Scrape Websites into a Spreadsheet with Claude Cowork + Apify (2026)
Connect Apify's remote MCP server (https://mcp.apify.com) to Claude Cowork as a custom connector, then ask Cowork in plain language to scrape a site. Cowork picks the right Apify Actor, runs it, and hands you the data to export as a spreadsheet, no code.
Claude Cowork is Anthropic's "hand Claude real work" surface: it runs on the same agentic engine as Claude Code but with no terminal, so it can take on multi-step tasks and finish them for you. Cowork can already search the web and, with computer use, drive a browser a page at a time. What it has no answer for is bulk structured extraction: paginating a result grid, holding a schema across thousands of rows, rotating proxies, and surviving anti-bot defences. That is exactly what Apify adds: a store of pre-built scrapers Cowork can call as tools.
This guide connects the two and turns "get me this web data" into a spreadsheet, with no code.
Create a free Apify account (free monthly credits) →
Why Cowork needs Apify
Cowork connects to outside apps and data through connectors, which are powered by the Model Context Protocol (MCP), the open standard Anthropic created for giving AI tools. Apify publishes a hosted MCP server that exposes its entire Store, so once you connect it, Cowork can discover and run any Apify Actor (Google Maps, Amazon, Instagram, a generic site crawler) and read the results back.
Because the connector is remote (it runs from Anthropic's cloud, not your laptop), there is nothing to install and it keeps working when your machine is asleep.
Connect Apify to Claude Cowork
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Get your Apify token. Sign up, open Settings → Integrations, and copy your API token.
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Open Cowork's connectors. In Cowork, go to Customize → Connectors (or use the + menu in the chat box).
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Add a custom connector. Choose Add custom connector, give it a name like
Apify, and enter the URL:https://mcp.apify.com -
Authenticate with OAuth (browser sign-in) or by supplying your Apify API token when prompted, then click Add.
Apify documents a known issue where its local MCP server does not work inside Cowork (Cowork launches local servers differently and needs a system-wide Node.js). The remote server at https://mcp.apify.com avoids that entirely, needs no local setup, and is the path to use here.
Ask Cowork to scrape
With the connector added, just describe what you want in plain language:
"Use Apify to scrape the top 50 coffee shops in Austin from Google Maps, with name, address, rating, and website, and put them in a spreadsheet."
Cowork reads the request, picks the matching Actor (here the Google Maps Scraper), runs it, and returns structured rows you can save as CSV or Excel. The same pattern works for:
- Leads: businesses, contacts, and websites from Maps or directories
- Prices: product listings from Amazon or other stores
- Reviews: Google or Trustpilot reviews for sentiment work
- Any page: the generic Website Content Crawler for articles and docs
Browse the full catalog of best Apify Actors to see what Cowork can drive.
What it costs
You pay Apify for the scrape, not for the Cowork connection. Most Store Actors use pay-per-result pricing: the Google Maps Scraper is about $0.004 per place, so the Free plan's $5 monthly credit covers roughly 1,250 places before you pay anything. Cowork itself is included on Apify-independent paid Claude plans (Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise).
FAQ
No. Once you connect Apify's MCP server as a custom connector, you describe the scrape in plain language and Cowork runs the matching Apify Actor for you. The output comes back as structured data you can export to a spreadsheet.
Add a custom connector in Cowork pointing to Apify's remote MCP server at https://mcp.apify.com, then authenticate with OAuth or your Apify API token. Use the remote server rather than a local one, which Apify notes does not work reliably in Cowork.
Cowork is available on Anthropic's paid plans (Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise). It runs on desktop, with web and mobile in beta. Apify has its own separate free plan with a $5 monthly credit.
You pay Apify per result. For example, the Google Maps Scraper is about $0.004 per place, so Apify's free $5 monthly credit covers roughly 1,250 places. Costs scale with volume and the Actor you use.
Next steps
Connect the Apify MCP server to Cowork, then start with a small scrape to see the flow. When you want recurring data (a weekly competitor digest, say), Cowork can run the same task on a schedule. To understand the protocol underneath, read what MCP is for scraping, and browse the best Apify Actors for ideas.