Home / Providers / Apify Review
A full‑stack web scraping platform with powerful tools and extensive integrations – ideal for developers and businesses of all sizes.
Apify, which began as a platform aimed at making it easy for developers to build flexible and scalable web crawlers simply using front-end JavaScript, has grown over the years to become one of the industry’s most comprehensive solutions for web scraping and automation.
Today, Apify is recognized for its robust features, including customizable Actors, an extensive Actor marketplace, and seamless integration capabilities. On Capterra, it holds a high rating of 4.8 out of 5, based on 207 reviews (as of the time of writing this), reflecting its reliability and strong reputation among users.
This review will show you what makes Apify one of the best web scraping and automation tools. Let’s dive in.
Apify, founded in 2015, is a Czech-based company that has carved a niche in the data extraction industry.
While Apify may not have all the advanced capabilities of some competitors, such as no-code/low-code interfaces like Bright Data or Octoparse or API-first solutions for specific niches, its strength lies in its flexibility, scalability, and ease of use. Users can either create custom scrapers using JavaScript/TypeScript or Python to turn any website into an API to extract structured data or take advantage of one of their pre-built scrapers (known as “actors”) on the marketplace.
Let’s talk about the latter – Apify’s marketplace, which hosts thousands of pre-built solutions for various use cases. This allows users to quickly find tools for specific tasks, from web scraping to process automation, without needing to start from scratch. The ability to create and customize Actors further enhances the platform’s flexibility.
With features such as cloud storage integration, task scheduling, and support for advanced data formats, Apify simplifies otherwise complex scraping workflows. These capabilities contribute to its popularity as a notable name in the web scraping and automation industry.
However, as previously mentioned, Apify may fall short in offering the advanced functionalities delivered by premium providers and may also lag in performance and reliability.
Apify provides a suite of products tailored to meet diverse web scraping and automation needs:
The Apify Store offers over 3,000 pre-built Actors designed for web scraping and automation tasks. These Actors are serverless cloud programs that perform specific functions, such as extracting data from websites or automating browser activities. Users can browse various store categories, including social media, e-commerce, AI, and more, to find tools that suit their specific needs.
One notable feature of the Apify Store is its support for AI-related applications. The platform provides tools for extracting data from websites using AI, generating data to train AI models, and feeding large language model (LLM) applications.
Apify encourages community participation by allowing developers to create and share their Actors on the platform. This not only enriches the store’s offerings but also provides developers with an opportunity to earn passive income from their contributions. The collaborative nature of the Apify Store fosters a diverse and continually evolving ecosystem of web scraping and automation tools.
Apify Actors are serverless cloud programs designed to perform various tasks, from simple actions like sending emails to complex operations such as web scraping and data processing. They accept well-defined JSON inputs, execute the specified tasks, and produce outputs accordingly. Actors can be run manually via the Apify Console, programmatically through APIs, or on a schedule, providing flexibility in automation workflows.
One of the key features of Apify Actors is their ability to handle long-running processes that exceed the lifespan of a single HTTP transaction. This capability is particularly useful for tasks like crawling extensive websites or processing large datasets. Additionally, Actors can be configured to run in Standby mode, allowing them to function as real-time APIs. In this mode, an Actor remains ready in the background, waiting for incoming HTTP requests, similar to a traditional web server or standard API server.
Developers can create Actors using various programming languages and deploy them within Docker containers on Apify’s infrastructure. This flexibility allows for custom configurations and the inclusion of necessary dependencies. Actors can be managed through Apify’s web interface, API, or command-line tools, providing multiple options for development and deployment.
However, it’s worth noting that Apify Actors often require more customization and configuration. If you’re not using pre-built actors, you may need to code your logic in Node.js, which can be time-consuming. Premium alternatives like Bright Data provide over 100 pre-built scrapers for everyday use cases (like scraping reviews from Google, reels from Instagram, or product details from Amazon). These scrapers are ready-to-use and require minimal configuration, making them more user-friendly.
Apify offers a range of integrations to enhance workflow automation and data management. You can connect Apify Actors with various web applications and cloud services with these integrations.
Apify integrates with platforms like Zapier, Make, Slack, and Gmail to simplify workflow automation and manage notifications. These integrations allow users to run Actors, monitor their statuses, and receive results directly in their preferred tools. For example, integrating Apify with Slack enables teams to collaborate on web scraping tasks effectively, centralizing automation workflows for better efficiency.
