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Best Diffbot Alternative in 2025: Why ScraperAPI Outperforms

Get more data, more flexibility, and more value at a lower price with ScraperAPI

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ScraperApi vs DiffBot
Best Diffbot Alternative

Trusted by 10,000+ web scraping and data teams who switched from solutions like Diffbot for greater flexibility, higher request limits, and cost-effective full-page scraping.

Quick Overview

About ScraperAPI

ScraperAPI is a powerful and efficient web scraping API and tool designed to empower developers, data scientists, and businesses with reliable data extraction at scale.

 

  • Success rate 95%+ even on complex sites
  • Transparent pay-per-successful-request pricing model
  • Advanced bypassing mechanisms
  • JS rendering, CAPTCHA handling, and worldwide geotargeting
  • Structured outputs like JSON, CSV, Text, and Markdown

About Diffbot

Diffbot is an AI-powered web extraction and knowledge graph service that automatically structures data from websites using machine learning. While it provides automated content extraction, it has key limitations.

 

  • AI-powered extraction that classifies web pages into predefined content types
  • Built-in Knowledge Graph for structured business intelligence data
  • Predefined classification limits flexibility, forcing users to rely on Diffbot’s AI rather than allowing manual rule-based extraction
  • Higher costs for large-scale data collection, as premium features and full Knowledge Graph access require expensive plans

 

Why Choose ScraperAPI Over Diffbot

Diffbot’s AI-powered extraction and Knowledge Graph offer structured data. Still, its predefined content classification limits flexibility and forces users to rely on its AI to determine what data gets extracted. Users have little control over fine-tuning results if the AI misclassifies a page. Additionally, extracting full datasets often requires combining multiple APIs (Extract, Crawl, Knowledge Graph), increasing complexity and cost.

ScraperAPI provides the same structured data capabilities plus full-page scraping, all with greater control and cost efficiency. Unlike Diffbot, ScraperAPI lets you:

  • Extract data directly from any website, not just AI-classified content
  • Use Structured Data Endpoints (SDEs) for pre-parsed JSON from sites like Google, Amazon, and Walmart
  • Automate and schedule extractions with DataPipeline
  • Get more data per request with a cost-effective pricing model

With built-in proxy rotation, CAPTCHA solving, and JavaScript rendering, ScraperAPI ensures high success rates while giving you full control over what and how you scrape—without AI-based restrictions.

So, how do our pricing and features compare to Diffbot?

Pricing Overview

Features

API Credits

Javascript Rendering

Proxy Rotation

Premium Proxies

Full-Page Scraping

Geotargeting

CAPTCHA Handling

Data Output

Scheduling features

Support

Price

ScraperAPI’s Business Plan

3,000,000

✅

✅ Included at no extra cost

✅

✅ Extracts entire web pages

150+ countries

✅ Built-in

JSON, CSV, Text, Markdown, HTML, XML

✅

24/7 Expert assistance

$299

Diffbot’s Plus Plan

1,000,000 API Credits

✅

❌Costs 2x credits per request

❌Only available on high-tier plans

❌ Restricted to AI-classified data

❌ Limited availability

❌ No built-in CAPTCHA solving

JSON

✅

Chat/Email Support

$899

No Credit Burn—Scrape More Data for Less

Diffbot’s credit system quickly drives up costs, as every API call, entity extraction, and proxy request consumes multiple credits. Large-scale data extraction becomes expensive fast.

  • Costly Knowledge Graph Queries: Extracting a single company or product record costs 25 credits, while enhanced records cost 100 credits.
  • Proxy Usage Doubles Costs: Using proxies to bypass site restrictions costs 2x the credits per request.
  • Higher Costs for Large Datasets: Extracting and enriching structured data requires thousands of credits per query.

ScraperAPI provides up to 3,000,000 requests per month for just $299, while Diffbot’s 1,000,000-credit plan costs $899. There is no hidden credit burn—just efficient, large-scale data extraction.

Built-In Proxy Rotation—No Extra Fees

Diffbot’s proxy system is paywalled and expensive, making it harder to scrape protected sites without extra costs.

  • Expensive Proxy Usage: Requests made through Diffbot’s default proxy cost 2x the credits.
  • Dynamic Proxies Locked Behind Expensive Plans: Only available on Professional & Enterprise tiers.
  • Bring Your Own Proxy: Users must purchase and integrate their own proxies for consistent results.

ScraperAPI includes automatic proxy rotation, premium proxies, and IP switching in every plan—at no extra cost.

