Apify review

Apify takes a different route from the browser APIs above it. Instead of starting with a blank browser, you usually start in Apify Store, which listed 112,177 Actors when we checked: ready-made scrapers and automations that run on Apify's cloud. Developers can build their own Actors from Python, JavaScript or TypeScript templates, use the open-source Crawlee library, and sell Actors to other users. The platform bundles residential, datacenter and Google SERP proxies, an Unblocker, datasets and storage, and an MCP server so AI clients can call Actors directly. The Free plan includes $5 of usage every month. Starter is $19 a month, credited as $19 of usage, with chat support and a Bronze store discount; Scale at $199 lowers compute units from $0.2 to $0.16. The downside is predictability, because each Actor uses its own pricing model, per event, per usage or both. It ranks lower on ease of setup for custom work but is the fastest route for common scraping targets.

Who it is for

Teams that would rather run a ready-made scraper than write browser code, or publish their own.

Price

Free plan with $5 of monthly usage; Starter $19 per month plus pay as you go; Scale $199; Business $999.

Starter $19 / month + pay as you go
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 7, 2026.

Key features

• Apify Store with over 112,000 ready-made Actors
• Build and run your own Actors in Python, JavaScript or TypeScript
• Crawlee, an open-source scraping and crawling library
• Residential, datacenter and Google SERP proxies plus an Unblocker
• MCP server that gives AI clients access to Actors

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Free plan renews $5 of usage every month
• Strength: Many common scraping jobs need no code at all
• Strength: Developers can earn money by publishing Actors
• Weakness: Costs vary by Actor and pricing model, so bills are harder to predict
• Weakness: Concurrent runs are capped at 5 on Free and 32 on Starter
• Weakness: SSO is not on self-serve plans

Key facts

• Free plan: $5 a month of usage, $0.2 per compute unit
• Starter: $19 a month plus pay as you go
• Scale: $199 a month, $0.16 per compute unit
• Residential proxy: $8 per GB on Free and Starter
• Annual discount: 10% when billed annually

Where it ranks

Apify is No. 6 in our Best Browser Automation Tools verdict and No. 1 in Best Web Scraping Tools.