9 Best Apify Alternatives for Web Scraping in 2026

Last updated: February 2026

Apify is a web scraping and automation platform with 2,000+ pre-built scrapers (actors) and cloud infrastructure. The best alternatives include Miniloop (AI-powered scraping workflows), Octoparse (no-code visual scraping), Bright Data (enterprise proxy network), and Scrapy (free open-source framework).

Apify is powerful. The actor marketplace, cloud execution, and proxy management make it one of the most complete scraping platforms available. But it's not for everyone.

The pricing scales quickly with usage. Building custom actors requires JavaScript knowledge. And if you want AI to help extract and process scraped data, you need to bolt on additional tools.

This guide covers 9 Apify alternatives in 2026, organized by what you're trying to accomplish.

Apify Alternatives Comparison Table 2026

Who Is This Guide For?

Different alternatives work for different people:

Non-technical users who need data: Start with Octoparse, ParseHub, or Browse AI

Developers who want control: Consider Scrapy, Crawlee, or Puppeteer/Playwright

Teams needing AI-powered extraction: Explore Miniloop

Enterprise with scale requirements: Look at Bright Data or Oxylabs

Budget-conscious scrapers: Scrapy is free, Octoparse has a free tier

Why People Look for Apify Alternatives

Before diving into options, here's what drives people away from Apify:

Pricing scales quickly

Apify's usage-based pricing works for small projects but adds up fast. Actor compute units, proxy bandwidth, and storage all contribute to costs. Enterprise scraping can cost thousands monthly.

Custom actors require coding

While the actor marketplace has 2,000+ pre-built scrapers, custom extraction needs JavaScript development. If your target site isn't covered, you're writing code.

No built-in AI processing

Apify extracts data, but processing that data with AI requires additional tools. If you want to scrape, transform, and analyze with LLMs in one workflow, you need to integrate multiple services.

Learning curve for advanced features

Webhooks, proxy configuration, actor development, and integrations take time to master. Simple scraping is easy; complex workflows require significant learning.

If any of these resonate, here are your options.

1. Miniloop

Best for: Teams who want AI to handle scraping and data processing in one workflow

Starting price: Free, then $29/mo

Most scraping tools extract data and stop there. You still need to process, transform, and act on that data separately. Miniloop takes a different approach: describe your entire workflow, including scraping and AI processing, in plain language.

How Miniloop works for scraping

1. Describe what you want: "Scrape product prices from these competitor URLs, compare to our pricing, flag items where we're more than 10% higher"
2. AI generates the workflow: Miniloop creates Python code for scraping, data processing, and output
3. Review and run: The code is readable and modifiable
4. Schedule or integrate: Run on demand or on a schedule, push results anywhere

Why teams choose Miniloop over Apify

• End-to-end workflows. Scraping + AI processing + output in one place.
• Natural language. Describe what you want, not how to build it.
• Readable code. Every workflow is Python you can inspect.
• Flexible output. Push to databases, APIs, spreadsheets, or CRMs.

Who Miniloop is for

• Teams who need to scrape AND process data with AI
• Anyone tired of stitching together scraping + transformation + delivery
• Operators who'd rather describe outcomes than build scrapers
• Use cases where AI analysis of scraped data is the real goal

Who should skip Miniloop

• High-volume scraping needing enterprise proxy infrastructure
• Teams who just need raw extraction without processing
• Users who want pre-built scrapers for specific sites

Pricing

What users say

"We were using Apify to scrape, then OpenAI to process, then Airtable to store. Miniloop does all three in one workflow." — Startup founder

"Described what I needed, had competitor pricing data flowing into our dashboard in 20 minutes." — E-commerce manager

2. Octoparse

Best for: Non-technical users who want visual point-and-click scraping

Starting price: Free tier, then $99/mo

Octoparse is a visual web scraper with a point-and-click interface. No coding required. Click on elements you want to extract, Octoparse figures out the pattern.

Why teams choose Octoparse over Apify

• Truly no-code. Point and click to select data.
• Cloud execution. Run scrapers on their infrastructure.
• Scheduling. Automate recurring extractions.
• Templates. Pre-built scrapers for common sites (Amazon, LinkedIn, etc.).

Who Octoparse is for

• Non-technical users who need web data
• Teams without developer resources
• Anyone who prefers visual interfaces over code
• Use cases with straightforward extraction needs

Limitations

• Complex sites struggle. Heavy JavaScript sites can be tricky.
• Limited processing. Extracts data, doesn't transform it.
• Scaling costs. High-volume scraping gets expensive.

Pricing

What users say

"As a marketer with zero coding skills, Octoparse was the only scraper I could actually use." — Marketing analyst

"Great for simple sites. Struggled with our JavaScript-heavy targets." — Data team lead

3. Bright Data

Best for: Enterprise teams needing massive scale and compliance

Starting price: $500/mo+

Bright Data (formerly Luminati) is the enterprise leader in web data. They operate the largest proxy network globally and offer scraping infrastructure that handles millions of requests.

