GTM Tech Stack
Best ofGTMUpdated Oct 26, 2026

Best Browse AI alternatives · Firecrawl for code, Browse AI for no-code

Pick Firecrawl if your team writes code and wants page text ready for an AI agent, software that reads pages and acts on them. Firecrawl is an API, a way for your code to ask a service for data, and Standard gives 100,000 credits for $83 a month, billed yearly, and one credit reads one plain page.

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

our pick for you

Our pick

Pick Firecrawl if your team writes code and wants page text ready for an AI agent, or JSON, data broken into named fields. Firecrawl is an API, a way for your code to ask a service for data, and it turns a page into clean text or JSON. Free gives 1,000 credits to start. Hobby is $19 a month, billed monthly, or $16 a month, billed yearly, for 5,000 credits. Standard is $99 a month, billed monthly, or $83 a month, billed yearly, for 100,000 credits. Growth is $399 a month, billed monthly, or $333 a month, billed yearly. Scale is $749 a month, billed monthly, or $599 a month, billed yearly. One credit reads one plain page. JSON output adds 4 credits a page. Pick Apify if you want ready-made scrapers called “actors,” small programs that each collect data from one site, with a no-code run option and room to add code later. Starter is $19 a month, billed monthly, with prepaid usage you spend as actors run. Extra use costs $0.20 per compute unit, Apify’s unit of server time. Apify takes 10% off the bill when you pay yearly. Pick Crawl4AI if you want a free, open source library you self-host, which means you run it on your own servers. You pay only for your own servers and skip a subscription, but Crawl4AI needs code to set up and run. Crawl4AI Cloud is a hosted API in soft launch. Its prices can change, so no Cloud price is shown for it. Stay on Browse AI if nobody on the team writes code. Browse AI is a no-code tool: you point and click on a page to train a “robot,” a saved set of clicks that repeats on that page and watches it for changes. Personal is $19 a month, billed yearly, for 12,000 credits a year and 5 websites. Professional is $69 a month, billed yearly, for 60,000 credits a year and 10 websites. Premium starts at $500 a month, billed yearly, as a managed service. Look at Bright Data if your target pages block scrapers. Bright Data’s Web Scraper API charges per record, one item it extracts, such as one profile. It has a free tier of 5,000 records a month, no card needed. After that, pay as you go costs $1.50 per 1,000 records. Scale is $499 a month, billed monthly.

  • Firecrawl Standard is $99 a month, billed monthly, or $83 a month, billed yearly, for 100,000 credits.
  • Apify Starter is $19 a month, billed monthly, prepaid usage, plus $0.20 per compute unit for extra runs.
  • Crawl4AI is free and open source. You self-host it, so you pay only for your own servers and skip a subscription.
  • Browse AI Personal is $19 a month, billed yearly, for 12,000 credits a year and 5 websites.
  • Bright Data’s Web Scraper API charges per record: $1.50 per 1,000 records on pay as you go, after a free tier of 5,000 records a month.

Ranked picks

  1. #1
    Firecrawltop pick

    Best for: Teams that write code and want page text or JSON ready for an AI agent.

    From $16 a month yearly.Search APIs
    • Free gives 1,000 credits to test real pages before you pay.
    • Standard covers 100,000 credits for $83 a month, billed yearly, or $99 a month, billed monthly.
    • Scrape and search draw on one pool of credits.
    Go to the websiteRead our review
  2. #2
    Apify

    Best for: Teams that want ready-made scrapers with a no-code run option and room to add code.

    Starter is $19 a month.Lead data
    • Starter is $19 a month, billed monthly, with prepaid usage you spend as actors run.
    • Pre-built actors cover named sites, so you do not write a scraper from zero.
    • Apify takes 10% off the bill when you pay yearly.
    Read our review
  3. #3
    Crawl4AI

    Best for: Teams that want a free, open source library and are fine running it on their own servers.

    See vendor pricingSearch APIs
    • Crawl4AI is free and open source, so there is no subscription fee to pay.
    • You self-host it, so you pay for your own servers instead of a per-page credit plan.
    Read our review

Compare

ToolPrice bandBest forDealbreaker
#1 FirecrawlFrom $16 a month yearly.Teams that write code and want page text or JSON ready for an AI agent.Firecrawl needs code.
#2 ApifyStarter is $19 a month.Teams that want ready-made scrapers with a no-code run option and room to add code.Extra use is billed at $0.20 per compute unit, so the cost of one run depends on the…
#3 Crawl4AISee vendor pricingTeams that want a free, open source library and are fine running it on their own servers.Crawl4AI needs code to set up and run.
MethodHow we scored these tools▾

Firecrawl, Apify and Crawl4AI go up against Browse AI, the tool the reader already knows, plus Bright Data for pages that block scrapers. Octoparse and Outscraper are left off this list because neither has a confirmed price. Prices are shown with the billing basis attached to each one.

