Waterfall Enrichment Billing for Phone Numbers Explained

Gabriel K. · 2026-01-09T13:14:47.952Z

Hey Clay team 👋 Quick question about waterfall enrichment billing for phone numbers. When using multiple vendors in a waterfall, do we get charged only for the vendor that successfully returns a phone number, or can credits also be used/charged for vendors that are attempted but don’t return data? Just want to make sure we fully understand how credit usage works across different providers. Thanks a lot! 🙏

Waterfall Enrichment Billing for Phone Numbers Explained | Clay

Clay Support
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You get charged based on what the provider charges us. If a provider charges us for an API call (even if they don't return valid data), we charge you credits for that call. [1]
However, if the provider refunds us because they couldn't deliver valid data, we'll refund those credits back to you. [2]
In waterfalls, once a provider finds valid data, Clay stops there and doesn't check other providers - this saves credits. [3] But if no data is found, credits are refunded and Clay moves to the next provider. [4]
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Gabriel K.
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Partially, when charged for the API call, will this be the same amount as the enrichment credit amount or will this be lower, if so where can we find this info. we want to make sure we setup our waterfall as efficient as possible.
Clay Support
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The credit amount you're charged matches exactly what each provider costs. For example, IntelliSense costs 1 credit, PitchBook costs 3 credits, and Clearbit costs 8 credits per enrichment. [1] [2]
You can see the exact credit cost for each provider when setting up your waterfall - it's displayed right next to each provider's name in the enrichment panel. This helps you arrange providers from lowest to highest cost for maximum efficiency.
The Clay-managed accounts use our pre-negotiated rates, so the credit amounts shown are what you'll actually pay. [3]
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Iveta
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Hi! In my experience when I run ChatGPT as API, then it is much cheaper than using Clay's ChatGPT. I believe with others are the same.
Clay Support
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You're absolutely right! Using your own API keys is much cheaper than our managed accounts.
When you connect your own OpenAI API key, you can cut costs by up to 90%, and 90% of Clay users actually do this. [1] You won't be charged any Clay credits when using your own API keys - you just pay OpenAI directly at their rates. [2]
Same applies to other providers like Anthropic, Apollo, Findymail, etc. - connecting your own keys saves credits and gives you direct pricing. [3] You just need to be on a paid plan to add your own API keys.
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Gabriel K.
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Yeah for the ones where we do actually have an API key we use it, but we currently run phone number enrichment, the costs we can indeed see in the panel, we just want to make sure for which ones we get creditet and which ones we dont when there isnt a found number, so we know if we can add more venders and in which order
Clay Support
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You get charged credits when a provider charges us for the API call, even if no phone number is found. [1] However, if the provider refunds us because they couldn't deliver valid data, we refund those credits back to you.
In waterfalls, once a provider finds valid data, Clay stops there and doesn't check other providers. [2] But if no data is found, credits are refunded and Clay moves to the next provider.
For optimal waterfall setup, arrange providers from lowest to highest cost - you can see exact credit costs next to each provider's name in the enrichment panel. [3]
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Gabriel K.
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which providers charge for API calls?
Clay Support
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The general rule is that you get charged credits when a provider charges us for the API call, even if no phone number is found. [1] However, if the provider refunds us because they couldn't deliver valid data, we refund those credits back to you.
The specific providers that charge for API calls versus those that don't isn't detailed in our documentation. Each provider has different billing models - some charge per attempt, others only charge for successful results.
Which specific phone number providers are you considering for your waterfall so I can help you understand their billing structure?
Gabriel K.
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we currently have: Zeliq Forager Prospeo LeadMagic Wiza Datagma ContactOut People Data Labs ZoomInfo (Via API) BetterContact, we use it in the order given
Clay Support
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Based on your current waterfall, here are the credit costs for the providers I can see in our data:
Forager: 10 credits
Wiza: 7 credits
Datagma: 25 credits
ContactOut: 15 credits
BetterContact: 30 credits [1] [2]
For billing, you're charged when providers charge us for API calls, even without results. But if they refund us for invalid data, we refund your credits too. [3]
Your current order isn't optimized by cost - consider reordering to: Wiza (7) → Forager (10) → ContactOut (15) → Datagma (25) → BetterContact (30) for maximum efficiency.
I don't have specific billing info for Zeliq, Prospeo, LeadMagic, People Data Labs, or ZoomInfo in our current data.

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