Looking for a Zyte Alternative?
CrawlForge replaces Zyte's per-site tiered pricing and minimum monthly commitments with flat per-tool credits and 20 MCP-native tools.
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Overview
If Zyte's pricing model (per-response with per-site difficulty tiers 1-5 and $100-$500/mo minimum commitments for best rates) does not fit your workload, CrawlForge offers a simpler alternative. Flat 1-10 credits per tool call, no commitment, 1,000 free credits to start.
CrawlForge is also MCP-native, meaning AI agents on Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf call tools directly through the Model Context Protocol. Zyte's REST API requires manual wrapping for AI workflows.
Zyte still wins for enterprise scraping at volume — their 15+ year track record, Scrapy heritage, ISO 27001 certification, and per-site difficulty profiles are unmatched. But if you are a developer building AI applications, want predictable per-call pricing, and do not need enterprise compliance documents, CrawlForge is the more approachable choice.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | CrawlForge | Zyte | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Flat credits per tool call | Per-response tiered, minimum commitment | |
| Minimum Commitment | None | $100-$500/mo for best rates | |
| Architecture | MCP-native | REST API, Scrapy Cloud | |
| Tool Count | 20 tools | Extract API + proxy manager + Scrapy Cloud | |
| Deep Research | Multi-source with conflict detection | Not available | |
| Heritage & Maturity | New (2026) | 15+ years, creators of Scrapy | |
| Enterprise Compliance | Business tier | ISO 27001, GDPR, enterprise SLA | |
| Free Tier | 1,000 credits | $5 free, 30 days |
Pricing Comparison
| Tier | CrawlForge | Zyte |
|---|---|---|
| Free / Trial | 1,000 credits (one-time) | $5 free, 30 days |
| Starter | $19/mo — 5,000 credits | Pay-as-you-go from $0.13/1K responses |
| Professional | $99/mo — 50,000 credits | $100/mo minimum |
| Business | $399/mo — 250,000 credits | $500/mo minimum; Enterprise custom |
Why Choose CrawlForge
- Flat per-tool credit pricing — no per-site difficulty math
- No minimum monthly commitment
- MCP-native for AI agent workflows
- 20 specialized tools including research and monitoring
- Larger free allowance (1,000 credits vs $5 trial)
- Simpler to forecast for mixed or low-volume workloads
Where Zyte Shines
- +15+ years of scraping infrastructure experience
- +Home of Scrapy — first-class Scrapy Cloud integration
- +ISO 27001 certification for enterprise compliance
- +Managed data extraction services (Zyte Data)
- +Cheaper per-response at very high volume with commitment
- +Deep per-site profiling for hardest enterprise-grade sites
The Verdict
CrawlForge is the best Zyte alternative for developers building AI-agent applications and smaller-scale scraping where Zyte's minimum commitments do not fit. Flat credits, MCP-native architecture, and 20 tools make it simpler to adopt.
Zyte is still the right choice for enterprise-scale scraping with Scrapy integration, ISO 27001 compliance needs, or managed data extraction services. The two platforms target different points on the spectrum.
Which one should you pick?
- You do not want a $100-$500/mo minimum commitment.
- You are building AI agents via MCP (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf) and want native tool discovery.
- Your scraping is mixed — fetch, extract, research, monitor — rather than pure high-volume crawls.
- You prefer flat credit pricing over Zyte's per-response tiered model.
- You are a developer who wants to prototype with 1,000 free credits and no card.
- You already run Scrapy code and want Scrapy Cloud hosting.
- You need ISO 27001 certification or strict enterprise compliance documents.
- You scrape at very high volume where Zyte's commitment tiers give the best per-response rates.
- You want managed/human-assisted data extraction services (Zyte Data).
Migration example
Replace a Zyte API request with a CrawlForge call. Both are REST-based, so the shape is similar. (Check Zyte docs for latest API.)
Before — Zyte
typescript// Before: Zyte API
const res = await fetch('https://api.zyte.com/v1/extract', {
method: 'POST',
headers: { Authorization: `Basic ${btoa(process.env.ZYTE_API_KEY + ':')}`, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
body: JSON.stringify({ url: 'https://example.com', browserHtml: true }),
});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' }),
});Frequently Asked Questions
Why switch from Zyte to CrawlForge?
The main reasons are flat per-tool credit pricing (no per-site difficulty tiers), no minimum monthly commitment, MCP-native AI integration, and a broader tool set (20 tools including research and monitoring). If those matter more to you than Zyte's Scrapy heritage and enterprise compliance, CrawlForge is the better fit.
Does CrawlForge work with Scrapy?
Not directly — CrawlForge is a hosted API, not a Scrapy backend. If you have existing Scrapy code, you would either keep running it on Zyte's Scrapy Cloud or rewrite those operations as CrawlForge tool calls. For most scraping tasks, CrawlForge's API is simpler than maintaining a Scrapy codebase.
Is CrawlForge cheaper than Zyte?
For small to mid-sized workloads, yes — no minimum commitment and flat credits make CrawlForge simpler and often cheaper. For very high-volume scraping at the $500/mo commitment tier, Zyte can be cheaper per response, especially on easier sites.
Can CrawlForge handle the same hard sites as Zyte Smart Proxy Manager?
stealth_mode handles most common anti-bot defenses. Zyte's Smart Proxy Manager has 15+ years of per-site profile data that makes it more reliable on the hardest enterprise sites. For standard content sites, CrawlForge is equivalent.
Does CrawlForge have ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification?
Not at the moment. If enterprise compliance is a blocker, Zyte's ISO 27001 certification is a real advantage. CrawlForge follows security best practices but does not yet have formal certifications.
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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