//Compare · Scraping API\\

Scrape.ly vs Zyte: a Zyte alternative for Actors and proxies

Zyte pairs a per-response unblocking API with Scrapy Cloud for hosting Scrapy spiders. Scrape.ly hosts Apify-compatible Actors with managed proxies billed per GB, a hosted anti-bot browser, and a Store. Here is how they line up.

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

zyte api

GET /scrape?url=…&render=js

ResponseHTML

request → actor

scrape.ly · store actor

BuildSucceeded

RunSucceeded

Dataset

//TL;DR\\

The short answer

If your team lives in Scrapy, Zyte is the natural home: it maintains Scrapy, hosts spiders on Scrapy Cloud, and unblocks sites through Zyte API priced by site difficulty. Scrape.ly fits teams on the Apify Actor model or Crawlee, and can also wrap Scrapy projects as Actors, for teams who want one platform for running scrapers, paying for proxy traffic at $2–$4 per GB residential or $0.75–$1 per GB datacenter, using a hosted anti-bot browser, and selling scrapers in a Store.

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 Zyte, side by side

Zyte: Web data company and maintainer of Scrapy, offering Zyte API for unblocking, browser rendering, and AI extraction, priced per 1,000 successful responses by site tier, and Scrapy Cloud for hosting Scrapy spiders.

Scrape.ly and Zyte compared
Feature	Scrape.ly	Zyte
What it is	Platform to run, build, and sell scrapers (Actors), with a Store	Zyte API for unblocking and extraction, plus Scrapy Cloud hosting
Open-source base	Crawlee-based SDKs; JS SDK is API-compatible with the Apify SDK, parts derived from it (Apache-2.0)	Scrapy, maintained by Zyte
Pricing model	Plans raise limits; usage from a prepaid USD balance	Per 1,000 responses by site tier; Scrapy Cloud per unit per month
Free to try	Free plan with a monthly usage credit, no credit card to start	$5 Zyte API credit for 30 days; free Scrapy Cloud Starter
Unblocking	Managed proxies plus the Scrapely browser (fingerprints, Turnstile solving)	Bundled into Zyte API per-response pricing
Proxy pricing	Residential $2–$4 per GB, datacenter $0.75–$1 per GB	Included in per-response prices
Hosting	Actors in containers, billed by compute	Scrapy Cloud: from $9 per unit (1 GB RAM + 1 crawl) per month
Scrapy projects	Yes: scrapely init wraps the spiders in an Actor	Yes: Scrapy Cloud hosts Scrapy spiders
Runs Apify Actors	Yes, most run unchanged	No
Marketplace	Scrape.ly Store; creators keep 80% of event fees	None found

//Pricing\\

Pricing compared

Zyte 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

Zyte

Pricing model: Zyte API: a price per 1,000 responses that varies by site tier (1 to 5) and by HTTP or browser-rendered response; pay as you go, or monthly commitments ($100, $200, $500) with lower rates. Scrapy Cloud: per unit per month (1 unit = 1 GB RAM + 1 concurrent crawl).
Free tier: Zyte API: $5 of free credit to use within 30 days, no commitment. Scrapy Cloud Starter: free, with 1 hour of crawl time, 1 concurrent crawl, and 7-day data retention.

Zyte plans

Zyte plans as listed on Oct 14, 2026
Zyte plan	Price	Includes
Zyte API, pay as you go	HTTP $0.13 to $1.27 per 1K responses (tiers 1 to 5); browser-rendered $1.01 to $16.08 per 1K	No commitment
Zyte API, $100/month commitment	$100/mo; HTTP $0.10 to $0.95 per 1K; browser $0.75 to $12.00 per 1K	Discounted rates; no overage penalties
Zyte API, $200/month commitment	$200/mo; HTTP $0.08 to $0.76 per 1K; browser $0.60 to $9.60 per 1K	Discounted rates
Zyte API, $500/month commitment	$500/mo; HTTP $0.06 to $0.61 per 1K; browser $0.48 to $7.68 per 1K	Discounted rates
Zyte API, Enterprise	Custom	Volume discounts
Scrapy Cloud Starter	Free	1 hour crawl time, 1 concurrent crawl, 7-day data retention
Scrapy Cloud Professional	From $9 per unit per month	1 unit = 1 GB RAM + 1 concurrent crawl; unlimited crawl time, 120-day data retention, personalized support

Zyte API's price per 1,000 responses depends on the site's tier (1 to 5) and whether the response is browser-rendered, from $0.13 for an easy HTTP response to $16.08 for the hardest browser response, pay as you go.
Scrape.ly does not price by site: a run pays for its compute, proxy traffic per GB, and browser credits if it uses the Scrapely browser.

