Octoparse is an easy-to-use platform to get started with web scraping. As a non-technical user, I kick-started AIMultiple’s data collection efforts with Octoparse. However, our requirements expanded over time and we graduated to using more scalable services which you can see below:
- Octoparse for non-technical users and its free templates
- Bright Data for enterprises with high-volume data needs that need web-scraping APIs and transparency about how connections are sourced
- Oxylabs for API-based scraping solutions for developers
- Apify for developers and technical users with custom scraping needs.
- Nimbleway
- Smartproxy
- Parsehub
See more on the top Octoparse alternatives and competitors, with their features to see how they aim to compensate for the shortcomings of Octoparse:
Octoparse alternatives’ comparison
Vendors | Starting price/mo | Free trial | PAYG plan |
---|---|---|---|
Bright Data | $500 | 7 days (20 API calls) | ✅ |
Smartproxy | $29 | 7 days (3,000 requests) | ❌ |
Oxylabs | $49 | 7 days (5,000 requests) | ❌ |
$49 | Free plan | ✅ | |
Nimble | $150 | 7 days | ❌ |
Octoparse | $119 | Free plan (10 projects) | ❌ |
Parsehub | $189 | Free plan (5 projects) | ❌ |

Octoparse
Best for non-technical users and its free templatesOctoparse is a cloud-based no-code web scraper that features a visual, point-and-click interface that simplifies the web scraping process.
Octoparse key features
The following are some of the main features offered by the vendor:
- IP rotation: For each new connection request to the target server, a proxy server assigns a new IP address (Included in the standart plan).
- Multi-role access: Assigning different permissions to users based on their roles.
- Web Console: Enables users to manage their web scraping projects from a browser without needing the desktop client.
- API access: Octoparse API provides authorized clients to access and exchange data from the Octoparse website.
Octoparse’s pros & cons
Pros:
- No-Code visual interface: With its drag-and-drop interface, users can create workflows for web scraping tasks by interacting directly with web elements, such as clicking on buttons. By selecting the web elements they want to extract, users allow Octoparse to automatically create the appropriate extraction rules.

- Template library: Octoparse offers ready-made scraping templates for popular websites such as Amazon, eBay, Indeed, and LinkedIn. These templates are easy to use and need little configurations. In most cases, users can begin scraping by simply inputting the target URL.

- Cloud-based scraping: Store and process your data on cloud. Cloud data processing is available at an additional cost.

- Quick data extraction setup: Octoparse offers a user-friendly interface and does not require extensive programming skills to get started, even for beginners.
Cons:
- On lower-tier plans, there are limits on the volume of data you can scrape.
- Octoparse’s built-in proxies allow for country-level targeting and are priced at $3 per GB. The cost for solving 1,000 CAPTCHAs is $1. While these proxies use residential IPs, they do not offer more detailed targeting options, such as by city, state, or ASN.
This drawback was derived from the vendor’s website and customer reviews.
Pricing
- Free trial: Octoparse offers free plan that includes 10 scraping tasks.
- Starting price /mo: $99
Why consider alternatives?
- Restricted customization for advanced users: While Octoparse is built with user-friendliness in mind, those who require more detailed control over the scraping process might find it lacking in flexibility.
- Performance challenges on large-scale scraping: Although Octoparse is capable of extracting large amounts of web data, some users have experienced slower speeds.
Top 6 alternatives of Octoparse

Bright Data
Best for enterprises with high-volume data needs that need web-scraping APIs and transparency about how connections are sourcedBright Data is a powerful alternative to Octoparse, especially for those who need large-scale web scraping capabilities.
Bright Data key features
- Large network of proxies: Offers residential, datacenter, mobile and ISP proxies.
- Pre-built scrapers for popular websites: The Web Scraper API provides more than 230 pre-built scrapers, covering a wide range of data sources such as social media, eCommerce, real estate, and travel.
- Built-in premium proxy solutions: Scraper API is equipped with a proxy pool that allows for targeting at both country and city levels.
Bright Data’s pros & cons
Pros:
- High-quality proxy network, enabling city, state and ASN-level filtering
- Scalable services for large data scraping needs.
Cons:
- Can be more expensive than Octoparse, especially for smaller users.
- A bit complex for users with basic data scraping needs.
Pricing
- Free trial: 7 days for companies (20 free API calls)
- Starting price /mo: Scraper APIs start at $500 ($0.85/1K records). Pay as you go $1/1K records.

