clay's directory when we checked.

Main features

• Four-week fixed-scope sprint
• ICP audit and CRM cleanup
• Enrichment built in your own Clay workspace
• Notion and Loom documentation

Best for

• Teams with a messy CRM that want one defined project, not a retainer

Pricing

• Fixed price, shared after the project plan

Pros

• Clear scope and timeline
• You own the workspace and the documentation

Cons

• A sprint, not an ongoing outbound team
• Directory tier could not be verified

How we ranked these Clay agencies

We started from Clay's own Solutions Partner directory and the agencies that rank for "Clay agency" searches, then checked each firm's site and directory profile on October 21, 2026. We ranked on four things: how much of the outbound system each firm covers beyond the Clay table, how clearly it fits a specific buyer, pricing transparency, and verifiable standing (directory tier or published results). We placed AY Automate first because of system coverage. On directory standing it scores lower than the Elite Studio firms, which is why we list it as a con.

How to choose the best Clay agency

1) Do you need a Clay table, or an outbound system?

A Clay table produces enriched rows. An outbound system decides what happens to those rows: which sequence they enter, which inbox sends, what happens on reply, and how the CRM stays accurate. Many teams buy the first and discover they needed the second.

• If you need the table and plan to run the rest in-house: The Kiln, Go Nimbly or Sculpted
• If you need the table plus sending, replies and CRM sync: AY Automate, Growth Engine X or SalesCaptain

2) Which CRM sits at the end of the pipe?

Enrichment only pays off when it lands in the CRM your reps use, with fields mapped and duplicates handled.

• HubSpot: RevPartners is built for it, and AY Automate wires both HubSpot and Salesforce. See also our Salesforce consulting firms guide
• Salesforce: fuelgtm.io brings Salesforce certifications; AY Automate and Sculpted also cover it
• Attio: AY Automate runs Attio internally

3) Who owns the sending infrastructure?

Domains, inboxes and warm-up decide whether your Clay-researched emails land at all. Agree up front who buys the domains, who owns the inboxes, and what happens to them if the engagement ends. Our guide to the best cold email agencies compares firms on exactly this point.

• If you want to own everything: pick an agency that builds in your accounts (AY Automate, Sculpted, fuelgtm.io)
• If you are fine with the agency operating the sending: Growth Engine X or SalesCaptain

4) What is the real budget, including Clay credits?

Agency fees are only part of the cost. Clay credits, data providers, sending tools and inboxes add up. Ask every agency for an estimate of monthly credit use at your volume before you sign.

• Under $5k a month in agency fees: fuelgtm.io, SalesCaptain, or a fixed Sculpted sprint
• $5k to $10k+: FullFunnel, The Kiln, Go Nimbly
• Fixed project price: RevPartners ($25,000) or a scoped AY Automate build

If you want Clay, the sequencer, the CRM sync and the automations around them built by one team, AY Automate can scope it on a call. Start with our Clay agency service, or compare the wider field in our GTM engineering agencies guide.

FAQ

What is a Clay agency? A Clay agency is a firm that builds and runs workflows on Clay, the data enrichment and research platform used for outbound sales. Typical work includes building enrichment tables, writing AI research prompts, scoring leads, and pushing the results into a CRM or a sequencer such as Instantly. Some Clay agencies also run the outbound campaigns themselves.

What is the difference between a Clay partner and a Clay expert? Clay lists approved firms in its Solutions Partner directory at clay.com/experts, grouped into Elite Studio, Studio, Advanced Artisan and Artisan tiers. "Clay expert" is a looser term people search for, and it covers both listed partners and independent consultants. Check the directory yourself, because some agency sites describe a higher tier than the directory shows.

How much does a Clay agency cost? Published floors on Clay's directory range from about $5,000 a month (FullFunnel, fuelgtm.io) to $10,000+ a month (The Kiln, Go Nimbly), and RevPartners lists a $25,000 one-time implementation. Clay credits and data providers are billed on top. Fixed-scope sprints are usually cheaper than retainers.

Do I need a Clay agency or a GTM engineer? An agency fits when you want a system built and handed over, or run for you. A GTM engineer fits when you will keep changing the system every week and want that skill in-house. Our explainer on what a GTM engineer does covers the role, and the GTM engineer at Clay piece shows what the job looks like day to day.

Can a Clay agency run my cold email too? Some can. Growth Engine X and SalesCaptain run outbound campaigns on top of Clay, and AY Automate builds and runs the Instantly and HeyReach side. Pure architecture firms such as The Kiln and Go Nimbly usually hand the data to your team or another sending partner.

How long does a Clay implementation take? A focused enrichment and cleanup project can take four weeks, as in Sculpted's fixed sprint. Full implementations with CRM integration usually take about 90 days, which matches RevPartners' published launch window and the three-month minimums on several Elite Studio profiles.

Is Clay worth it for small teams? Clay is worth it when you have a defined ICP and enough volume to justify credits and setup time. Very small teams often get more from a simple list plus good copy. If you are unsure, start with a short sprint or a one-month engagement before committing to a quarter.