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CrawlForge MCP

Alternatives

CrawlForge replaces Scrapfly's weighted credit system with flat per-tool pricing and 31 MCP-native tools for AI agents.

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01Context

Overview

If Scrapfly's weighted credit system (browser +5, residential +25 per call) is hard to forecast, CrawlForge offers a flat alternative: every tool call costs between 1 and 10 credits regardless of the infrastructure used. Free tier is 1,000 credits on both platforms, but CrawlForge has no per-feature surcharges.

CrawlForge is also MCP-native, which matters if you are building AI agents on Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf. Instead of wrapping REST endpoints, agents discover tools through the Model Context Protocol automatically.

Scrapfly will still be the better tool for sites with elite anti-bot defenses (Cloudflare Enterprise, DataDome) where their ASP shield shines. For general AI-agent scraping across typical content sites, CrawlForge is easier to forecast, simpler to integrate, and covers more primitives (research, monitoring, structured extraction) out of the box.

02Scoreboard

Feature Comparison

05

CrawlForge wins

01

Tie

02

Competitor wins

  1. Credit ModelCrawlForge wins
    CrawlForge
    Flat 1-10 credits per call
    Scrapfly
    Weighted (browser +5, residential +25)
  2. ArchitectureCrawlForge wins
    CrawlForge
    MCP-native
    Scrapfly
    REST API
  3. Tool CountCrawlForge wins
    CrawlForge
    31 purpose-built tools
    Scrapfly
    Single scrape endpoint with modifiers
  4. Deep ResearchCrawlForge wins
    CrawlForge
    Multi-source with conflict detection
    Scrapfly
    Not available
  5. Change TrackingCrawlForge wins
    CrawlForge
    Built-in track_changes
    Scrapfly
    Not built-in
  6. Anti-Bot BypassCompetitor wins
    CrawlForge
    stealth_mode
    Scrapfly
    ASP shield (best in class)
  7. Screenshot APICompetitor wins
    CrawlForge
    Via scrape_with_actions
    Scrapfly
    Dedicated screenshot API with more options
  8. Free TierTie
    CrawlForge
    1,000 credits
    Scrapfly
    1,000 credits

03The numbers

Pricing Comparison

Free

CrawlForge1,000 credits (one-time)

Scrapfly1,000 API credits (one-time)

Starter

CrawlForge$19/mo — 5,000 credits

Scrapflycheck vendor for latest

Professional

CrawlForge$99/mo — 100,000 credits

Scrapflycheck vendor for latest

Business

CrawlForge$399/mo — 500,000 credits

Scrapflycheck vendor for latest — Enterprise available

04Trade-offs

Why Choose CrawlForge

  • Flat per-tool credit pricing — no weighted surcharges
  • MCP-native architecture for AI agent workflows
  • 31 specialized tools vs a single scrape endpoint
  • Built-in deep_research and change tracking
  • Simpler forecasting for mixed-workload scraping
  • Full AI discoverability via llms.txt surfaces

Where Scrapfly Shines

  • Industry-leading anti-bot shield (ASP) for hardest sites
  • Richer screenshot and session APIs
  • Longer developer track record and broader SDK coverage
  • Dedicated residential proxy pool with fine-grained controls
  • Established community and third-party integrations

05Verdict

The Verdict

CrawlForge is the best Scrapfly alternative for AI-agent development and mixed-workload scraping. Flat credit pricing, 31 tools, and MCP-native architecture make it easier to forecast, easier to integrate, and broader in scope.

If your workload is dominated by elite anti-bot bypass, Scrapfly remains the specialist choice. For everything else — typical content sites, research, monitoring, structured extraction in AI agents — CrawlForge is the simpler, more predictable option.

06Decision

Which one should you pick?

Pick CrawlForge when

  • You want flat per-tool credits instead of Scrapfly's weighted browser/residential surcharges.
  • You are building AI agents via MCP and want native protocol support.
  • Your workload is mixed — fetch, extract, research, monitor — and you want one API for all of it.
  • You are scraping typical content sites where stealth_mode is enough.
  • You value built-in deep_research and change tracking without add-ons.

Pick Scrapfly when

  • You scrape sites protected by Cloudflare Enterprise, DataDome, or PerimeterX where ASP is best in class.
  • Screenshots, session persistence, or scraper marketplace are core to your workflow.
  • You have existing Scrapfly SDK integrations and the weighted pricing works for your mix.
  • Your stack is REST/SDK-first and you do not need MCP.

07Migration

Migration example

Replace a Scrapfly scrape call with a CrawlForge extract_content call. (Check Scrapfly docs for latest SDK signature.)

Before — Scrapfly
// Before: Scrapflyimport { ScrapflyClient, ScrapeConfig } from 'scrapfly-sdk';const client = new ScrapflyClient({ key: process.env.SCRAPFLY_KEY });const result = await client.scrape(new ScrapeConfig({  url: 'https://example.com',  render_js: true,  asp: true,}));
After — CrawlForge
// After: CrawlForgeconst 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' }),});

08Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

01Why would I switch from Scrapfly to CrawlForge?

The main reasons are flat per-tool credits (easier to forecast than Scrapfly's weighted model), MCP-native integration for AI agents, and broader tool coverage (31 tools including research and monitoring). If those matter more than Scrapfly's ASP anti-bot shield, CrawlForge is the better fit.

02Does CrawlForge handle Cloudflare-protected sites?

CrawlForge's stealth_mode handles most Cloudflare and common anti-bot defenses. For sites with Cloudflare Enterprise or DataDome bot management, Scrapfly's ASP shield is still the more capable specialist.

03Is CrawlForge cheaper than Scrapfly?

It depends on your traffic mix. For standard content sites, CrawlForge's flat 1-10 credit pricing is typically cheaper and more predictable. For heavy browser+residential traffic, Scrapfly's weighted model can work out lower if you use raw HTML fetching most of the time.

04Can I use both services together?

Yes. A common setup is to route most traffic through CrawlForge and fall back to Scrapfly for the small fraction of sites that need ASP-level bypass. Billing is independent on each side.

05Does CrawlForge have a residential proxy option?

stealth_mode rotates fingerprints and routes through a proxy you supply via stealthConfig.proxyRotation. CrawlForge does not run a residential pool of its own; Scrapfly's dedicated residential offering is managed for you.

09Resources

Related resources

01

Getting started

Install CrawlForge MCP and run your first scrape in under a minute.

02

Browse all 31 tools

See every scraping, extraction, and research tool with credit costs.

03

Use cases

Lead enrichment, price monitoring, RAG pipelines, and more.

04

Pricing

Free 1,000 credits, then $19/mo Starter. Compare every plan.

05

All comparisons

See how CrawlForge stacks up against every major scraping API.

06

MCP web scraping guide

Why MCP-native scraping outperforms REST for AI agents.

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