The users’ search for deals to have an alternative and competitor to Apify to make sure you can compare and choose as you extract data from the Internet? You have come to the right place, as we will discuss some alternatives to Apify for web scraping.
The demand for web scraping solutions has skyrocketed due to the ever-increasing interest in data pulled from the Internet. There have also been several web scraping solutions on the market trying to outdo one another in terms of features – and marketing – making it difficult for new users to make the right choice unless they are guided. If not, they will end up with the most hyped and marketed product. Web scraping solutions provided by Apify are popular on the market.
You have come to the right place if you are looking for alternatives or competitors to Apify’s web scraping solution. Its website has a page discussing some of its competitors, but after reading it, we can tell you it is written from a competitor’s point of view and does not capture details you would be interested in. Therefore, we have written this article to provide you with information from a neutral perspective. Here is a quick overview of Apify and why you will need an alternative before we get into the discussion.
Apify
Apify is a web scraping and automation platform that offers a variety of Apify prices. This includes a free plan, pay-per-use plans, and custom enterprise plans. The pay-per-use plans are based on the number of web scraping and automation tasks you run, and the amount of data you scrape and store. The free plan offers limited access to the platform, while the paid plans offer more advanced features and increased storage capacity.
Some of their pricing plans also include advanced features like parallel processing, custom domains, and dedicated IPs. It’s also worth to mention that there are additional costs when using specific third party services, such as running web scraping actors from cloud providers. Apify platform was developed to make data extraction and web automation as simple as possible. It is an open-source platform with one of the most popular web scraping solutions among programmers, especially those who know how to scrape data.
In addition to an already-made web scraper, this tool also provides an open-source SDK that you can use to develop your customized tools - or you can get a certified developer to do it for you if you are not skilled.
Platforms like the platform offer proxy services that integrate well with their web scraping solution and other web scrapers. Most users do not have any complaints about this product, and from our experience, Apify ranks high among web scraping products.
This is, in short, if you search for deals, a very powerful solution to help you scrape web pages for data!
How to Find the Best Deals Online For Alternatives and Competitors to Gain Apify Best Deal in the Market
This section covers for you on how to find best deals with different web scraping solutions. Many web scraping solutions are available if you are looking for an alternative or a competitor to Apify. The majority of them are similar or even better than some of them. Many web scraping solutions will work for you, but each has its own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to scraping web data, so you should make your use decision based on that.
1-Crawlbase
Compared to other tools, Crawlbase is in a different league as it is the best alternative developed to extract data from all kinds of websites found on the web to display it in various formats. Its modern design and ability to efficiently handle multiple JavaScript-heavy websites are ideal for the modern web. One thing you will like about this web scraper is that it is designed for people who do not know how to code - yes, you do not have to write a single line of code to use it, even though it is versatile.
Because of this, it has become quite popular among those interested in scraping who do not possess coding skills. Searching a page with Crawlbase automatically recognizes similar elements based on what you click on. Even though it is not a free tool, you will be granted a 14-day free trial period if you sign up for it. You can get started with just a few clicks.
2-Brightdata
One of the best web scraping solutions is Data Collector, which allows you to extract data from popular websites. Several alternatives exist for those without coding or technical skills, including Apify. Using this tool is quick and easy because it is quick and easy to use.
As a web-based application, the tool can be accessed from any computer. It supports a variety of websites, including social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and e-commerce websites such as Amazon, Walmart, AliExpress, and eBay. Web scrapers, also known as collectors, are used on each website the company supports.
Booking and Tripadvisor, as well as other travel and hotel booking websites, are also supported. This tool has several advantages compared to Apify, which is sometimes difficult to understand and use.
3-PhantomBuster
PhantomBuster is considered one of Apify’s closest competitors as it provides a similar service to PhantomBuster. As with Apify, this tool automates and scrapes web content, which can also be used for web automation. It is worth noting that Apify calls its web scrapers Actors, while PhantomBuster calls their scrapers Phantoms. Until PhantomBuster’s browser extension (Chrome to Firefox) is installed, you will not be able to use the Phantoms unless you have installed the PhantomBuster browser extension.
Despite this, it is a cloud-based service that provides several advantages. The list of websites that this web scraping solution supports is one thing you will like about this web scraping solution. Like Data Collector, this solution has many phantoms for each site it supports, just like that tool. The Phantombuster web application currently supports a dozen popular websites, including social media, commerce, yellow pages, and discussion forums, all of which are part of the social network. It is possible to use this tool without being a programmer.
4-ScrapingBee
It remains one of Apify best deal and strongest competitors regarding web scraping solutions. With ScrapingBee, you don’t have to install the SDK to use the tool. While Apify requires you to do so to use their tool, ScrapingBee doesn’t. Similarly to Apify, ScrapingBee caters to developers of other languages and platforms, as opposed to Apify, specifically for NodeJS developers.
Structured data can be retrieved from web pages using ScrapingBee’s SDK, called the ScrapingBee library. A web API is available for ScrapingBee that you can use to access the service. The API request only needs to be sent once, and the web page will be returned. Instead of having to handle proxy servers, ScrapingBee handles them for you and only charges you if the request is successful.
5-Sequentum
We are thought leaders in our industry regarding the design and implementation of web data extraction products. At scale, Sequentum offers an end-to-end platform for collecting web data without writing a single line of code. With this solution, we’ve significantly simplified the challenge of delivering, maintaining, and governing reliable web data collection at scale from multi-structured, constantly changing, and complex data sources.
