---
title: "Apify vs Firecrawl: Which is Better in 2026? | App Stack Builder"
description: "Apify vs Firecrawl compared for 2026 — pricing, free tiers, features, pros & cons. See which web scraping & data extraction tool is the better fit for your startup."
source: https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/apify-vs-firecrawl
retrieved: 2026-09-11
---

Web Scraping & Data Extraction

# Apify vs Firecrawl: Which is Better in 2026?

Choosing between [Apify](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/apify) and [Firecrawl](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/firecrawl)? Both are popular web scraping & data extraction tools. Below we compare them on pricing, free tiers, features, and pros & cons so you can pick the right fit for your stack.

Quick verdict

Both Apify and Firecrawl are strong web scraping & data extraction choices. The right pick comes down to your specific feature needs, existing stack, and team preferences. In our catalog, Firecrawl rates slightly higher (4.7 vs 4.5 out of 5).

## Apify vs Firecrawl — Side by Side

|                | Apify                                            | Firecrawl                                     |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------- |
| Category       | Web Scraping & Data Extraction                   | Web Scraping & Data Extraction                |
| Pricing        | Free · paid from $19/mo                          | Free · paid from $19/mo                       |
| Starting price | Free tier available                              | Free tier available                           |
| Free tier      | ✓                                                | ✓                                             |
| Rating         | 4.5                                              | 4.7                                           |
| Best for       | Web Scraping & Data Extraction — actors, crawlee | Web Scraping & Data Extraction — crawler, llm |

## Pros & Cons

A

[Apify](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/apify)

* ✓Thousands of prebuilt, maintained scrapers
* ✓You can deploy your own code too
* ✓Crawlee is free and open source
* ✓Compute-unit pricing scales down as well as up
* ✗Prepaid credit model is easy to overspend
* ✗Actor quality varies by author
* ✗Compute units are hard to estimate up front

F

[Firecrawl](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/firecrawl)

* ✓Markdown output is genuinely LLM-ready
* ✓Open source and self-hostable (AGPL)
* ✓Handles JS rendering and proxies for you
* ✓Cheap entry tier
* ✗Credits burn fast on JS-heavy sites
* ✗Self-hosting means running your own proxy pool
* ✗Crawl depth limits on lower tiers

## Key Features Compared

### Apify

* ✓64 GB RAM per Actor
* ✓32 concurrent runs
* ✓Chat support

### Firecrawl

* ✓5,000 credits / month
* ✓5 concurrent requests
* ✓Pay-as-you-go top-ups

### Choose Apify if…

* ✓You want a free tier to validate before paying.
* ✓Thousands of prebuilt, maintained scrapers
* ✓You can deploy your own code too
* ✓Crawlee is free and open source
[Apify review & pricing ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/apify)

### Choose Firecrawl if…

* ✓You want a free tier to validate before paying.
* ✓Markdown output is genuinely LLM-ready
* ✓Open source and self-hostable (AGPL)
* ✓Handles JS rendering and proxies for you
[Firecrawl review & pricing ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/firecrawl)

## Frequently Asked Questions

Is Apify better than Firecrawl?⌄

Both Apify and Firecrawl are strong web scraping & data extraction choices. The right pick comes down to your specific feature needs, existing stack, and team preferences. In our catalog, Firecrawl rates slightly higher (4.7 vs 4.5 out of 5).

What is the difference between Apify and Firecrawl?⌄

Apify — Marketplace and runtime for 'Actors' — thousands of prebuilt scrapers you can rent, plus a platform to deploy your own. Firecrawl — Turns any site into LLM-ready markdown with one API call — crawl, scrape, search and extract, with JS rendering and proxies handled for you. Both are web scraping & data extraction tools; the comparison table above breaks down pricing, free tiers, and what each is best for.

Apify vs Firecrawl: which is cheaper?⌄

Apify pricing: Free · paid from $19/mo. Firecrawl pricing: Free · paid from $19/mo. Confirm current pricing on each tool's official site, as plans change.

Which is rated higher, Apify or Firecrawl?⌄

In our catalog, Apify rates 4.5 out of 5 and Firecrawl rates 4.7 out of 5, so Firecrawl has a slight edge on reviews.

See more options in our guide to the [best web scraping & data extraction tools for startups](https://appstackbuilder.com/categories/web-scraping).

## Still not sure which to pick?

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