An honest look at pricing, AI extraction, complexity, and who each tool is actually built for.
Updated March 2026 · Independent ReviewApify is a powerful full-stack platform with 4,000+ pre-built Actors and deep workflow automation — a serious tool for engineering teams that need custom scrapers, scheduled pipelines, and marketplace integrations. ScrapeUp is the better choice if you want structured data from any page without managing infrastructure, compute units, or Actor configurations. ScrapeUp’s pricing is simple and predictable — starting at $14/month with a 30-day free trial. Apify’s entry plan starts at $29/month, but real usage adds compute, proxy, and storage charges on top — costs that can compound quickly and unpredictably.
| Feature | ScrapeUp | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $14/month CHEAPER | $29/month (+ compute overages) |
| Free trial | 30 days · 25,000 credits · no card BETTER | Free plan · $5/month credits · no card |
| Pricing model | Flat credit-based · predictable monthly bill | Credits + compute + proxy + storage — hard to predict |
| AI/LLM extraction | 4 tiers (Fast → Ultra) · plain-English prompts UNIQUE | Via Store Actors (extra rental fees) |
| Structured JSON output | Any page — clean JSON via AI | Depends on Actor — varies by scraper |
| Setup complexity | Single API endpoint · drop-in URL | Actors, input schemas, datasets, compute config |
| Proxy types | Datacenter + residential + mobile · included | Datacenter + residential · some tiers extra |
| JS rendering | Real Chrome, stealth mode · included | Puppeteer / Playwright via Actors |
| CAPTCHA bypass | Automatic, built-in | Automatic via platform |
| Pre-built scrapers | API-first · bring your own targets | 4,000+ Actors for specific sites |
| Workflow scheduling | Via your own infrastructure | Built-in scheduling and monitoring |
| Credit billing | Successful requests only | Compute time regardless of success |
| Learning curve | Minutes to first request | Steep — Actors, datasets, input schemas |
Apify charges for compute time regardless of whether a scrape succeeds. ScrapeUp bills only for successful requests — no surprise invoices at month end.
ScrapeUp is a single API endpoint — point it at a URL, get data back. Apify requires configuring an Actor, defining an input schema, triggering a run, polling for completion, then fetching results from a separate dataset.
# One request. Structured data. Done. import requests response = requests.get( "https://api.scrapeup.com", params={ "api_key": "YOUR_KEY", "url": "https://example.com/product", "extract_prompt": "product name, price, SKU", "premium": "true" } ) # Returns: {"products": [{"name":..., "price":...}]} data = response.json()
# Step 1: Start the Actor run run = requests.post( "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/ACTOR_ID/runs", headers={"Authorization": "Bearer TOKEN"}, json={"startUrls": [{"url": url}]} ) run_id = run.json()["data"]["id"] # Step 2: Poll until finished while status != "SUCCEEDED": status = get_run_status(run_id) # Step 3: Fetch dataset results items = fetch_dataset(dataset_id)
Recurring themes from verified reviews on G2, Capterra, and GetApp — not cherry-picked edge cases.
“The credit-based pricing system can be somewhat difficult to predict for complex, large-scale crawls, which makes budgeting a bit of a challenge.”— G2 Verified Review
“The primary drawback is the steep learning curve for non-developers and the credit-based pricing model, which can be confusing and lead to unexpected costs when scaling.”— Capterra Verified Review
“The sheer number of features creates a steep learning curve for non-technical team members who just need to download a simple dataset.”— G2 Verified Review
25,000 credits included. AI extraction, residential proxies, and JS rendering on day one.