Decodo
Smartproxy is web data collection platform that offers proxies and web scraping services. Smartproxy’s proxy network consists o residential, mobile, ISP and shared or dedicated datacenter proxies. The scraping APIs include features like automatic proxy rotation, anti-detection methods, and JavaScript rendering.
Smartproxy pros & cons
Pros:
- Offers a wider range of web scraping solutions, including no-code scrapers, scraping APIs, and proxy servers.
- Allows users to target cities and states while scraping data.
- The most frequently mentioned advantage of Smartproxy products is the simplicity of using their proxy services along with their responsive customer support.
Cons:
- Some customers on G2 have expressed disappointment regarding the usability and functionality of the proxy dashboard.
Pricing
- Free trial: 7-day free trial (3,000 requests)
- Price: $50 Web Scraping API $2.0/1K requests. $30 SERP Scraping API $2.0/1K requests, eCommerce Scraping API $2.0/1K requests.

Oxylabs
Best for API-based scraping solutions for developersOxylabs offers specialized web scraper APIs that are customized for different specific uses, including scraping data from search engine result pages, eCommerce sites, and real estate listings.
Additionally, Oxylabs provides a Custom Parser, known as OxyCopilot, as an adjunct to their Scraper APIs. This tool allows users to devise their own rules for parsing, converting raw HTML into structured data. User reviews on G2 frequently highlight the reliability and high success rate of Oxylabs’ proxies, though they may be costly for individual users.

Oxylabs key features
- Advanced features: More sophisticated than Octoparse, requiring a certain level of technical expertise, particularly when using their Scraper API.
- Scalability: Well-suited for large enterprises that need powerful data extraction capabilities.
Oxylabs’ pros & cons
Pros:
- Offers advanced scraping solutions such as OxyCopilot.
- Supports more granular scraping than Octoparse. For example, their SERP scraper API features coordinate-based targeting.
Cons:
- Might be overwhelming for beginners.
- Restrictions on social media targets, they do not scrape data from social media platforms.
This drawback was derived from the vendor’s website and customer reviews.
Pricing
- Free trial: 7-day free trial for companies (5,000 requests)
- Starting price /mo: Web Scraper API at $49 for 17,500 results ($2.8/1,000 requests)

Apify
Best for developers and technical users with custom scraping needsWhile Apify includes user-friendly features, it is primarily aimed at developers and technical professionals. The platform provides a wide selection of pre-built templates, referred to as Actors, that are specifically designed for scraping data from popular e-commerce platforms, social media websites, and other online sources.
Apify key features:
- Apify allows users to create and run Actors in various programming languages (such as JavaScript/Node.js). They also provides the Apify SDK for building more advanced data collection tasks.
Apify’s pros & cons
Pros:
- Developer-friendly platform that can handle complex and large-scale scraping tasks.
- Users can create custom Actors or modify existing ones to fit their specific web scraping needs.
Cons:
- For non-technical users, building or customizing Actors might require programming knowledge (e.g., JavaScript or Python).
Pricing
- Free trial: A free account comes with $5 platform credits
- Starting price: Monthly plans starting from $49

Nimble
Nimbleway is a web data collection platform offering a range of scraper APIs. The platform enables users to execute various actions on webpages, such as clicking, typing, and scrolling, during the data collection process. These page interactions are carried out synchronously, with each step performed sequentially. The total time allowed for all actions is limited to 60 seconds.
Additionally, Nimbleway’s Web Scraping APIs are equipped with a residential proxy network and Unlocker Proxy technology, enhancing their data collection capabilities.
Nimbleway key features
- Bulk scraping: Enables users to process a substantial quantity of URLs in one request, with the capability to handle up to 1,000 URLs simultaneously.
- Built-in residential IPs: All requests are routed through a proxy network provided by Nimbleway IP.
Nimbleway’s pros & cons
Pros:
- User-Friendly Interface: Offers an intuitive interface for non-technical users.
- Comprehensive solution: Providesresidential proxies and unblocker technology.
Cons:
- Do not offer dedicated web scraping tools for social media platforms. Their scraper API solutions include SERP (Google, Bing, Yandex), e-Commerce (Amazon, Walmart) and general-purpose API.
This drawback was derived from the vendor’s website and customer reviews.
Pricing
- Free trial: 7-day free trial for companies (5,000 requests)
- Starting price /mo: $150

ParseHub
Parsehub offers a web scraping tool a visually simple interface where users can point and click on elements they want to extract like Octoparse.
Octoparse has more export options and database integrations than Parsehub. ParseHub supports export formats such as CSV, JSON, Excel, and Google Sheets. Octoparse export options include Excel, CSV, JSON, MySQL, SQL Server, and API integrations.
Parsehub’s pros & cons
Pros:
- Offers point-and-click interface, making it easy for beginners.
- Offers a free plan with limited scraping capabilities.
Cons:
- Does not offer real-time monitoring or interaction while the web scraping process.
Pricing
Starting price/mo: $189
Free trial: Offers a free plan with limited capabilities (up to 5 projects).
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