Harp vs Clay
Clay is a data and workflow platform many GTM engineers build on: 150+ data sources, AI research agents (Claygent), table-based workflows and, since September 2026, an email sequencer. It also ships an MCP server for coding agents. Harp starts from the other end: your AI agent is the operator, and Harp is the harness it runs the whole outbound loop through.
The short answer
Clay is where you get data and build enrichment workflows. Harp is where your agent runs outbound end to end: research that persists, sequences across email and LinkedIn, and replies answered within minutes. They are not either-or: an agent can connect Clay’s MCP server and Harp’s side by side.
Side by side
| Topic | Harp | Clay |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The MCP harness for pipeline generation: records, sequences, sending, reply handling and LinkedIn, driven by your agent | Data and workflow infrastructure: data sources, AI research agents, workflows, signals, audiences and an email sequencer |
| Lead data | Not sold; your agent finds accounts with the tools you already use, Clay included | A marketplace of 150+ data and AI providers with waterfall enrichment |
| Where the AI runs | Your own agent (Claude today) on your own plan; no AI credits | Claygent and AI columns on Clay credits, or on your own API keys, with each run counted as an action |
| Agent access | Built MCP-first: a short daily tool list and compact results for whole account lists | An official MCP server and plugin for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor: search, enrichment routines and table queries |
| Research memory | Qualification answers per account with evidence, source and age; history kept | Table columns you define and re-run |
| Email sending | Your Google Workspace mailbox, each send 2 to 6 minutes apart, timed to the recipient’s working hours | Clay Sequencer (Launch plan and up): your own Gmail or Outlook, or inboxes bought and warmed in Clay |
| Replies | The sequence stops; your agent is woken within minutes to answer and book the meeting. LinkedIn replies wait for your yes in Slack | The sequence stops on a reply; Claygents can draft replies that go to Slack for a rep to approve |
| Steps in the same sequence, run from your real Chrome on a Mac at the OS level with limits, warm-up and a right-person check | LinkedIn ad audiences; no LinkedIn outreach steps listed in the sequencer docs | |
| Pricing | Flat subscription after a short call; no AI credits | Public plans from free to enterprise, metered by actions and data credits |
Different starting points
Clay grew up as the place to assemble data: pull companies and people from many providers, enrich them in tables, score them and push them to other tools. Its sequencer, AI agents and MCP server extend that platform toward sending and agents.
Harp grew up as the place an agent does outbound. Your agent answers your qualification questions per account and saves the evidence, enrolls the right people, and Harp runs the sequence across email and LinkedIn and wakes the agent when someone replies. Data is something your agent brings in; the loop is what Harp holds.
Replies answered, not just drafted
Both stop a sequence when a prospect replies. In Clay, Claygents can draft a reply for a rep to approve in Slack. In Harp, your agent is woken within minutes during your working hours and answers the email itself: it handles the question, offers times and books the meeting on your calendar. LinkedIn replies are the exception: they wait for your yes in Slack.
LinkedIn in the same sequence
Harp puts LinkedIn steps next to email steps in one sequence. They run from your real Chrome on a Mac at the operating-system level: no extension, click navigation, daily limits, a four-week warm-up, and a check that it is on the right person’s profile before anything is sent. No tool can guarantee LinkedIn will never restrict an account; Harp keeps activity at human volumes and patterns.
Using both
Your agent can connect several MCP servers at once. A practical setup is Clay for search and enrichment, and Harp for the records, sequences, sending and replies. Harp has no built-in Clay integration; the agent moves what it finds into Harp with Harp’s own tools.
When Clay is the better choice
- Data is your bottleneck: you need many providers and waterfall enrichment at scale.
- You build table-based enrichment and scoring workflows across large lists.
- You want ad audiences on LinkedIn, Meta or Google from the same data.
- You want to start today on a public, self-serve plan.
When Harp is the better choice
- Your agent is the operator and should run research, enrollment and replies end to end.
- You want LinkedIn steps in the same sequence as email.
- You want replies answered within minutes, not drafted for approval.
- You want research saved with its evidence and no per-run metering for the agent’s work.
Questions
Can I use Clay and Harp together?
Yes. An agent such as Claude Code can connect Clay’s MCP server and Harp’s at the same time: Clay for search and enrichment, Harp for records, sequences, sending and replies. Harp has no built-in Clay integration.
Does Clay send email now?
Yes. Clay’s email sequencer has been generally available since September 2026 on its Launch plan and up, from your own Gmail or Outlook or from inboxes bought in Clay.
Does Harp enrich data?
Harp does not sell data or run enrichment providers. Your agent researches accounts with the tools you use and saves the answers, with evidence, in Harp.
See Harp on your own outbound
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