//Features\\

Feature by feature

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

Frameworks and hosting

Scrape.ly

Actors are written with the Scrape.ly JavaScript or Python SDK, built on Crawlee and compatible with the Apify SDK. Scrapy projects run too: scrapely init adds a wrapper that runs the spiders inside an Actor.

Zyte

Zyte maintains Scrapy and hosts Scrapy spiders on Scrapy Cloud, with scheduling, priced per unit of 1 GB RAM and one concurrent crawl.

Unblocking and rendering

Scrape.ly

Use the managed residential or datacenter proxy per GB, and the Scrapely browser, a hosted Chromium with anti-bot fingerprints and Cloudflare Turnstile solving that Playwright and Puppeteer connect to unchanged.

Zyte

Zyte API returns HTTP or browser-rendered responses, priced by site difficulty tier, with unblocking included.

Extraction and AI

Scrape.ly

Actors return the structured data you define. The hosted MCP server lets Claude, Cursor, and VS Code search the Store, run Actors, and read results.

Zyte

Zyte API includes AI extraction.

Marketplace

Scrape.ly

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

Zyte

No third-party scraper marketplace was found.

//Switching\\

How to switch from Zyte

Bring your Scrapy project with you: scrapely init wraps its spiders in an Actor, so the spider code stays the same.

01
Wrap your Scrapy project
Run scrapely init in a folder with scrapy.cfg. It adds a main.py wrapper that runs the project's spiders inside the Actor and a scrapely entry in requirements.txt.
Projects & running →
02
Push and run it
Add a Dockerfile if the project has none, push it with the scrapely CLI, and run it on the platform. Or start from a Crawlee template or a Store scraper instead.
Quick start →Browse the Store →
03
Replace unblocking with proxies and the browser
Point HTTP crawlers at the managed proxy, and turn on the Scrapely browser for sites that block headless browsers.
Proxy docs →Scrapely browser →
04
Schedule runs and read results
Save inputs as tasks, schedule them, and read datasets through the API or the client libraries.
Run Actors →

//Fit\\

When to choose which

Zyte is a good fit for: Python and Scrapy teams who want managed hosting for Scrapy spiders and per-response unblocking with AI extraction.

Choose Scrape.ly if

You build with Crawlee or the Apify SDK, or already have Apify Actors.
You want proxy traffic priced per GB rather than responses priced by site tier.
You want a hosted anti-bot Chromium your Playwright or Puppeteer code connects to unchanged.
You want a Store of ready-made scrapers, or to earn 80% of event fees from your own.
You want agents to run scrapers through a hosted MCP server.

Choose Zyte if

You want Scrapy hosting from the team that maintains Scrapy.
You want per-response unblocking with AI extraction, priced by site difficulty.
You want a free hosting tier for small Scrapy jobs.
You want monthly commitments that lower per-response rates.

Worth knowing before you decide

Zyte API bills per 1,000 responses by site difficulty tier. Scrape.ly bills compute, proxy traffic per GB (residential $2, datacenter $1), and browser credits for the Actors you run.
Zyte is built around Scrapy. Scrape.ly is built around the Apify Actor model and Crawlee-based SDKs, and runs Apify Actors.
Scrape.ly has a Store with an 80% creator share; no Zyte third-party marketplace was found.
Scrapy Cloud is billed per unit (1 GB RAM + 1 concurrent crawl) per month. Scrape.ly bills compute per run, with plans that raise limits.

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

Is Scrape.ly an alternative to Zyte?

It can be, for hosting and running scrapers. Scrape.ly runs Apify-compatible Actors with managed proxies, a hosted anti-bot browser, and a Store. Zyte focuses on Scrapy hosting and its per-response Zyte API.

Can I run Scrapy spiders on Scrape.ly?

Yes. Running scrapely init in a Scrapy project (a folder with scrapy.cfg) adds a main.py wrapper that runs the project's spiders inside an Actor, plus a scrapely entry in requirements.txt.

How does pricing differ?

As listed on Oct 14, 2026, Zyte API costs $0.13 to $1.27 per 1,000 HTTP responses and $1.01 to $16.08 per 1,000 browser-rendered responses pay as you go, depending on the site tier. Scrape.ly charges compute, proxy traffic ($2–$4 per GB residential, $0.75–$1 per GB datacenter), and browser credits.

Does Scrape.ly have a free tier?

Yes. The free plan includes a monthly usage credit, and no credit card is needed to start.

Who operates Scrape.ly?

Scrape.ly is operated by TeraShift GmbH, a Swiss company.

//Sources\\

Sources and method

Every Zyte 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.

Zyte (accessed Oct 14, 2026)

Scrape.ly

Zyte is a trademark of its owner, used here only to identify their product. Scrape.ly is not affiliated with Zyte.

//More comparisons\\

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

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