Scrape.ly vs Crawlbase: a Crawlbase alternative that runs your code
Crawlbase sells requests: a crawling API, a smart proxy, and managed scrapers, all drawing on one credit balance. Scrape.ly runs scrapers as Actors, with managed proxies billed per GB, a hosted anti-bot browser, and a community Store. Here is how they compare.
Competitor facts and prices as listed on Oct 14, 2026. Sources
The short answer
Crawlbase is a straightforward choice if you want to fetch pages per request, pay only for successful ones, and avoid bandwidth metering altogether. Scrape.ly is the better fit when you want to run your own scraping code, or Apify Actors you already have, with residential traffic at $2–$4 per GB and datacenter at $0.75–$1 per GB, a hosted anti-bot browser, and a Store where creators keep 80% of event fees.
Apify-compatible
$2–$4/GB residential, $0.75–$1/GB datacenter
Creators keep 80% of paid fees
Scrape.ly vs Crawlbase, side by side
Crawlbase: Web data API (Crawling API, Enterprise Crawler, Smart AI Proxy, Cloud Storage, and managed scrapers) billed from a shared credit balance per successful request.
| Feature | Scrape.ly | Crawlbase |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Platform to run, build, and sell scrapers (Actors), with a Store | Crawling API, Smart AI Proxy, storage, and managed scrapers |
| Pricing model | Plans raise limits; usage from a prepaid USD balance | Credits per successful request; pay as you go or subscriptions |
| Free to try | Free plan with a monthly usage credit, no credit card to start | 1,000 credits at signup, up to 5,000; no credit card |
| Proxy pricing | Residential $2–$4 per GB, datacenter $0.75–$1 per GB | Per successful request from the credit balance, not per GB |
| JavaScript rendering | Playwright or Puppeteer in your Actor, or the hosted Scrapely browser | Counts x2 credits |
| Custom code | Yes: JavaScript and Python Actors, Apify-compatible | No; fetch-and-return API |
| Ready-made scrapers | Scrape.ly Store, from Scrape.ly and community developers | First-party managed scrapers (Amazon, Google, others) |
| Creator revenue share | 80% of event fees paid with purchased credits | None; affiliate program only |
| MCP server | Hosted, OAuth or API token | Web MCP Server |
| Client libraries | JavaScript and Python clients, scrapely CLI | Node, Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, .NET, Go |
Pricing compared
Crawlbase 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
Crawlbase
- Pricing model
- Credits per successful request with volume-tiered pay-as-you-go rates. JavaScript rendering counts x2 and site-difficulty multipliers (x1 to x20) apply. Optional monthly or yearly subscriptions.
- Free tier
- 1,000 free credits at signup, rising to up to 5,000 after setup steps; no credit card required.
Crawlbase plans
| Crawlbase plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Pay as you go | $3.00 per 1K for the first 1K, $2.00 next 10K, $0.60 next 100K, $0.50 next 1M, $0.10 next 10M, down to $0.02 per 1K at the top tier | Standard successful requests; JavaScript rendering x2, difficulty multipliers x1 to x20 |
| Starter | $99/mo monthly; $1,089/yr yearly | 200K credits/mo |
| Scale 500K | $199/mo monthly; $2,189/yr yearly | 500K credits/mo |
| Scale 1M | $349/mo monthly; $3,839/yr yearly | 1M credits/mo |
| Growth | $599/mo monthly; $6,589/yr yearly | 2M credits/mo |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom |
Crawlbase usage and proxy pricing
| Crawlbase product | Price as listed on Oct 14, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Smart AI Proxy (residential and datacenter) | Billed per successful request from the same credit balance, not per GB; residential IPs included in requests |
- Crawlbase's per-request price drops with volume, from $3.00 per 1,000 for the first 1,000 requests to $0.02 per 1,000 at the top tier, then multiplies by x2 for JavaScript rendering and x1 to x20 for difficult sites.
- Scrape.ly meters what a run actually uses: compute (memory × duration), proxy traffic per GB, and browser credits, from a prepaid balance.
Feature by feature
Where Scrape.ly and Crawlbase overlap, and where they take different approaches.
Execution model
Actors are programs you or the community write, running in containers with datasets, key-value stores, and request queues. Tasks, schedules, and webhooks automate them.
The Crawling API returns HTML or structured data per request, and the Enterprise Crawler handles large asynchronous batches with callback delivery.
Proxies and anti-blocking
Managed residential ($2–$4 per GB) and datacenter ($0.75–$1 per GB) proxies on every run, plus the Scrapely browser with anti-bot fingerprints and Cloudflare Turnstile solving.
