Starter
unlimited users, 7 active signals, Clearcue MCP (paid plan only, not on trial), CSV export, Slack notifications; no webhook, API, CRM sync or tracked accounts per pricing comparison table
No API
API review
Clearcue API review
AI-qualified buyer-intent signal engine (LinkedIn posts/engagement, jobs, news, competitor SDR activity) with a REST external API (Pro+), list webhooks (paid plans) and an OAuth MCP server. Best for pre-templated, AI-filtered high-intent signals such as Asking for Recommendations, Frustration Expression and Agency Search.
What a call costs
The actions you pay for, as Clearcue prices them.
| Action | Cost |
|---|---|
| Start tracking a company (idempotent) | counts against tracked-company limit (billing consequence) |
| Create and track companies from LinkedIn URLs (bulk) | counts against tracked-company limit |
Pricing, plan by plan
US dollars, as Clearcue's pricing page shows them on 25 Oct 2026. Monthly and annual billing are shown apart.
Free tier 14-day free trial, no credit card (live in-app sidebar '14 days left on Free trial' and register page 'Start your 14-day signal sprint', 2026-10-25; matches docs: 200 research credits, no CSV export, webhooks or CRM). On the live trial BOTH the External REST API ('API access is not enabled for your plan') and the Clearcue MCP ('requires an active paid plan') are locked. The marketing pricing page still says 7-day trial with unlimited leads; the live app wins.
Pro
25 active signals, company AI qualification, webhook, API access; no CRM sync or tracked accounts per pricing comparison table
API included
Scale
75 active signals, CRM integrations, API access (everything in Pro)
API included
Custom
Custom quote
unlimited active signals, 500+ tracked accounts, web research signals, warm intro paths, SSO, CRM sync, priority SLA, dedicated success manager
API included
Rate limits
Per billing account, one-minute window, shared across every API key issued under that account; raisable on request.
More on limitsLess
X-RateLimit-Limit/Remaining/Reset (Reset = Unix epoch seconds) on authenticated responses; 429 adds Retry-After; 401/403 carry no rate-limit headers. Numeric limit not published.
How to get an API key
Clearcue uses API key. The steps below follow Clearcue's own docs.
- Create a Clearcue account. API access starts on the Pro plan.
- Settings → Integrations → API (org-owned key, shown once, revocable). MCP key is created under Settings → Integrations → MCP and is NOT interchangeable with the REST key.
- Send it with every request: header
Authorization: Bearer ccapi_<keyId>.<secret>(REST); MCP uses OAuth 2.0 or a separateclc_key. - Make a first call: List companies with app filters. Keep the key in an environment variable, never in the command.
curl -X GET "https://api.tools.clearcue.ai/external-api/v1/companies" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLEARCUE_API_KEY"
Where the docs live
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Documentation | docs.clearcue.ai |
| API reference | api.tools.clearcue.ai/external-api/v1/openapi.json |
| OpenAPI spec | api.tools.clearcue.ai/external-api/v1/openapi.json |
| llms.txt | docs.clearcue.ai/llms.txt |
| Changelog | clearcue.ai/changelog |
| Base URL | https://api.tools.clearcue.ai/external-api/v1 |
| MCP server | https://api.tools.clearcue.ai/mcp |
Strengths and limits
Where it fits
- Pre-templated, AI-filtered high-intent signals such as Asking for Recommendations, Frustration Expression and Agency Search
- Pushing every person in a saved List to a CRM/sequencer/Clay via webhook as soon as they match
- Nightly incremental sync of signal evidence using the completeThrough watermark on insights endpoints
- Agent-driven exports and signal setup from Claude/ChatGPT via MCP
Where it falls short
- Raw contact data or bulk list building; it is a signal engine, not a database
- API use on Starter: API access is listed from Pro upward
- Teams needing many concurrent watches: active-signal caps are 7 (Starter), 25 (Pro), 75 (Scale, in-app only) (source:; app.clearcue.ai/plans 2026-10-25)
- Trying the API or MCP before paying: both are locked on the 14-day trial
Worth knowing
- Prices are in EUR, not USD
- Scale plan (EUR 549/mo, EUR 439/mo annual, 75 signals, CRM integrations, API access) is live in-app and in llms.txt but hidden from the marketing pricing page. llms.txt also lists audience caps (1/5/15) that neither the pricing page nor the app shows (app.clearcue.ai/plans 2026-10-25)
- Trial length conflicts: pricing page and llms.txt say 7 days unlimited leads; billing docs AND the live app say 14 days (200 research credits). Live app wins: 14 days. The trial has no REST API, no MCP, no CSV export, no webhooks
