Apify

Tool Introduction

Apify is a cloud platform built for web scraping, browser automation, and structured data extraction. It enables businesses, developers, and researchers to access web data at scale using pre-built and custom tools. The service supports code-based and no-code workflows, making it flexible for different technical skill levels. Its modular automation scripts—called Actors—and enterprise-grade compliance features help organizations collect reliable data securely while integrating it into business or AI workflows.

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Tool's Accuracy

User feedback describes Apify as effective for extracting data from static and dynamic websites. The platform handles JavaScript-heavy pages well and is considered reliable for most web automation tasks.

Aggregate Rating

4.6/5 stars (estimated from informal sources and limited reviews)

Detailed Overview

Apify helps users automate browser tasks, extract structured web data, and integrate it into business processes or AI pipelines.

What Apify Does

Apify delivers an end-to-end platform for scraping websites and automating browsers. Users can choose from over 7,000 ready-made Actors in the Apify Store or create their own scrapers using JavaScript, Python, or Crawlee. The platform includes proxy management to avoid IP bans, task scheduling with monitoring tools, secure cloud storage with multiple export formats, and integration through RESTful API or SDKs. It also offers alerting systems and supports dynamic content extraction via headless browsers.

Who Apify is for

Developers use Apify to build scrapers and embed web data into apps. Data analysts collect large datasets for research or machine learning. Marketers track competitors or generate leads from online sources. E-commerce teams monitor prices and reviews across platforms. AI teams use it to feed large language models (LLMs) with fresh training data. Enterprise IT manages large-scale projects needing security and compliance.

Top Differentiators

Apify offers automatic scaling for both small tasks and enterprise workloads. Its marketplace provides over 7,000 pre-built solutions covering common scraping needs. Developers benefit from integrations with Crawlee, Puppeteer, Playwright, Selenium, and Scrapy. The platform meets SOC 2, GDPR, and CCPA standards. It also offers professional services like SLAs and custom scraper delivery along with APIs and SDKs for deep integration.

Introductory Video

Founding Year

2015

Target Industry

B2B, SMB, Enterprise, Technology companies, Data analytics firms, Marketing agencies, E-commerce businesses, Financial services, Research institutions, AI/ML teams

Available Integrations

Zapier: Connects Apify with over 6,000 apps to automate workflows using scraped data across spreadsheets, CRMs, and alert systems.
Make: Enables visual automation to run Actors, track status, and pass results into other apps without coding.
IFTTT: Triggers simple actions like notifications or device updates based on web data events from Apify Actors.
n8n: Offers open-source workflow automation that uses Actor events to launch flows with other connected services.
Keboola: Moves scraped data into ETL pipelines for analytics by integrating Apify into existing data operations.
Airbyte: Connects Apify to cloud data warehouses for seamless ingestion of extracted web data in ETL processes.
GitHub: Creates issues automatically when Actor runs fail, supporting development workflows and issue tracking.
Telegram: Sends real-time alerts on Actor activity via Zapier-based integration for instant messaging updates.

Free: $0/month. Includes $5 in usage credits, 25 concurrent runs, 8 GB Actor RAM, and 5 datacenter proxy IPs. Compute unit (CU) rate is $0.3 per CU. No credit card required. Overages are not allowed.

Starter: $39/month. Includes $39 in usage credits, 32 concurrent runs, 32 GB Actor RAM, and 30 datacenter proxy IPs ($1/IP after). CU rate is $0.3 per CU. Residential proxies are $8/GB; SERPs proxy is $2.5 per 1,000 SERPs. Chat support and Bronze Store discount included.

Scale: $199/month. Includes $199 in usage credits, 128 concurrent runs, 128 GB Actor RAM, and 200 datacenter proxy IPs ($0.8/IP after). CU rate is $0.25 per CU. Residential proxies are $7.5/GB; SERPs proxy is $2 per 1,000 SERPs. Priority chat support and Silver Store discount included.

Business: $999/month. Includes $999 in usage credits, 256 concurrent runs, 256 GB Actor RAM, and 500 datacenter proxy IPs ($0.6/IP after). CU rate is $0.2 per CU. Residential proxies are $7/GB; SERPs proxy is $1.7 per 1,000 SERPs. Includes account manager and Gold Store discount.

Enterprise: Custom pricing with unlimited usage, custom resources, SLAs with guaranteed data access, a dedicated team, and negotiable terms for proxies and storage

Pricing last verified: 11/17/2025
Official Source: https://apify.com/
Disclaimer: Pricing is subject to change. Please confirm current pricing on the vendor site.

