Feeling trapped in the web of Apify's complexities? Let's break free with this guide to the best Apify alternatives. We'll dive into tools that rival, and sometimes outshine, Apify for web scraping and automation bliss.
70% of businesses use web scraping tools for market research and 45% of companies report increased efficiency after adopting web scraping solutions. But what if Apify isn't the right choice?
We'll also show you some key features to look for when choosing from one of the best Apify alternatives so you make the right choice for you and your team.
Why Are People Looking for Apify Alternatives?
Versatility in web scraping is key, especially when you're dealing with diverse data extraction needs across many websites. The need for an alternative to Apify springs from the desire to access advanced automation capabilities not present in every tool.
Primarily, people are looking for Apify alternatives due to its pricing model and limitations of its free plan, which can become expensive for some users. Another concern is the use of shared proxies in some plans, which can be less effective for certain tasks due to detection and speed issues.
What Features Should You Look For in an Apify Alternative?
When looking for an Apify alternative, you definitely want to upgrade. Which features are most important to you or you and your team? What features are must haves?
Some features you definitely want to have are:
- Easy to use, especially for non-coders.
- Budget friendly, especially for individuals or small teams.
- Support for various data output formats.
- Compatibility with different platforms (web, cloud, desktop).
- Availability and quality of proxies, to ensure data access without detection.
- Broad range of websites it can scrape effectively, including those with complex JavaScript.
- It the tool offers a free trial, that's a bonus.
The 11 Best Apify Alternatives for 2024
1. PhantomBuster
When you're knee-deep in data extraction, the simplicity of use becomes your best friend. This is where PhantomBuster shines bright. It's like having a magic wand for web scraping and automation but without needing to know any spells—or code, in this case. With its intuitive design, PhantomBuster effortlessly empowers users to initiate their own automated tasks without a hitch.
As G2 reviewer Vikas says:
I use it almost on a daily basis to export my data from LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, and other platforms. It is one of the many features it offers. Very easy to use and a great feature.
2. Magical
While Magical isn't a full-fledged web scraper, it still offer powerful web scraping capabilities and it's no code. Simple to set up and use all you do is point and click at what you want to scrape and Magical will extract your data into any database with one click. Magical uses the power of AI to detect different elements on webpages so you can scrape easily.
As G2 reviewer Maria says:
Love the shortcuts when I am talking with customers my notes are easier to take since I already have a template created.
3. Zyte
How you store your treasure trove of information matters just as much as how you find it. Zyte, previously known as Scrapinghub, understands this better than most by offering robust cloud data storage solutions. Zyte stands out from the crowd by offering sophisticated anti-blocking measures, guaranteeing smooth data extraction across the web—a vital feature in our ever-evolving online world.
As G2 reviewer Thierry says:
The best thing about Zyte is their flexibility. There was a certain website (one of the biggest retailers in the world) that we needed to crawl. They were able to adapt their code to increase its capabilties in order to enable us to crawl it. They genuinly want to make their product better. -Zyte has a good amount of features and different offerings. -Customer support is very good, technical and business. -Easy to use and integrate in our code base.
4. Crawlbase
If high-scale web scraping without getting tangled in code sounds appealing then Crawlbase has got your back. This platform excels in simplifying the extraction of intricate website data, with a focus on user-friendliness.
It's underscored by robust customer support that ensures users can easily navigate its services for an effortless experience. Crawlbase proves itself worthy against others including Apify by simplifying large scale projects into manageable tasks sans coding requirements.
As one reviewer points out by Capterra:
So far my experience with Crawlbase has been great. Pros: Crawlbase is one of the easiest SaaS that I have ever used in my life. It's API docs and dashboards are super clear and easy to understand.
5. Diffbot
At the forefront of this innovation is Diffbot, known for its powerful integration tools designed specifically for web data at scale. Unlike traditional scraping methods, Diffbot employs advanced AI to understand and extract web content as structured data automatically. This capability makes it an excellent alternative or complement to Apify’s intelligent bot capabilities, especially when dealing with large volumes of complex information.
