GTM Tech Stack
Best ofGTMUpdated Oct 26, 2026

Best Bright Data alternatives · Firecrawl for clean page text, and when to stay on Bright Data

Pick Firecrawl if you want open web pages, pages that don’t block bots, turned into clean text for an AI app, since 100,000 pages cost $99 a month billed monthly on Firecrawl Standard against $150 a month on Bright Data pay as you go. Stay on Bright Data if your sites block bots or you need structured records, sets…

Notes from GTM teamsWritten by people who run outboundWe use the tools we recommend.

our pick for you

Our pick

Pick Firecrawl if you want open web pages turned into clean text for an AI app. Firecrawl is a scraping API, a web service you send a page address to that sends back the page’s text, and Standard covers 100,000 pages for $99 a month billed monthly or $83 a month billed yearly. Stay on Bright Data if your sites block bots with CAPTCHAs, the “prove you are human” puzzles, or if you need structured records. Bright Data’s Web Scraper API is $1.50 per 1,000 records on pay as you go and $499 a month billed monthly on Scale. Pick SearchApi if you only need search engine results pages, the list of links Google shows for a query, on a fixed bill. Developer is $40 a month billed monthly for 10,000 searches. Pick Apify if you want ready-made scrapers for named sites. Starter is $19 a month billed monthly.

  • Firecrawl Free has 1,000 credits, and one credit is one plain page.
  • Firecrawl Hobby is $19 a month billed monthly, or $16 a month billed yearly, for 5,000 credits.
  • Firecrawl Standard is $99 a month billed monthly, or $83 a month billed yearly, for 100,000 credits.
  • Bright Data’s Web Scraper API is free for 5,000 records a month, then $1.50 per 1,000 records on pay as you go.
  • Bright Data Scale is $499 a month billed monthly with 384,000 records included, then $1.30 per 1,000.
  • SearchApi Developer is $40 a month billed monthly for 10,000 searches, and Production is $100 a month billed monthly for 35,000.
  • Apify Free includes a $5 platform credit each month, and Starter is $19 a month billed monthly.

Ranked picks

  1. #1
    Firecrawltop pick

    Best for: Builders who want open web pages as clean text for an AI app, on a plan with a fixed monthly price.

    From $16 a month yearly.Search APIs
    • 100,000 plain pages cost $99 a month billed monthly on Standard, against $150 a month on Bright Data pay as you go.
    • Scrape and search draw on one pool of credits.
    • A free plan of 1,000 credits to test real pages.
    Go to the websiteRead our review
  2. #2
    SearchApi

    Best for: Teams that only need Google results and want one fixed monthly price.

    $40 a month billed monthly.Search APIs
    • One fixed monthly price for a set number of searches.
    • It does one job, search results, so the setup is short.
    Go to the websiteRead our review
  3. #3
    Apify

    Best for: Teams that want ready-made scrapers for named sites and can test the cost of each run.

    Starter is $19 a month.Lead data
    • Ready-made scrapers for named sites, the job closest to Bright Data’s Web Scraper API.
    • A $5 platform credit each month on Free to test a scraper.
    Read our review

Compare

ToolPrice bandBest forDealbreaker
#1 FirecrawlFrom $16 a month yearly.Builders who want open web pages as clean text for an AI app, on a plan with a fixed monthly price.Firecrawl was left out of Proxyway’s 2024 test of sites that block bots, so on those…
#2 SearchApi$40 a month billed monthly.Teams that only need Google results and want one fixed monthly price.SearchApi costs more per search than Bright Data’s SERP API, $4 per 1,000 on Developer…
#3 ApifyStarter is $19 a month.Teams that want ready-made scrapers for named sites and can test the cost of each run.The cost of a job depends on the scraper and the server time it uses, at $0.20 per…
MethodHow we scored these tools▾

Firecrawl prices took effect September 4, 2026, and are shown billed monthly and billed yearly. Bright Data shows no yearly option. Bright Data, SearchApi and Apify prices are shown billed monthly or per use. The math covers 10,000 searches and 100,000 pages a month. Zyte is listed by test score only, and Oxylabs by test score and its Starter price.

Who it's for

buy if

  • You pay Bright Data to fetch open pages for an AI app and want a simpler bill.
  • You are pricing a scraping API for the first time.
  • You want to know when staying on Bright Data costs less.

skip if

  • Skip a move if your targets block bots. Bright Data has a published score on those sites, and Firecrawl has none.
  • Skip a move if you need structured records. Bright Data charges $1.50 per 1,000 records on pay as you go, and Firecrawl charges 5 credits a page for JSON.

