---
title: "Apify vs ScrapingBee: Which is Better in 2026? | App Stack Builder"
description: "Apify vs ScrapingBee 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-scrapingbee
retrieved: 2026-09-11
---

Web Scraping & Data Extraction

# Apify vs ScrapingBee: Which is Better in 2026?

Choosing between [Apify](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/apify) and [ScrapingBee](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/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

|                | Apify                                            | ScrapingBee                                 |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------- |
| Category       | Web Scraping & Data Extraction                   | Web Scraping & Data Extraction              |
| Pricing        | Free · paid from $19/mo                          | From $19/mo                                 |
| Starting price | Free tier available                              | From $19/mo                                 |
| Free tier      | ✓                                                | —                                           |
| Rating         | 4.5                                              | 4.5                                         |
| Best for       | Web Scraping & Data Extraction — actors, crawlee | Web Scraping & Data Extraction — api, proxy |

## 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

S

[ScrapingBee](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/scrapingbee)

* ✓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 ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/apify)

### Choose ScrapingBee if…

* ✓Simplest API in the category
* ✓Proxy rotation and CAPTCHAs included
* ✓Predictable credit pricing
[ScrapingBee review & pricing ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/scrapingbee)

## 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](https://appstackbuilder.com/categories/web-scraping).

## Still not sure which to pick?

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[Build my stack free ](https://appstackbuilder.com/)