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ZenRows alternatives for developers

Looking for a different scraping API? Here are honest options and when each one fits.

In short

To use your own proxy and stay logged in, try Spicrawl. For managed proxies and big-site APIs, try ScrapingBee. For crawling whole sites, try Firecrawl.

ZenRows alternatives

  1. 1. Spicrawl

    A hosted web scraping API for apps and AI agents. Free during beta, no credit card.

    What it does

    • Turns a URL into clean Markdown or JSON with one request.
    • Scrapes up to 10,000 URLs in one batch call.
    • Keeps logins going with cookies and storage, and runs browser actions.
    • Lets you use your own proxy, and connects to AI agents through MCP.

    What it does not do yet

    • No crawling of a whole site.
    • No managed proxies, stealth mode or remote browser yet.
    • No prompt-based AI extraction yet.

    Scrape APIBatch scrapingScrape behind a loginMCP serverSpicrawl vs ZenRows

  2. 2. ScrapingBee

    ScrapingBee has ready-made APIs for Google, Amazon and Walmart. It also offers managed premium and stealth proxies.

    Pick it if you scrape those big sites or want published plans and limits.

    Spicrawl vs ScrapingBee

  3. 3. Firecrawl

    Firecrawl can crawl a whole site and find its URLs. It also has built-in web search and managed proxies with country targeting.

    Pick it if you need crawling, search, or many SDK languages and self-hosting.

    Spicrawl vs Firecrawl

  4. 4. Apify

    Apify has thousands of ready-made scrapers for specific sites. You can also run your own scraping code in its cloud.

    Pick it if a ready-made scraper already exists for the site you need.

    Spicrawl vs Apify

  5. 5. Crawl4AI

    Crawl4AI is open source under Apache-2.0, so you can run and change it. It crawls whole sites and has stealth mode.

    Pick it if you want to host it yourself or use LLM extraction with your own model.

    Spicrawl vs Crawl4AI

How to choose

  • You have your own proxy: pick a tool with no proxy surcharge.
  • You need to stay logged in: pick a tool with sessions.
  • You need a remote browser: check that the tool has one.
  • You need managed proxies today: check that the tool has them.

When ZenRows is still the best choice

  • You need a remote browser for Puppeteer or Playwright.
  • You submit batches of up to 100,000 URLs.
  • You need managed residential proxies today.
  • You want SDKs in Python, Node.js or Go.
Read the full Spicrawl vs ZenRows comparison

ZenRows alternatives: common questions

What is the best ZenRows alternative?

It depends on your job. Spicrawl fits own-proxy use and logins. ScrapingBee fits managed proxies. Firecrawl fits crawling.

Does Spicrawl have a remote browser?

Not yet. A remote browser is coming soon. Today you can run browser actions inside a scrape.

How many URLs can Spicrawl take in one batch?

Up to 10,000 URLs in one call. ZenRows takes up to 100,000.

Is Spicrawl free?

Spicrawl is free during beta. You do not need a credit card to sign up.

What can Spicrawl not do yet?

Spicrawl does not crawl whole sites. It has no managed proxies, stealth mode, remote browser or prompt-based AI extraction yet. You can bring your own proxy.

Try Spicrawl free while it’s in beta

Run the pages you scrape today and compare the results yourself. No credit card required.

Get free beta access