Who it's for

buy if

  • You run robots on Browse AI now and want to add code for bigger jobs or more sites.
  • You want page text ready for an AI agent instead of a set of named fields.
  • You want to know when staying on Browse AI still costs less.

skip if

  • Skip a move if nobody on the team will write code. Browse AI still fits that team best.
  • Skip a move if you only watch a handful of pages for a change. Browse AI’s Personal plan covers 5 websites for $19 a month, billed yearly.

The short answer

Pick Firecrawl if your team writes code and wants page text or JSON ready for an AI agent. Standard is $99 a month, billed monthly, or $83 a month, billed yearly, for 100,000 credits.

Pick Apify if you want ready-made scrapers called actors, with a no-code run option and room to add code. Starter is $19 a month, billed monthly, and that $19 is prepaid usage.

Pick Crawl4AI if you want a free, open source library you self-host, which means you run it on your own servers. You pay only for your own servers, but it needs code.

Stay on Browse AI if nobody on the team writes code. Personal is $19 a month, billed yearly, for 12,000 credits a year and 5 websites.

Look at Bright Data if your target pages block scrapers. Its Web Scraper API charges per record: pay as you go costs $1.50 per 1,000 records, after a free tier of 5,000 records a month.

What a JSON page costs on Firecrawl

Firecrawl charges 1 credit for a plain page. JSON output, data broken into named fields, adds 4 credits a page.

The math: one JSON page costs 1 + 4 = 5 credits. 10,000 JSON pages cost 5 × 10,000 = 50,000 credits, half of the 100,000 credits on Standard, which is $83 a month, billed yearly, or $99 a month, billed monthly.

Why Browse AI and Firecrawl fit different teams

Browse AI is a no-code tool. You point and click on a page to train a robot, a saved set of clicks that repeats on that page and watches it for changes. Nobody on the team needs to write a line of code.

Firecrawl is an API, a way for your code to ask a service for data. You send it a page address and it sends back clean text or JSON. A developer has to write that request and handle the result.

Apify sits between the two. Its pre-built actors have a no-code run option, and you can also write code against them.

Crawl4AI is code-first too. It is a free, open source library you install and self-host, which means you run it on your own servers, with no point-and-click option.

When staying on Browse AI still costs less

Stay on Browse AI if you watch a handful of pages and nobody writes code. Personal is $19 a month, billed yearly, for 12,000 credits a year on 5 websites. Professional is $69 a month, billed yearly, for 60,000 credits a year on 10 websites.

Move to Firecrawl or Apify once you pass the website count on a Browse AI plan, or once you want the page text itself instead of a set of named fields.

Common questions

What is the best Browse AI alternative?▾

Firecrawl, if your team writes code and wants page text or JSON ready for an AI agent. Standard is $99 a month, billed monthly, or $83 a month, billed yearly, for 100,000 credits.

Is Firecrawl cheaper than Browse AI?▾

Compare them by the job. Each counts a credit differently. Browse AI Personal is $19 a month, billed yearly, for 12,000 credits a year on 5 websites. Firecrawl Hobby is $19 a month, billed monthly, or $16 a month, billed yearly, for 5,000 credits a month.

Does Browse AI need code?▾

No. Browse AI is a no-code tool: you point and click on a page to train a robot that scrapes it and watches it for changes.

Can Apify run without code?▾

Yes. Apify’s pre-built actors have a no-code run option, and Starter is $19 a month, billed monthly, with prepaid usage.

Is Crawl4AI free?▾

Yes. Crawl4AI is a free, open source library you self-host, which means you run it on your own servers. You pay only for your own servers and skip a subscription, but it needs code to set up and run. Crawl4AI Cloud is a hosted API in soft launch. Its prices can change, so no Cloud price is shown for it.

Does Bright Data have a free plan?▾

Yes. The Web Scraper API includes 5,000 free records a month, no card needed.

Sources4 references▾

what to do next

What to do next

List the pages you watch on Browse AI. Mark each one as a simple page or a page you want as AI-ready text. If you write code and want that text or JSON, start on Firecrawl’s free plan. It gives 1,000 credits, enough to compare the output with your current robots. Try Firecrawl

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