vs Apify
Apify alternative with 98% on protected sites.
Apify's 10,000+ Actors sound powerful until you're managing different APIs for each site and watching compute units eat your budget. Scrapfly gives you one API that works everywhere with simple credit pricing.
Apify works, until it doesn't.
Teams come to this page for one of three reasons: success rate degraded after an antibot vendor update, cost surprised them via credit multipliers or "premium domain" surcharges, or they need features Apify doesn't ship (JS rendering, Extraction API, unified billing). Scrapfly addresses all three on the same key.
Sites Scrapfly actually handles.
Scrapeway benchmarks test every major scraping API with default, out-of-box configs.
E-commerce
Social Media
Professional
Local & Maps
One API vs 10,000 Actors
With Apify, you need to find, configure, and pay for separate Actors for each website. Different APIs, different pricing, different maintainers. Scrapfly provides a single unified API that handles any website with consistent behavior and predictable costs.
Unified Scraping Experience
- Same SDK for all websites
- Consistent parameter naming
- Predictable credit consumption
- No per-Actor learning curve
Full Stack Ownership
- Active anti-bot monitoring 24/7
- Bypass restoration in days, not weeks
- No third-party Actor dependencies
- Real browser TLS fingerprint matching
Scrapfly vs Apify, one row at a time.
What matters for production scraping: protected-site success, cost, reliability.
| Metric | Scrapfly | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Success Rate (Protected Sites) | 98% | Struggles with anti-bot bypass |
| Free Trial | 1,000 API credits | $5 platform credits |
| Pricing Model | Simple credits | Subscription + compute units + Actor fees |
| Anti-Bot Bypass | ASP (full stack ownership) | Via specific Actors |
| Unified API | One SDK for all sites | Different Actor per site |
| AI Extraction | LLM prompts, auto-detection, templates | Via GPT Actors |
| Bandwidth Optimization | Proxy Saver (50% savings) | |
| Browser Automation | JS Scenarios | Puppeteer/Playwright Actors |
| Screenshot API | Full page + element capture | Via Screenshot Actors |
How Scrapfly's Anti-Scraping Protection works.
Set asp=True. The engine handles everything else.
Adaptive bypass
Handles Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX automatically. Detects the challenge type, submits a valid solution.
Session intelligence
Reuses unblocked stealth-browser sessions when the target allows it, cutting cost without sacrificing success rate.
Credits vary by actual complexity.
Scrapfly ASP costs 30+ credits (varies by target). You don't overpay for simple targets. Full pricing.
| Configuration | Scrapfly | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Price | $30/month | $39/month + usage |
| Basic scrape | 1 credit | Varies by Actor (+ compute units) |
| JavaScript rendering | 6 credits | Compute units ($0.20-0.30/CU) |
| Protected site bypass | 30+ credits (varies by target) | Premium Actor fees + compute units |
Apify vs Scrapfly
The Actor marketplace sounds great until you're juggling 15 different Actor APIs and watching compute units drain your budget.
Complex Pricing
Apify charges platform subscription + compute units (billed per second of Actor runtime) + optional Actor fees. Memory-hungry scrapers or slow sites drain CUs faster than expected.
Scrapfly: fixed credit per request10,000+ Different APIs
Each Apify Actor has its own input schema: productUrls for Amazon, directUrls for Instagram, searchStringsArray for Google Maps. New site? Find and learn another Actor.
url parameter for any site
Third-Party Maintenance
Apify Actors are built by community developers with no SLA. When an Actor breaks, you open a GitHub issue and wait. Maybe days, maybe never.
Scrapfly: we own and support the stackWhat developers say.
4.9/5 · 219 reviewsWhat teams complain about with Apify
- Silent success-rate degradation after antibot vendor updates
- Credit multipliers on "premium" targets blow up invoices
- Support tickets routed through tier-1 scripts before real answers
Three things that stop happening
- 5 engine deploys/day on real error telemetry — no silent rot
- Variable credit cost by actual target complexity — no premium-domain surprise
- Every support agent is a web-data developer — no tier-1 script
Most teams migrate in under 2 hours.
No downtime, no data loss. Run both vendors in parallel during evaluation.
- Sign up for 1,000 free credits No credit card. Full API access from minute one.
- Install the SDK Python, TypeScript, Go, or Scrapy.
- Update request parameters Parameter mapping in the getting-started guide.
- Test your critical targets Run Scrapfly alongside Apify during evaluation.
# Apify Actor → Scrapfly: Unified API approach
from scrapfly import ScrapflyClient, ScrapeConfig
client = ScrapflyClient(key='YOUR_API_KEY')
# Instead of learning different Actor APIs for each site,
# use the same Scrapfly SDK for any target:
result = client.scrape(ScrapeConfig(
url='https://example.com',
render_js=True, # Replaces Actor-specific JS settings
asp=True, # Reliable bypass (no Actor dependencies)
country='us', # Built-in geo-targeting
format='json' # Structured output
))
# Extract data with AI (replaces custom Actor parsing)
from scrapfly import ExtractionConfig
extracted = client.extract(ExtractionConfig(
content=result.content,
content_type='text/html',
extraction_model='product' # Auto-detect product data
))
print(extracted.data)Full parameter mapping from popular Actors, workflow migration patterns, and examples:
View Full Migration GuideFrequently Asked Questions
Does Scrapfly really hit 98% on protected sites?
Yes. Scrapeway benchmarks every major scraping API on identical protected targets — LinkedIn, Walmart, Zillow, Glassdoor. Scrapfly consistently hits 98%.
Can I test Scrapfly on my targets before committing?
Yes. The free plan is 1,000 API credits, no credit card. Test your exact targets before upgrading.
Why is Apify expensive?
Apify's pricing can run up due to high credit multipliers on premium features. Scrapfly's ASP costs 30+ credits (varies by target), varying by actual target complexity — you don't overpay for simpler sites.
How does Scrapfly handle heavy protection?
ASP adapts to Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX, Akamai, and custom antibot systems. Real TLS handshake, matching fingerprints, adaptive challenge solving. No manual tuning.
Why is Apify not working on my target?
Usually insufficient antibot bypass. Cloudflare, DataDome, and PerimeterX have all tightened detection recently. Scrapfly's ASP stays current via daily deploys and holds 98%.
What happens on a failed request?
Scrapfly returns detailed error diagnostics (block, timeout, target issue). Automatic retries handle transient failures. Failed requests don't cost credits.
Does Scrapfly support JavaScript rendering?
Yes. Dedicated cloud browser instances handle full JS execution for React, Vue, Angular, SPAs. Enable render_js.
What proxies does Scrapfly include?
Residential and datacenter proxies across 50+ countries, rotating by default. All included in API credits, no separate fees.
Does Scrapfly have an Extraction API?
Yes. The Extraction API transforms raw HTML into structured JSON. Auto-extract, LLM prompts, or reusable templates.
Run Scrapfly in parallel. Switch when ready.
1,000 free credits, full API access, migration support. Your Apify integration stays live during evaluation.
Methodology: Scrapeway benchmarks test scraping APIs using default, out-of-box configurations — the real-world experience developers encounter on day one.