[ Platform comparisons ]

Web Scraper alternatives

Tools that solve the same problem in different ways: desktop builders, browser extensions, request APIs and proxy networks. Each comparison covers setup, cloud automation, integrations, proxies and what a run costs at volume.

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Reviewed October 2026

What we compare against

Web Scraper Cloud, Scale plan

$200 per month

$2,000 per year billed annually, $167 per month.

Capacity
Unlimited URL credits
Concurrency
Starts at 2 concurrent scrapers, scales with no set ceiling; a single job can use up to 5
Proxies
US, GB, and DE datacenter proxies included
Cost per 1,000 URLs no JS, DC proxies
From $0.03
Cost per 1,000 URLs JS, DC proxies
From $0.05
Cost per 1,000 URLs JS, Residential proxies
From $0.681
[ By category ]

Start with the kind of tool you are weighing up

Tools in the same group compete on the same terms, so the useful comparison usually sits inside one of these four.

No-code platforms

Configured in a desktop app or hosted console rather than in code.

Desktop app Octoparse Desktop task builder with preset templates for common websites. Compare Desktop app ParseHub Desktop app that runs projects on the vendor's cloud. Compare Cloud robots Browse AI Robots built by AI from a URL or trained by recording. Compare Hosted extractors Import.io Hosted extractors with change reports between runs. Compare

Browser extensions

Extraction runs in the browser you already have open.

AI extension Thunderbit AI extension that reads a page and suggests fields. Compare Extension and cloud Simplescraper Browser recipes that can also run in the cloud. Compare Recipe extension Data Miner Community recipes applied to the page you are on. Compare Free extension Instant Data Scraper Free extension that detects the main table and exports it. Compare

APIs and developer platforms

Called from your own code, billed by request, credit or compute.

Actor platform Apify Marketplace of Actors you run or write yourself. Compare Markdown for AI pipelines Firecrawl Converts pages to markdown for AI pipelines. Compare Credit-based API ScraperAPI One endpoint that returns the page, proxies handled. Compare HTML and browser API ScrapingBee Request API with an optional headless browser. Compare Billed per result ZenRows Request API with cloud browsers for Puppeteer and Playwright. Compare Priced by target difficulty Zyte Per-request API priced by how hard the target is. Compare

Proxy networks

Proxy bandwidth sold first, with scraper APIs and datasets alongside.

Proxies and datasets Bright Data Proxy network, plus scrapers and ready-made datasets. Compare Proxies and scraper APIs Oxylabs Proxy network with dedicated SERP and e-commerce endpoints. Compare
[ Plan and cost index ]

Every tool at its top self-service plan

Each row shows the highest plan that vendor prices publicly, and what scraping a thousand URLs costs on it in three cases: plain HTML on datacenter proxies, a JavaScript-rendered page on datacenter proxies, and a rendered page on residential proxies. Where a vendor bills in credits, rows, records, or compute, the figure is converted using its published rates. Tools that always render JavaScript show the same figure without it.

Web Scraper Scale compared with other web scraping tools, reviewed October 2026
TOOL CATEGORY PLAN COMPARED MONTHLY PRICE COST PER 1,000 URLs
NO JS, DC PROXIES JS, DC PROXIES JS, RESIDENTIAL PROXIES
Web Scraper Extension and Cloud Scale $200 From $0.03 From $0.05 From $0.681
Octoparse No-code platform Professional $299 No published URL rate No published URL rate No published URL rate; residential adds $0.751
ParseHub No-code platform Professional $599 From $0.12 From $0.12 No residential proxies
Browse AI No-code platform Professional (30K credits) $399 $13.30 $13.30 $26.60 to $133
Import.io No-code platform Advanced $899 $1.80 $1.80 $1.80
Thunderbit Browser extension Pro (20K credits) $249 $12.45 at one row per URL $12.45 at one row per URL No residential proxies published
Simplescraper Browser extension Scale (200K credits) $410 $4.10 $4.10 No published residential rate
Data Miner Browser extension Business Plus $200 Runs locally Runs locally Runs locally
Instant Data Scraper Browser extension Free extension $0 Runs locally Runs locally Runs locally
Apify Developer platform Business $999 About $0.10 $0.26 to $2.60 $2.01 to $4.351
Firecrawl Scraping API Scale $749 $0.75 $0.75 $0.75 with enhanced proxies
ScraperAPI Scraping API Advanced $1,975 $0.09 $0.92 $2.30
ScrapingBee Scraping API Business+ $599 $0.075 $0.37 $1.87
ZenRows Scraping API Scale S3 $999 $0.08 $0.40 $2.00
Zyte Scraping API Standard with commitment $500 $0.06 $0.48 $7.68
Bright Data Proxy network Web Scraper API Scale $499 $1.30 $1.30 $1.30
Oxylabs Proxy network Web Scraper API Business $999 $0.75 $1.00 $1.00

1 Proxy traffic is sold separately, so the price is calculated based on a 250 KB page size.

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[ Note ]

This comparison reflects publicly available information and our understanding of the products as of October 2026. Features, pricing, and other details may change over time, so we recommend verifying current information directly with each provider before making a decision. All product names, trademarks, logos, and brands belong to their respective owners and are referenced solely for identification and comparison purposes. No affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement is implied.