Turn webpages into LLM-ready data at scale with a simple API call

Learn More
Contact Sales
Login

Apify vs. Zenrows: Which One Is Right for You in 2025?

Comparing Pricing, Features, and Performance to Help You Decide

START FREE TRIAL
Contact sales
No credit card required
Apify vs. Zenrows
Apify vs. Zenrows

Discover why 10,000+ companies chose ScraperAPI to scale their web scraping projects
over tools like Apify and Zenrows

Quick Overview

Choosing between Apify or Zenrows? On this page, we break down their strengths, weaknesses, and key differentiators to help you make the best choice.

About Apify

Apify is a full‑stack cloud platform for web scraping, browser automation, and data extraction. It empowers developers and businesses to build, deploy, and publish “Actors” (serverless programs) that can extract data from almost any website, regardless of its anti‐scraping measures. They also offer solutions catering to Generative AI purposes such as fine-tuning, sentiment analysis, etc. Apify is built by developers, for developers, without leaving out non-technical folks either. Their working model emphasizes reliability and scalability, supporting code‐based and no‑code approaches through several integrations.

Strengths:

  • Scalable Serverless Infrastructure
  • Full-stack data extraction platform
  • High customizability
  • Apify Store and Actor Ecosystem

Top Features:

  • Marketplace of Pre-built Actors
  • Advanced Anti-Blocking & Proxy Services
  • Scalable Serverless Architecture
  • Broad offering of Developer Tools & Integrations

About Zenrows

Zenrows, unlike Apify, is an API-focused web scraping tool designed for developers, data analysts, and businesses looking to reliably scrape data from challenging websites. Zenrows’ focus on solutions such as anti-bot bypass, a robust proxy network, and a scraping browser makes it an ideal tool for JavaScript-heavy and IP-blocking sites.

Strengths:

  • Sophisticated Anti-bot Bypass System
  • Automatic data parsing
  • Request-based pricing (cost per mile)

Top Features:

  • Universal Scraper API
  • Rotating Residential Proxies
  • Scraping Browser

How ScraperAPI Stacks Up

ScraperAPI is a powerful web scraping API designed to empower developers, data scientists, and businesses with reliable data extraction at scale. It handles all the heavy lifting, including proxy rotation, CAPTCHA solving, and anti‑bot bypass, in a way that reduces extra configuration and speeds up integration. ScraperAPI’s unique services are for developers, data analysts, and businesses that need quick, scalable scraping without the complexity of setting up multiple tools. In contrast to Zenrows and Apify, which offer complex ecosystems, ScraperAPI prioritizes simplicity and reliability, making it ideal for projects requiring consistent performance, rapid deployment, and predictable costs.

If you are looking for a smarter (yet affordable) alternative, ScraperAPI provides:

  • Higher success rates & auto CAPTCHA handling
  • 3,000,000 API credits for $299/month (better value)
  • 150+ geolocation options & real-time JS rendering
  • Multiple Programming Language Support and Integration

Top Features:

  • Direct Geotargeting.
  • Domain-specific Structured Data Endpoints (Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Redfin, etc.).
  • Advanced Built-in proxy rotation (including mobile proxies) and CAPTCHA solving system.
  • LLM Output Feature (for high-quality Generative AI training data).
  • JavaScript rendering.
  • Cost-efficient credit-based system.

Feature-by-Feature Breakdown

1️⃣ Pricing & Value

FeatureApifyZenrowsScraperAPI
Pricing ModelCompute Unit (CU) based. Cost varies based on usage (memory, runtime). Offers monthly tier plansSubscription-based, monthly tier plans. The cost depends on the number of requests and features a user needs.Subscription-based, monthly tier plans. The cost depends on API credit usage.
Free TrialOffers free usage credits to start.Offers a free trial but limits the number of requestsOffers a free trial with about 1000 API credits and 5 concurrent threads 
Pay-as-you-goYes, it is integrated into their pricing model.Mainly subscription-based, with top-up options.No 
Extra Costs (Bandwidth, IPs, etc.)Potential extra costs for exceeding plan limits and for add-on features such as extra proxy usageCosts depend on request volume and feature usage. Higher requests with JavaScript rendering and premium proxies cost more.No
Money-back GuaranteeNo  YesYes

📌 Takeaway: ScraperAPI offers the most transparent and plannable pricing model with its API credit system and a money-back guarantee, while Apify’s compute unit-based pricing is the most complex and has the highest potential for unexpected costs. Zenrows sits in the middle, with subscription tiers depending on request volume and the number of features you use. However, they do not state a money-back guarantee option. 