Why enterprises choose Bright Data over Apify

• Largest proxy network. 72M+ residential IPs across 195 countries.
• Compliance built-in. GDPR, CCPA compliant data collection.
• Unblocking technology. Handles CAPTCHAs, fingerprinting, blocks.
• Scale. Millions of requests without infrastructure headaches.

Who Bright Data is for

• Enterprise teams with large-scale data needs
• Organizations with compliance requirements
• Anyone scraping sites with sophisticated blocking
• Teams willing to pay for reliability and scale

Limitations

• Expensive. Enterprise pricing starts around $500/mo.
• Complex. Powerful but requires learning.
• Overkill for small projects. Built for scale, not quick tasks.

Pricing

What users say

"Bright Data is expensive but worth it. 99.9% success rate on sites that blocked everything else." — Data engineer

"The enterprise support alone justifies the cost for our use case." — VP Engineering

4. Scrapy

Best for: Developers who want free, open-source control

Starting price: Free (open-source)

Scrapy is a Python framework for building web crawlers. It's free, open-source, and gives you complete control over every aspect of scraping.

Why developers choose Scrapy over Apify

• Completely free. No usage limits, no subscription.
• Full control. Customize everything from request handling to data pipelines.
• Python ecosystem. Integrate with pandas, databases, AI libraries.
• Battle-tested. Thousands of production deployments.

Who Scrapy is for

• Python developers comfortable with code
• Teams who want to own their scraping infrastructure
• Projects needing custom extraction logic
• Anyone who wants to avoid recurring SaaS costs

Limitations

• Requires coding. You're writing Python.
• Self-hosting. You manage infrastructure and scaling.
• No built-in proxy management. Add your own proxy solution.
• Anti-bot handling is manual. No automatic unblocking.

Pricing

Free and open-source.

What users say

"Scrapy + our own proxy pool costs us $50/mo for what would be $2,000 on Apify." — Startup CTO

"The learning curve is real, but once you know Scrapy, you never need another scraper." — Data engineer

5. ParseHub

Best for: Simple visual scraping with good pagination handling

Starting price: Free tier, then $189/mo

ParseHub is another visual scraping tool, similar to Octoparse. It's known for handling pagination and infinite scroll well.

Why teams choose ParseHub over Apify

• Visual interface. Click to select, no coding.
• Good pagination. Handles "load more" and infinite scroll.
• Desktop app. Build scrapers locally, run in cloud.
• API access. Programmatic control when needed.

Who ParseHub is for

• Non-technical users needing structured extraction
• Projects with paginated or infinite-scroll data
• Anyone who prefers desktop apps over web interfaces
• Small to medium extraction jobs

Limitations

• Expensive at scale. Pricing jumps significantly.
• Limited processing. Extraction only, no transformation.
• Slower than code-based. Visual builder overhead.

Pricing

What users say

"ParseHub handles infinite scroll better than any other visual scraper I've tried." — Research analyst

"Good for getting started, but we outgrew it quickly." — Data team manager

6. Browse AI

Best for: Scheduled monitoring and change detection

Starting price: $49/mo

Browse AI focuses on monitoring websites for changes, not just one-time extraction. Set up a scraper, schedule it, get notified when data changes.

Why teams choose Browse AI over Apify

• Change monitoring. Get alerts when prices, inventory, or content change.
• No-code. Visual interface for building monitors.
• Prebuilt robots. Templates for common monitoring use cases.
• Scheduling built-in. Run hourly, daily, or weekly.

Who Browse AI is for

• Teams monitoring competitor pricing
• Anyone tracking inventory or availability
• Use cases focused on change detection
• Non-technical users needing scheduled extraction

Limitations

• Limited extraction depth. Better for monitoring than bulk scraping.
• Smaller scale. Not built for millions of pages.
• Less flexible. Designed for specific use cases.

Pricing

What users say

"Browse AI alerts me when competitors change prices. That used to take hours of manual checking." — E-commerce manager

"Perfect for monitoring. Not great for one-time bulk extraction." — Product analyst

7. Crawlee

Best for: Developers wanting Apify-compatible open-source

Starting price: Free (open-source)

Crawlee is the open-source web scraping library that powers Apify's infrastructure. Same code, no platform lock-in.

Why developers choose Crawlee over Apify

• Free. No platform fees.
• Apify compatible. Same code runs on Apify or self-hosted.
• Modern features. Headless browsers, proxy rotation, auto-scaling.
• TypeScript/JavaScript. First-class Node.js support.

Who Crawlee is for

• Developers already familiar with Apify actors
• Teams who want to migrate off Apify but keep their code
• Anyone wanting Apify capabilities without the platform cost
• Projects using TypeScript/JavaScript

Limitations

• Self-hosting required. You manage infrastructure.
• JavaScript only. Not for Python shops.
• No marketplace. Build your own scrapers.