For data storage and processing, Apify connects with services such as Google Drive, Airbyte, and Keboola. These integrations facilitate the transfer of data from Apify to various storage solutions or data pipelines. For instance, users can configure Apify to automatically upload dataset files to a specific Google Drive folder upon completing an Actor run successfully.
Apify also supports integrations with AI and large language model tools, including LangChain, LlamaIndex, Pinecone, Flowise AI, and Haystack. These connections allow users to execute Actors within these frameworks and load the resulting data into vector databases or AI models. This capability is especially beneficial for projects that incorporate web-scraped data into AI-driven applications, such as building knowledge graphs or powering intelligent search tools.
Additionally, Apify supports Actor-to-Actor integration, where the output of one Actor can serve as the input for another. This feature enables the creation of complex, multi-step workflows, streamlining processes that require chaining multiple tasks together.
Apify Storage is a cloud-based solution tailored for web scraping and automation tasks. It offers enterprise-grade reliability, performance, and scalability, allowing users to store from a few records to hundreds of millions with consistently low latency. Built on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Apify Storage ensures high availability and dependability.
The platform offers three primary storage types, each tailored to specific use cases:
Apify Storage is optimized to handle the significant workloads typical of web scraping and crawling operations in a cost-effective manner. Users can easily view and manage their data through the Apify web interface, which facilitates sharing and collaboration. For developers, the Apify API and SDKs provide a way of integrating storage solutions into custom applications, offering greater flexibility and control over data management processes.
To maintain optimal performance and manage storage costs, Apify implements data retention policies. For instance, unnamed Key-Value Stores expire after seven days unless specified otherwise.
Apify’s anti-blocking solutions are designed to ensure reliable data extraction, even from websites with advanced anti-scraping measures. One key component Apify uses to prevent getting blocked is the use of proxy servers to manage IP addresses effectively. By rotating IPs, Apify reduces the risk of detection and blocking by target websites. This approach allows scrapers to mimic genuine user behavior, making it harder for sites to identify and block scraping activities.
Apify also addresses browser fingerprinting, a common technique used by websites to detect bots. By simulating typical browser behaviors and randomizing attributes like user agents and screen resolutions, Apify’s tools help prevent detection. These measures help scrapers appear more human-like, reducing the likelihood of detection.
Apify offers a range of proxy solutions tailored for various web scraping and automation needs. These include Datacenter Proxies, Residential Proxies, and a specialized Google SERP Proxy. Users can select proxies based on specific geographic locations using two-letter ISO country codes (e.g., ‘GB’ for Great Britain). If proxies for a specific location are unavailable, the platform defaults to an available location. While Apify proxies boast a 99.95% uptime, there is no explicit mention of their success rate.
Apify’s Datacenter Proxy provides fast, stable, and reliable proxy services for web scraping and automation tasks. They only offer proxy groups that are shared across multiple customers or dedicated ones.
Shared proxy groups allow multiple users to access a pool of proxy servers. These groups are organized by characteristics like speed or geographic location. Shared proxies are cost-effective but may have a higher risk of IP blocking due to potential misuse by other users. They are included in all Apify plans, making them a good option for basic scraping needs.
Dedicated proxy groups provide exclusive access to a specific set of proxy servers. These static IPs are assigned to a single user, ensuring lower chances of interference or IP blocking. Dedicated proxies are ideal for tasks requiring consistent IPs, such as login-based activities or accessing platforms with stricter security measures. They are available at an additional cost based on the type and number of proxies required.
Pricing
Apify’s Residential Proxies offer the most anonymity and give you access to a larger pool of proxy servers than Datacenter proxy. This makes it a better option in cases when you need a large number of different IP addresses to access geographically restricted content.
Their residential proxies support automatic IP rotation for smooth and uninterrupted operations during web scraping or automation tasks and sessions, where users can rotate IPs by request or maintain sessions for specific use cases. Apify’s Residential Proxies can be integrated with actors, tasks, or custom scripts.
The pricing for Apify Residential Proxies is based on traffic demand:
Apify has a Google SERP Proxy to extract search engine results. It is optimized specifically for Google. It has a built-in anti-blocking mechanism to facilitate access to structured SERP data. Like the other proxies, Apify Google SERP proxy supports advanced targeting, country, language, and device-specific searches, which works for projects requiring data segmentation. It can be used alongside other Apify tools like actors and custom automation scripts.
