Comparison
Apify ScrapingBee
Side-by-side: pricing, features, integrations. Pick the one that fits.
Specs · 5 differences
| Spec | Apify | ScrapingBee |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Custom | $19/mo |
| Free tier | ||
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Pricing tiers | — | 8 |
| Best for | Individuals and teams needing efficient web scraping solutions. | Best for developers, founders, and teams needing web data at scale. |
| Integrations | — | — |
| Open source | ||
| Last verified | — | — |
Apify
Pros
- Access to over 70,000 ready-made Actors
- Flexible pricing model based on results
- No card required for the Free plan
Cons
- Limited features for the Free plan
- Additional costs for compute usage
- Reliance on being online for scraping
ScrapingBee
Pros
- Easy to integrate
- 1,000 free scraper API credits
- No credit card required
Cons
- Complex pricing tiers may confuse users
- High cost for larger scales
- Limited features for lower plans
Verdict
Pick Apify if individuals and teams needing efficient web scraping solutions.
Pick ScrapingBee if best for developers, founders, and teams needing web data at scale.
Bottom line
Both Apify and ScrapingBee are cloud-based data extraction tools built to feed web data into analytics, e-commerce monitoring, and AI/RAG pipelines. Both platforms support dynamic JavaScript rendering via headless browsers, handle anti-blocking measures, and offer solutions for scraping high-traffic targets like Amazon.
Apify wins with its extensive marketplace of over 70,000 pre-built "Actors," allowing users to immediately extract data from specific platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit, YouTube, and Google Maps without writing custom scraping logic. It functions as a complete serverless automation environment where jobs can be executed and billed per result or compute unit, making it superior for turnkey data collection across popular platforms.
ScrapingBee wins as a streamlined developer API focused on proxy orchestration and automated anti-bot bypass. It reduces infrastructure management by handling residential proxy rotation, stealth browsing, and headless Chrome rendering behind a single API call, while offering built-in AI extraction capabilities that allow developers to pull structured JSON or Markdown directly from web pages using natural-language queries.
Pick Apify if you need pre-built scrapers for major social media and mapping platforms without building them yourself, pick ScrapingBee if you need a developer API that handles proxy rotation and anti-bot bypass with direct AI extraction.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Apify or ScrapingBee?
- ScrapingBee starts at $19/mo; Apify uses custom pricing.
- Does Apify have a free tier?
- Yes — Apify offers a free tier.
- Does ScrapingBee have a free tier?
- Yes — ScrapingBee offers a free tier.
- When should I pick Apify over ScrapingBee?
- Pick Apify if your use case matches: individuals and teams needing efficient web scraping solutions..
- When should I pick ScrapingBee over Apify?
- Pick ScrapingBee if your use case matches: best for developers, founders, and teams needing web data at scale..
Related comparisons
Want a deeper dive? Apify profile · ScrapingBee profile