For instance, ScraperAPI’s business plan offering of 3,000,000 credits translates into roughly 600,000 requests for $299 per month. It’s worth mentioning that ScraperAPI only charges you per successful request. Their 7-day money‑back guarantee makes them a risk‑free option if the service doesn’t meet your demands. ScraperAPI also features high concurrency of up to 100 concurrent threads for their business plan, making it a highly lucrative tier.

All three services provide free trials, but extra costs depend on the request complexity, bandwidth, and proxy usage. Ultimately, ScraperAPI’s approach is more appealing if you prefer having a certainty-proof long-term cost plan.

ScraperAPIApifyZenrows
API Credits/ Compute Unit3,000,000$0.3 per compute unit$0.28 per 1000 requests
Results3,000,000 standard requests (600,000 e-commerce requests)Depends on the number of compute units you consume.3,000,000 basic results120,000 protected results
Cost$299/month$199/month$299/month

2️⃣ Performance & Reliability

FeatureApifyZenrowsScraperAPI
Success Rate (%)The success rate depends on the Actor used and the target website. Documentation does not include an explicit success rate99.93%95%+ 
JS Rendering SupportYes, through Actors and Playwright/Puppeteer integrationYes, via their Universal Scraper API and Scraping Browser.Yes, it is integrated directly into the API.
CAPTCHA HandlingYes, also through Actors and integrations with third-party solvers.Yes, through integrated solutions and browser control.Yes, directly integrated solutions.
Geolocation OptionsClaim to offer geotargeting through premium proxies covering various regions. Documentation, however, does not contain explicit information on the number of countries.50+ countries150+ countries

📌 Takeaway: Zenrows claims a 99.93% success rate, and ScraperAPI achieves 95%+, demonstrating both effectively handle complex websites well. Zenrows prioritizes robust anti-bot bypass, uses advanced JavaScript rendering, and integrates CAPTCHA handling to achieve this high performance.

ScraperAPI similarly integrates features and directly handles JavaScript and CAPTCHAs. Apify’s success rates, however, depend on the Actor you use and its configurations, making it less directly quantifiable.

Therefore, if you want to scrape heavily protected, JavaScript-intensive websites, Zenrows and ScraperAPI deliver strong results. Zenrows’ higher success rate claim gives it a slight edge, but ScraperAPI’s ease of use and transparent pricing may better suit other use cases.

3️⃣ User Reviews & Ratings (Capterra and Trustpilot)

PlatformApify ⭐Zenrows ⭐ScraperAPI ⭐
Capterra4.8 4.84.6
Trustpilot4.23.44.7

📌 Takeaway: User reviews show that while Apify and Zenrows both earn high Capterra ratings of 4.8, there are notable differences in their Trustpilot scores, where Apify sits at 4.2 and Zenrows lags at 3.4. Many users appreciate Apify’s broad ecosystem and flexibility. Still, they point out a steep learning curve and occasionally unpredictable pricing when usage spikes occur, which can be a challenge for smaller teams.

Meanwhile, many reviewers praise Zenrows’ advanced anti‑bot features and auto-parse capability. However, a higher entry price and reports of occasional parsing failures (especially when target sites update their layouts) are recurring complaints.

In contrast, ScraperAPI, which holds a slightly lower Capterra rating of 4.6 but an impressive Trustpilot score of 4.7, delivers a more consistently reliable experience. Its straightforward, credit‑based pricing model, integrated JavaScript rendering, and robust handling of complex, anti‑bot environments address many of the issues Apify and Zenrows users highlighted.

Pros and Cons for Each – Based on User Feedback

Apify

👍 Pros:

  • A broad ecosystem of pre-built tools and integrations.
  • Wide anti-blocking measures.
  • Strong developer support.

👎 Cons:

  • Steep learning curve.
  •  Unpredictable pricing based on compute units.
  •  Complex customization.

Zenrows

👍 Pros:

  • Advanced anti-bot bypass capabilities.
  • Automatic JSON parsing.
  •  Broad global geotargeting.

👎 Cons:

  • Higher entry cost.
  •  Occasional parsing inconsistencies.
  • Lower Trustpilot ratings indicate potential reliability concerns.

ScraperAPI

👍 Pros:

  • High success rate on complex sites. 
  • Integrated features like JavaScript rendering, CAPTCHA handling, and geolocation.
  • Transparent credit-based pricing with a money-back guarantee.

👎 Cons:

  • Limited ecosystem compared to Apify. 
  • Slightly lower Capterra rating.
  • Specialized focus may not suit all complex scraping needs.

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose Apify if:

✔ You prioritize a comprehensive web scraping platform with a wide range of pre-built tools and integrations.
 ✔ You need complex workflow automation, scheduled tasks, and data storage capabilities.
 ✔ You prefer a flexible, cloud-based platform with extensive developer tools and support.

