Assuming free means the same thing on every scraping tool is how people end up stuck halfway through a project. Here it means three things: open-source code libraries you run yourself, hosted tools with a free plan or a free start, and APIs that hand out free credits to try. Match the kind of free to whoever will be running it.
If you need web data and have nothing set aside for software, you've got more options than you'd think, but they ask very different things of you. A Python library needs someone who writes code. A point-and-click tool needs patience with a browser. An API needs a developer and a plan for when the free start runs out. Below are eight tools whose own websites state a free plan, a free start or an open-source licence, grouped by who runs them and named but not linked.
Answer these before you open any of them
Five minutes with this list will save you an afternoon with the wrong tool. Be honest about each one, especially the first.
- Who's running it: a developer, an analyst who's comfortable in a terminal, or a marketer who wants to click?
- How often you need the data: once for a project, or again and again.
- Where the data has to end up: a spreadsheet, a database or an AI tool.
- Whether the pages you need build their content in the browser, which some tools handle for you and others leave to you.
- Whether the site blocks automated visitors, and who deals with proxies if it does.
- What happens when a free start or free credits run out, and whether your project still works after that.
- Whether you keep the code or the setup if you stop using the service.
- Who fixes it when the site you're collecting from changes its layout.
If most of your answers point to a developer, start with the libraries. If they point to you and a browser, start with the no-code tools. If they point to an AI project, look at the hosted APIs first.
Three different meanings of free
Open-source libraries are free to use because the code is published and you run it yourself. There's nothing to sign up for, but you supply the computer, the code and the upkeep, and that's a real commitment if nobody on your team writes code.
Hosted tools are a different deal. Some state a free plan on their own sites, which means you use their service and their machines within whatever the plan allows. Others say free to start or offer free credits, which isn't the same thing. The vendor pages for Octoparse and ScrapingBee use that wording, a free start and free credits, rather than describing a permanent free plan, so treat them as a way to try the service before you build anything long-running on it.
I'm not quoting any limits here, because they change. Read the vendor's own page on the day you sign up, and write down what you're allowed so you're not surprised mid-project.
Code libraries, no-code tools and hosted APIs
Code libraries you run yourself
Scrapy is an open-source Python framework for crawling whole sites and pulling out structured data, and it's BSD-licensed. Beautiful Soup is narrower: a Python library for parsing and navigating HTML and XML once you've got the page in hand. Crawlee, which comes from the team behind Apify, works in JavaScript as well as Python and says it handles blocking, crawling, proxies and browsers for you.
No-code tools you click through
ParseHub is a point-and-click scraper: you show it what to collect on the page instead of writing code. The no-code tool with a free start mentioned above takes a URL and turns it into structured data, with ready-made scrapers or ones you build yourself, and pitches itself at businesses and AI work.
Hosted platforms and APIs
Firecrawl describes itself as a web data API for AI agents that can search, scrape, map and crawl. The credits-based API mentioned earlier handles proxies and headless browsers so your code doesn't have to. And the company behind the JavaScript library above runs a hosted collection of ready-made scrapers and automation tools for real-time web data and lead generation.
All eight side by side
| Tool | Kind of tool | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Apify | Scraper library and cloud | Teams wanting ready-made scrapers they don't have to write |
| Beautiful Soup | Python parsing library | Python users pulling data out of HTML they already have |
| Crawlee | JavaScript and Python library | Developers who want blocking, proxies and browsers handled in code |
| Firecrawl | Web data API for AI | Developers feeding web pages to AI agents |
| Octoparse | No-code scraper | Non-coders turning a URL into structured data |
| ParseHub | Point-and-click scraper | People who'd rather click than code |
| ScrapingBee | Scraping API | Coders who'd rather not run proxies or headless browsers |
| Scrapy | Python framework | Python developers crawling whole sites for structured data |
The eight, A to Z
Listed alphabetically and in no particular order beyond that. Each line is based on what the maker says about its own tool.
Apify
Best for: Anyone who'd rather pick a ready-made scraper or automation tool off the shelf for real-time web data or lead generation than build one.
Beautiful Soup
Best for: Python users screen-scraping HTML or XML they've already downloaded; the project describes itself as a library designed for exactly that.
Crawlee
Best for: Developers in JavaScript or Python who want a library that deals with blocking, crawling, proxies and browsers; the project's line is build reliable web scrapers, fast.
Firecrawl
Best for: Builders of AI agents that need to search, scrape, map or crawl the web through one API; the vendor calls it a web data API for AI agents.
Octoparse
Best for: Non-coders who want to paste a URL and get structured data back, using ready-made or custom scrapers; the vendor says it's free to start.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
ParseHub
Best for: People who prefer pointing and clicking at a page to writing code; the vendor's own claim is that it's the most powerful web scraper.
ScrapingBee
Best for: Coders who'd rather call an API than run their own proxies and headless browsers; the vendor offers free credits to try it.
Scrapy
Best for: Python teams crawling websites and extracting structured data with an open-source framework the project calls fast, asynchronous and extensible.
Try one small job in two of them
- Pick one page you need data from and write down the handful of fields you want from it, such as name, address and category.
- Choose two tools from different groups: one you click through and one you code or call.
- Run the same page through both and export the result to the place it has to land.
- Run it again on another day and check the fields still line up.
- Write down what you'd do when the free start or free plan runs out, before you build anything that depends on it.
For a marketer with no developer to call on
Start with a no-code tool and a single, small job you'd otherwise do by hand. Don't try to collect everything at once. Get one clean spreadsheet out of one site, check it's right, and only then add a second source. If what you're after is contact and company data for sales, a list of lead scraping tools is a better starting point than a general scraper.
If a developer joins later, the libraries and APIs open up. There's a wider set of web scraping APIs worth comparing, and if you've outgrown one hosted platform, these alternatives to the hosted scraper library cover the same ground.
Do you make web scraping or web data software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
Are open-source scraping libraries free to use?
The libraries here describe themselves as open source, so the code is free to use. You still supply the computer, the setup and the time to keep them running.
Is a free start the same as a free plan?
No. A free plan is a lasting way to use the service within its limits, while a free start or free credits is a way to try it. Check the wording on the vendor's own page.
Do I need to code to scrape a website for free?
Not always. Point-and-click and no-code tools let you show the tool what to collect. Code libraries need someone who's comfortable writing Python or JavaScript.
Can free tools handle sites that block automated visitors?
Some libraries and APIs here say they handle blocking, proxies or headless browsers. Test on the site you need, because every site behaves differently.
Do free plan limits change?
Yes. Limits and what's included can change at any time, so read the vendor's page when you sign up and again before you rely on a tool for regular work.
Which of these suit feeding web data into AI tools?
One hosted API here describes itself as a web data API for AI agents, and one no-code tool mentions AI on its homepage. Libraries can feed AI projects too if you've got a developer.
