Helium Scraper Alternatives — Better Visual Web Scraping

Helium Scraper Alternatives — Better Visual Web Scraping

Helium Scraper was a Windows desktop application for visual web scraping. You pointed at page elements, clicked to extract data, and Helium handled the rest. It had a loyal user base, but development slowed significantly, the Windows-only limitation became a problem for Mac and Linux users, and the visual workflow model didn't scale for production pipelines.

If you're still using Helium Scraper or considering alternatives that offer a better visual scraping experience, here are the best options available in 2026.

Key Takeaways

• SearchHive ScrapeForge replaces Helium's point-and-click scraping with a modern API — no OS limitations, no desktop required, scales to millions of pages
• Octoparse is the closest visual alternative with both desktop and cloud scraping, plus 500+ templates
• Browse AI offers the simplest browser-based visual scraping experience
• Portia (open-source) provides visual scraping for developers who want to self-host
• For production pipelines, API-based tools like SearchHive and Firecrawl outperform all visual/point-and-click scrapers

1. SearchHive ScrapeForge — API-Based Visual Scraping Replacement

/compare/helium-scraper

ScrapeForge is SearchHive's web scraping API. Instead of pointing at elements in a desktop app, you define your extraction rules in a JSON payload and get structured data back. It handles JavaScript rendering, proxy rotation, and CAPTCHA solving on the backend.

Pricing: Free tier with 500 credits. Starter at $9/mo for 5K credits. Builder at $49/mo for 100K credits. Works across SearchHive's entire API suite (search, scrape, research).

Why it's better than Helium Scraper:

• No OS limitation: Works from any operating system, any language — it's an HTTP API
• No desktop required: Runs in the cloud, no need to keep your computer running
• Scales automatically: Handle thousands of pages without manual intervention
• Structured output: JSON, markdown, or raw HTML — ready for databases or LLM context
• Anti-bot handling: Proxies, CAPTCHAs, and JavaScript rendering are built in

import requests

# ScrapeForge — structured extraction from any URL
resp = requests.post("https://api.searchhive.dev/v1/scrape", json={
    "url": "https://www.g2.com/products/slack/reviews",
    "api_key": "sh_live_your_key",
    "format": "json",
    "extract": {
        "reviews": {
            "selector": ".review-item",
            "type": "list",
            "fields": {
                "rating": {"selector": ".stars", "type": "text"},
                "title": {"selector": ".review-title", "type": "text"},
                "author": {"selector": ".review-author", "type": "text"}
            }
        }
    }
})
data = resp.json()
for review in data.get("extracted", {}).get("reviews", [])[:5]:
    print(f"{review['rating']} - {review['title']}")

Migration from Helium: Define your Helium element selectors as ScrapeForge extraction rules. The CSS selector syntax is similar to Helium's element targeting, making the transition straightforward for existing users.

2. Octoparse — Full Visual Scraping Platform

/compare/octoparse

Octoparse is the most feature-complete visual web scraping platform available. It offers a desktop application for building scraping workflows visually, plus cloud servers for running them at scale.

Pricing: Free plan with 10 tasks, local execution. Standard at $69/mo (billed annually) adds cloud execution, IP rotation, CAPTCHA solving, and API access. Professional at $249/mo.

Why Octoparse is the closest Helium replacement:

• Visual workflow builder similar to Helium's point-and-click interface
• Cloud execution — no desktop running required for paid plans
• 500+ pre-built templates for popular sites (Amazon, LinkedIn, Google Maps)
• Handles JavaScript-heavy sites, infinite scrolling, and pagination
• Scheduling and automatic data export

Where it beats Helium: Cloud execution, templates, API access, active development, Mac/Windows support.

Where it falls short: Expensive at higher volumes. The free plan is limited. No Python SDK for programmatic control.

3. Browse AI — Simple Browser-Based Scraping

Browse AI takes the visual scraping concept to the browser. Build "robots" that navigate pages, click elements, and extract data — all through a web interface. No download required.

Pricing: Free with 50 credits/month. Starter at $39/mo for 2K credits. Professional at $99/mo for 5K credits.

Best for: Users who want Helium's simplicity but with a modern web interface and cloud execution. Lower barrier to entry than Octoparse.

Limitations: Fewer features than Octoparse. Limited to 2K-5K credits on paid plans. Less suitable for complex scraping workflows.

4. Portia — Open-Source Visual Scraping

/blog/portia-vs-searchhive

Portia is an open-source visual web scraper from Scrapinghub (now Zyte). You annotate web pages in a browser, and Portia generates spiders that you can run locally or deploy.

Pricing: Free and open-source. You provide the infrastructure.

Best for: Developers who want visual scraping with full control over the code and deployment. Portia generates Scrapy spiders from your annotations, so you get the visual builder experience plus the power of Scrapy underneath.

Limitations: Requires technical knowledge to deploy and maintain. Less polished UI than commercial tools. Documentation is limited.

5. Apify — Visual + Code Scraping

/compare/apify

Apify offers both visual scraping through their web interface and programmatic scraping through pre-built actors and APIs. It's a hybrid approach that works for technical and non-technical users.

Pricing: Free tier with $5 monthly credit. Starter at $49/mo. Custom plans for higher volumes.

Best for: Teams that want to start with visual scraping and graduate to code-based approaches. Apify's actor marketplace means you might find a pre-built scraper for your target site.

6. Mozenda — Enterprise Visual Scraping

Mozenda is an enterprise-focused web scraping platform with a visual page designer and cloud data collection.

Pricing: Enterprise-only. Contact for pricing. Typically starts at $250+/month.

Best for: Large organizations with compliance requirements, dedicated data teams, and budgets to match. Overkill for individual developers or small teams.

7. Web Automation with Playwright

If Helium's visual approach appealed because it automates browser interactions, Playwright gives you the same capability programmatically. Record and replay browser actions in Python or JavaScript.

Pricing: Free (open-source by Microsoft).

from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright

with sync_playwright() as p:
    browser = p.chromium.launch()
    page = browser.new_page()
    page.goto("https://news.ycombinator.com")
    stories = page.locator(".titleline > a").all_text_contents()
    for s in stories[:10]:
        print(s)
    browser.close()

Best for: Developers comfortable with code who want full browser automation without being locked into a vendor's visual builder.

Comparison Table

Recommendation

Helium Scraper's visual workflow model is useful for prototyping, but it wasn't designed for the scale and integration requirements of modern applications. Here's where to go based on your needs:

• You want to keep the visual approach but need cloud execution: Octoparse is the most mature option. Templates for popular sites save significant setup time. Browse AI is simpler but more limited.
• You're ready for an API approach: SearchHive's ScrapeForge handles everything Helium does — element extraction, JavaScript rendering, pagination — through a clean HTTP API. The $49/mo Builder plan covers 100K credits across search, scraping, and research.
• You want open-source and control: Portia generates Scrapy spiders from visual annotations. Playwright gives you browser automation with full programmatic control. Both are free.
• Enterprise requirements: Mozenda offers the most polished enterprise experience with SLAs and compliance features.

For most Helium Scraper users looking to modernize their scraping workflow, SearchHive offers the best path forward: no OS restrictions, cloud-native, API-first, and pricing that makes sense at any scale. Start free with 500 credits and test your first scraping job today.