- REST key (ccapi_) and MCP key (clc_) are different. A clc_ key on REST returns 401 'Invalid API key', which looks like a bad key
- REST also needs the org's 'API access enabled' flag, otherwise 403
8 moreShow fewer
- Page-size param differs: pageSize on /companies and /people, limit (clamped 1-200) on insights (same file §3)
- Insights are events: upsert on id, never append; the same id returns with more sources[] over time (same file §2)
- POST /tracked-companies does not return usage, and whether a 409 is all-or-nothing is undocumented (same file)
- Active-signal cap (7 / 25) is the real constraint; creating a signal on a full org needs a pause first and MCP has no delete
- Qualification prompts must stay short (~60-150 words), use post content only, and follow ClearCue's 4-part format
- Webhooks sync only from saved Lists, so build the List filter first
- Webhook plan gate conflicts: docs say Starter or Pro; the pricing comparison table says Pro and up
- Tracked companies (account tracking) is not self-serve: billing page shows 'Tracking isn't enabled for your account yet. Request access'; pricing table gives tracked accounts only on Custom (500+)
Our take
We create ClearCue signals for client campaigns through its MCP server, inside the client's own ClearCue organization. When we created a custom post signal through the MCP, two fields did not store as sent: the display name took the description text and the category "events" was saved as "other", so we read every signal back after creating it. The live MCP export tools also cap at 10,000 records, while the public docs say 100,000.
Who should use it
- Use Clearcue for
- Pre-templated, AI-filtered high-intent signals such as Asking for Recommendations, Frustration Expression and Agency Search
- Look elsewhere for
- Raw contact data or bulk list building; it is a signal engine, not a database
If Clearcue is not the answer
Other Signals tools in this directory, each with its own review.
OpenFunnel
Signals
Free planOfficial MCP
Best for finding lookalike companies from 1-10 seed domains or a plain-English description, up to 100 sync / 10,000 async.
OpenFunnel API review
PredictLeads
Signals
Free planOfficial MCP
Best for account signals for trigger outreach.
PredictLeads API review
TheirStack
Signals
Free planOfficial MCP
Best for hiring signals.
TheirStack API reviewBefore you build
Four things to settle first, each read off Clearcue's own pages.
- Confirm the API is on your planAPI access starts on the Pro plan. Free tier: 14-day free trial, no credit card (live in-app sidebar '14 days left on Free trial' and register page 'Start your 14-day signal sprint'….
- Keep the key out of your codeAPI key. It is sent as: header
Authorization: Bearer ccapi_<keyId>.<secret>(REST); MCP uses OAuth 2.0 or a separateclc_key. - Design around the rate limitPer billing account, one-minute window, shared across every API key issued under that account; raisable on request.
- Know the catch before you scalePrices are in EUR, not USD
Want us to build it for you?
Tell us what you want Clearcue to do in your stack. We will show you how we would wire it into your data, outbound or CRM, and what we would check first.
Read from clearcue.ai/pricing, api.tools.clearcue.ai/external-api/v1/openapi.json and clearcue.ai/changelog. Verified 25 Oct 2026.
All 14 endpointsFor developers: method, path, what it does and what it costs.
| Method | Path | What it does | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| GET | /companies | List companies with app filters | Not stated |
| GET | /companies/{id} | Get one company | Not stated |
| GET | /people | List people with app filters | Not stated |
| GET | /people/{id} | Get one person | Not stated |
| GET | /companies/{id}/insights | Evidence behind a company (posts, comments, job listings) with completeThrough watermark | Not stated |
| GET | /people/{id}/insights | Evidence behind a person, with watermark | Not stated |
| POST | /companies/{id}/track | Start tracking a company (idempotent) | counts against tracked-company limit (billing consequence) |
| DELETE | /companies/{id}/track | Stop tracking a company (idempotent) | Not stated |
| POST | /tracked-companies | Create and track companies from LinkedIn URLs (bulk) | counts against tracked-company limit |
| GET | /usage | Signal and tracked-company usage | Not stated |
| GET | /signals | List signals and their sources | Not stated |
| GET | /filter-schema | Discover filter columns, operators, values | Not stated |
| GET | /industries | Industries the industry filter accepts | Not stated |
| GET | /openapi.json | Get the API's OpenAPI 3 document (requires the bearer key: unauthenticated fetch returned HTTP 401 on 2026-10-25) | Not stated |
No endpoint matches that filter.
