What is the Best Alternative to Bright Data? — Complete Answer

The best alternative to Bright Data depends on what you're using it for, but for most developers, SearchHive is the top pick because it combines web scraping, SERP search, and AI research into one platform at a fraction of Bright Data's cost. Other strong alternatives include ScraperAPI, ZenRows, and Oxylabs for specific use cases.

Bright Data is the largest web data platform, but its pricing (starting at $5/GB for residential proxies and separate API subscriptions), complex billing, and enterprise focus make it overkill -- and expensive -- for many teams.

Key Takeaways

• SearchHive is the best overall alternative -- unified API for search, scraping, and research at $49/mo for 100K credits.
• Bright Data starts at $5/GB for proxies and charges separately for scraping APIs, making it 5-20x more expensive than SearchHive for typical workloads.
• ScraperAPI is a good simpler alternative for pure scraping (starting at $49/mo).
• Oxylabs is the closest enterprise alternative to Bright Data for large-scale proxy infrastructure.
• SearchHive's $199/mo Unicorn plan (500K credits) replaces what most teams spend $500-2000/mo on at Bright Data.

Why Developers Leave Bright Data

• Pricing complexity: Separate charges for residential proxies ($5/GB), datacenter proxies, scraping APIs, SERP APIs, and unlocker. Bills are hard to predict.
• Enterprise sales pressure: Free trial requires talking to sales. Even small teams get pushed toward annual contracts.
• Minimum commitments: Many features require monthly minimums of $200-500+.
• Dashboard complexity: The control panel is designed for enterprise users, not developers who just want to make API calls.
• Credit expiration: Unused credits expire, so you lose what you don't use.

Top Bright Data Alternatives Compared

SearchHive vs Bright Data: Detailed Comparison

Pricing

SearchHive:

• Free: 500 credits/mo (search + scrape + research)
• Starter: $9/mo -- 5K credits
• Builder: $49/mo -- 100K credits
• Unicorn: $199/mo -- 500K credits

Bright Data:

• Residential proxies: $5/GB (can use 100-500MB for 1K pages depending on page size)
• Web Unlocker: $15/GB (for CAPTCHA-heavy sites)
• SERP API: Custom pricing (typically $30-100+/mo)
• Scraping Browser: $5/GB + browser costs
• Monthly minimums apply to most products

For a team doing 10K searches and 10K page scrapes per month:

• SearchHive Builder: $49/mo (20K credits, well within the 100K allowance)
• Bright Data: ~$200-500/mo (proxy bandwidth + SERP API + scraping API)

SearchHive is 4-10x cheaper for typical developer workloads.

Features

Code Comparison

SearchHive (Simple, Unified)

import httpx

API_KEY = "your-key"
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}"}

# Search the web
search = httpx.get("https://api.searchhive.dev/v1/search",
    headers=headers, params={"query": "AI agents 2026", "num_results": 10})

# Scrape a page
scrape = httpx.get("https://api.searchhive.dev/v1/scrape",
    headers=headers, params={"url": "https://example.com/article", "format": "markdown"})

# Deep research on a topic
research = httpx.get("https://api.searchhive.dev/v1/deepdive",
    headers=headers, params={"query": "comparison of LLM frameworks"})

One API key, three capabilities, predictable billing.

Bright Data (Complex, Separate Products)

import httpx

# Each product has separate auth, configuration, and billing
# SERP API requires separate setup
serp_response = httpx.post(
    "https://brightdata.com/serp/api/v2",
    auth=("user", "password"),
    json={"query": "AI agents 2026"}
)

# Web Unlocker requires proxy configuration
proxy_response = httpx.get(
    "https://example.com/article",
    proxies={"https": "http://brd-customer-xxx-zone-unlocker:xxx@brd.superproxy.io:22225"}
)

# No equivalent to DeepDive -- you'd need to build this yourself

Separate auth, separate billing, separate configuration for each product.

When to Choose Each Alternative

Choose SearchHive if:

• You need search + scraping + research in one platform
• You're budget-conscious ($49/mo vs $500+/mo)
• You're building AI agents that need web access
• You want to start testing without talking to sales /blog/what-is-mcp-in-ai-complete-answer

Choose ScraperAPI if:

• You only need web scraping (no search API)
• You want proxy rotation handled automatically
• You need a simple, focused scraping solution

Choose Oxylabs if:

• You're an enterprise that needs massive proxy infrastructure
• You're doing compliance monitoring or brand protection at scale
• You have the budget for enterprise pricing ($500+/mo)

Choose Firecrawl if:

• Open-source is important to you
• You want to self-host your scraping infrastructure
• You're building AI applications and need clean markdown output /blog/what-is-the-difference-between-scrapeforge-and-firecrawl-complete-answer

FAQ

Is SearchHive really cheaper than Bright Data? Yes, significantly. Bright Data's residential proxies alone cost $5/GB, and most use cases require 1-5GB/month. SearchHive gives you 100K credits (search + scrape + research) for $49/mo flat. For typical workloads, SearchHive is 4-10x cheaper.

Can I switch from Bright Data to SearchHive easily? Yes. SearchHive's API is simpler -- single endpoint, single API key, free JSON formatter responses. Most teams can migrate in under a day. The developer experience is significantly better because there's no proxy configuration, zone setup, or complex dashboard.

Does SearchHive have residential proxies like Bright Data? Yes, SearchHive routes scraping requests through proxy networks (including residential proxies) as part of the ScrapeForge service. You don't need to manage proxies yourself -- it's handled transparently.

What about data center proxies? SearchHive uses the most appropriate proxy type for each request automatically. For most scraping tasks, this means residential proxies for anti-bot bypass. You don't need to choose or configure proxy types.

Is Bright Data better for enterprise use? Bright Data has the largest proxy network in the world and offers features SearchHive doesn't (custom proxy zones, ISP proxies, mobile proxies). For enterprise-scale proxy needs (100TB+/month), Bright Data or Oxylabs may be more appropriate. For API-based search and scraping at developer scale, SearchHive is the better choice.

What happened to SerpDog as a Bright Data alternative? SerpDog (serpdog.io) appears to be defunct as of April 2026 -- their website is no longer operational. SearchHive's SwiftSearch is a strong replacement at lower cost.

Try SearchHive Free

The best way to evaluate SearchHive as a Bright Data alternative is to test it with your actual workload. Start with 500 free credits -- no credit card, no sales call, no commitment.

Visit searchhive.dev/pricing to get your API key and start making requests in under 5 minutes.

/compare/bright-data | /blog/what-is-a-serp-api-complete-answer