How long does switching from Clay actually take?

An evening for most accounts. The export from Clay is the slow step - the import side runs in minutes once the field mapping is settled. Larger teams (50+ seats with custom field schemas) sometimes split it across two sessions: import first, reorganise the next day.

Will I lose data when I switch?

Nothing structural. The CSV/JSON export from Clay preserves the data: records, fields, history, and attachments come over intact. What doesn't transfer is anything tied to Clay-specific UI metadata (custom views, saved searches, in-app annotations) - those don't sit in the export, they sit in the source product's UI. Plan an evening to rebuild your most-used views once you're in.

What about my existing Clay subscription?

Run both side-by-side until you're confident, then cancel Clay from their side. We don't lock you in - export from Contact Book is one click in account settings, same as import.

Is the import path free?

The import button is open on every plan, including the free tier - we don't paywall the way out of a competitor. The data going in still has to fit your plan's per-type quotas (the free-tier caps are listed on /sales); paid plans raise those caps. If you're moving a large set, check the caps first or write to /support and we can advise.

Can I get help with the switch?

Yes. Write to /support - both founders see those threads directly. Reply within a working day. For the field-mapping itself we typically resolve things in one or two exchanges; if your dataset is unusually large or Clay's export shape is unfamiliar, we'll say so up front.

Contact Book

Compare

Contact Book: the alternative to Clay

What moving from Clay to Contact Book actually looks like in 2026.

Switching

Personal CRM

Comparison

Julia YukovichCo-Founder + CEO

·February 5, 2026·

1 min read

Contact Book is what people use when Clay stops fitting. Below is the honest side-by-side - same product surface, different posture: hosted in Germany, no third-party trackers, one honest price - plus the migration mechanics that decide whether the switch lands in an evening or in a quarter.

At a glance

Clay is the design-forward, AI-rich personal CRM with deep social integrations - LinkedIn, Twitter, calendar all woven into the contact card. Contact Book is deliberately quieter: no social ingest, no auto-enrichment, no inbox reading. We host in Germany. Pick Clay if the AI ingest is the value; pick us if you want a tool that does not read your channels.

Switching

What moving from Clay actually looks like

The switch goes in three rough phases: export from Clay, import into Contact Book, and reorganise what came over. Most people allocate an evening for it. The export side is where the time goes - Clay hands you a CSV/JSON dump and the field mapping isn't always obvious; once that's resolved the import is a couple of minutes. We don't paywall the import path or pretend it's a pro-only feature, and you can run both side-by-side while you decide.

Contact Book vs Clay: feature comparison

	Ours Contact Book	Theirs Clay
Reads your social feeds
Reads your email + calendar
Auto-enrichment from web
Manual conversation log
Life events + reminders
Hosted in Germany
Free tier
Mobile UI quality

When to pick which

Pick Contact Book when

You don't want the tool reading your channels - even when the auto-enrichment would be useful.

Hosting in Germany matters; Clay is US-headquartered.

Pick Clay when

You'd genuinely use the LinkedIn / Twitter / inbox auto-enrichment.

Aesthetic + AI ingest are the value for you.

Step by step

Export from Clay

Find the export option in Clay's account settings. Most tools provide a CSV or JSON download. Save the dump locally - that's the source of truth for the next step.

Account settings → Export / Download data

Pick the broadest format the tool offers (usually JSON)

Map fields in Contact Book

Open the import tool in Contact Book. Clay's field names rarely match Contact Book' 1:1; the import flags any unmapped columns so you can pair them up before anything commits.

Account settings → Import

Resolve the mapping prompts the tool surfaces

Run the import

Run the import. Contact Book shows a preview of the first parsed rows in the import dialog so you can sanity-check the column mapping + a sample of records before anything commits. If you're nervous about a large dump, import a small subset first, verify it landed the way you expected, then run the full file.

Re-create your views, tags, saved searches

Clay-specific UI metadata (custom views, saved filters, in-app annotations) doesn't transfer with the data export. Spend an evening rebuilding the views you used most - usually a 30-minute job once you've done it once.

Cancel Clay when you're confident

Run both side-by-side for a couple of weeks if you want to be sure. When you're confident, cancel the Clay subscription from their side. Contact Book keeps your export option self-serve in account settings - no lock-in either direction.

Switching from Clay

The five questions we get most often before someone moves their data over.

Start with Contact Book

Free plan, no credit card. We host in Germany. Export + delete are self-serve.

Written by

Julia Yukovich

Co-Founder + CEO

Julia is one of the Co-Founders. She handles design, product direction, and most of the support replies that arrive in the morning.

julia.yukovich at aicuflow dot comLinkedIn