Strategies for Importing Over 25,000 Contacts from Clay

Muhammad S. · 2025-12-11T11:30:24.783Z

What is the best way to import more than 25000 people. On my plan there is a limit of 25k import when finding people data from clay And my results my SOM is 100k people

Strategies for Importing Over 25,000 Contacts from Clay | Clay

11 comments

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Clay Support
APP
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For importing 100k people beyond your 25k search limit, you have two main options:
Split your searches: Break your 100k target into multiple searches of 25k each, then import into separate tables.
Upgrade to Enterprise: This unlocks Bulk Enrichment, which lets you import and enrich millions of records in a single workflow without the 25k search limit. [1] Enterprise also includes Passthrough Tables to handle unlimited rows. [2]
The splitting approach works with your current plan, while Enterprise gives you the most scalable solution for large datasets.
Clay Support
APP
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Is that what you were looking for?
Muhammad S.
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But if i split search And add the first 25k in exclude list in second search it right? But it has max exclusion list capacity of 3 source
Clay Support
APP
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Yes, that approach works! You can exclude the first 25k people in your second search using the exclusion feature. [1]
The 3-source limit means you can use up to 3 different exclusion sources (tables, CSVs, or manual lists) per search, but you can exclude up to 300,000 people total (100,000 per source).
So you'd just need one exclusion source containing your first 25k results for the second search.
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Is that what you were looking for?
Muhammad S.
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But let say my total imports go beyond 4 table for eg total SOM is 130k people The then on the 5 extraction i had to exclude those previous 4 tables (25k*4) but there is a limit to exclude 3 source/table/list
Clay Support
APP
·
·
You're right—the 3-source exclusion limit becomes a bottleneck for larger datasets like 130k people.
For this scale, Bulk Enrichment (Enterprise plan) is your best solution. It processes millions of records without the 25k search limit or exclusion constraints, handling everything in a single workflow. [1] [2]
Alternative workaround: Combine your 4 tables into a single CSV, then use that as one exclusion source for your 5th search. This keeps you within the 3-source limit while excluding all 100k previous results.
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Did that answer your question?
Muhammad S.
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Yeah let me think of something For now i ll make 4 searches lol
Clay Support
APP
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Take your time with those searches. If you run into any issues or have more questions, just let me know—I'm here to help.
👍1
Clay Support
APP
·
·
If you need any more help with your searches or managing exclusions, please feel free to ask. Would you like to share more about what you're trying to achieve or any challenges you’re facing?

Clay Support
APP
·
·
For importing 100k people beyond your 25k search limit, you have two main options:
Split your searches: Break your 100k target into multiple searches of 25k each, then import into separate tables.
Upgrade to Enterprise: This unlocks Bulk Enrichment, which lets you import and enrich millions of records in a single workflow without the 25k search limit. [1] Enterprise also includes Passthrough Tables to handle unlimited rows. [2]
The splitting approach works with your current plan, while Enterprise gives you the most scalable solution for large datasets.
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Is that what you were looking for?
Muhammad S.
·
·
But if i split search And add the first 25k in exclude list in second search it right? But it has max exclusion list capacity of 3 source
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Yes, that approach works! You can exclude the first 25k people in your second search using the exclusion feature. [1]
The 3-source limit means you can use up to 3 different exclusion sources (tables, CSVs, or manual lists) per search, but you can exclude up to 300,000 people total (100,000 per source).
So you'd just need one exclusion source containing your first 25k results for the second search.
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Is that what you were looking for?
Muhammad S.
·
·
But let say my total imports go beyond 4 table for eg total SOM is 130k people The then on the 5 extraction i had to exclude those previous 4 tables (25k*4) but there is a limit to exclude 3 source/table/list
Clay Support
APP
·
·
You're right—the 3-source exclusion limit becomes a bottleneck for larger datasets like 130k people.
For this scale, Bulk Enrichment (Enterprise plan) is your best solution. It processes millions of records without the 25k search limit or exclusion constraints, handling everything in a single workflow. [1] [2]
Alternative workaround: Combine your 4 tables into a single CSV, then use that as one exclusion source for your 5th search. This keeps you within the 3-source limit while excluding all 100k previous results.
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Did that answer your question?
Muhammad S.
·
·
Yeah let me think of something For now i ll make 4 searches lol
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Take your time with those searches. If you run into any issues or have more questions, just let me know—I'm here to help.
👍1
Clay Support
APP
·
·
If you need any more help with your searches or managing exclusions, please feel free to ask. Would you like to share more about what you're trying to achieve or any challenges you’re facing?