Why We Built Recue: A Clay Alternative That Uses Your Own API Keys
Clay is a genuinely great product. If you are doing B2B enrichment and GTM workflows, it is one of the best tools out there. We used it. We loved it. And then we looked at our bills.
Naveen Choudhary
Founder, recue
Quick Answer
Recue is a B2B data enrichment platform that connects to 29+ data providers using your own API keys, charges a flat monthly fee, and offers unlimited enrichments with no credit system. The first 100 users get a special lifetime deal. Sign up at recue.co/#beta.
The Problem With Clay's Pricing
Here is what our provider stack looked like before we built Recue:
| Provider | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Hunter.io | $49 |
| Apollo.io | $99 |
| Clearbit | $85 |
| People Data Labs | $199 |
| Total direct to providers | $432/month |
| Clay (on top) | + $349/month |
We were paying $781/month — $432 to data providers, then $349 to Clay to sit between us and those exact same APIs. We were paying for the same data twice.
And it gets worse. Clay's pricing is credit-based, which means every enrichment attempt burns credits — including the failed ones. Check three providers, find no email, and you still pay for all three lookups. Run out of credits mid-month? Top-ups cost 50% above your plan rate.
When Clay announced its biggest pricing overhaul in March 2026, collapsing six legacy plans into two tiers and introducing a new dual-credit system, we knew it was time to build something different.
The Real Cost of Scaling on Clay
At the Explorer plan ($349/month), you get 10,000 credits and a 400 records/hour API throttle. That caps your daily processing at around 3,200 records in an 8-hour workday. Want to remove that cap? Jump to Pro at $800/month — a 129% price increase just to unlock speed.
For teams running 10 to 30 enrichment steps per workflow, multiple times a day, the math stops making sense fast. Even Clay's BYOK feature, which lets you skip Data Credits, still charges Action credits for every platform operation it performs on your behalf.
What We Built: Recue
We built Recue to answer one question: what if a tool just used your own API keys and charged a flat fee?
No credit system. No double paying. No watching numbers drain as you iterate on a workflow.
How It Works
Bring Your Own Keys (BYOK)
Connect your existing API keys across 29+ providers. You pay those providers directly at their listed rates. Recue charges a flat monthly fee for the platform — nothing more.
Waterfall Logic Built In
Recue hits your providers in sequence until one returns a result. If Hunter misses, it tries Findymail. If that misses, it tries BetterContact. Maximum coverage, zero wasted credits.
AI Enrichment on Your Own Keys
The AI enrichment layer runs on your own OpenAI or Anthropic keys. No markup, no token overhead baked into a credit system.
Unlimited Enrichments
No credit ceilings. No row limits. Run 500 enrichments or 50,000. The cost does not change.
29+ Providers at Launch
All accessed via your own API keys. No platform markup.
Email Finding
- Hunter.io
- Dropcontact
- Findymail
- Snov.io
- Prospeo
- BetterContact
- FullEnrich
- ContactOut
Phone Numbers
- Lusha
- Cognism
- Kaspr
- Datagma
People & Profile Data
- People Data Labs
- Apollo.io
- ZoomInfo
- RocketReach
- Seamless.ai
- Proxycurl
Company & Firmographic Data
- Clearbit
- BuiltWith
- SimilarWeb
- Crunchbase
- PitchBook
- Harmonic.ai
- Sycari
Email Verification
- ZeroBounce
- NeverBounce
- MillionVerifier
GTM & Identity
- Lead Magic
- Ocean.io
Recue vs Clay: Head-to-Head
| Feature | Clay | Recue |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Credit-based, per enrichment | Flat monthly fee |
| BYOK support | Partial — still charges Actions | Full BYOK, no markup |
| Failed lookup charges | Yes — credits burned | No charges |
| Enrichment limits | Credit caps by plan | Unlimited |
| Waterfall enrichment | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI enrichment | Via Clay credits | Your OpenAI/Anthropic keys |
| Cost at scale | Grows with volume | Flat regardless of volume |
Who Recue Is For
Recue is built for teams that are already paying for multiple data providers and feel like they are getting charged twice.
Good fit
- ✓Already paying for Hunter, Apollo, Clearbit, etc.
- ✓Running high-volume outbound campaigns
- ✓Lead gen agency with multiple client workflows
- ✓Stopped yourself from testing to save credits
- ✓Want predictable monthly costs at any volume
Probably not (yet)
- –Just starting out with enrichment
- –Running small lists at low volume
- –Need full visual workflow builder today
- –Don't have existing provider subscriptions
Clay is genuinely great for teams just starting with enrichment. This is not an anti-Clay post. It is a post for teams who have outgrown the credit model.
Why Now
Clay's March 2026 pricing overhaul collapsed six legacy plans into two self-serve tiers and introduced a dual-credit system splitting enrichment data from platform actions. Existing customers had until April 10 to migrate.
That window triggered a wave of teams re-evaluating their stacks. We want Recue to be the answer for teams that need a simpler, more predictable cost model at scale.
Limited spots
Lifetime deal for the first 100 users
We are reviewing applications personally. If Clay's pricing has ever frustrated you, this is for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Recue free?+
Recue is not free but offers flat monthly pricing with no credit system. The first 100 users get a special early access deal locked in forever.
Do I need to cancel my data provider subscriptions?+
No. Recue uses your existing API keys. You keep paying your providers directly and Recue plugs into them.
What happens if an enrichment fails?+
Nothing. Failed lookups do not cost anything extra. The waterfall moves to the next provider automatically.
How is Recue different from Clay's BYOK feature?+
Clay's BYOK skips Data Credits but still charges Action credits for every platform operation. At scale, this still creates unpredictable costs. Recue charges a flat fee no matter how many enrichments you run.
Is Recue a full Clay replacement?+
For teams running high-volume enrichment with their own provider keys, yes. For teams that need Clay's full visual workflow builder and are fine with the credit model, Clay might still be the right tool.
Which providers does Recue support?+
29+ providers at launch including Hunter.io, Apollo.io, Clearbit, People Data Labs, Lusha, Cognism, ZoomInfo, Crunchbase, Prospeo, FullEnrich, Ocean.io, Sycari, and more.
Still building
Join the private beta
30 seconds to apply. We'll reply personally — not with a drip sequence.
First 100 users get a lifetime deal.