Pricing

Free and open-source.

What users say

"We migrated from Apify to self-hosted Crawlee. Same code, 80% cost reduction." — Engineering lead

"Crawlee is what Apify should be: open and free." — Developer

8. Oxylabs

Best for: Premium proxy infrastructure with scraping APIs

Starting price: $99/mo

Oxylabs is another enterprise data collection platform, competing with Bright Data. Strong proxy network and scraping APIs.

Why enterprises choose Oxylabs over Apify

• Premium proxies. Residential, datacenter, and mobile IPs.
• Scraper APIs. Ready-to-use endpoints for common targets.
• E-commerce focus. Strong for Amazon, Google Shopping, etc.
• Enterprise support. Dedicated account management.

Who Oxylabs is for

• Enterprise teams needing reliable proxy infrastructure
• E-commerce data collection at scale
• Organizations wanting API-first scraping
• Teams who need premium support

Limitations

• Enterprise pricing. Not for small projects.
• API-focused. Less flexibility than custom scrapers.
• Limited AI processing. Extraction only.

Pricing

What users say

"Oxylabs proxy quality is noticeably better than cheaper alternatives." — Data engineer

"Their e-commerce APIs saved us months of development." — Product manager

9. Puppeteer/Playwright

Best for: Developers who need full browser automation control

Starting price: Free (open-source libraries)

Puppeteer (Chrome) and Playwright (multi-browser) are browser automation libraries. They give you complete control over a headless browser for scraping JavaScript-heavy sites.

Why developers choose Puppeteer/Playwright over Apify

• Free. Open-source libraries.
• Full browser control. Click, scroll, fill forms, take screenshots.
• JavaScript rendering. Handle any modern web app.
• Testing + scraping. Same tool for QA and data extraction.

Who Puppeteer/Playwright is for

• Developers comfortable with Node.js
• Projects scraping JavaScript-heavy SPAs
• Teams who also need browser testing
• Anyone wanting maximum flexibility

Limitations

• Requires coding. You're writing JavaScript.
• Resource intensive. Headless browsers use more CPU/RAM.
• No built-in scaling. Manage your own infrastructure.
• Anti-bot handling is manual. No automatic proxy rotation.

Pricing

Free and open-source.

What users say

"Playwright handles sites that broke every other scraper we tried." — Full-stack developer

"The learning curve is worth it for the control you get." — Automation engineer

How to Choose the Right Apify Alternative

Decision framework by role

"I'm non-technical and need web data." Octoparse or ParseHub for visual scraping, Browse AI for monitoring

"I'm a developer who wants control." Scrapy (Python), Crawlee (JavaScript), or Puppeteer/Playwright

"I need to scrape AND process data with AI." Miniloop for end-to-end workflows

"I need enterprise scale and compliance." Bright Data or Oxylabs

"I want to save money." Scrapy is free, Crawlee is free, Octoparse has a free tier

Decision framework by need

The Bigger Picture: AI Is Changing Web Scraping

Web scraping used to be about extraction: get the HTML, parse it, store the data. Tools like Apify excel at this.

But extraction is only half the problem. The real value is in what you do with the data: analyze it, transform it, act on it.

The next generation of scraping tools combines extraction with AI processing. Describe what you want to know, not just what you want to scrape. Get insights, not just data.

That's the shift happening now. Whether you stick with traditional scrapers or move to AI-assisted workflows depends on whether you're optimizing for raw data volume or actionable insights.

FAQs About Apify Alternatives

What is the best Apify alternative?

The best Apify alternative depends on your needs. Miniloop is best for AI-powered scraping workflows. Octoparse is best for no-code visual scraping. Bright Data is best for enterprise scale. Scrapy is best for developers who want free open-source.

Is there a free Apify alternative?

Yes. Scrapy is completely free and open-source. Crawlee is free (same tech that powers Apify). Beautiful Soup and Puppeteer/Playwright are free libraries. Octoparse and ParseHub offer free tiers with limited pages.

What is easier to use than Apify?

Octoparse and ParseHub are easier for non-technical users with visual point-and-click interfaces. Miniloop is easiest for AI-assisted scraping where you describe what you want instead of building scrapers manually.

Can I scrape websites without coding?

Yes. Octoparse, ParseHub, and Browse AI offer visual scraping without code. Miniloop uses AI to generate scraping workflows from natural language descriptions. Apify also has pre-built actors for no-code scraping.

Which Apify alternative is best for enterprise?

Bright Data is the enterprise leader with the largest proxy network and compliance features. Oxylabs is another enterprise option with premium proxy quality. For AI-powered enterprise scraping, Miniloop offers team features and custom integrations.

Is web scraping legal?

Web scraping is generally legal for publicly available data, but terms of service, robots.txt, and local laws vary. Avoid scraping personal data without consent. Respect rate limits. When in doubt, consult legal advice for your specific use case.

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