CrawlForge vs Apify
Simple MCP-native tools with transparent pricing versus a full actor marketplace. Find the right fit.
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Overview
CrawlForge and Apify take fundamentally different approaches to web scraping. CrawlForge provides 20 focused MCP tools with per-tool credit pricing. Apify offers a marketplace of thousands of "actors" -- pre-built scraping scripts -- with compute-unit-based billing.
Apify's actor ecosystem is massive, covering niche use cases from social media scraping to real estate data. However, this breadth comes with complexity: you need to find the right actor, understand its configuration, and manage compute units. CrawlForge keeps things simple with a consistent API across all 20 tools.
For AI agent workflows, CrawlForge's MCP-native design means agents discover and call tools directly through the protocol. With Apify, you would need to wrap actor calls in custom MCP servers or use HTTP clients.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | CrawlForge | Apify | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | MCP-native, 20 focused tools | Actor marketplace (thousands of scripts) | |
| AI Agent Integration | Direct MCP tool calls | REST API, requires custom wrapping | |
| Setup Complexity | API key, start calling tools | Find actor, configure inputs, manage runs | |
| Pricing Model | Per-tool credits (1-10 per call) | Compute units (CPU/memory/time) | |
| Use Case Breadth | 20 general-purpose tools | Thousands of specialized actors | |
| Infrastructure | Fully managed | Managed with optional self-hosting | |
| Deep Research | Built-in multi-source research | Not built-in | |
| Proxy Management | Built-in with stealth_mode | Built-in proxy infrastructure | |
| Scheduling | Via external cron/agents | Built-in scheduler |
Pricing Comparison
| Tier | CrawlForge | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 1,000 credits | $5/mo in compute units |
| Starter | $19/mo — 5,000 credits | $49/mo — platform fee + compute |
| Professional | $99/mo — 50,000 credits | $149/mo — platform fee + compute |
| Business | $399/mo — 250,000 credits | Custom pricing |
Why Choose CrawlForge
- MCP-native architecture for direct AI agent integration
- Simple per-tool credit pricing -- no compute unit calculations
- Fast onboarding: get an API key and start scraping
- Built-in deep_research for multi-source analysis
- Consistent API across all 20 tools
Where Apify Shines
- +Thousands of pre-built actors for niche scraping tasks
- +Built-in scheduling and workflow orchestration
- +Self-hosting option for sensitive data
- +Larger community of actor developers
- +More mature dataset storage and export options
The Verdict
Choose CrawlForge if you want a simple, MCP-native scraping toolkit that integrates directly with AI agents. The per-tool pricing is predictable, and you will not spend time searching for and configuring actors.
Choose Apify if you need highly specialized scrapers for niche platforms, built-in scheduling, or a self-hosted deployment option. Apify's breadth is unmatched, but that breadth comes with more complexity.
Which one should you pick?
- You want a single consistent API rather than searching a marketplace of actors for each new task.
- You need predictable per-call credit costs instead of modelling CPU, memory, and time into compute units.
- You are building AI agents via MCP and want tool discovery to happen through the protocol.
- You want to start scraping within minutes of signup rather than configuring and running an actor.
- You want built-in multi-source research (deep_research) that Apify does not ship natively.
- You need a highly specialized scraper for a niche platform that a community actor already solves.
- You need built-in scheduling, dataset storage, and pipeline orchestration as first-class features.
- You have a self-hosting or data-residency requirement that Apify supports and a SaaS cannot.
- You are a Python team comfortable with the Crawlee framework Apify is built on.
Migration example
Move a basic Apify web-scraper actor run to a CrawlForge extract_content call. For specialised actors, keep them on Apify or reimplement as a CrawlForge workflow. (Check vendor docs for latest Apify SDK shape.)
Before — Apify
typescript// Before: Apify
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('apify/web-scraper').call({
startUrls: [{ url: 'https://example.com' }],
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();After — CrawlForge
typescript// After: CrawlForge
const res = await fetch('https://www.crawlforge.dev/api/v1/tools/extract_content', {
method: 'POST',
headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.CRAWLFORGE_API_KEY}`, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
body: JSON.stringify({ url: 'https://example.com' }),
});
const items = [await res.json()];Frequently Asked Questions
How is CrawlForge pricing different from Apify's compute units?
CrawlForge charges a fixed number of credits per tool call (1 to 10 credits depending on the tool). Apify charges based on compute units, which factor in CPU time, memory, and duration for each actor run. CrawlForge's model is easier to predict before you run a call.
Can I replace Apify actors with CrawlForge tools?
For general scraping tasks (fetch HTML, extract content, crawl a site, batch URLs, take screenshots), CrawlForge's 20 tools cover the common patterns. For deeply niche actors — for example, a pre-built Instagram or LinkedIn scraper — you would need to build that logic on top of CrawlForge primitives or stay on Apify.
Does CrawlForge have built-in scheduling like Apify?
No. CrawlForge focuses on the scraping tools themselves. For scheduled jobs, pair CrawlForge with your existing scheduler — Vercel cron, GitHub Actions, Temporal, or a server-side cron — and call the CrawlForge API from there. Apify bakes scheduling into the platform.
Is CrawlForge better for AI agents than Apify?
If you are using Claude, Cursor, or another MCP-capable host, CrawlForge is the more direct fit because tools are exposed through the MCP protocol and agents can discover them without custom HTTP glue. Apify requires you to wrap actor calls in an MCP server or a traditional HTTP client.
Can I export data from CrawlForge like Apify datasets?
CrawlForge returns data in the tool response (JSON, markdown, text). It does not provide a managed dataset store. If you want persistent datasets, write the responses to your own database or object storage.
Related resources
Getting started
Install CrawlForge MCP and run your first scrape in under a minute.
Browse all 20 tools
See every scraping, extraction, and research tool with credit costs.
Use cases
Lead enrichment, price monitoring, RAG pipelines, and more.
Pricing
Free 1,000 credits, then $19/mo Starter. Compare every plan.
All comparisons
See how CrawlForge stacks up against every major scraping API.
MCP web scraping guide
Why MCP-native scraping outperforms REST for AI agents.
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