Unlimited Scalability Without Extra Fees

Diffbot’s credit-based system can make large-scale data extraction expensive and unpredictable. Every API call consumes credits, and costs quickly add up when extracting full web pages, crawling entire sites, or accessing structured Knowledge Graph data.

  • High Costs for Key Features: A single Knowledge Graph query costs 25–100+ credits per result, meaning large datasets burn through credits rapidly.
  • Proxies Cost Extra: Standard proxy use doubles credit consumption per request, and dynamic proxies are only available in high-tier Enterprise plans.

ScraperAPI’s pay-per-successful-request model ensures cost efficiency—offering up to 3,000,000 requests per month, built-in proxy rotation, and JavaScript rendering at no extra charge.

Full Data Access—Not Just AI-Picked Results

Diffbot relies on predefined AI models to extract and categorize data, which means users only get the information Diffbot deems relevant—not necessarily everything available on the page. While this can be useful for standard extractions, it limits flexibility and prevents users from gathering custom or full-page datasets.

Key Limitations of Diffbot’s AI-Driven Extraction:

  • Predefined Data Categories – Users can’t freely extract elements outside Diffbot’s preset classifications (e.g., product specs, article summaries, or company profiles).
  • No Direct HTML Access – Diffbot doesn’t provide raw HTML, making it challenging to customize extractions beyond its AI-generated output.
  • Custom Extraction Requires Manual Training – If Diffbot’s AI misses key data, users must define custom rules—adding time and complexity to the process.

ScraperAPI gives you complete control over your data extraction:

  • Full-page scraping – Extract everything from a webpage, not just AI-selected data.
  • Raw HTML access – Retrieve complete source code for post-processing and custom parsing.
  • Structured Data Endpoints (SDEs) – Get ready-to-use JSON or CSV for major platforms like Google, Amazon, and Walmart while still having the option for direct URL scraping.

With ScraperAPI, you decide what data to extract—ensuring maximum flexibility and no AI restrictions on what you can access.

Get started for free
No credit card required

ScraperAPI vs Diffbot: What's Different

FeatureScraperAPIDiffbotWhat it means
Direct URL-Based ScrapingScrapes any website: search engines, eCommerce, social media, real estate, and moreLimited to AI-classified pages and predefined data pointsScraperAPI allows full-page scraping from any website, while Diffbot restricts users to AI-extracted fields, limiting flexibility for custom extractions.
Requests per month3,000,000 requests for $299 (Business Plan)1,000,000 requests for $899 (Plus Plan)ScraperAPI provides 3x more requests for 1/3 the price, making large-scale scraping significantly more cost-effective than Diffbot’s credit-based model.
Proxy & CAPTCHA HandlingBuilt-in proxy rotation, CAPTCHA solving, and JavaScript renderingProxies cost extra, and CAPTCHA solving requires third-party toolsScraperAPI includes proxies and CAPTCHA handling at no extra cost, while Diffbot’s proxies double credit usage, and premium proxies are locked behind Enterprise plans.
Data Output FormatsJSON, CSV, HTML, Text, Markdown CSV, JSONScraperAPI offers multiple output formats, making it more flexible for different data processing needs.
Customization & ControlScrapes full HTML, JSON, CSV, Markdown, and structured dataUsers rely on Diffbot’s AI to determine extracted contentScraperAPI gives users complete control over what data to extract, while Diffbot limits extractions to AI-classified elements, restricting customization.
Webhook IntegrationSends data directly to applications in real-timeNo webhook supportScraperAPI’s real-time webhook integration makes automating workflows and integrating scraped data into analytics tools easier.

Enterprise Features Without the Price Tag

Dedicated Account Manager

Your account manager will be there any time your team needs a helping hand.

Professional support

Premium Support

Enterprise customers* get dedicated Slack channels for direct communication with engineers and support.

geolocation

100% Compliant

All data collected and provided to customers are ethically obtained and compliant with all applicable laws.

IP locatations

Global Data Coverage

Your account manager will be there any time your team needs a helping hand.

Integration tutorials

Powerful Scraping Tools

All our tools are designed to simplify the scraping process and collect mass-scale data without getting blocked.

Designed for Scale

Scale your data pipelines while keeping a near-perfect success rate.

Contact sales

Simple, Powerful, Reliable Data Collection That Just Works

Web data collection doesn’t have to be complicated. With ScraperAPI, you can access the data you need without worrying about proxies, browsers, or CAPTCHA handling.

Our powerful scraping infrastructure handles the hard parts for you, delivering reliable results with success rates of nearly 99.99%.

