Best Apify alternatives
Apify is a web scraping and automation platform, from $19/month. We've reviewed 2 alternatives: Crawl4AI and Firecrawl, with what each one costs next to Apify.
What Apify costs
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Free$5 of usage a month, $0.20 per compute unit, no card | $0 |
| Starter$19 of prepaid usage, then pay as you go; $0.20 per compute unit | $19/month |
| Scale$199 of prepaid usage, then pay as you go; $0.16 per compute unit | $199/month |
| Business$999 of prepaid usage, then pay as you go; $0.13 per compute unit | $999/month |
| Enterprise | Custom |
Where the cost bites
- Every plan is prepaid usage plus pay as you go, so the monthly price is a floor, not a cap.
- Runs are billed in compute units (1 GB of RAM for an hour), from $0.13 to $0.20 each depending on plan.
- Extra concurrent runs cost $5 per run, extra Actor RAM $1 per GB and datacenter proxies from $0.60 per IP.
From apify.com, checked 2026-10-02. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
The alternatives, next to Apify
| Tool | What it costs | Free way in | Self-hostable | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apify | From $19/month | Yes | No | – |
| Crawl4AIOpen-source crawler that turns websites into LLM-ready Markdown | Free (open source) · Cloud pay as you go | Yes | Yes | 4.1 / 5 |
| FirecrawlTurn any website into clean Markdown or JSON for AI agents | Free · paid from $19/month | Yes | Yes | 3.9 / 5 |
The options
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Apify alternatives: questions
What is the best alternative to Apify?
Crawl4AI scores highest of the 2 we've reviewed, at 4.1 out of 5. Open-source crawler that turns websites into LLM-ready Markdown. The right pick depends on what you use Apify for, so check each one's limits in the table above.
How much does Apify cost?
Free: $0 ($5 of usage a month, $0.20 per compute unit, no card); Starter: $19/month ($19 of prepaid usage, then pay as you go; $0.20 per compute unit); Scale: $199/month ($199 of prepaid usage, then pay as you go; $0.16 per compute unit); Business: $999/month ($999 of prepaid usage, then pay as you go; $0.13 per compute unit); Enterprise: Custom. Checked on 2026-10-02 at apify.com/pricing.
Is there a free alternative to Apify?
Crawl4AI (Free (open source) · Cloud pay as you go), Firecrawl (Free · paid from $19/month) have a free way to start. Free plans have limits, so read the review for each before you move real work over.
Why do people look for a Apify alternative?
Mostly cost and limits. Every plan is prepaid usage plus pay as you go, so the monthly price is a floor, not a cap. Runs are billed in compute units (1 GB of RAM for an hour), from $0.13 to $0.20 each depending on plan. Extra concurrent runs cost $5 per run, extra Actor RAM $1 per GB and datacenter proxies from $0.60 per IP.
Can I self-host an alternative to Apify?
Yes: Crawl4AI, Firecrawl. Hosting it yourself means you handle updates, backups and security.
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