Captain Data vs Octoparse (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Octoparse grades higher than Captain Data: 2.6 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Octoparse grades higher on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Captain Data
People and company data API built on LinkedIn profiles
Octoparse
No-code web scraping with ready templates and a cloud runner
Which one is for you
Pick Captain Data if
- Fits if you are a developer who needs LinkedIn-based people data in your own tool
- Works for teams that prefer volume pricing to per-seat plans
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want an app to prospect in, as there is no dashboard
- Pricey if you start small, as the base rate is €59.99 per 1,000 credits
- Watch out: unused credits do not roll over month to month on monthly billing
- Watch out: the page was read with the euro setting, and its dollar figures were not confirmed
Pick Octoparse if
- Fits if you want web data such as business listings without writing code
- Works for teams that want scheduled scrapers without running servers
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay on Basic, because custom tasks run on your own computer
- Watch out: proxies, CAPTCHA solving, the AI assistant and pay-per-result templates draw on credits that reset each month
- Pricey if you want the cloud, which starts at $69 a month billed annually ($83 monthly)
- Skip it if you want ready contact data, as it scrapes pages and does not supply emails itself
How we grade them
| 1.6GPACaptain DataWeak | 2.6GPAOctoparseGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D€59.99 per 1,000 credits from a 2,500-credit start is about €150 a month, and the volume slider shows €600 for 20,000. That is the dearer end for what is a data API. | BBasic is $19 a month, inside the cheaper quarter of $33.25, and desktop tasks run free on your own computer. The cloud plan most people want is $69 billed annually. |
| Free plan and trial | C100 free credits with no card, one time. | BA free plan with 2,000 template rows a month and 10 saved tasks, and desktop tasks do not count against the rows. |
| Features | CPeople enrichment, people and company search, company employees and an MCP server. There is no dashboard prospecting app. | CTemplates, an AI assistant, a task builder, cloud runs and an API. It scrapes pages generally, so lead lists are one use and you build the extraction yourself. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. It is an API product and needs a developer. | CNo store rating on record. Building a custom task has a learning curve, though the templates skip it. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb, with an API and MCP server and two listed integrations. No apps. | BWeb, Windows and Mac apps, with an API and an MCP connection. No phone apps. |
| Best for | LinkedIn-based people data over an API | scraping business listings without code |
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: Captain Data and Octoparse. How we grade
Price against what you get
Captain Data starts at about $67.02 a month and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Octoparse starts at $19 a month and scores 2.3.
Octoparse scores higher and starts $48.02 a month lower. Of the other lead and email finders on the chart, 37 score higher than Captain Data for less, and 1 scores higher than Octoparse 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
- Captain Data also covers AI agents.
- Octoparse also covers research.
At a glance
| Captain Data | Octoparse | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | €59.99 per 1,000 credits, billed monthly (from 2,500 credits) | $19 per month, billed monthly (Basic) |
| Free plan | None | 2,000 template or API rows a month, 10 saved tasks, desktop tasks run on your computer. |
| Free trial | 100 free credits, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Made by | Captain Data | Octoparse |
| Price read from | captaindata.com | octoparse.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Captain Data
- The page was read with the euro setting showing; a US dollar setting exists but its figures were not confirmed.
- Unused credits do not roll over month to month on monthly billing.
- Pricing scales with volume only, and there is no per-seat plan or dashboard prospecting app.
Octoparse
- Proxies, CAPTCHA solving, AI Assistant and pay-per-result templates draw on credits; unused monthly credits reset.
- Custom tasks run on your own computer unless you are on Standard or above.
- Basic is monthly only; annual billing starts at Standard.
- Refunds: 5-day money-back on paid plans, not on Basic after 1,000 rows scraped or after a free trial.
Key features
Captain Data
- People enrichment
- Return a full profile from a LinkedIn profile URL for 1 credit per record.
- Find people and companies
- Resolve a person from a name and optional company, or a company from a name or domain, at 2 credits per record.
- Search endpoints
- People and company search cost 1 credit per request plus 1 credit per result, with one page counted as one request.
- Company employees
- Retrieve the employees of a given company through a dedicated endpoint, billed per request and per result.
- MCP server
- A Model Context Protocol server exposes the same data to Claude, Cursor and other agents.
Octoparse
- Template library
- Ready-to-run scrapers for sites such as Google Maps, Amazon, X and TikTok, some priced per result.
- AI Assistant
- Describe the data you need and it builds the scraping task, paid from credits after a free start.
- Desktop task builder
- A Windows and Mac app with auto-detect and drag-and-drop; tasks run on your computer and do not count toward monthly rows.
- Cloud runs
- From Standard, tasks run on Octoparse Cloud with scheduling and automatic IP rotation.
- API and MCP
- Templates and search APIs are reachable by REST API and MCP; unlimited use starts on Standard.
Plans
Captain Data
Silver (20,000 credits)€600
per month for 20,000 credits, billed monthly
Shown on the volume slider at €29.99 per 1,000 credits, 50% under the €59.99 base rate.
Octoparse
Free$0
2,000 rows a month for templates and AI tasks, 10 saved tasks, community support.
Basic$19
per month, billed monthly only
10,000 rows a month, 20 saved tasks, 3x faster local runs and $1 in monthly credits.
Standard$69
per month, billed annually ($83 billed monthly)
Cloud runs, scheduling, 3 or 6 concurrent tasks, 100 saved tasks and unlimited API and MCP use.
Professional$249
per month, billed annually ($299 billed monthly)
20 concurrent cloud tasks, 250 saved tasks, Drive, Dropbox and S3 export, priority support.
EnterpriseCustom
40+ concurrent runs, sub-accounts and a success manager; sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Captain Data
No public discounts listed.
Octoparse
- Annual discount
Save 16% with annual billing
The pricing page says annual billing saves 16% against monthly on Standard and Professional.
- Startups
30% startup discount for a year
Startups can apply for a special 30% discount on Octoparse for one year.
- Education
Student and educator discount
Universities can apply through a student and educators application for a discounted subscription.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Captain Data or Octoparse?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Octoparse is cheaper to start with: $19 a month, against about $67.02 a month for Captain Data. Captain Data starts at €59.99 per 1,000 credits, billed monthly (from 2,500 credits), and Octoparse starts at $19 per month, billed monthly (Basic).
Which has a free plan, Captain Data or Octoparse?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Octoparse has a free plan. Captain Data does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Captain Data and Octoparse run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Octoparse lists macOS and Windows apps. 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.