Extract Clean, Structured Data from Any Website in Seconds

No more struggling with messy HTML and complex parsing. ScraperAPI transforms any website into clean, structured data formats you can immediately use.

 

Our structured data endpoints automatically convert popular sites like Amazon, Google, Walmart, and eBay into ready-to-use JSON or CSV, with no parsing required on your end.

 

Instead of spending hours writing custom parsers that break whenever websites change, get consistent, reliable data with a single API call.

EXPLORE STRUCTURED ENDPOINTS
Auto Parsing​

Test it yourself

Python
import requests

payload = {
    'api_key': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    'url': 'https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-Unlocked-Smartphone-High-Res-Manufacturer/dp/B0DCLCPN9T/?th=1',
    'country': 'us',
    'output_format': 'text'
}


response = requests.get('https://api.scraperapi.com/', params=payload)
product_data = response.text

with open('product.text', 'w') as f:
    f.write(product_data)
    f.close()

Feed Your LLMs with Perfect Web Data, Zero Cleaning Required

Training AI models requires massive amounts of high-quality data. The problem is that web content is often too messy and unstructured for models to make sense of it.

 

ScraperAPI solves this with our output_format parameter. It automatically converts web pages into clean Text or Markdown formats, which is perfectly suited for LLM training.

 

Simply add "output_format=text" or "output_format=markdown" to your request, and we’ll strip away irrelevant elements while preserving the meaningful content your models need.

check output documentation

Collect Data at Scale Without Writing a Single Line of Code

Set up large-scale scraping jobs with our intuitive visual interface. All you have to do is:

 

  • Upload your target URLs
  • Choose your settings
  • Schedule when you want your data collected

DataPipeline handles everything from there: proxy rotation, CAPTCHA solving, retries, and delivering your data where you need it via webhooks or downloadable files.

 

Scale up to 10,000 URLs per project while our infrastructure manages the technical complexity, or use its dedicated endpoints to add even more control to your existing projects.

schedule scraping jobs
Data Pipeline
ScraperAPI geotargeting

See Websites Exactly as Local Users Do with Global Geotargetting

Many websites show different content based on where and how you’re accessing them, which limits your ability to collect comprehensive, quality data.

 

With ScraperAPI’s geotargeting capabilities, you can access websites from over 150 countries through our network of 150M+ proxies and see exactly what local users see.

 

Simply add a country_code parameter to your request, and ScraperAPI will automatically route your request through the appropriate location with no complex proxy setup required.

 

Uncover region-specific pricing, product availability, search results, and local content that would otherwise be invisible to your standard scraping setup.

discover all location

All the Data You Need. One Place to Find It

Automate your entire scraping project with us, or select a solution that fits your business goals.

Residential Proxies

Proxy Management

Integrate our proxy pool with your in-house scrapers or our Scraping API to unlock any website.

  • 40M+ IPs
  • 99.99% Uptime
  • Geotargeting
datapipeline.svg

Scraping Solutions

Easily scrape data, automate rendering, bypass obstacles, and parse product search results quickly and efficiently.

  • JS rendering
  • Smart IP Rotation
  • Amazon / Walmart Scraper
async-scraper-icon.svg

Hosted Scraper

Put ecommerce data collection on autopilot without writing a single line of code.

  • Visual interface
  • Built-in scheduler
  • Ready-to-use templates
FIND YOUR PERFECT SCRAPING SOLUTION

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 offers 3x more requests for 1/3 the price of Diffbot, along with full-page scraping, built-in proxy rotation, and CAPTCHA solving—all without extra fees. Diffbot’s credit-based model limits scalability, while ScraperAPI provides up to 3,000,000 requests per month with transparent pricing and no hidden costs.

Yes! Diffbot’s credit-based system charges extra for crawling, proxies, and Knowledge Graph queries, making large-scale scraping expensive. ScraperAPI includes proxy management, JavaScript rendering, and structured data endpoints at no extra cost, allowing users to extract more data at a significantly lower price.

Diffbot relies on AI-powered classification and predefined data structures, limiting customization. ScraperAPI provides flexible, direct URL-based scraping, allowing users to extract structured and unstructured data from any website. Plus, ScraperAPI’s DataPipeline automates extractions, unlike Diffbot’s more complex setup.

Switching is seamless! If you’re using Diffbot for web extraction, ScraperAPI offers structured data endpoints, full-page scraping, and automated proxy rotation without complex API configurations. With built-in CAPTCHA solving and seamless webhook integration, ScraperAPI makes large-scale data extraction easier and more cost-effective.

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