Crawlbase Alternatives — Better Scraping APIs for Developers

Why Developers Are Looking for Crawlbase Alternatives

Crawlbase (formerly ProxyCrawl) has been a known name in the web scraping space for years. It offers a Crawling API, Scraper API, Leads API, and a proprietary "Bypass AI" anti-bot system. The platform rebranded from ProxyCrawl in 2022–2023, but many developers are actively searching for crawlbase alternatives that offer a smoother experience, better pricing, and more modern tooling.

If you've hit the wall with Crawlbase's limited auto-parsing, lack of a visual interface, or inconsistent support response times, you're not alone. This guide covers eight solid crawlbase alternatives — each with distinct strengths — so you can pick the right scraping API for your stack.

We'll cover ScrapeForge (by SearchHive), Apify, ScrapingAnt, ScraperAPI, ZenRows, Bright Data, Scrapy Cloud (Zyte), and Diffbot. Whether you need better anti-bot bypass rates, cleaner SDKs, or a more generous free tier, there's an option here for you.

Key Takeaways

• Crawlbase alternatives range from lightweight proxy APIs to full extraction platforms — know what you need before choosing.
• ScrapeForge by SearchHive offers the best developer experience among crawlbase alternatives, with a clean REST API, generous free tier, and built-in JS rendering.
• Apify and Bright Data are strong choices if you need pre-built scraping actors and massive proxy networks.
• ZenRows and ScraperAPI are straightforward Crawlbase replacements with comparable pricing and simpler onboarding.
• For teams that need structured, schema-agnostic extraction out of the box, Diffbot and DeepDive (SearchHive) lead the pack.
• Always test anti-bot performance on your specific target sites — benchmark numbers vary wildly across providers.
• Free tiers matter more than you think. Several crawlbase alternatives offer 1,000–5,000 free requests per month for prototyping.

1. ScrapeForge by SearchHive — Best Developer Experience

/compare/crawlbase-vs-scrapeforge

ScrapeForge is SearchHive's scraping API and arguably the strongest contender among crawlbase alternatives when developer experience is the priority. It ships with anti-bot bypass, rotating proxies, JavaScript rendering, and a REST API that's genuinely pleasant to use.

SearchHive also offers SwiftSearch (a search API for real-time SERP data) and DeepDive (structured data extraction from any page). All three products share a unified API key and consistent design patterns.

Why it beats Crawlbase for developers:

• Cleaner, more intuitive API — fewer undocumented parameters, predictable response formats.
• Generous free tier that doesn't require a credit card to start testing.
• Built-in JS rendering with configurable timeout, so you're not paying extra for headless browser calls.
• Active documentation with copy-paste code examples in Python, Node.js, and cURL.

ScrapeForge Python Example

import requests

API_KEY = "your_scrapeforge_api_key"
url = "https://example.com/product-page"

response = requests.get(
    "https://api.searchhive.io/scrapeforge/v1/scrape",
    params={
        "url": url,
        "js_render": "true",
        "country": "us",
    },
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}"}
)

if response.status_code == 200:
    data = response.json()
    print(data["html"][:200])  # raw HTML
    print(data["status_code"])    # original page status
else:
    print(f"Error: {response.status_code} - {response.text}")

Extracting structured data with DeepDive

import requests

API_KEY = "your_scrapeforge_api_key"
url = "https://news.ycombinator.com"

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.searchhive.io/deepdive/v1/extract",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}"},
    json={
        "url": url,
        "prompt": "Extract the top 10 story titles and their point counts."
    }
)

result = response.json()
for item in result.get("data", []):
    print(f"{item['title']} ({item['points']} points)")

ScrapeForge's free tier gives you enough volume to prototype and validate before committing to a paid plan. For teams evaluating crawlbase alternatives, it's the first API worth testing.

/blog/scrapeforge-vs-crawlbase-developer-experience

2. Apify — Best for Pre-Built Scraping Workflows

Apify takes a different approach than Crawlbase. Instead of a pure API, it provides an actor-based platform where you can run, schedule, and chain scrapers. The Apify Store includes thousands of community-built actors for sites like Amazon, Google, LinkedIn, and more.

Strengths over Crawlbase:

• Massive library of pre-built scrapers — no need to write boilerplate for common sites.
• Built-in scheduling, storage, and actor orchestration.
• Strong Node.js and Python SDKs with local development support.

Weaknesses:

• Pricing can escalate quickly with high-volume actor runs.
• Actor quality varies — community actors may break without notice.
• The platform has a learning curve if you just need a simple API.

If your team benefits from not reinventing the wheel on every target site, Apify is one of the most powerful crawlbase alternatives available.

3. ScrapingAnt — Lightweight and Fast

ScrapingAnt is a straightforward scraping API that handles proxies, JS rendering, and CAPTCHAs through a single endpoint. It's designed for developers who want something that works immediately with minimal configuration.

Strengths over Crawlbase:

• Simple pricing: starts lower than Crawlbase's $49/mo Starter plan.
• Clean single-endpoint API design.
• Decent anti-bot performance on moderately protected sites.

Weaknesses:

• Limited geo-targeting options.
• No built-in structured extraction — you get raw HTML.
• Smaller proxy pool compared to enterprise-grade providers.

ScrapingAnt is a solid pick if your scraping needs are straightforward and you want to keep costs lean. Check out our comparison of ScrapingAnt vs Crawlbase for a deeper dive.

4. ScraperAPI — Direct Crawlbase Competitor

ScraperAPI is probably the closest direct competitor to Crawlbase. Both offer a crawling-focused API with proxy rotation, CAPTCHA handling, and JS rendering. ScraperAPI has been around since 2017 and has a large user base.

