My First Clay Table Experience: Credits Used and Optimization Tips

Fenna B. · 2025-11-27T06:12:55.487Z

Hi Everyone - super newb here! I created my first clay table - i enriched 53 companies, and added 2 extra claygent enrichments. I then looked for contacts based on that list. It returned 103 contacts. After adding emails for the contacts, I basically had burned through all 2000 credits. I definitely went wrong by using the default data providers to find emails and that could have been optimized. Is this a shared experience? Or did I just mess it up entirely 🤣

My First Clay Table Experience: Credits Used and Optimization Tips | Clay

12 comments

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Clay Support
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You're definitely not alone! This is super common for new users. Email enrichment can be credit-heavy, especially with default waterfall settings that try multiple providers.
Here's how to optimize next time:
Use conditional runs to only enrich qualified leads - set conditions in Run Settings so enrichments only trigger when criteria are met
Filter leads first by location, company size, or industry before enriching to avoid wasting credits on irrelevant contacts [1]
Disable auto-update on columns to prevent accidental re-runs
Test workflows on just 10 rows first before running at scale
Your workflow sounds normal for a first attempt - most people burn through credits learning the ropes!
Clay Support
APP
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Did that answer your question?
Clay Support
APP
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If you need any more help optimizing your credit usage or understanding enrichment settings, I’m here to assist. Would you like to share more about what you’re trying to achieve or any specific challenges you’re facing?
Fenna B.
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I did all of that! typically, how many companies + contacts should I be able to enrich with 2000 credits? I know its highly variable, but just want to build up a frame of reference
Clay Support
APP
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With 2000 credits, here's a rough frame of reference:
Email enrichment typically costs 2-5 credits per contact depending on the provider. [1] So you could enrich roughly 400-1000 contacts with emails alone.
Company enrichment varies widely based on data points - basic info might be 1-2 credits, while tech stack or revenue data could be more.
For your workflow (53 companies + 103 contacts + 2 Claygent enrichments), burning through 2000 credits is actually pretty normal, especially if you used multiple data providers or waterfall settings.
The credits calculator at clay.com/credits-calculator can help you estimate costs for specific data points. Running a small test batch first is always smart to gauge real costs before scaling up!
Clay Support
APP
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Is that what you were looking for?
Fenna B.
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the calculator helps a lot
Clay Support
APP
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Glad to hear the calculator is helpful. If you have any other questions or want to dive deeper into optimizing your workflows, just let me know.
Fenna B.
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how do I optimise for emails?
Clay Support
APP
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Here are the key ways to optimize email enrichment:
Use conditional runs - Set up "Only run if" conditions in Run Settings so email enrichment only triggers when specific criteria are met. For example, only find personal emails if work emails are blank. [1]
Filter leads first - Qualify contacts by location, company size, or industry before enriching to avoid wasting credits on irrelevant contacts. [2]
Test small batches - Always run on 10 rows first to check results and credit usage before scaling up. [3]
Use filtered views - You'll only be charged for rows in your current view, so filter to show only the contacts you want to enrich.
Leverage existing data - Use Lookup columns to pull email data from your CRM or other Clay tables instead of re-enriching. [4]
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Did that answer your question?
Clay Support
APP
·
·
If you still need help optimizing email enrichment or have other questions, I’m here to assist. Would you like to share more about the specific challenges you’re facing with your workflow?
❤️1

Clay Support
APP
·
·
You're definitely not alone! This is super common for new users. Email enrichment can be credit-heavy, especially with default waterfall settings that try multiple providers.
Here's how to optimize next time:
Use conditional runs to only enrich qualified leads - set conditions in Run Settings so enrichments only trigger when criteria are met
Filter leads first by location, company size, or industry before enriching to avoid wasting credits on irrelevant contacts [1]
Disable auto-update on columns to prevent accidental re-runs
Test workflows on just 10 rows first before running at scale
Your workflow sounds normal for a first attempt - most people burn through credits learning the ropes!
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Did that answer your question?
Clay Support
APP
·
·
If you need any more help optimizing your credit usage or understanding enrichment settings, I’m here to assist. Would you like to share more about what you’re trying to achieve or any specific challenges you’re facing?
Fenna B.
·
·
I did all of that! typically, how many companies + contacts should I be able to enrich with 2000 credits? I know its highly variable, but just want to build up a frame of reference
Clay Support
APP
·
·
With 2000 credits, here's a rough frame of reference:
Email enrichment typically costs 2-5 credits per contact depending on the provider. [1] So you could enrich roughly 400-1000 contacts with emails alone.
Company enrichment varies widely based on data points - basic info might be 1-2 credits, while tech stack or revenue data could be more.
For your workflow (53 companies + 103 contacts + 2 Claygent enrichments), burning through 2000 credits is actually pretty normal, especially if you used multiple data providers or waterfall settings.
The credits calculator at clay.com/credits-calculator can help you estimate costs for specific data points. Running a small test batch first is always smart to gauge real costs before scaling up!
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Is that what you were looking for?
Fenna B.
·
·
the calculator helps a lot
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Glad to hear the calculator is helpful. If you have any other questions or want to dive deeper into optimizing your workflows, just let me know.
Fenna B.
·
·
how do I optimise for emails?
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Here are the key ways to optimize email enrichment:
Use conditional runs - Set up "Only run if" conditions in Run Settings so email enrichment only triggers when specific criteria are met. For example, only find personal emails if work emails are blank. [1]
Filter leads first - Qualify contacts by location, company size, or industry before enriching to avoid wasting credits on irrelevant contacts. [2]
Test small batches - Always run on 10 rows first to check results and credit usage before scaling up. [3]
Use filtered views - You'll only be charged for rows in your current view, so filter to show only the contacts you want to enrich.
Leverage existing data - Use Lookup columns to pull email data from your CRM or other Clay tables instead of re-enriching. [4]
Clay Support
APP
·
·
Did that answer your question?
Clay Support
APP
·
·
If you still need help optimizing email enrichment or have other questions, I’m here to assist. Would you like to share more about the specific challenges you’re facing with your workflow?
❤️1