Bardeen vs rtrvr.ai (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, rtrvr.ai grades higher than Bardeen: 2.8 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
rtrvr.ai grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bardeen
Lead scraping, enrichment and qualification with AI agents
rtrvr.ai
Browser agent for Chrome and cloud, with an ad-supported free mode
Which one is for you
Pick Bardeen if
- Fits if you build lead lists and want scraping and enrichment in one place
- Works for a go-to-market person who pays by the row
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you scrape at volume: 1 credit a row, 3 for enrichment, and unused credits expire each period
- Not for you if you want general personal automation, as it is aimed at lead sourcing
- Pricey if you scale: Premium is $50 a month for 1,000 credits
- Watch out: the page does not say whether the free 100 credits refill
- Skip it if you want a desktop or phone app, as none is listed
Pick rtrvr.ai if
- Fits if you want a browser agent running inside Chrome for scraping and repeat tasks
- Works for people who can live with sponsored cards on the free plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you object to sponsored cards, since ad-free runs need a paid plan and credits
- Not for you if you need the cloud API, MCP or WhatsApp on a free plan
- Watch out: unused monthly credits do not roll over
- Tight if you run browsers all day: a cloud browser uses about 60 credits, roughly 60 cents, an hour
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABardeenFair | 2.8GPArtrvr.aiGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$10 a month for 100 credits is inside the cheapest quarter, but 100 credits is 100 scraped rows or about 33 enrichments. | A$9.99 a month, under 60% of the category's cheaper quarter of $19. Credits cost a cent each and a cloud browser burns about 60 an hour. |
| Free plan and trial | C100 free credits on every account, and the page does not say if they refill, so you will run out fast. | BFree Mode covers supported models and cloud browser time with a daily fair-use allowance and one daily schedule, shown with sponsored cards. |
| Features | CScraper, web search, enrichment, AI qualification and exports, but it is aimed at lead sourcing and not general automation. | CExtension and cloud browsers, scraping and enrichment, schedules, API, MCP, CLI and WhatsApp. Cloud API calls, MCP tools and WhatsApp tasks are not on Free. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You build scrapers and credit usage by row, with a learning curve. | CNo store rating on record. You set up tasks and schedules, and may connect keys or an API. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, no desktop or mobile apps on the pages read, with four named integrations. | BChrome extension and web, with Claude, Codex, Slack, WhatsApp and Google Sheets listed. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | scraping and enriching leads in the browser | browser agent as an extension and cloud |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bardeen and rtrvr.ai. How we grade
Price against what you get
Bardeen starts at $10 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. rtrvr.ai starts at $9.99 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and rtrvr.ai starts $0.01 a month lower. Of the other AI agents on the chart, 1 scores higher than Bardeen for less, and 1 scores higher than rtrvr.ai for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Bardeen also covers no-code.
- rtrvr.ai also covers web browser.
At a glance
| Bardeen | rtrvr.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month for 100 credits, billed monthly | $9.99 per month (billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Every account gets 100 credits free; the pricing page does not say whether they refill each month. | Free Mode: supported AI models and cloud browser time at no cost, with sponsored cards and a daily fair-use allowance; one daily schedule. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Bardeen Inc. | Retriever AI |
| Price read from | bardeen.ai | rtrvr.ai |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bardeen
- Pricing is by credit: 1 per scraped row, 1 per search or AI row, 3 per enrichment row. Unused credits expire at the end of each billing period.
- The pricing page shows paid plans only as add-on credit amounts per month; the free 100 credits are described without a refill date.
- The product is aimed at lead sourcing and go-to-market work, not general-purpose personal automation.
- The pages read list no desktop or mobile apps; the product is described as an app used in the browser.
rtrvr.ai
- The free plan shows sponsored cards with results; ad-free runs need a paid plan and credits.
- Cloud API calls, cloud MCP tools and WhatsApp tasks are not on the free plan.
- One credit equals one cent, and a cloud browser uses about 60 credits an hour; unused monthly credits do not roll over.
Key features
Bardeen
- Web scraper
- Build your own scraper or use premium ones to pull leads from sites such as Product Hunt, Zillow and GitHub, at 1 credit per row.
- Web search
- Researches or generates leads at scale with AI and web search providers, or finds answers on a given website, at 1 credit per row.
- Contact enrichment
- Looks up validated emails and phone numbers for leads. Enrichment costs 3 credits per row.
- AI qualification
- You describe the ideal lead and AI marks each row as qualified or not, with a short reason, at 1 credit per row.
- Exports
- Results download as CSV or go to Google Sheets, Airtable and Notion. Importing and exporting data is free.
rtrvr.ai
- Chrome extension and cloud browsers
- Run tasks on the page you are signed into in Chrome, or in cloud browsers that keep working after you leave.
- Scraping and enrichment
- Pull listings or profiles into a sheet. Enrichment costs 0.25 credits per returned record, and live scraping 0.15 credits per successful record.
- Schedules and triggers
- Paid plans run schedules as often as every few minutes and respond to webhooks or page changes, with no tab open.
- API, MCP, CLI and WhatsApp
- The agent can be called from code, an MCP client such as Claude, a terminal or WhatsApp. Cloud API calls need a paid plan.
- Choice of AI model
- Use rtrvr credits, ChatGPT, Claude, your own API key or a local model. Your own provider avoids model-credit charges.
Plans
Bardeen
Basic$10
per month for +100 credits, billed monthly
Adds 100 credits a month; steps up to +500 credits for $50. Includes custom scrapers, premium scrapers and enrichment.
Premium$50
per month for +1,000 credits, billed monthly
Adds 1,000 credits a month; steps up to +10K credits for $500. Adds Teams. Annual billing starts at $480 per year for +12,000 credits.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom bulk credits on annual billing, with custom scrapers built and maintained by Bardeen and premium support.
rtrvr.ai
Free$0
Free Mode with sponsored cards, a renewing daily allowance, 100 one-time welcome credits and one schedule a day or less often.
Starter$9.99
per month, billed monthly
1,000 credits each month, every reasoning level in Free Mode, more schedules, triggers, API, MCP and WhatsApp access.
Pro$29.99
per month, billed monthly
3,000 credits each month with 1 seat included; extra seats $9.99 each.
Team$99.99
per month, billed monthly
10,000 credits each month, 3 seats included (extra seats $9.99) and Private Mode with zero data retention.
Scale$499.99
per month, billed monthly
50,000 credits each month, 10 seats included (extra seats $9.99) and Private Mode, for cloud and API workloads.
Ways to pay less
Bardeen
- Annual discount
Save 20% on annual Premium billing
The pricing page offers Premium on yearly billing at a 20% saving, starting at $480 per year for 12,000 credits.
rtrvr.ai
- Annual discount
Annual billing: 2 months free
The pricing page has a Monthly/Annual toggle labeled 2 months free for annual billing; annual prices were not shown in the page text.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bardeen or rtrvr.ai?
As of Nov 13, 2026, rtrvr.ai is cheaper to start with: $9.99 a month, against $10 a month for Bardeen. Bardeen starts at $10 per month for 100 credits, billed monthly, and rtrvr.ai starts at $9.99 per month (billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Bardeen or rtrvr.ai?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Bardeen and rtrvr.ai have a free plan.
Which platforms do Bardeen and rtrvr.ai run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only rtrvr.ai lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.