Strengths over Crawlbase:

• Competitive pricing with volume discounts at higher tiers.
• Reliable proxy rotation with automatic retries.
• Good documentation and responsive support.

Weaknesses:

• No visual dashboard for monitoring scraping jobs.
• Auto-parsing (like Crawlbase's Scraper API) is limited to specific sites.
• Rate limiting can be aggressive on lower-tier plans.

For teams looking for a 1:1 Crawlbase replacement, ScraperAPI is a safe bet. The migration path is short since the APIs share a similar design philosophy.

5. ZenRows — Best Anti-Bot Bypass Rates

ZenRows has positioned itself as the anti-bot specialist. Its core promise: render any page, bypass any protection. The API is simple, and the company publishes impressive benchmark data against Cloudflare, Datadome, PerimeterX, and other bot-protection systems.

Strengths over Crawlbase:

• Industry-leading anti-bot bypass rates, especially against Cloudflare.
• Clean API with a single endpoint for all features.
• Transparent pricing with a straightforward request-based model.

Weaknesses:

• Premium pricing for the highest bypass tiers.
• Limited built-in extraction capabilities.
• Free tier is smaller than some competitors.

If your primary pain point with Crawlbase is failed requests on heavily protected sites, ZenRows is worth every penny. See our ZenRows vs Crawlbase breakdown for specific test results.

6. Bright Data — Enterprise-Grade Proxy Infrastructure

Bright Data (formerly Luminati Networks) is the largest proxy network in the world. Its Web Unlocker product combines residential proxies with anti-bot bypass to handle the toughest targets. Bright Data also offers a full scraping platform with ready-made solutions for e-commerce, social media, and search engines.

Strengths over Crawlbase:

• Largest proxy network: 72M+ residential IPs across 195+ countries.
• Web Unlocker handles the most sophisticated bot protections.
• Comprehensive platform with data collection, proxy management, and scraping IDE.

Weaknesses:

• Expensive, especially for residential proxy traffic.
• Complex platform with a steep learning curve.
• Pay-per-GB proxy pricing can be unpredictable.

Bright Data is overkill for small projects but essential for enterprise-scale operations. If Crawlbase's proxy quality is holding you back at scale, Bright Data is the upgrade path.

7. Scrapy Cloud by Zyte — Best for Python-First Teams

Scrapy Cloud is the managed hosting platform for Scrapy spiders, maintained by Zyte (the company behind Scrapy). If your team already uses Scrapy, deploying to Scrapy Cloud is almost seamless.

Strengths over Crawlbase:

• Native Scrapy integration — deploy existing spiders without rewriting.
• Zyte Smart Proxy Manager (formerly Crawlera) for intelligent proxy routing.
• Strong Python ecosystem with Scrapy middleware and extensions.

Weaknesses:

• Tied to the Scrapy framework — not ideal for non-Python teams.
• UI and dashboard feel dated compared to newer platforms.
• Pricing model is less transparent than pure API providers.

For Python-heavy teams that want to keep using Scrapy with managed infrastructure, Scrapy Cloud is a natural Crawlbase alternative. Read more in our Scrapy Cloud vs Crawlbase comparison.

8. Diffbot — Best for Structured Data Extraction

Diffbot takes a fundamentally different approach. Instead of returning raw HTML, it uses computer vision and NLP to extract structured data from any web page. You get clean JSON with fields like title, price, author, date, and more — no CSS selectors or XPath needed.

Strengths over Crawlbase:

• Automatic page classification (article, product, event, discussion, etc.).
• Structured output without writing extraction rules.
• Knowledge Graph that links extracted entities across sources.

Weaknesses:

• Expensive at scale, especially for custom extraction rules.
• Extraction accuracy varies by site complexity.
• Less control over raw HTML output compared to scraping-focused APIs.

If your workflow needs structured data rather than raw HTML, Diffbot is in a class of its own. SearchHive's DeepDive product offers a similar extraction approach with AI-powered prompts, often at a lower cost.

/blog/diffbot-vs-deepdive-extraction-comparison

Comparison Table: Crawlbase Alternatives at a Glance

Which Crawlbase Alternative Should You Choose?

The right choice depends on your priorities:

• Best overall developer experience: ScrapeForge by SearchHive. Clean API, generous free tier, JS rendering, and structured extraction via DeepDive. Start here if you want the smoothest onboarding.
• Best for pre-built scrapers: Apify. Thousands of ready-made actors for popular sites.
• Best anti-bot bypass: ZenRows. If you're losing sleep over Cloudflare blocks, ZenRows is the answer.
• Best for enterprise scale: Bright Data. Largest proxy network, most sophisticated infrastructure.
• Best for Python teams: Scrapy Cloud. Deploy existing Scrapy spiders without rewriting.
• Best for structured extraction: Diffbot or DeepDive. Get clean JSON from messy pages.

All of these crawlbase alternatives offer free tiers, so there's no reason not to test 2–3 of them against your actual target sites before committing. Anti-bot performance, response times, and data quality vary significantly depending on the specific sites you're scraping.

Ready to Move Beyond Crawlbase?

If you're tired of fighting Crawlbase's limitations — limited auto-parsing, no visual interface, and unpredictable support — ScrapeForge by SearchHive is built for developers who want things to just work.

Get started with ScrapeForge today:

• Sign up for a free API key — no credit card required.
• Test JS rendering, proxy rotation, and anti-bot bypass on your target sites.
• Pair it with DeepDive for AI-powered structured extraction from any page.

Visit searchhive.io to create your free account and see why developers are switching from Crawlbase to ScrapeForge.

/blog/web-scraping-api-comparison-2025 /compare/crawlbase-vs-scrapeforge