Buyer’s guide · Technology
Best Web Scraping Software in 2026: Pricing & Comparison
We compared four web scraping tools on public pricing, free tiers, no-code options, and cloud versus desktop so data teams can shortlist extractors.
- Teams wanting cloud Actors and pay-as-you-go usage: Apify — free with $5 usage; Starter from $17/month annual.
- Teams wanting no-code cloud scraping with templates: Octoparse — free; Standard $69/month annual.
- Teams preferring a desktop trainer with cloud runs: ParseHub — free; Standard $189/month.
- Teams needing large-scale residential proxies and records: Bright Data — pay-as-you-go and published plans.
Web scraping software extracts structured data from websites, APIs, or marketplaces for research, monitoring, or AI pipelines. Buyers compare free tiers, public pricing models (usage, page, or flat), no-code versus code, and whether runs happen in the cloud or on desktop.
We used the same fields for every vendor: published pricing, free plan or trial, core focus, and main limitation. Order is not a quality ranking. We sorted public $0 or published list prices first.
Compared at a glance
| Provider | Published pricing | Free plan or trial | Best for | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Apify | Free ($5 usage); Starter $17/mo annual | Free plan | Cloud Actors and API-driven scraping | Visit → |
| 2. Octoparse | Free; Standard $69/mo annual | Free plan | No-code cloud scraping with templates | Visit → |
| 3. ParseHub | Free; Standard $189/month | Free plan | Desktop point-and-click with cloud | Visit → |
| 4. Bright Data | Pay-as-you-go from ~$1.50/1k records; plans available | Free credits | Large-scale proxy and data collection | Visit → |
Prices are public list prices in USD, checked 15 Oct 2026; they change often — confirm on the vendor’s pricing page.
The four companies in detail
Apify
Best for cloud Actors and API-driven scraping
Best for: developers and teams that want a marketplace of pre-built Actors, API access, and usage-based pricing with a free starting credit.
| Attribute | Apify |
|---|---|
| Published pricing | Free ($5 monthly usage); Starter $17/mo annual ($19 monthly); Scale $179 annual; Business $899 annual |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan with $5 prepaid usage and community support |
| Core focus | Cloud Actors, Store marketplace, scheduling, and API |
| Main limitation | Pay-as-you-go beyond prepaid credits; compute and result fees vary by Actor |
- Free plan includes $5 monthly usage credit for Store Actors or platform runs.
- Starter converts the subscription fee into prepaid usage with higher concurrency.
- Popular Actors charge per result; total cost depends on volume and compute.
Octoparse
Best for no-code cloud scraping with templates
Best for: non-developers who want point-and-click tasks, preset templates, and scheduled cloud runs on a published Standard plan.
| Attribute | Octoparse |
|---|---|
| Published pricing | Free; Standard $69/month annual; Professional $249/month annual; Enterprise custom |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan with limited tasks, devices, and export rows |
| Core focus | No-code task builder, cloud scheduling, IP rotation, and templates |
| Main limitation | Free tier has concurrent and export limits; some premium templates charge per result |
- Free plan covers local runs and limited cloud tasks for evaluation.
- Standard publishes $69/month annual with more concurrent processes and templates.
- Higher volume, priority support, and advanced exports require Professional or Enterprise.
ParseHub
Best for desktop point-and-click with cloud
Best for: users who prefer a desktop trainer to design scrapers and then run them in the cloud on paid plans.
| Attribute | ParseHub |
|---|---|
| Published pricing | Free; Standard $189/month; Professional $599/month |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan with limited pages per run and public projects |
| Core focus | Desktop point-and-click project design plus cloud execution |
| Main limitation | Free tier lacks scheduling; higher page volumes require Standard or Professional |
- Free plan allows limited page runs for testing the desktop trainer.
- Standard at $189/month adds private projects, IP rotation, and higher page limits.
- Desktop-first workflow; cloud scheduling and large volumes sit on paid tiers.
Bright Data
Best for large-scale proxy and data collection
Best for: teams that need residential proxies, ready-made datasets, or high-volume scraping with published per-record or proxy pricing.
| Attribute | Bright Data |
|---|---|
| Published pricing | Pay-as-you-go from approximately $1.50 per 1,000 records; proxy plans and custom available |
| Free plan or trial | Free credits or trial records available |
| Core focus | Residential and datacenter proxies, Web Scraper IDE, and datasets |
| Main limitation | Cost scales with traffic or records; enterprise volumes often require custom agreements |
- Publishes pay-as-you-go rates for datasets and proxy traffic.
- Offers Web Scraper tools and pre-collected datasets alongside proxies.
- High-volume or specialized residential usage can become expensive without volume commitments.
I want a free start with cloud Actors and an APIApify
I need no-code templates and scheduled cloud runsOctoparse
Octoparse publishes a free plan and Standard at $69/month annual with templates, IP rotation, and cloud scheduling.
I prefer designing scrapers on desktopParseHub
ParseHub provides a free desktop trainer and paid cloud plans starting at $189/month for higher page volumes and scheduling.
Buying tip
Calculate expected page or record volume before choosing. Usage-based tools (Apify, Bright Data) and flat-rate tools (Octoparse, ParseHub) behave differently at scale; also check proxy and anti-bot costs.
Does Apify have a free plan?
What is Octoparse Standard pricing?
Octoparse Standard is published at $69/month when billed annually, with higher concurrent cloud processes, templates, and IP rotation compared with the free plan.
How does Bright Data charge for scraping?
Bright Data publishes pay-as-you-go rates starting around $1.50 per 1,000 records for certain datasets, plus proxy traffic pricing. Confirm current rates on the official pricing page.
Last updated 15 October 2026. Pricing checked the same day from official vendor pages. We may earn from qualifying links; this does not affect order or conclusions. See our how we make money page.
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