//Compare · Proxy network\\

Scrape.ly vs Bright Data: scrapers with proxies built in

Bright Data sells proxy networks and data APIs as separate products. Scrape.ly is a platform that runs your scrapers (Apify-compatible Actors) with a managed residential or datacenter proxy on every run. Here is how they compare on price, scope, and fit.

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Competitor facts and prices as listed on Oct 14, 2026. Sources

bright data pool

scrape.ly · managed proxy

Residential$2 / GB

Datacenter$1 / GB

Per-run credentials

//TL;DR\\

The short answer

If you run your own scrapers and want proxies included, Scrape.ly keeps it in one place: residential traffic at $2–$4 per GB, datacenter at $0.75–$1 per GB, per-run credentials, and a Store of ready-made Actors. Bright Data is the broader proxy and data vendor: it sells standalone residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile proxies that work from any client, plus unblocking, SERP, browser, and scraper APIs billed per success.

Apify-compatible

Run existing Actors, SDK code, and apify-client calls with few or no changes. See the SDK docs.

$2–$4/GB residential, $0.75–$1/GB datacenter

Managed proxies on every run, paid from a prepaid balance. No surprise bills.

Creators keep 80% of paid fees

Sell Actors in the Store with pay-per-event pricing and request a payout once your available balance reaches the minimum. How it works.

//At a glance\\

Scrape.ly vs Bright Data, side by side

Bright Data: Proxy network and web data provider selling residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile proxies plus scraping products (Unlocker API, SERP API, Browser API, Web Scraper API, Scraper Studio) and datasets.

Scrape.ly and Bright Data compared
Feature	Scrape.ly	Bright Data
What it is	Platform to run, build, and sell scrapers, with managed proxies	Proxy networks, scraping APIs, and datasets
Residential proxy	$2–$4 per GB	$4/GB pay as you go (shown discounted from $8/GB); $3 to $4/GB on plans
Datacenter proxy	$0.75–$1 per GB	$0.6/GB pay as you go; $0.42 to $0.51/GB on plans; or per IP
ISP and mobile proxies	Not offered (residential and datacenter only)	Offered
Where proxies work	Inside Scrape.ly runs, with per-run credentials	Standalone, from any client
Run your own scraper code	Yes, as Actors (Apify-compatible)	Not as a hosted runtime; Scraper Studio and APIs instead
Hosted browser	Scrapely browser, billed in browser credits	Browser API, $8/GB pay as you go
Free tier	Free plan with a monthly usage credit	Free tiers on Unlocker, Web Scraper API, and Browser API (5K each)
Marketplace	Scrape.ly Store; creators keep 80%	No third-party marketplace found
Runs Apify Actors	Yes, most run unchanged	No

//Pricing\\

Pricing compared

Bright Data prices as listed on Oct 14, 2026 on their public pricing pages; check their site for current figures. Scrape.ly's current plans are on the pricing page.

Scrape.ly

Free plan: Monthly usage credit, no credit card to start
Paid plans: Raise concurrency, memory, and other limits, and can add a Store discount
Usage: Compute, storage, transfer, proxy, and browser usage from a prepaid USD balance
Residential proxy: $2–$4 per GB
Datacenter proxy: $0.75–$1 per GB
Spending control: Optional maximum charge per run; the run stops when it is reached

Bright Data

Pricing model: Priced per product: proxies per GB or per IP; Unlocker and Web Scraper APIs per 1,000 successful requests or records; Browser API per GB. Each has pay as you go, monthly plans, and custom Enterprise, billed in USD.
Free tier: Free tiers on Web Unlocker (5K requests/month), Web Scraper API (5K records), and Browser API (5K credits/month including 1 GB), with no credit card required. Residential proxies offer a free trial, and Scraper Studio has a free tier.

