Designing 20–40% faster with AI. Why teams choose Humbleteam over Clay
Clay is a branding and UX agency headquartered in San Francisco, with an in-house content studio. We are a 49-person product design team that now designs apps and websites 20–40% faster with AI and installs AI agents in client teams.
Facts about Clay from their own site · October 7, 2026
How each company describes itself
Clay
Clay calls itself “a global branding and UX design agency” that blends AI, design, and technology for leading brands. Its services cover branding, digital products, websites, development, content production, and generative AI.
The about page lists 78 global team members, 16 years in business, and 529 projects completed, with a San Francisco headquarters and offices in New York, Austin, Denver, Lisbon, and Belgrade. Its fintech page names clients including STC Bank, Discover, Marqeta, and Tipalti. The site says its co-founders lead each project team.
Humbleteam
AI changed our delivery speed first. Our team now designs apps and web projects 20–40% faster thanks to AI skills, and the record shows it: a tested banking MVP for ING Amsterdam in 5 days and a first clickable prototype 2 weeks after a signed brief on average.
We sell that capability too: AI agents installed inside your design team, running in your accounts, with human review before anything ships. Around it sit 56 fintechs shipped, 30+ major banks, a 27-app sports benchmark, and 49 people in Prague and Dubai working since 2017.
Three reasons teams pick us over Clay
Faster delivery, deeper verticals, and a team you can book directly.
AI makes our delivery 20–40% faster
Our designers now ship apps and web projects 20–40% faster with AI skills. That speed shows in the record: a B2B banking MVP for ING tested in 5 days, and the first clickable prototype 2 weeks after a signed brief on average. We reply to enquiries within 24 hours, and work can start next week.
Deeper in fintech, sport, and health
Clay’s fintech page shows a strong client list. Our depth runs further into the regulated screens: 56 fintechs shipped, 30+ major banks, and KYC, limit, and dispute flows across those products. In sport, we rerun a benchmark of 27 sports apps every four weeks, and we studied 30+ healthtech platforms for our healthtech UX research.
Senior designers with 9 years each
Each senior designer brings 9 years of experience on average, and the people you meet first are the people who design. We’ve won 80+ design awards since 2017, 14 of them from Awwwards. Clients rate us 4.9 on Clutch across 35 reviews, the words that recur are speed, flexibility, and structure, and 70% come back for a second project.
Humbleteam vs Clay, side by side
Every Clay fact here is from their own site. Where they publish nothing, the row says so.
| Compared on | Humbleteam | Clay |
|---|---|---|
| Time to a tested prototype | 5 days from zero to a tested B2B banking MVP with ING Amsterdam | Not published on their site |
| Brief to first clickable prototype | 2 weeks on average | Not published on their site |
| How fast you can start | A reply within 24 hours; a project can start next week | Not published on their site |
| AI in delivery | Design work 20–40% faster with AI skills, plus AI agents installed in your team with human review | “We use AI to work smarter and build better products,” plus generative AI as a service |
| Fintech and regulated depth | 56 fintechs shipped, 30+ major banks, and 5 YC-backed fintechs with our designers in house | A fintech page naming clients such as STC Bank, Discover, Marqeta, and Tipalti; no count published |
| Sport depth | A benchmark of 27 sports apps, rerun every four weeks | Sport is not among the industries listed on their site |
| Client reviews | 4.9 on Clutch across 35 reviews; speed, flexibility, and structure recur | Client quotes on their about page; no review rating published |
When Clay is the better call
Two briefs where Clay is the stronger hire.
You want content produced in house
Clay runs an in-house content studio for illustration, 2D and 3D graphics, animation, photo and video, and copywriting. For a launch that needs all of that from one vendor, their setup fits.
Your team wants US offices nearby
Clay is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York, Austin, and Denver. If stakeholders want the agency in the room during US hours, those offices are an advantage.
What we bring to the table
Speed, depth, and reviews you can check.
20–40%
faster design delivery
thanks to AI skills across the team
56
fintechs shipped
plus 30+ major banks
4.9
Clutch rating
across 35 client reviews
Work you can check
A bank brand, a regulated health device, and the AI service.
Put us on the shortlist.
Send your product and the decision you are trying to make. We reply with the cases closest to it, a timeline and an estimate — and we will say so if the other option is the better fit.
Questions?
Is Humbleteam a good alternative to Clay?
Yes, for teams that want product design delivered faster and deeper in regulated categories. We design apps and websites 20–40% faster with AI, took a banking MVP to a tested product in 5 days, and have shipped 56 fintechs. Clay is a branding and UX agency with 78 team members and a San Francisco headquarters. We are 49 people with a 4.9 Clutch rating.
Humbleteam or Clay: who delivers faster?
Humbleteam, on the figures each company publishes. Our ING banking MVP was tested 5 days after we started, and an average brief turns into a clickable prototype within 2 weeks. Logitech’s desk-booking app, website, and design system went live in 4 weeks. Clay’s site does not publish delivery times, so ask for a comparable timeline on the first call.
How does each company use AI?
We use AI in two ways: our team designs apps and web projects 20–40% faster with AI skills, and we install AI agents inside your design team for handoff, resizing, asset production, design QA, and design-to-code drafts. A human reviews every output. Clay describes AI as a way it works and offers generative AI as a service on its site.
How big is each team, and who does the work?
Humbleteam is 49 people in Prague and Dubai, and the senior designers on your first call, averaging 9 years of experience, carry the project. Clay’s about page lists 78 global team members across six offices, with project teams led by its co-founders. Prague and Dubai together give you European and Gulf hours.
How much does each cost, and how soon can we start?
Clay and Humbleteam both quote per project instead of from a price list. Our options are a fixed-price audit, scoped implementation, or a monthly retainer, priced on the first call. We answer within a day, and the project can open next week. Clay’s site does not publish prices or start dates, so get both numbers from each team before you choose.
Other comparisons
Same structure, same sourcing rules, one page per shortlist we keep meeting.
What we checked, and when
Everything stated about Clay on this page comes from their own public pages, read onOctober 7, 2026. We describe what they are strong at, not what they are bad at. If something here is out of date or wrong, write to hi@humbleteam.com and we will fix the page.
- clay.global — home, about, industries and fintech · read October 7, 2026
- clay.global — about page (team size and offices) · read October 7, 2026
Last updated