Smart AI Proxy rotates residential and datacenter IPs across 30 geographies behind one endpoint, billed per successful request.
Ready-made scrapers
The Store lists Actors from Scrape.ly and community developers. Publish your own with pay-per-event pricing and keep 80% of fees paid with purchased credits.
Crawlbase builds its own managed scrapers for Amazon, Google (SERP, Maps, Shopping), and other sites.
Storage and integrations
Every run gets its own dataset and key-value store, read through the API, the JavaScript and Python clients, or the hosted MCP server.
Cloud Storage costs 0.5 credits per stored page per month. Listed integrations include n8n, Zapier, and Scrapy, plus a Web MCP Server.
How to switch from Crawlbase
Replace request calls with Actor runs: pick a Store scraper or build one, add a proxy, and read the dataset.
- 01
Find or build an Actor
Run a scraper from the Store, or create your own from a template with the scrapely CLI.
Browse the Store →Quick start → - 02
Choose a proxy pool
Use residential or datacenter IPs targeted by country, and the Scrapely browser for protected sites.
Proxies →Scrapely browser → - 03
Call it from your backend
Start runs, cap their cost, and read results with the HTTP API or the JavaScript and Python clients.
Run Actors →JavaScript client →
When to choose which
Crawlbase is a good fit for: Developers who want a request-based scraping API with simple per-request billing and no bandwidth metering.
Choose Scrape.ly if
- You want to run your own scraper code, or existing Apify Actors, on a managed platform.
- You prefer to pay for proxy traffic per GB rather than per request.
- You want a hosted anti-bot Chromium with Cloudflare Turnstile solving.
- You want community scrapers from the Store, or to sell your own and keep 80%.
- You want a prepaid balance with an optional maximum charge per run.
Choose Crawlbase if
- You want a request-based API with simple per-request billing.
- You do not want bandwidth metered at all.
- You want first-party managed scrapers for Amazon and Google.
- You want client libraries for Ruby, PHP, Java, .NET, or Go.
Worth knowing before you decide
- Crawlbase bills per successful request with difficulty multipliers. Scrape.ly bills compute and proxy traffic per GB, plus any per-event price set by an Actor's creator.
- Scrape.ly runs existing Apify Actors, Apify SDK code, and Apify API clients with few or no changes; Crawlbase uses its own API.
- Crawlbase's ready-made scrapers are first-party. Scrape.ly's Store lists Actors from Scrape.ly and community developers, who keep 80% of what users pay with purchased credits.
- Scrape.ly runs your custom code (Actors) on its platform; Crawlbase is a fetch-and-return API.
Need something custom, such as volume pricing or a managed scraper? Talk to us.
Scrape.ly vs Crawlbase, answered
Is Scrape.ly an alternative to Crawlbase?
For many scraping jobs, yes. Crawlbase is a per-request API. Scrape.ly runs full scrapers (Apify-compatible Actors) with managed proxies, storage, and a Store of ready-made scrapers.
Does Crawlbase charge per GB?
No. As listed on Oct 14, 2026, Crawlbase bills usage per successful request rather than per gigabyte. Scrape.ly charges proxy traffic per GB: $2 for residential and $1 for datacenter.
How does pricing compare?
As listed on Oct 14, 2026, Crawlbase pay-as-you-go starts at $3.00 per 1,000 requests and falls with volume, and its Starter subscription is $99 a month for 200,000 credits. Scrape.ly charges compute, proxy traffic, and browser credits from a prepaid balance.
Can I sell scrapers on Scrape.ly?
Yes. Publish an Actor in the Store with pay-per-event pricing and keep 80% of what users pay with purchased credits.
Who operates Scrape.ly?
Scrape.ly is operated by TeraShift GmbH, a Swiss company.
Sources and method
Every Crawlbase fact on this page comes from their public website and docs, read on Oct 14, 2026. Prices change, so check the linked pages before you buy. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
Crawlbase (accessed Oct 14, 2026)
Scrape.ly
- Proxy groups and per-GB prices
- Plans, prepaid credits, and billing
- Creator earnings (80%) and payouts
- Maximum charge per run
- JavaScript SDK (API-compatible with the Apify SDK)
- Python SDK
- Migrating from apify-client (JavaScript)
- Migrating from apify-client (Python)
- Scrapely browser
- MCP server
- CLI reference
- Store
- Pricing
Crawlbase is a trademark of its owner, used here only to identify their product. Scrape.ly is not affiliated with Crawlbase.
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