Scraping API
ScrapeUnblocker vs Apify
Apify is an actor and marketplace platform: you run pre-built or custom "actors" (full crawlers) on its cloud, with storage, scheduling and orchestration around them. ScrapeUnblocker is not a competing platform so much as the unblocking layer - and we publish an official Apify Actor, so the two work together. The honest comparison is about scope: a whole automation platform versus a single endpoint that returns the rendered page.
If you want a marketplace of ready crawlers, a place to host your own, and orchestration around them, that platform is exactly what Apify is for. If you mostly need to get through the anti-bot wall and get the page back, that is one call to ScrapeUnblocker - from your own code, or from inside an Apify actor via our Actor. You do not have to choose: many teams use our Actor as the fetch step inside an Apify workflow.
Where we differ is the billing and the focus. ScrapeUnblocker charges per successful request with anti-bot soft-blocks returned free, and it concentrates on rendering the hard Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX and Akamai targets through its own browser build rather than on being a general automation platform. A free tier of 500 requests lets you compare on your own targets first.
Side by side
| Capability | ScrapeUnblocker | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A single unblocking scraping API | Actor + marketplace automation platform |
| Use together | Official Apify Actor - call us from an actor | Runs our Actor as a fetch step |
| Rendering engine | Our own browser build + warm profile pool | Actor-defined (often headless Chrome) |
| Anti-bot bypass | Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX, Akamai | Depends on the actor you pick |
| Pricing model | Pay per successful request, soft-blocks free | Platform usage + per-actor pricing |
| Free tier | 500 requests on signup, no card | Monthly platform credits |
When ScrapeUnblocker is the better pick
- You want the page back from one endpoint, not a platform to run.
- Your blocker is the anti-bot wall, not orchestration.
- You want pay-per-success instead of platform + per-actor costs.
- You want to add unblocking inside an existing Apify workflow.
Where they still make sense
- You want a marketplace of ready-made crawlers and a place to host your own.
- You need storage, scheduling and orchestration around your scrapers.
Try it on your own targets
500 requests free on signup. No card, no sales call.