Zyte Alternative 2025 - Best Web Scraping Tool

Zyte has been around for quite a while, and for many people, it’s the first name that comes to mind when scraping is mentioned. That said, the scraping scene in 2025 looks different from what it did a few years ago. Developers now have more options on the table, and some of those alternatives claim to match or even outdo Zyte in certain areas.

One name that keeps surfacing in conversations is Crawlbase. Could it really be the best Zyte alternative in 2025? That’s what we’re here to figure out.

In the following sections, we’ll outline what both platforms offer, examine their feature sets, discuss pricing for usage, and explore reliability in real-world scraping scenarios. By walking through the details side by side, we’ll get a clearer sense of which tool is the better fit in 2025.

• Crawlbase vs Zyte: Features at a Glance
• Scraping Quality
• Pricing Comparison
• Scalabilty
• Final Verdict

Crawlbase vs Zyte: Features at a Glance

Web scraping isn’t just about pulling data. It’s about dodging blocks, CAPTCHA, and all other protective mechanisms websites put in place. Both Crawlbase and Zyte promise to make that easier, but they take very different approaches.

Let’s start with Crawlbase. Think of it as the toolkit for developers who like to stay in control. You get:

• Crawling API - Manages IP rotation, CAPTCHA bypass, JavaScript rendering, and anti-bot protection.
• Crawler - Perfect for when you need to grab tons of data asynchronously, without your system choking.
• Smart AI Proxy - A proxy solution powered by AI that uses a proxy host and a port to integrate seamlessly into existing setups.
• Storage API - A cloud-based system that lets you store, manage, and retrieve your scraped data whenever you need it.

The appeal? It’s flexible. You can start small, test ideas, and scale up to enterprise-level scraping without needing to overhaul your workflow. Developers who enjoy tweaking and customizing will feel right at home.

Now, Zyte takes a different route. If you’d rather avoid the tinkering and just let the system run, Zyte has you covered:

• Zyte API - Their main scraping engine, complete with proxy rotation, session handling, and headless browser support.
• AI Scraping - Prebuilt spiders for grabbing specific content types, whether it’s products, job ads, or search results.
• Scrapy Cloud - A cloud platform to deploy and monitor your Scrapy spiders without managing servers.
• Zyte Data - Managed feeds that deliver clean, structured datasets across industries like e-commerce, news, or real estate.

In short, Zyte is convenient for teams seeking minimal setup and ready-to-go solutions. Crawlbase appeals to developers who prefer hands-on control, flexibility, and the ability to scale according to project needs.

Scraping Quality

When comparing web scraping tools, flashy features don’t matter much if the data you get back is shallow or messy. That’s why we tested both Zyte API and Crawlbase on the same Amazon search page.

The Zyte API successfully retrieved 48 products. While that sounds solid, the actual data felt pretty bare-bones. For example, here’s a sample product:

{
  "url": "https://aax-us-east-retail-direct.amazon.com/x/c/JMF8bqvWEQ3DUp-XKUia6U0AAAGZUFIN1AEAAAH2AQBvbm9fdHhuX2JpZDMgICBvbm9fdHhuX2ltcDEgICB6-L5U/clv1_CEuOPUxokZA0iHrVRdc93juBcUpXWZwOssoM7Qeo7ftJ8X8_5leyAP018nHz9hvWjq0yzpNb3XTPsunPmWYceVdTJzyIR_vJP0orXUcsQEOaPpxkgQYOLZEdHEepkoemXJOUalC7tdMeWEwmgVz7bV1AckwCRMN0CRVmUax7QwuP3u3MgFIzS1q5d5TuNOspGHpbasDVlJ1bT2hxC9tUMuUFm8yvmtV0DgjzOKVy-i0Vs7d2vLK7GWsuqRqJ-0hcN3jpMffPnUdL6EdDGdZ0MzOIUyKVuBLNCd7m6b_pSZUgD1ig-I6A-jeRfQnNQYr_y8M1od5Wb_zpz8blBPuKC85Z88J9WBMPkpU4wfVsPpln11Z5KUuB8SGc0M4hf2Tmah9F0GCBtH8ppSr1AoykS24BZM7zucVmVbcmG3VHnlJ_MfhRt19KAG1Hvpd3Q2koAbq8evbnn_GxbxExYg_Kn70VX1StqmboahZTe71PmfuZLCxb7pGA7hrdSE5MLrCipM5S7DNDS7Ionz7duH-61DaGbSBPKWsOCjGfXQ7KLqTGTjOsGilVx0pHVA_-S3nobPwhsfpEbza9o6hUmfw9OzvwFgNqqHxj6MAkuKaqhUorvqew4oY_d3LAyxekQ6HnL08MFfUSAxpo8dpGErx65gQK_fzFLjwjZlYnvMxS48QkGWt-SR6szklDkSz7cO5K4AMRjWpF4tgc6ewlF0yyEGQw_Kv7MN7g74rlN30jOhrjqzLhTfkhmAJ7t9sbetiZo6F0EhLKhUTS9gnoEFjHJCJWmhLAUlFpnv5ucdoIeC-z_GotM-t07Qo6rpCKYl-MRteJRyt45hv849cLU-BVnLqjl0g4kay3HMiumdyftmaC72GR4ioyxzLqiUCihSf7r_87luQYlQv5R_orU-QMMdCj-siwzjlePxk8Fj6TljrXiQ9pPDYhaGpqQh3H7VqZohmhdf_q-o-99cX60G6_R7VzJc62R4Lh81nBDiV5CM4VQREjbkp8WZ740gzzBkZGERelrZtk-Qo9e708xZeAkjxyqlNNDd_Ch1FH041RlDtqfWC8Zr_xKgbbbYZ0INFEW1mBJZTcOSwiOpDgeJ-hjcnKcjH6x6wYUeYUADZqObShNy-9C9k3_2loJ_qKlrb6mc8IQNnnni4LMNVbq18oe2x_YsnOXCfeL6ktqbyikaOU7DOj2lny8rwBkRdMfeM2JVKVNVn64GaJRnsCrHCEENC019BSkKlWywqS265hFDDRDQpvRUSgolqDkRMNJ47jSJsDgtydSmj0cphaVLQ5q1sWhZ51ibiA3Q-Xh0CxPezAT_9qbsToxNwAiDyI3Zs4JvERYSSI4lv60L8HXQMBup7L6MMXxmFbdMN4JdR5moUct1-GN2-zoeSyXnazfK8-IzTyTnvyXCX0dSQXd4miZaKQugWablBJ9YIp3MzkgGVwXD1hw_YmL9B3MTXaMx2hzxNfBnzHmIG8xWrmKSvOYW_n1CuGaPZq_KwOnOwC0XwslW_dFm6-MX177rkFu_WGqlDvRyB5VfpjM8Daf9sCFz28l5f0EmSDMGnTNq41ksOY2uOawKaXO4lnN9EmnupudOjRJkDMzpX2SsrDKGwhdSQS8uX00agz7rbt92P46diaT3HjFAmugTNDq1ZHQaHleS3tRVP2z-AtaEeHtiBP3YkgWSvgLG8jMppXpfwPb_WfBIUksIrwQnEI69yJn9m4nMdPeYybtgRTiDGbu6wJLyzr9SBTjzedoKgbIj-mxkWdjrna4ecXbqdl-3ntHdoijNIf9jCBjo9GE9VOQq1C72srMZjN-HLIWPCYfQT9j8mWB7iF4Igf3tsIIKSigOVjngchR_l2F88AnNrXCEfuGbqmmoNnKc2NTpkNMy1fhEVOk9bVDO27k3YKdoa899cXmuL1cQxb6Juh6BwBKOpoqgwuALnGa4J8zSlIADnzgwadwb-LRmfPEiWMSqR7ft4to-WVSWN-T5LzkcLFDvrafhqZiMkabmaAVrIkJAzVaaLpMjUCf8a9UoSaghv46n02GdAjCVdeR40Y4k15y_XKr9S81aQgUeqVevspZpZnGIAvtqQKEWEnaPYonk8pBZqW_UY8U3E7MtL_NrrjaPGQVBpOKYuLyfvxCqxX1kAY1ZXJYrLm4TKW9k6EJ_F9oE_Wv9dg/https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0DYK1ZH2D/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_plhdr=t&aaxitk=1780e8e477657f8bef6bfc338763be55&hsa_cr_id=0&qid=1757989178&sr=1-1-9e67e56a-6f64-441f-a281-df67fc737124&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_lsi4d_asin_0_title&pd_rd_w=GeNfQ&content-id=amzn1.sym.9f2b2b9e-47e9-4764-a4dc-2be2f6fca36d%3Aamzn1.sym.9f2b2b9e-47e9-4764-a4dc-2be2f6fca36d&pf_rd_p=9f2b2b9e-47e9-4764-a4dc-2be2f6fca36d&pf_rd_r=4XQHW488DC889543F9AR&pd_rd_wg=0fW37&pd_rd_r=feb9aa64-5500-4ff5-875d-e8aa4b41e9c3",
  "name": "Asmodee Azul Board Game - Award-Winning…",
  "price": "15912.0",
  "mainImage": {
    "url": "https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91A0nIsV57S._AC_SR310,308_.jpg"
  },
  "metadata": {
    "probability": 0.83
  }
}