Choose Zenrows if:

 ✔ You need a reliable anti-bot bypass for challenging, heavily protected websites.
 ✔ You want a straightforward API with robust proxy management and JavaScript rendering capabilities.
 ✔ You prefer a subscription-based model with a focus on API integration.

Choose ScraperAPI if…

✔ You need a developer-friendly API with broad programming language support and easy integration.
 ✔ You want features such as geotargeting and automated CAPTCHA handling.
 ✔ You prefer a cost-efficient service with high success rates, especially for high-volume, domain-specific scraping tasks, and value a money-back guarantee.

Why is ScraperAPI the best alternative to Apify and Zenrows

ScraperAPI is the best alternative to Apify and Zenrows, thanks to its simplicity, reliability, and developer-friendly design—ideal for high-volume web scraping without the hassle. Unlike Apify’s complex compute-unit pricing or Zenrows’ higher entry costs, ScraperAPI offers a straightforward credit-based model that’s transparent and easy to manage.

It integrates JavaScript rendering, CAPTCHA solving, and geolocation into a single API call—no need to piece together tools or manage proxies. With support for more programming languages, explicit geolocation control via simple country codes, and a 95%+ success rate even on protected sites, ScraperAPI delivers consistent results with minimal setup.

While Apify offers powerful customization through its Actor library, it can be overwhelming for users who just want a reliable scraping solution. Zenrows brings strong anti-bot tools and auto parsing, but its $69 starting price and occasional parsing inconsistencies may limit usability.

If you’re looking for ease of use, high reliability, and predictable pricing—ScraperAPI is the strongest choice.

What Our Customers
Are Saying

One of the most frustrating parts of automated web scraping is constantly dealing with IP blocks and CAPTCHAs. ScraperAPI gets this task off of your shoulders.

Capterra Badge

based on 50+ reviews

The team at ScraperAPI was so patient in helping us debug our first scraper. Thanks for being super passionate and awesome!
Cristina Saavedra
Cristina SaavedraOptimization Director at SquareTrade
A dead simple API plus a generous free tier are hard to beat. ScraperAPI is a good example of how developer experience can make a difference in a crowded category.
Ilya Sukhar
Ilya SukharFounder of Parse, Partner at YCombinator
I researched a lot of scraping tools and am glad I found ScraperAPI. It has low cost and great tech support. They always respond within 24 hours when I need any help with the product.
Alexander Zharkov
Alexander ZharkovFullstack Javascript Developer
BigCommerce

Simple Pricing. No Surprises.

Start collecting data with our 7-day trial and 5,000 API credits. No credit card required.

Upgrade to enable more features and increase scraping volume.

Hobby

Ideal for small projects or personal use.

Hobby

$49

/ month

$44

/ month, billed annually

  • 100,000 API Credits
  • 20 Concurrent Threads
  • US & EU Geotargeting
Start Trial

Startup

Great for small teams and advanced users.

Startup

$149

/ month

$134

/ month, billed annually

  • 1,000,000 API Credits
  • 50 Concurrent Threads
  • US & EU Geotargeting
Start Trial

Business

Perfect for small-medium businesses.

Business

$299

/ month

$269

/ month, billed annually

  • 3,000,000 API Credits
  • 100 Concurrent Threads
  • All Geotargeting
Start Trial

Scaling

Most popular

Perfect for teams looking to scale their operations.

Business

$475

/ month

$427

/ month, billed annually

  • 5,000,000 API Credits
  • 200 Concurrent Threads
  • All Geotargeting
Start Trial

Enterprise

Need more than 5,000,000 API Credits with all premium features, premium support and an account manager?

  • 5,000,000+ API credits and 200+ Concurrent Threads
  • Dedicated Account Manager
  • Slack Support
Contact Sales

Frequently Asked Questions

ScraperAPI is best for e-commerce pricing monitoring because it easily handles the most secure JavaScript‑intensive sites and offers dedicated scrapers for e-commerce scraping.

  • For high‑volume, lightweight web scraping, both Apify and ScraperAPI are cost‑effective. Still, ScraperAPI’s straightforward, transparent pricing with a 7‑day money‑back guarantee makes expenses easier to track and experiment with.
  • If you require extensive customization and an ecosystem of pre‑built tools, Apify is more valuable despite varying prices due to its Compute Unit‑based pricing.
  • For projects requiring advanced anti‑bot features with built-in data parsing, Zenrows is an excellent candidate if you look past the higher entry cost. However, the pricing might not be ideal for smaller projects.

Switching to ScraperAPI requires changing your Apify or Zenrows API endpoint to suit ScraperAPI’s structure and adapting your request parameters accordingly. You will find more information about this in our documentation.

5 Billion Requests Handled per Month

Get started with 5,000 free API credits or contact sales

Switch to ScraperAPI Today

Get 5000 API credits for free