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Apify vs Firecrawl · one store of scrapers or one API
The short answer
Pick Firecrawl if you want any web page turned into clean text for an AI app. It charges 1 credit per page, and a credit is the unit Firecrawl spends for each job. A scraper is a program that copies data from web pages, and Apify calls its scrapers Actors. Pick Apify if a ready-made scraper already exists for the site you need, because that can cost less. Apify is a store of Actors that other people built. Firecrawl is one API, a way for your code to ask a service for data, and it reads any URL, which is a web page’s address.
our pick
Our pick
Pick Firecrawl to turn any URL into clean text for an AI app. Pick Apify when a ready-made Actor already scrapes your site.
What each tool does
How the two tools compare
| Firecrawl | Apify | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | One API that reads any web page and returns markdown, plain text with simple formatting that AI models read well. | A store of Actors, each built to collect data from one kind of site, plus the computers that run them. |
| How you pay | 1 credit per page. Failed pages cost nothing. | Compute units, a measure of the computer time an Actor uses, plus whatever each Actor charges. |
| Free plan | 1,000 credits a month. | $0, with $5 to spend on usage. |
| Entry paid plan | Hobby: $19 a month billed monthly, or $16 a month billed yearly, for 5,000 credits. | Starter: $19 a month billed monthly, or $17 a month billed yearly. It includes $19 of prepaid usage. |
| Price per compute unit | No compute units. | $0.20 on Free and Starter, $0.16 on Scale and $0.13 on Business. |
| 10,000 pages a month | Standard: $83 a month billed yearly, for 100,000 credits. | Depends on the Actor you run. |
| Search | 2 credits per 10 search results. | Depends on the Actor you run. |
How to pick one if you only have 10 seconds
- Firecrawl charges 1 credit per page, and failed pages cost nothing.
- Apify’s plan fee is prepaid usage. Starter, at $19 a month billed monthly, gives you $19 to spend on compute units and Actor charges.
- Each Actor sets its own price. Some charge per event, which is per result or action, some charge for the compute they use, and some charge both.
- The math: on October 21, 2026 prices, 10,000 pages a month on Firecrawl is 10,000 credits. Hobby’s 5,000 credits are too few, so you need Standard at $83 a month billed yearly.
- To price Apify, run the Actor you would use on 100 pages, then multiply the cost by 100 for 10,000 pages.
- If an Apify Actor already scrapes your site, Apify can be the cheaper path.
Who should buy each one
Pick Firecrawl if
- If you feed web pages to an AI model and want clean text back.
- If you need pages from sites that no ready-made Actor covers.
- If you want one price per page that you can plan around.
Pick Apify if
- If a ready-made Actor already scrapes the site you need.
- If you want scrapes to run on a schedule inside one platform.
Common questions
Is Firecrawl better than Apify?▾
For turning any URL into clean text for an AI app, yes. For a site that already has a ready-made Apify Actor, Apify can do the job for less.
Is Firecrawl cheaper than Apify?▾
It depends on the site. Firecrawl is 1 credit per page, and 10,000 pages a month needs Standard at $83 a month billed yearly. Apify’s cost depends on the Actor, so run it on 100 pages and multiply.
What is an Apify Actor?▾
An Actor is a ready-made program in Apify’s store that collects data from one kind of site. Each Actor sets its own price.
Does Firecrawl charge for failed pages?▾
No. Firecrawl doesn’t charge credits for failed scrapes.
what to do next
What to do next
Write down the sites you need. Search Apify’s store for each one. If a ready-made Actor covers the site, run it on 100 pages and note the cost. For every site without one, and for any job that feeds pages to an AI model, use Firecrawl. Its free plan gives you 1,000 credits a month to test. Prices are from Firecrawl pricing and Apify pricing, both checked October 21, 2026. Try Firecrawl Next · Apify pricing explains compute units in more detail · Firecrawl pricing covers every Firecrawl plan · Firecrawl vs Tavily compares Firecrawl with a search API.