Features & Specs

Actors: Modular scripts that handle scraping or automation tasks; can be reused or scheduled.
Pre-built Scrapers: Access over 7,000 ready-to-use tools in the Apify Store.
Custom Development: Build with JavaScript or Python; supports Crawlee library.
Proxy Management: Automatic proxy rotation; supports datacenter/residential proxies via HTTP/SOCKS5.
Data Storage: Stores results securely; export as JSON, CSV, Excel, HTML.
Task Scheduling: Automate run times via UI or API.
Monitoring & Alerts: Detect errors early through performance checks and notifications.
API Access: Manage tasks via RESTful API; fetch results on demand.
SDKs Available: Use JavaScript or Python SDKs to build scrapers efficiently.
Third-party Integration: Connect with Slack, Zapier, Google Sheets, other cloud apps.
Webhooks: Trigger outside workflows after a task completes.
Performance Scaling: Supports high concurrency; resources scale automatically by need.
Supported File Formats: JSON, CSV, Excel spreadsheets (XLSX), HTML pages; Markdown supported for content use cases.
Compute Units (CU): Used to measure resource usage across plans; limits vary by tier.
Latency & Throughput Notes: Optimized for fast

Security & Compliance

Data is encrypted both in transit and at rest using industry best practices. Role-Based Access Control manages permissions within organizations. SSO is available for enterprise clients. The platform complies with SOC 2, GDPR, and CCPA requirements. Users control data retention and deletion policies via the interface. Apify does not use customer data for training its models and emphasizes ethical scraping practices.

Industry Use-Cases

Technology & AI

Apify helps you gather training data for AI models by crawling thousands of web pages for text, images, and metadata. You can also monitor social media in real time to analyze sentiment trends.

E-commerce

Apify scrapes competitor sites for pricing, availability, and reviews. This supports smarter pricing strategies and improves your understanding of customer feedback through aggregated product reviews.

Marketing & Sales

You can use Apify to collect lead data from platforms like LinkedIn and Google Maps. It also monitors brand mentions across websites and social media to support reputation management.

Financial Services

Apify extracts financial news, stock data, and analyst reports to support investment decisions. It also automates the collection of regulatory updates for easier compliance tracking.

Research & Academia

Researchers use Apify to build large datasets from public sources like journals and surveys. It also tracks public health trends by scraping health forums, government sites, and news outlets.

Tool's Alternatives

Bright Data
Offers over 300 prebuilt scrapers and a flexible scraping API. It includes strong proxy tools but supports fewer native integrations than Apify.

ScrapingBee
Provides a simple scraping API with built-in proxy and JavaScript rendering. It lacks a visual workflow builder and has fewer ready-made templates.

Octoparse
Features more than 500 no-code templates designed for non-programmers. It's easy to use but less adaptable for complex or large-scale tasks.

Zyte
Focuses on enterprise-grade scraping with robust anti-blocking tools. It offers less workflow automation and marketplace connectivity than Apify.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Apify used for?
Apify is a cloud platform for web scraping, browser automation, and structured data extraction at scale. It supports both no-code and code-based workflows using modular tools called Actors.

How does Apify handle proxy management?
Apify provides automatic proxy rotation to avoid IP bans. It supports datacenter and residential proxies via HTTP or SOCKS5 protocols, with usage billed by GB or per IP depending on the plan.

What file formats does Apify support for exports?
Exported data can be saved as JSON, CSV, Excel (XLSX), HTML pages, or Markdown. These formats support flexible downstream use across different applications and workflows.

Which programming languages are supported for custom scrapers?
Users can build custom scrapers using JavaScript or Python. The platform also supports Crawlee and integrates with Puppeteer, Playwright, Selenium, and Scrapy libraries.

What integrations are available with Apify?
Apify connects with tools like Zapier, Make, IFTTT, n8n, Keboola, Airbyte, GitHub, Telegram, and Google Sheets to automate workflows and move data into apps or cloud pipelines.

What are Actors in Apify?
Actors are modular scripts that perform web scraping or automation tasks. They can be scheduled to run automatically and reused across projects from the Apify Store or created from scratch.

How does pricing work across plans?
Plans range from Free to Enterprise. Each includes usage credits applied toward compute units (CUs), concurrent runs, RAM limits for Actors, and proxy quotas with tiered overage rates.

Is Apify compliant with data security standards?
Apify complies with SOC 2, GDPR, and CCPA standards. It encrypts data in transit and at rest. Role-Based Access Control and SSO help manage enterprise-level permissions securely.

Who typically uses Apify’s platform?
Developers automate apps; marketers collect leads; e-commerce teams track prices; AI teams gather training data; researchers build datasets; financial services monitor news and regulations.

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