Octoparse Free Plan Guide: What You Can Actually Do Without Paying (2026)
Octoparse's free tier caps you at 2 local tasks, 10,000 records per export, and no cloud—fine for learning the product, not for production workloads. Try Octoparse free or Apify's $5 free credits. Below: hard limits, what still works on $0, and when paying unlocks cloud, scheduling, and rotation.
Free Plan Limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Local tasks | 2 |
| Records per export | 10,000 |
| Cloud extraction | No |
| IP rotation | No |
| Scheduling | No |
| API access | No |
| Export formats | CSV, Excel, JSON |
Summary: You can run 2 scrapers on your PC. No cloud, no scheduling, no proxy rotation. Exports cap at 10,000 rows.
What You CAN Do for Free
- Scrape static sites — Product pages, directories, simple listings.
- Test workflow logic — Build and validate your extraction rules.
- Export to CSV — Download up to 10,000 records.
- Learn Octoparse — Full access to the visual builder and templates.
- One-off data collection — Small, manual runs for personal projects.
Reality: Fine for learning and small tests. Not enough for recurring or scaled use. The 10K record cap is the most common constraint—moderate-sized directories or product lists can exceed it in one run. Split by category or date range if you need to stay within the limit.
What You CANNOT Do for Free
- Cloud scheduling — No automated runs. You must trigger manually.
- Anti-bot bypass — No IP rotation. Your IP; blocks are more likely.
- API access — No programmatic triggering.
- Concurrent tasks — Only 2; both run locally.
- Database export — Google Sheets, MySQL, MongoDB require paid plans.
- More than 10K records — Export cap applies.
Best Free Use Cases
- One-time data collection — Pull a product list, directory, or job board once.
- Learning Octoparse — Run through the tutorial without paying.
- Small personal projects — Research, hobby data, under 10K rows.
- Evaluating before purchase — Test templates and workflow before upgrading.
When to Upgrade
Upgrade to Standard ($75/mo) when you need:
- Scheduling — Daily, weekly, or custom runs.
- Cloud execution — No need to keep your PC on.
- IP rotation — Reduce blocks on anti-bot sites.
- More than 2 tasks — Run multiple scrapers in parallel.
- >10K records — Larger exports.
See Octoparse Pricing 2026 for plan details.
Free Plan vs Apify Free Tier
| Octoparse Free | Apify Free | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | 2 local tasks | $5/month credits |
| Cloud runs | No | Yes (included in credits) |
| Scheduling | No | Yes |
| API | No | Yes |
| Best for | Testing Octoparse | Light production use |
Apify's free tier includes cloud runs, scheduling, and API. Octoparse free is local-only. If you want free cloud scraping, Apify is more capable. If you're evaluating Octoparse specifically, the free plan is enough to test.
Honest Verdict
The free plan is for evaluation only. It's not sustainable for real projects. Use it to learn the tool and validate a workflow. When you need scheduling, cloud, or anti-bot handling, upgrade to Standard. If you prefer usage-based pricing and developer tooling, Apify offers $5 in monthly free credits with cloud and API included.
Free Plan: Step-by-Step Workflow
To maximize the free tier:
- Create one task — Focus on a single target site.
- Build the workflow — Select fields, configure pagination. Keep it simple.
- Run locally — Click Run, choose Local. Keep the app open until completion.
- Export under 10K — If your run exceeds 10K records, split the scrape (e.g., by category or date range) or upgrade.
- Reuse the task — Edit the URL or search term and run again for similar sites.
You can have up to 2 tasks. Use them for your highest-priority extractions.
Free Plan Export Formats
CSV, Excel, and JSON are available on free. Google Sheets sync, MySQL, MongoDB, and API push require Standard or above. For most analysis (Excel, Python, R), CSV or JSON is sufficient. If you need live Sheets sync, that's a paid feature.
Evaluating Competitors on Free Tiers
Compare free tiers before committing:
- Octoparse: 2 local tasks, no cloud. Good for learning Octoparse itself.
- Apify: $5 credits, cloud runs, API. Good for trying Store Actors.
- ParseHub: 200 pages/run free. Good for testing JS-heavy sites.
- WebScraper.io: Extension-based free tier. Good for quick one-offs.
If your goal is to evaluate scraping in general, Apify's free tier gives more production-like experience (cloud, scheduling). If your goal is to evaluate Octoparse specifically, its free plan is adequate.
Common Free Plan Questions
Can I scrape Amazon on free? Technically yes—same 2-task and 10K caps apply—but Amazon’s anti-bot stack often blocks local IPs. Paid cloud + proxies usually hold up better.
Can I use templates on free? Templates are included; you’re still bound by two local tasks and no cloud runs.
Does free include the desktop app? You get the full Windows visual builder. Cloud execution and scheduling stay behind paid plans.
How long can I use free? Octoparse doesn’t advertise an expiry; the free tier reads as ongoing for evaluation. Move up when you need production features.
Can I run two different scrapers at once on free? Two tasks means two workflows—sequential or parallel if the app allows, all on your machine. Ten concurrent jobs isn’t on the menu without upgrading.
Transitioning from Free to Paid
When you upgrade:
- Your existing tasks and workflows carry over.
- You gain cloud execution—no need to keep the desktop app open.
- Scheduling unlocks: daily, weekly, or custom cron-like schedules.
- IP rotation becomes available for anti-bot targets.
You do not lose task definitions when you upgrade. If you later cancel, your existing tasks remain, but cloud execution and scheduling stop.
Free Plan Limitations: A Reality Check
The 10,000-record export limit is the most common bottleneck. A single directory or product category can exceed it. Options: (1) split the scrape into multiple runs (e.g., by region or category), (2) filter aggressively to reduce output size, or (3) upgrade. For learning and small projects, 10K is usually enough. For production lead lists or product catalogs, expect to hit the limit quickly.
Try Octoparse free to learn the workflow. When you're ready for production, compare Octoparse Pricing with Apify for your use case.
Two local tasks only—they execute on your computer. The free plan doesn’t include cloud tasks.
Scheduling ties to cloud extraction, which starts on Standard ($75/mo) and up—not on free.
Each export tops out at 10,000 records (CSV, Excel, JSON). Pushing to databases or Google Sheets needs a paid plan.
Treat free as a sandbox. Real production runs usually need cloud runs, schedules, and often IP rotation—those are paid.