Apify vs. ScrapingBee 2026: Full Comparison
Apify is a full scraping platform with 30,000+ Actors. ScrapingBee is a proxy/rendering API. Choose Apify for pre-built scrapers; choose ScrapingBee if you already have scraper code and need a rendering proxy.
ScrapingBee sells a simple HTTP API: send a URL, add flags for JavaScript rendering and proxy country, get HTML back—you parse it.
Apify is a cloud automation platform: 30,000+ pre-built Actors (scrapers and workflows), hosted execution, datasets, scheduling, webhooks, and integrations.
Both can sit in a modern data stack; they optimize for different layers of the problem. Below is a single comparison table, then when to pick which, pricing notes, and FAQ.
Full comparison table
| Dimension | Apify | ScrapingBee |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Platform: marketplace + runtime + storage + orchestration | API: fetch URL → HTML/JSON (you host parsing logic) |
| Pre-built scrapers | 30,000+ Actors (Maps, Amazon, social, jobs, real estate, …) | No marketplace of site-specific scrapers |
| Where your code runs | On Apify (Actors) or your app calling the API | Your app / server calls ScrapingBee; ScrapingBee returns content |
| Structured output | Common for Actors (JSON items in datasets) | You parse HTML; some SERP helpers return structured data |
| JavaScript rendering | Yes (browser Actors, Crawlee, Puppeteer/Playwright) | Yes (render_js and similar; consumes extra credits) |
| Proxies & geo | Apify Proxy, residential/datacenter groups, unlock products | Residential / premium proxy tiers via API params |
| Storage & export | Built-in datasets; JSON, CSV, Excel | None—you persist results yourself |
| Scheduling & retries | Cron schedules, run queues, monitoring in Console | External (your cron, Airflow, n8n, etc.) |
| Webhooks & integrations | Native webhooks; Zapier, Make, n8n, SDKs | You build integrations around HTTP responses |
| No-code path | Start many Actors from the UI without code | Minimal—still an API-first product |
| Custom scrapers | Build and deploy your own Actors (Node/Python) | Keep scrapers in your repo; ScrapingBee is the fetch layer |
| Screenshots | Via actors / browser tools | First-class screenshot API |
| Typical buyer | Data teams, growth, ops, engineers who want end-to-end jobs | Engineers who already have parsers and only need reliable fetching |
Product details change—confirm on each vendor’s site before you buy.
Code shape: same job, two responsibilities
ScrapingBee — you own extraction; the API returns rendered HTML:
# ScrapingBee Python SDK — verify package/version on their docs
from scrapingbee import ScrapingBeeClient
client = ScrapingBeeClient(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
response = client.get(
"https://example.com/products",
params={
"render_js": True,
"country_code": "us",
},
)
print(response.text) # HTML → your BeautifulSoup / selectolax / regex
Apify — many jobs stop at structured rows by calling an Actor:
// Apify Node.js SDK — apify-client 2.x style
import { ApifyClient } from "apify-client";
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor("compass/crawler-google-places").call({
searchTerms: ["coffee shops in Austin TX"],
maxCrawledPlaces: 100,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);
Mental model: ScrapingBee strengthens the request. Apify often ships the whole scrape (input → dataset).
ScrapingBee pricing 2026
ScrapingBee bills in API credits per successful request. JavaScript rendering, premium proxies, and extra features can consume more than one credit per call—confirm multipliers on ScrapingBee’s pricing page before you budget.
| Plan (public list, Mar 2026) | Monthly price | Included API credits | Concurrent requests | ~Cost per 1,000 credits¹ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freelance | $49 | 250,000 | 10 | ~$0.20 |
| Startup | $99 | 1,000,000 | 50 | ~$0.10 |
| Business+ | $599 | 8,000,000 | 200 | ~$0.075 |
¹ Illustrative: monthly price ÷ included credits × 1,000. Your real cost per 1,000 page fetches is higher when calls use JS rendering or premium options.
New accounts can try 1,000 free API credits (no card) per ScrapingBee’s signup flow—verify on their site.
Apify vs ScrapingBee: pricing comparison
| ScrapingBee | Apify | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | API credits per request (with multipliers for JS, proxies, extras) | Compute units (GB×hours) + optional Actor per-result / per-event fees |
| Free entry | 1,000 trial credits (promotional; check current offer) | $0 plan with $5/month platform credits (details) |
| Paid entry | ~$49/mo (Freelance) | $29/mo Starter (Apify pricing) |
| Best when | You only need fetched HTML/JSON and own all parsing & storage | You want pre-built Actors, datasets, schedules, and integrations |
Bottom line: ScrapingBee is often cheaper per raw HTTP fetch at small volume. Apify can win on total cost of ownership when you would otherwise build parsers, storage, and cron around ScrapingBee responses.
Pricing (how to think about it, not a quote)
Always verify current pricing on Apify pricing and ScrapingBee’s site. Patterns in early 2026:
| Topic | ScrapingBee | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Meter | Credits per request, multipliers for JS render and premium proxies | Compute units (runtime + resources) and optional proxy charges |
| Free / entry | Trial credits on signup | Free tier includes ongoing monthly credits (not a one-time trial) |
| JS-heavy sites | Per-request multipliers add up fast | Long browser sessions bill as time—can be more predictable for deep flows |
| Pre-built extraction | You still pay for each fetch and engineer the parser | Actor pricing bundles maintenance of selectors/logic |
If your workload is mostly static HTML through a cheap proxy, ScrapingBee can be very cost-effective. If you live inside SPAs, infinite scroll, or known complex domains, compare total cost (engineering + requests + retries).
When to choose ScrapingBee
- You already have scrapers and only need proxies + headless rendering.
- Your team wants the smallest API surface: one key, one client, minimal vendor logic.
- Workloads are low to medium and predictably metered in credits.
- You are fine owning parsing, storage, scheduling, and alerting.
When to choose Apify
- You want off-the-shelf scrapers for Maps, e-commerce, social, jobs, etc.
- You need hosted runs, datasets, history, and exports without building a data lake glue layer first.
- Mixed team: PMs or analysts can start Actors in the UI; engineers automate via API/SDK.
- You are building pipelines (webhooks, n8n, Zapier) where Apify is the execution hub.
Create an Apify account and browse Actors →
Apify’s free plan includes monthly credits you can use to test multiple Actors (Maps, content crawlers, social scrapers) before upgrading.
ScrapingBee is a rendering and proxy API: you request a URL and get HTML back. Apify is a platform with 30,000+ pre-built scrapers, cloud execution, datasets, scheduling, and integrations—closer to an end-to-end data extraction service you can extend.
There is no universal winner. Light static scraping with minimal features can be cheaper on ScrapingBee. Heavy JavaScript, premium proxies, or large-scale browser automation can shift the balance. Model both list price and engineering time.
Yes. Some teams run niche fetch logic through ScrapingBee while using Apify Actors for complex domains—or the reverse. The right split depends on where you want to maintain code.
No. You store HTML/JSON yourself and schedule calls with your own stack. Apify provides dataset storage and built-in scheduling for Actors.
Often for popular sites, yes—pick an Actor, configure input, export data. For proprietary internal apps or rare targets, you still write custom Actors or workflows.
Apify’s Console and pre-built Actors are usually easier for no-code users. ScrapingBee assumes a developer is calling the API and parsing responses.
Both vendors offer proxy tiers aimed at difficult sites; success rates vary by target. Apify also markets separate unlock-oriented products—evaluate per domain and test with small runs.