You’ll notice a few issues right away:

• The price value comes back as a raw number with no clear currency.
• Metadata, such as customer reviews, shipping details, or promotions, is missing.
• The product link itself is a lengthy tracking URL, rather than a clean, direct link.

In short, Zyte gave a list of products, but much of the context was lost.

Crawlbase, on the other hand, pulled the same number of results but presented them in a cleaner and more detailed format. Here’s what a single product looked like using the Crawling API with Amazon data scraper:

{
  "name": "Jenga Game",
  "price": "$14.97",
  "rawPrice": 14.97,
  "currency": "$",
  "offer": "List:$15.99",
  "customerReview": "4.8 out of 5 stars",
  "customerReviewCount": "102798",
  "shippingMessage": "FREE delivery Sat, Sep 20 on $35 orders…",
  "asin": "B00ABA0ZOA",
  "image": "https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81yiXHwgQWL._AC_UL320_.jpg",
  "url": "https://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-Gaming-Hardwood-Stacking-Stuffers/dp/B00ABA0ZOA",
  "isPrime": false,
  "sponsoredAd": false,
  "badgesInfo": ["Overall Pick"],
  "boughtInfo": "10K+ bought in past month"
}

This response has everything you’d expect if you were analyzing Amazon data:

• Structured prices with both formatted and raw values.
• Review data (rating + count).
• Shipping messages to understand delivery options.
• ASINs for direct catalog reference.
• Flags for Prime eligibility, sponsored ads, and popularity badges.

The difference is clear: Zyte provides the basics, while Crawlbase delivers a much richer dataset, ready for analysis without additional parsing.

Bottom line: If your use case needs more than just a product name and price, Crawlbase provides far cleaner and more complete results right out of the box.

Crawlbase and Zyte Pricing Comparison

Once you’ve seen the difference in data quality, the next question is: how much does it cost? Both Zyte and Crawlbase employ a pay-as-you-go model, but the details differ significantly.

• Zyte pricing: prepaid usage. You have to load credits before making requests. Discounts are available for customers who commit to higher volumes.
• Crawlbase pricing: postpaid usage. You run crawls first, then pay at the end of the month. No upfront lock-ins, and the more you crawl, the better the discount.

Here’s a side-by-side look, using 100k requests to Amazon as an example:

Quick Comparison

Feature	Crawlbase Crawling API	Zyte API
Billing	Postpaid (billed end of month)	Prepaid (load credits first)
100k Requests (Amazon)	~$115 (HTML + Scrape)	~$50 (lacks most relevant data)
JavaScript Rendering	$229 (but not required for Amazon)	$210 (needed for complete HTML)
Discounts	Automatic, volume-based	Commitments required
Calculator	Publicly accessible	Login required
Cloud Storage	Free (10k docs, 14 days retention)	None

With Zyte, the headline price appears more affordable at first (~$50 for 100k requests). But since the output lacks most of the product details, you’ll often need to enable JavaScript rendering at $210 for the same volume. That’s the only way to get a complete page.