The short answer

Pick Firecrawl if you want open web pages turned into clean text for an AI app. 100,000 pages cost $99 a month billed monthly on Firecrawl Standard.

Stay on Bright Data if your sites block bots, or if you need structured records. Bright Data charges $1.50 per 1,000 records on pay as you go.

Pick SearchApi if you only need Google results and want a fixed monthly bill. Developer is $40 a month billed monthly for 10,000 searches.

Pick Apify if you want ready-made scrapers for named sites. Starter is $19 a month billed monthly.

Test Zyte or Oxylabs if you scrape sites that block bots and want a second API to compare with Bright Data.

What 100,000 pages and 10,000 searches cost on each tool

The math:

100,000 plain pages on Firecrawl Standard: $99 a month billed monthly, or $83 a month billed yearly.

100,000 records on Bright Data pay as you go: 100 × $1.50 = $150 a month.

100,000 structured pages on Firecrawl: 100,000 × 5 credits = 500,000 credits, the Growth plan at $399 a month billed monthly.

10,000 searches on SearchApi Developer: $40 a month billed monthly.

10,000 search requests on Bright Data’s SERP API pay as you go: 10 × $1.50 = $15 a month.

For plain text, Firecrawl costs less. For structured records and for search results, Bright Data costs less.

Why a Firecrawl page and a Bright Data record are priced differently

A Firecrawl credit buys one page as clean text. A Bright Data record is one structured result, a set of named fields such as a product’s name and price.

Firecrawl can return named fields too, as JSON. Firecrawl adds 4 credits a page for that, so a structured page costs 5 credits.

So compare the two on the output you need. Text for an AI app favors Firecrawl. Fields for a spreadsheet or database favor Bright Data.

When staying on Bright Data costs less

Stay on Bright Data if your sites block bots. Bright Data says its Web Scraper API price includes residential proxy data and CAPTCHA solving. A proxy is a middle server that sends your requests from another IP address, and a residential IP belongs to a home internet connection.

Stay if you need structured records or search results. Both cost $1.50 per 1,000 on pay as you go, less than Firecrawl’s JSON pages or SearchApi’s searches at those volumes.

Stay and move to Scale if you pass about 333,000 records a month. Scale is $499 a month billed monthly with 384,000 records included.

What the 2024 test of sites that block bots found, and who ran it

Proxyway, a site that reviews proxy services, tested 11 scraping APIs on sites that block bots and published the results on September 17, 2024. Proxyway ran the test and did not say who paid for it. Proxyway says it uses paid referral links, and it runs Bright Data coupon codes, so it earns money when readers buy Bright Data.

Oxylabs got 98.50% of requests through, Zyte 98.38% and Bright Data Web Unlocker 97.90%. Bright Data was the only API that did not fail a single run, and it was the second slowest.

Firecrawl, SearchApi and Apify were not in the test.

What users say

“Reaching production with Bright Data was extremely easy. Compared to other alternatives we could see value within days and we no longer had to deal with 429 hell.”

Common questions

What is the best Bright Data alternative?▾

Firecrawl, if you want open pages as clean text for an AI app. Standard is $99 a month billed monthly for 100,000 pages. Stay on Bright Data for sites that block bots and for structured records.

Is Firecrawl cheaper than Bright Data?▾

For plain text, yes. 100,000 pages cost $99 a month billed monthly on Firecrawl and $150 a month on Bright Data pay as you go. For structured JSON pages, no. Firecrawl needs 500,000 credits for 100,000 of them, $399 a month billed monthly.

Does Bright Data have a free plan?▾

Yes. The Web Scraper API, SERP API and Unlocker API each include 5,000 free records or requests a month.

Which alternative works on sites that block bots?▾

Zyte and Oxylabs scored 98.38% and 98.50% in Proxyway’s 2024 test, against Bright Data’s 97.90%. Proxyway earns money from Bright Data sign-ups. Firecrawl was not tested.

Is there a cheaper way to get Google results than Bright Data?▾

Not among these tools. Bright Data’s SERP API is $1.50 per 1,000 requests on pay as you go, and SearchApi Developer works out to $4 per 1,000 on its $40 a month plan.

Sources11 references▾

what to do next

What to do next

Write down your next 1,000 target pages and mark each one as plain text, structured fields or a site that blocks bots. If the plain text pile is the biggest, run it on Firecrawl’s Free plan and compare the output with what you get today. Start on Firecrawl. If the other two piles are bigger, stay on Bright Data and check whether Scale at $499 a month billed monthly costs less than your pay as you go bill. Try Firecrawl Next · Bright Data pricing prices every Bright Data plan · Firecrawl vs Bright Data splits the two by job · Firecrawl pricing prices every Firecrawl plan.

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