Bright Data plans

Bright Data plans as listed on Oct 14, 2026
Bright Data plan	Price	Includes
Residential, pay as you go	$4/GB (shown discounted from $8/GB)	Per-GB residential traffic
Residential, 141 GB	$499/mo ($4/GB, shown discounted from $7/GB)	141 GB
Residential, 332 GB	$999/mo ($3/GB, shown discounted from $6/GB)	332 GB
Residential, 798 GB	$1,999/mo ($3/GB, shown discounted from $5/GB)	798 GB
Datacenter, pay as you go	$0.6/GB	Per-GB datacenter traffic
Datacenter, GB plans	$499/mo (1 TB, $0.51/GB), $999/mo (2 TB, $0.45/GB), $1,999/mo (5 TB, $0.42/GB)	Included TB
Datacenter, per IP	Shared from $1.4/IP (10 IPs) to $0.9/IP (1,000 IPs); dedicated from $2.2/IP to $1.3/IP	100 GB fair use per IP per month
Web Unlocker API	Pay as you go $1.5/1K requests; Scale $499/mo including 383K requests, then $1.3/1K	Successful requests only, unlimited concurrency
Browser API (Scraping Browser)	Pay as you go $8/GB; Scale $499/mo including 71 GB	Built-in proxies and unlocking, unlimited concurrent sessions
Web Scraper API	Pay as you go $1.5/1K records; Scale $499/mo including 384,000 records, then $1.3/1K	Successful deliveries only, unlimited concurrency

Bright Data usage and proxy pricing

Bright Data usage and proxy pricing as listed on Oct 14, 2026
Bright Data product	Price as listed on Oct 14, 2026
Residential	$4/GB pay as you go (shown discounted from $8/GB); $3 to $4/GB on monthly plans
Datacenter	$0.6/GB pay as you go; $0.42 to $0.51/GB on plans; or per IP from $0.9 (shared)

Bright Data's residential prices were shown as discounts from list prices ($8/GB pay as you go); check the page for the current rate.
Scrape.ly bills proxy traffic per GB as part of the run that used it, from a prepaid balance. Bright Data prices each product on its own: per GB, per IP, per 1,000 requests, or per 1,000 records.

//Features\\

Feature by feature

Where Scrape.ly and Bright Data overlap, and where they take different approaches.

Proxy networks

Scrape.ly

Two pools: residential (the default, $2–$4 per GB) and datacenter ($0.75–$1 per GB), targeted by country. Each run gets its own credentials that only work from inside that run, and the settings are also exposed as APIFY_PROXY_* variables so existing proxy code works. You can bring your own proxies too; that traffic is never billed as proxy usage.

Bright Data

Residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile networks, sold as standalone products. Residential is priced per GB on pay as you go or monthly plans; datacenter is sold per GB or per IP, shared or dedicated.

Running scrapers

Scrape.ly

Scrape.ly is a runtime for scrapers: push an Actor with the CLI, run it on demand, on a schedule, or from the API, and read results from datasets. The SDKs keep the Apify SDK API, so most Apify Actors run unchanged.

Bright Data

Bright Data offers Scraper Studio and a Web Scraper API with a library of Bright Data-built scrapers, billed per 1,000 records delivered.

Unblocking and browsers

Scrape.ly

For sites that block headless browsers, the Scrapely browser is a hosted Chromium with anti-bot fingerprints, Cloudflare Turnstile solving, and its own residential proxy. Turn it on per Actor; Playwright and Puppeteer code connects without changes.

Bright Data

Web Unlocker API is billed per 1,000 successful requests, and the Browser API (Scraping Browser) comes with built-in proxies and unlocking, billed per GB.

Store and creators

Scrape.ly

The Scrape.ly Store lists Actors from Scrape.ly and community developers. Creators set pay-per-event prices and keep 80% of what users pay with purchased credits.

Bright Data

No third-party creator marketplace was found; the Web Scraper API library lists Bright Data-built scrapers.

Billing

Scrape.ly

Usage draws from a prepaid US dollar balance, and you can cap any run with a maximum charge. The run stops when it is reached.