Crawlbase, on the other hand, already includes structured fields such as reviews, ratings, and shipping information, even in its HTML + Scrape response, at approximately $115 for 100k requests. For Amazon, you don’t need to pay extra for JS rendering.

Bottom line: Zyte’s low entry price comes with unsatisfactory results. Crawlbase costs more upfront, but you get the data you actually need, without hidden upgrades or contracts.

Scalability: Crawlbase vs Zyte

It’s one thing to scrape a few thousand pages. It’s a completely different challenge when you’re talking millions of requests a month. At that level, the real question is: which tool bends without breaking?

Crawlbase’s Approach

Crawlbase leans heavily into scalability with its Enterprise Crawler. This isn’t your average web scraper; it’s designed for handling massive workloads. You can fire off jobs asynchronously, meaning you don’t have to sit around waiting for one batch to finish before starting the next. That setup allows you to run millions (and in some cases even billions) of requests without clogging the pipeline.

For teams working with large datasets, the ability to process batches in parallel is a significant advantage. It reduces the headaches that normally come with queuing jobs, and it keeps the data flowing even at a massive scale.

Zyte’s Angle

Zyte also plays in the high-volume arena. Their Zyte API is designed to handle anything from small jobs to millions of requests per day. If you opt for their Enterprise plan, you gain access to features such as higher concurrency, locked-in pricing, and premium support. Basically, the more you’re willing to commit, the more power they give you.

They also offer Scrapy Cloud, which is a platform for managing and scheduling spiders. It’s a neat feature, but the free tier is quite limited, offering only one concurrent crawl, one hour of crawl time, and seven-day data retention. To really scale, you’ll end up moving into their paid enterprise packages.

Here’s how it looks when you put them side by side:

Crawlbase vs Zyte Comparison

Scalability Factor	Crawlbase	Zyte
Async / Batch Processing	Yes, built into Enterprise Crawler	Limited, handled through Scrapy Cloud or API
Concurrency	High (scalable based on requirements)	Higher in enterprise plans, very restricted in free/basic plans
Massive Workloads	Millions to billions of requests possible	Millions per day possible with Enterprise API
Proxy / Ban Handling	Optimized pools built into API & crawler	Smart Proxy Manager does the heavy lifting
Support & SLAs	Dedicated account managers, Enterprise support, scalable infra	Dedicated account managers, SLAs at Enterprise level
Free Tier Limits	10,000 docs stored free, 14 days retention	1 concurrent crawl, 1 hour crawl time, 7-day retention

Final Verdict

Picking between Zyte and Crawlbase comes down to what matters most to you: hands-off simplicity or full control, prebuilt automation or flexible APIs, a lower upfront price or complete, ready-to-use data.

Zyte still has its place if you want managed spiders and datasets, and don’t mind a bit of trade-off in depth or structure, it can get the job done. However, the truth is that to extract truly detailed, actionable data, you’ll likely need to pay extra for JavaScript rendering or higher-tier plans.

Crawlbase, on the other hand, positions itself as the top alternative to Zyte. It’s made for teams and developers who value flexibility, comprehensive data, and the ability to scale big. Its Crawling API and Enterprise Crawler make it possible to process millions or even billions of requests asynchronously, while delivering structured, ready-to-analyze results straight from the source. Although the upfront cost may be higher, what you get is cleaner data, fewer headaches, and tools specifically designed for real-world scraping at scale.

The takeaway: For projects where data quality, control, and scalability are key, Crawlbase emerges as the leading solution. Zyte is suitable for smaller, simpler tasks, but Crawlbase offers more power, greater detail, and a workflow you can rely on without surprise fees or add-ons.