Apify’s Google SERP Proxy automatically handles retries for failed requests, ensuring consistent and uninterrupted data collection. This proxy is also suitable for various use cases, including market research, SEO monitoring, price comparison, and competitor analysis. The service ensures compliance with data privacy regulations while providing high-speed and dependable access to search results.
Apify Google SERP Proxy pricing is based on the number of SERP requests processed:
Crawlee is a powerful tool from Apify designed to simplify the challenges of scraping dynamic and complex websites. With it, users can extract data effectively from JavaScript-heavy pages and websites with advanced anti-bot mechanisms. Crawlee can be integrated with browser automation tools like Puppeteer and Playwright. However, users still need to configure appropriate selectors to extract the desired data accurately.
queues and stores results in multiple formats, including JSON, CSV, and databases. This ensures scalability and seamless data organization for complex projects.
Crawlee supports various types of crawlers to meet different needs:
Crawlee efficiently handles URL queues and stores results in multiple formats, including JSON, CSV, and databases. This ensures scalability and seamless data organization for complex projects.
Crawlee reduces the risk of IP bans with its proxy rotation capabilities. Users can use their own proxies or Apify’s proxy services, enhancing reliability when scraping websites with strict anti-bot measures.
Crawlee dynamically adjusts concurrency levels based on system performance, maximizing resource utilization without requiring manual intervention.
Comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and examples make Crawlee accessible to both beginners and experienced users, ensuring smooth onboarding and implementation.
When stacked against some of the top alternatives, Crawlee stands out for its open-source nature, making it a good option for developers who want granular control over their scraping projects. However, its reliance on headless browsers may deter developers looking for high-speed scraping solutions.
Getting started with Apify is straightforward. The platform’s emphasis on simplicity ensures users can quickly set up and operate its tools without technical barriers.
Create an account: Sign up on the Apify platform using an email address or an existing Google account. Once registered, you gain access to the Apify dashboard, where you can manage all your activities.
Explore the Actor Marketplace: Check the Store for prebuilt options solutions for web scraping and automation that may cater to your use case.
Set Up Your Actor: Select an Actor from the marketplace or create a custom one using JavaScript or TypeScript. Apify provides templates and guides to help you build and customize Actors for specific tasks. You can configure input parameters for your Actor directly within the dashboard.
Run an Actor: Execute your Actor via the dashboard or through Apify’s API. The platform allows you to monitor progress and access outputs in various formats, including JSON, CSV, or Excel.
Manage Data and Integrations: Store your extracted data in Apify’s cloud storage or export it to external systems. The platform supports integrations with tools like Google Drive, Slack, and custom APIs.
Schedule and Automate: Use Apify’s scheduling feature to automate recurring tasks. Set specific time intervals for your Actors to run without manual intervention.
The Apify dashboard is user-friendly and includes visualizations for managing workflows and monitoring usage. For advanced features, you can also use Apify’s API for more granular control and customization.
The dashboard gives you a centralized platform to manage your subscriptions and monitor usage. It displays a breakdown of your current billing usage across the different services like Actors, Proxy, Storage, and Data Transfer; information about historical usage is available. Users can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel subscriptions directly from the dashboard without the need for additional support.
The homepage provides metrics, such as the number of Actor runs, and a place where you can report issues/bugs about Actors created by creators of public Actors.
Apify provides extensive resources to help users maximize the platform’s potential:
For personalized support, users can contact Apify directly via their contact page.
Apify offers a comprehensive and user-friendly platform for web scraping and automation. Its strength lies in its flexibility, allowing users to choose between pre-built solutions or creating custom Actors tailored to their needs. The extensive Actor marketplace, integration capabilities, and intuitive dashboard make it a good choice for developers and businesses. However, its reliance on external libraries, cost structure, and the technical expertise required for custom scripting may make it less suitable for those looking for more streamlined, out-of-the-box solutions.
If you’re looking for enterprise-grade scalability and robust proxy integration for large-scale scraping, then Bright Data or Octoparse may be better choices. Bright Data’s Web Scraper APIs come with plug-and-play functionality and prebuilt APIs for over 100 websites, offering precision and reliability for large-scale data needs. This makes it ideal if you’re looking for a simpler, high-performance experience.
If, however, your priorities are customization and versatility in the scraping workflow, then Apify is a very solid and reliable choice.