Bright Data

Each product has pay as you go and monthly plans; the Unlocker and Web Scraper APIs charge only for successful requests or records and support monthly spend limits.

//Switching\\

How to switch from Bright Data

If you use Bright Data proxies from your own scrapers, the move is to run those scrapers on Scrape.ly, where the proxy is set up for you.

01
Create an account and an Actor
Install the scrapely CLI, log in, and start from a template or wrap your existing crawler as an Actor.
Quick start →
02
Switch the proxy configuration
Replace your Bright Data proxy URLs with the managed proxy: residential by default, or the DATACENTER group, targeted by country code.
Proxy docs →
03
Turn on the browser for tough sites
Where you relied on unblocking, enable the Scrapely browser for the Actor and rebuild.
Scrapely browser →Anti-blocking →
04
Run, schedule, and cap spend
Start runs from the dashboard, the API, or a schedule, and set a maximum charge per run.
Run Actors →

//Fit\\

When to choose which

Bright Data is a good fit for: Organizations that need large proxy networks across residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile, or managed unblocking and data delivery at volume.

Choose Scrape.ly if

You want to run scrapers, not manage proxy accounts: every run gets residential or datacenter proxy credentials automatically.
Residential traffic at $2–$4 per GB and datacenter at $0.75–$1 per GB fit your volume.
You already have Apify Actors or Crawlee code and want to run it with few or no changes.
You want ready-made scrapers from a Store, or to sell your own and keep 80% of event fees.
You want a prepaid balance and an optional maximum charge per run.

Choose Bright Data if

You need standalone proxies to use from your own servers or tools, outside any platform.
You need ISP or mobile proxies, or per-IP datacenter plans.
You want per-success APIs (Web Unlocker, Web Scraper API) or ready datasets at volume.
You need a very large proxy network across many proxy types.

Worth knowing before you decide

Scrape.ly residential traffic is $2–$4 per GB and datacenter $0.75–$1 per GB depending on your plan, billed as run usage. Bright Data lists residential at $4 per GB pay as you go (shown discounted from $8) and datacenter at $0.6 per GB.
Scrape.ly's managed proxy works only inside Scrape.ly runs; Bright Data's proxies are standalone products you can use from any client.
Scrape.ly offers residential and datacenter pools only. Bright Data also sells ISP and mobile proxies and per-IP datacenter plans.
Scrape.ly runs your own scraper code (Apify-compatible Actors) and Store Actors; Bright Data sells per-request and per-record APIs and a remote browser billed per GB.
Scrape.ly has a Store where creators keep 80% of event fees; no third-party marketplace was found at Bright Data.

Need something custom, such as volume pricing or a managed scraper? Talk to us.

Is Scrape.ly an alternative to Bright Data?

For running scrapers with managed proxies, yes. Scrape.ly runs Apify-compatible Actors with residential ($2–$4 per GB) and datacenter ($0.75–$1 per GB) proxies billed as run usage. Bright Data offers a wider range of standalone proxy types and data products.

Can I use Scrape.ly proxies outside the platform?

No. Scrape.ly's managed proxy works only inside runs on the platform, and each run gets its own credentials. If you need proxies for your own servers, a standalone provider such as Bright Data fits better.

How do residential proxy prices compare?

Scrape.ly charges $2–$4 per GB for residential traffic, depending on your plan. As listed on Oct 14, 2026, Bright Data showed $4 per GB pay as you go, discounted from $8 per GB, and $3 to $4 per GB on monthly plans.

Does Scrape.ly offer ISP or mobile proxies?

No. Scrape.ly has two proxy groups, residential and datacenter. Bright Data sells ISP and mobile proxies.

Can I run Apify Actors on Scrape.ly?

Yes. The Scrape.ly SDKs keep the Apify SDK API, so most Apify Actors run unchanged, and the API clients are drop-in replacements for apify-client.

//More comparisons\\

See every comparison on the compare page, or explore the Store, proxies, and anti-blocking.

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