Bardeen vs Thunderbit (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Thunderbit grades higher than Bardeen: 2.6 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
Thunderbit grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, 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
Thunderbit
AI web scraper that turns pages into spreadsheets
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 Thunderbit if
- Fits if you scrape lists of pages into a spreadsheet now and then
- Works for people who prefer to describe the data in words rather than build selectors
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you scrape more than 6 pages a month on Free
- Watch out: bulk, subpage and enrichment features need Starter
- Watch out: the page shows a limited-time 31% off on Pro with no end date
- Skip it if you need the API, which is sold on custom terms
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABardeenFair | 2.6GPAThunderbitGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 a month billed yearly ($15 monthly), under 60% of the category's cheaper quarter of $19. Pro is $16.50. |
| 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. | CFree gives 6 pages a month and at most 30 credits a page. Bulk, subpage and enrichment features need Starter. |
| Features | CScraper, web search, enrichment, AI qualification and exports, but it is aimed at lead sourcing and not general automation. | CDescribe-the-data scraping, subpages, bulk URLs, pagination, schedules and exports. The Web Scraper API and Business plan are custom terms. |
| 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 describe fields and check what it pulled, and set up exports and schedules. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, no desktop or mobile apps on the pages read, with four named integrations. | BChrome extension and web, with Excel, Google Sheets, Airtable and Notion exports. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | scraping and enriching leads in the browser | AI web scraper in Chrome |
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 Thunderbit. 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. Thunderbit starts at $9 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Thunderbit starts $1 a month lower. Of the other AI agents on the chart, 1 scores higher than Bardeen for less, and 1 scores higher than Thunderbit 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.
- Thunderbit also covers spreadsheets.
At a glance
| Bardeen | Thunderbit | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month for 100 credits, billed monthly | $9 per month, billed yearly ($15 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Every account gets 100 credits free; the pricing page does not say whether they refill each month. | 6 pages a month, at most 30 credits per page, with data export and extraction tools. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Bardeen Inc. | Thunderbit Inc. |
| Price read from | bardeen.ai | thunderbit.com |
| 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.
Thunderbit
- The free plan stops at 6 pages a month, and bulk, subpage and enrichment features need Starter.
- Yearly plans give credits upfront for the year; the page shows yearly saving as 20% and a limited-time 31% off on Pro, with no end date.
- The Web Scraper API and Business plan are sold on custom terms.
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.
Thunderbit
- Describe-the-data scraping
- An AI agent reads the page and extracts the fields you ask for, with no CSS selectors or drag-and-drop setup.
- Subpages, bulk URLs and pagination
- Paid plans follow links into subpages and scrape up to 2,000 URLs in bulk and up to 200 paginated pages.
- Scheduled scrapers
- Scrapers can run on a schedule, with a minimum monitor frequency of 1 hour on Starter and 5 minutes on Pro.
- Exports
- Results export to Excel, Google Sheets, Airtable and Notion.
- Free extractors and API
- Email, phone number and similar extractors are listed on every plan, and a Web Scraper API, CLI and MCP server are offered separately.
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.
Thunderbit
Free$0
per month
6 pages a month, 3 bulk URLs, 3 paginated pages, 14-day data retention and 1 scheduled scraper.
Starter$9
per month, billed yearly ($15 billed monthly)
5,000 credits a year when billed yearly (500 a month when monthly), subpage and bulk scraping, enrichment and 5 scheduled scrapers.
Pro$16.5
per month, billed yearly ($38 billed monthly)
30,000 credits a year when billed yearly (3,000 a month when monthly), unlimited scrapers and 25 scheduled scrapers. Page shows $24 crossed out.
BusinessCustom
Custom credits, limits and billing terms, with priority support and account management.
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.
Thunderbit
- Annual discount
Save 20% on yearly billing
The pricing page says yearly subscriptions save 20%, with all credits for the year given upfront. Pro also shows a limited-time 31% off.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bardeen or Thunderbit?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Thunderbit is cheaper to start with: $9 a month, against $10 a month for Bardeen. Bardeen starts at $10 per month for 100 credits, billed monthly, and Thunderbit starts at $9 per month, billed yearly ($15 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Bardeen or Thunderbit?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Bardeen and Thunderbit have a free plan.
Which platforms do Bardeen and Thunderbit run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Thunderbit 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.