Apify vs Scrapfly
Comparing architecture, runtime limits, open-source licenses, and monthly costs for autonomous agent pipelines.
Detailed Specifications & Compatibility Matrix
Extracted directly from GitHub REST API & official developer documentation
| Technical Feature / Metric | Apify | Scrapfly |
|---|---|---|
| Developer / Organization | Apify Technologies (Jan Čurn & Jakub Balada) | Scrapfly SAS |
| Open-Source Engine | ✓ Open Source (Apache-2.0) | ✕ Proprietary Cloud |
| GitHub Stars (Repo/SDK) | ★ 26,265 GitHub Stars | Proprietary / Closed Core |
| Core Repository Language | TypeScript | Cloud API |
| Supported SDK Clients | ||
| Self-Hosted Deployment | ✓ Supported | Hosted Only |
| Docker / Container Ready | ✓ Official Image | Managed |
| Model Context Protocol (MCP) | ✓ Native MCP | ✓ Native MCP |
| Billing Architecture | usage based | usage based |
| Developer Free Tier | ✓ Yes $5 free platform credits / mo | ✓ Yes 1,000 free API credits |
| Entry Paid Tier (Monthly) | $49 USD / mo | $30 USD / mo |
| Pricing & Cost Architecture | Free tier includes $5/mo in platform credits (~12 compute units). Starter plan is $49/mo ($49 prepaid usage) at $0.40 per Compute Unit (1 CU = 1GB RAM for 1 hour). | Free trial provides 1,000 initial API credits. Discovery plan starts at $30/mo for 200,000 API credits (basic request = 1 credit; JS rendering + residential proxy = 5-25 credits). |
| Key Engineering Insight | Maintains Crawlee, one of the most popular open-source scraping libraries, and hosts a marketplace of over 2,000 ready-made cloud Actors for LLM data ingestion. | Uses custom-patched Chromium instances to mimic real residential JA3/TLS browser fingerprints, bypassing Cloudflare Turnstile and DataDome automatically. |
Strengths & Trade-Offs
Objective engineering evaluation of both platforms
Apify Evaluation
Key Advantages
- ✓ Hosts over 2,000 pre-built scraping and automation Actors for major web services and marketplaces
- ✓ Maintains Crawlee, the gold-standard open-source scraping library with automated proxy management and fingerprinting
- ✓ Official Model Context Protocol (MCP) server support and official SDKs for Python and JavaScript
Limitations & Trade-Offs
- ✕ Pricing based on Compute Units (CUs) can become complex to project across large multi-actor agent workflows
- ✕ Free tier $5 credit allowance is shared across storage, data transfer, and actor compute
Scrapfly Evaluation
Key Advantages
- ✓ Advanced Anti-Scraping Protection (ASP) with automated residential proxy rotation and CAPTCHA solving
- ✓ Direct markdown format extraction parameter (&format=markdown) built specifically for LLM ingestion
- ✓ Full JavaScript rendering engine supporting custom pre-scrape evaluate scripts and scroll triggers
Limitations & Trade-Offs
- ✕ Advanced proxy and headless browser features consume between 5 and 25 API credits per request
- ✕ Strictly cloud-hosted API; no on-premise Docker deployment option
Source Quotes
Direct excerpts from official documentation backing our extracted specifications
Apify Documentation Proof
"Starter plan at $49/month includes $49 usage and pay-as-you-go scaling at $0.40 per Compute Unit."
"Free tier includes $5 monthly platform credits renew each month."
"Crawlee library is 100% open source and self-hostable with Docker."
Scrapfly Documentation Proof
"Discovery plan starts at $30/mo with 200,000 API credits and unlimited concurrency."
"Free trial includes 1,000 credits to test all features and proxy networks."
"Fully managed cloud infrastructure; integrations available via SDKs and REST."
Frequently Asked Questions: Apify vs Scrapfly
Architectural trade-offs and decision criteria
Is Apify or Scrapfly cheaper for developers?
Apify has a starting price of $49/mo (usage based), while Scrapfly starts at $30/mo (usage based). Apify includes a free tier ($5 free platform credits / mo). Scrapfly offers a free tier (1,000 free API credits).
Can I self-host Apify and Scrapfly in my own infrastructure?
Apify is self-hostable under the Apache-2.0 license. In comparison, Scrapfly is proprietary cloud infrastructure.
Do Apify and Scrapfly support the Model Context Protocol (MCP)?
Apify has native support for MCP servers. Scrapfly fully supports Model Context Protocol integrations.
Which programming languages have official SDKs for Apify vs Scrapfly?
Apify provides official SDKs in: python, typescript, javascript, curl. Meanwhile, Scrapfly supports: python, typescript, go, curl.