As one reviewer says on Capterra:
As a technical recruiter, it's really important that the data I'm sourcing is accurate and up-to-date. I haven't found a platform with more detailed (or accurate) information anywhere else. I've tried others but Diffbot seems to aggregate the latest information which gives me a huge advantage over other recruiters. Pros: You can find anyone! They've got the most up-to-date accurate info that is incredibly helpful when trying to source niche candidates for high-level development jobs. It feels like I have an unfair advantage with the data I'm able to pull.
6. Octoparse
Octoparse is a feature-rich web scraping tool designed for both technical and non-technical users. It simplifies data extraction from websites, especially those with complex JavaScript, using a point-and-click interface. The tool offers both cloud and desktop versions, supporting various data output formats such as CSV, Excel, JSON, among others.
As G2 reviewer John says:
This tool has made my job easier. and it makes it much easier to scan files directly using the app, saving me time! In addition to making the inventory management process much more efficient by accelerating the participation of people.
7. Mozenda
Mozenda is a powerful web scraping solution utilized by businesses of all sizes, including Fortune 500 companies. It offers a cloud-based platform that simplifies data extraction from various web sources without the need for coding.
Users can automate data collection, manage and analyze data with ease, and integrate extracted data into their systems. Mozenda provides custom solutions tailored to specific business needs, ensuring efficiency and scalability in data scraping projects.
As G2 reviewer Sarah says:
Mozenda is a great platform for creating webscrapes with assistance from the agent builder. Although the documentation could be better, I find that if I do have any questions, Mozenda support responds quickly and knowledgeably. The problem with the documentation is really just that it's hard to find how to do more advanced things. Pros: Superb customer support API can do everything I want it to, and more. Agent builder is fairly easy to learn to use Saves time hand-coding web scrapes.
8. BrightData
BrightData is a comprehensive web data platform offering structured data collection and management services. It provides solutions like residential and mobile proxies, data center proxies, and the ability to perform web scraping tasks efficiently.
The platform is designed to cater to various data needs, offering scalability, reliability, and a wide range of geographical locations for proxy services. BrightData is suitable for businesses needing large-scale, accurate data extraction and analysis, supporting a variety of use cases from market research to cybersecurity.
G2 reviewer Emmanuel says:
Nice features, but requires some learning. However, it is not very responsive, I hope it will get better.
9. Forloop.ai
Forloop is a versatile tool designed to streamline data extraction, integration, and utilization processes for a wide range of applications. It offers a powerful web scraper that allows users to extract data from any website. This feature is particularly useful for gathering information that is not readily available through standard APIs. The scraper can navigate and parse complex web page structures to retrieve the needed data.
10. Scrapy
Scrapy is a powerful open-source web crawling and web scraping framework for Python, designed to extract data from websites with ease and efficiency. It's used for a wide range of applications, from data mining and monitoring to automated testing.
Scrapy provides a simple command-line interface to create and manage your scraping projects. It allows developers to quickly generate spiders – the name for Scrapy's web crawling bots – to navigate websites and collect data.
11. Puppeteer
Puppeteer is a Node library which provides a high-level API to control Chrome or Chromium over the DevTools Protocol. It's mainly used for web scraping, automation, and generating pre-rendered content for single-page applications. Puppeteer's capabilities go beyond traditional scraping, enabling automation of web browser interactions like form submissions, UI testing, and screenshot capture.
Puppeteer can run Chrome in headless mode, which is essential for automation scripts and servers that don't have a display. This allows for web scraping and testing in environments without a graphical interface, improving both performance and deployment flexibility.
Ready To Get Scraping?
After looking at the best Apify alternatives you have everything you need to make your choice. Choosing the right web scraping tool is crucial for efficiently navigating the vast landscape of online data. By evaluating the distinct functionalities, scalability options, and support provided by these alternatives, you can choose a web scraping tool that not only fits your current requirements but also adapts to your growing and changing data collection needs.
Magical, while not a full fledged web scraper, is very effective at collecting data from any webpage you give it. It's perfect for people and teams that want something easy to set up and use and can help them with other repetitive tasks. Try it today and find out why over 650,000+ people are saving 7 hours a week on average.
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