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It's a split decision.
Choose Apify if you want ready-to-run web-scraping Actors, a marketplace, and API or data-export access, with costs tied to compute units and concurrency. Choose Bright Data if your stack needs web access APIs, proxy infrastructure, or real-time and historical datasets, with pricing tied to requests, records, bandwidth, or monthly tiers. Both offer free access. Their pricing units differ, so estimate costs against the specific Actor or API and data volume you plan to run.
01Side by side
| Apify | Bright Data | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Monthly prepaid usage plus compute-unit overages | API, record, bandwidth, proxy usage or monthly tiers |
| Free tier | $5 monthly usage; 16 GB RAM; five concurrent runs | 5,000 credits or requests plus API-specific allowances |
| API and SDKs | Run Actors via API; data exports supported | Scraper and Web Access APIs; API/webhook feeds |
| CLI and docs | CLI, MCP, Skills; templates and guides | MCP Server; API and webhook access |
| Integrations | Zapier, GitHub, Sheets, Claude, n8n, LangChain | API/webhooks, AI/ML workflows, datasets, MCP |
| Deployment model | Hosted Actors, proxies and data processing | Hosted scraping APIs, proxy network and datasets |
| Limits and scaling | Five to 256 concurrent runs by paid tier | Unlimited concurrency on pay-as-you-go and listed tiers |
| Data access and export | Actor data export and API access | Dataset marketplace and API/webhook data feeds |
Apify Choose Apify if
- Choose Apify if you want ready-made Actors for common scraping jobs.
- Choose Apify if you need explicit Actor data exports and API runs.
- Choose Apify if your agents connect through its CLI, MCP or Skills.
Bright Data Choose Bright Data if
- Choose Bright Data if you need proxies alongside scraping APIs.
- Choose Bright Data if you want real-time, pre-collected or historical datasets.
- Choose Bright Data if unlimited concurrency suits your request-based workload.
02Pricing at real usage
Apify has a free plan with $5 in monthly prepaid usage, $0.20 per compute unit, 16 GB Actor RAM and five concurrent runs. Starter costs $19/month with $19 in prepaid usage, then pay as you go; annual billing is listed at $17.10/month. Scale is $199/month at $0.16 per compute unit, while Business is $999/month at $0.13. Unused prepaid credits expire each billing cycle, and overages appear on the next invoice. Additional concurrent runs cost $5 each; extra Actor RAM costs $1/GB.
Bright Data's Free Tier lists 5,000 monthly credits or requests, plus allowances for Scraper API records, Browser API and Scraper Studio. Pay-as-you-go rates include $1.50 per 1,000 Web Unlocker, SERP or Crawl requests, $0.75 per 1,000 Scraper API records, and $8/GB for Browser API. Scale starts at $499/month, Business at $999 and Premium at $1,999. Compare the relevant endpoint and billing unit before projecting costs.
03API, SDKs and integration
Apify's core unit is the Actor: run a marketplace tool or build and deploy your own using code templates and guides. The platform says you can run Actors through an API, export their data, and connect agents through MCP, CLI or Skills. Its homepage names integrations including Zapier, GitHub, Google Sheets, Claude, n8n, Google Drive, Slack, LangChain and LlamaIndex. The vendor doesn't publish specific SDK languages on its homepage, so check its developer docs for language support before choosing a client library.
Bright Data offers pre-built or custom Scraper APIs and Web Access APIs, including Unlocker, SERP, Browser and Crawl APIs. Its homepage also names API and webhook access for data feeds and an MCP Server. The platform covers proxy infrastructure and a dataset marketplace as well as API-based collection. The vendor doesn't publish specific SDK languages on its homepage; confirm SDK availability and documentation for your target language before implementation.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Neither vendor publishes an open-source licence or a self-hosted deployment option on its homepage. Ask both vendors whether any components can run in your environment, and what contractual terms apply to data handling and retention.
Apify lets users export scraped data and run Actors through an API. That gives applications a way to consume results outside the marketplace, though custom Actors, schedules and integrations may need replacement if you move the workflow. Bright Data describes dataset access, API and webhook feeds, but its homepage doesn't describe a general export path. Confirm supported formats, retention periods and bulk export options before building a migration plan. In either case, keep your collection logic and downstream data schema separate from vendor-specific run controls where practical.
Questions people ask
Is Apify or Bright Data cheaper?
It depends on what you run and how you are billed. Apify charges by compute unit after prepaid usage, with rates varying by plan. Bright Data prices requests, records and bandwidth for pay-as-you-go, or offers monthly tiers. Estimate the same workload using its actual Actor or endpoint, including any overages.
Which platform is better for AI agents?
Apify lists agent connections through MCP, CLI and Skills, and its marketplace includes Actors for collecting web data. Bright Data lists an MCP Server, web access APIs, datasets and AI/ML workflows. Choose based on whether you want to call ready-made Actors or combine scraping and proxy services.
Can I self-host Apify or Bright Data?
Neither vendor publishes a self-hosted deployment option on its homepage. Both describe hosted platforms and services. If your architecture requires private-network deployment, ask each vendor about deployment options, data residency and any components that can run on your infrastructure.
Which platform has higher concurrency limits?
Bright Data lists unlimited concurrency for its pay-as-you-go offering and paid tiers. Apify sets concurrent-run limits by plan: five on Free, 32 on Starter, 128 on Scale and 256 on Business. Apify also lists custom concurrent runs for Enterprise.