Web Scraping & Data Extraction

Apify vs ScrapingBee: Which is Better in 2026?

Choosing between Apify and ScrapingBee? 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

Apify is the safer pick if budget matters — it has a free tier, while ScrapingBee does not. Choose ScrapingBee when its specific features justify the cost.

Apify vs ScrapingBee — Side by Side

ApifyScrapingBee
CategoryWeb Scraping & Data ExtractionWeb Scraping & Data Extraction
PricingFree · paid from $19/moFrom $19/mo
Starting priceFree tier availableFrom $19/mo
Free tier
Rating4.54.5
Best forWeb Scraping & Data Extraction — actors, crawleeWeb Scraping & Data Extraction — api, proxy

Pros & Cons

  • 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
  • Simplest API in the category
  • Proxy rotation and CAPTCHAs included
  • Predictable credit pricing
  • Good docs and client libraries
  • No self-hosted option
  • JS rendering costs 5x credits
  • No prebuilt scrapers to borrow

Key Features Compared

Apify

  • 64 GB RAM per Actor
  • 32 concurrent runs
  • Chat support

ScrapingBee

  • 75,000 API credits
  • 25 concurrent requests

Choose Apify if…

  • You want to start free — Apify has a free tier and ScrapingBee does not.
  • Thousands of prebuilt, maintained scrapers
  • You can deploy your own code too
  • Crawlee is free and open source
Apify review & pricing

Choose ScrapingBee if…

  • Simplest API in the category
  • Proxy rotation and CAPTCHAs included
  • Predictable credit pricing
ScrapingBee review & pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Apify better than ScrapingBee?

Apify is the safer pick if budget matters — it has a free tier, while ScrapingBee does not. Choose ScrapingBee when its specific features justify the cost.

What is the difference between Apify and ScrapingBee?

Apify — Marketplace and runtime for 'Actors' — thousands of prebuilt scrapers you can rent, plus a platform to deploy your own. ScrapingBee — Scraping API that handles headless browsers, proxy rotation and CAPTCHAs behind a single HTTP endpoint. Both are web scraping & data extraction tools; the comparison table above breaks down pricing, free tiers, and what each is best for.

Apify vs ScrapingBee: which is cheaper?

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

Which is rated higher, Apify or ScrapingBee?

In our catalog, Apify rates 4.5 out of 5 and ScrapingBee rates 4.5 out of 5 — they are evenly matched.

See more options in our guide to the best web scraping & data extraction tools for startups.

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