Under the SIIA/FISD Alt Data Council, a non-profit organization, we have led standards for institutions governed by the SEC (early adopters in the data industry). A body of “considerations” published (along with industry leaders) shows practitioners how to manage data operations ethically and with minimal legal risk.
Regulatory bodies in our industry are learning to consider laws governing our space through our work. With Sequentum Desktop, you can start immediately, then add Sequentum Server to handle job scheduling, load balancing, etc.
6-Diffbot
It is worth looking at Diffbot, another alternative to Apify that may be worth considering. Using this tool, you can easily integrate web data into your decision-making processes at scale. This tool allows you to extract data from multiple web pages on demand. As a new user, you can use this web scraper for two weeks without providing any credit card information.
It’s interesting to note that you have full API access, just like paid users. With more than 50 fields of data, they have already compiled a list of over 243 million businesses and nonprofits. You can also ask them for the data you need - all you have to do is ask - because they crawl e-commerce sites and news websites periodically.
7-ScrapeStorm
A web scraper powered by artificial intelligence will make your life easier and reduce your manual work using ScrapeStorm. A tool like ScrapeStorm can automatically identify data of interest on a web page, avoiding the need to point at data you want to scrape manually. With the features this bot comes with, you can tell that the creators are ex-Google crawlers with a good deal of experience under their belts.
If it doesn’t identify the data you’re interested in, you can use the point-and-click interface to operate manually. This tool supports various file and database export formats, so if you need a tool that supports these types of exports, ScrapeStorm is suitable for you.
8-Mozenda
With Mozenda, you can access some of the best web scraping solutions on the market. Several Fortune 500 companies and big businesses use their web scraping solutions to drive their research and growth. It is no longer necessary to have your web scraper when you use Mozenda’s scraping technology which helps you search for deals. One of its biggest strengths is five times faster web data extraction than most other solutions.
The tool supports JSON, CSV, XML, TSV, and XLSX formats. It can extract and export data in any format, including PDFs, files, images, and even PDF documents. The company has data-wrangling capabilities and could even provide professional data services.
9-WebScraper.io Extension
It is evident from the name of this tool exactly what it does - it scrapes the web to gather data. For those who need to learn how to code or aren’t interested in going into the technical details of the system, this is one of the alternatives to Apify. A free browser extension and a cloud scraper that come with some advanced features are available with this tool.
For those without a budget reserved for paying for a web scraper, the browser extension is a good alternative. Ajaxified web pages can also be scraped using this tool, which is quite effective.
10-ParseHub
There is another simple yet powerful solution called ParseHub that can be viewed as an alternative and Apify best deal in terms of how it works. This one does not require any coding skills. The only technical skill required is using the mouse to point and click on elements you see on the computer screen. This service offers a free tier that you can access without paying a cent.
The true power of this tool can only be unlocked when you decide to subscribe to their paid plan to unlock its full potential. It is easy to turn a website into a spreadsheet with this tool quickly, and it will take you no time. Using it for scraping popular websites is easy and quick, thanks to its blog, which provides tutorials.
11-WebHarvy
WebHarvy will give you access to all kinds of websites, including Single Page Applications, for scraping. Users of this tool by Apify best deal andl find the user interface easy to understand, even if this is their first time using it. To scrape data, you would use the tool’s point-and-click feature to identify some of the data while the tool identifies similar elements on the page for you.
Pagination is supported, too, so it doesn’t just scrape one page. With its ability to automate and scrape the web, this tool has the most similar use case to Apify. There is a scheduling feature as well as an intelligent pattern detection feature included in this tool.
Comparative Analysis of Apify vs Alternatives and Competitors
| Products | Pricing | Free Trial | Data Output Format | Supported Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apify | $499/month | Free Trial Available | HTML, JSON, CSV, Excel, XML and RSS | Cloud, Desktop |
| Crawlbase | $29-$149/month | 1000 Free Requests | CSV, JSON, HTML | Cloud, Web-based, API |
| BrightData | Starts at $500 for 151K page loads | Free Trial Available | Excel | Web-based |
| PhantomBuster | Starts at $30 monthly for 1K daily and 5 Phantom slots | 1000 Free API Requests | JSON | Cloud |
| ScrapingBee | Starts at $49 monthly for 100K API credits | 2-week Free Plan Available | JSON | Web, API |
| Sequentium | Starts at $15000/year | Free Trial Available | JSON, Excel, CSV | Cloud, Desktop |
| Diffbot | Starts at $299/month | 2-week Free Plan Available | Many formats supported | Cloud |
| ScrapeStorm | Starts at $49.99/month | Starter Plan is free - comes with limitations | - | Cloud, Desktop |
| Mozenda | Custom Quote | 30-days Free Limited Plan Available | CSV, JSON | Cloud |
| WebScraper.io Extension | Freemium | Freemium | CSV, XLSX and JSON | Browser extension (Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Firefox) |
| ParseHub | Free with a paid plan | Free - advanced features come at an extra cost | Excel, JSON | Cloud, Desktop |
| Web Harvy | Starts at $130 for a single user license | Not Available | TXT, CSV, Excel, JSON, XML, TSV | Desktop |
Final Thoughts
The Crawlbase web scraping platform is one of the most popular web scraping platforms out there, and it has helped many people extract data from the Internet. From our web scraper recommendations, you can also tell that we are fans of Apify. No doubt, If you are not fine with Apify, you have many other choices you can make if you are not comfortable with it.
Although Apify may not be the ideal tool for everyone, if you do not find it good enough or if Apify feature are lackiing something you desire, you can choose from the list of Apify best deal and alternatives described above. Our first recommendation is Crawlbase, the best web scraping tool for gathering a large amount of data from the web.
