The Crawlbase Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Crawlbase in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Crawlbase
The Insider’s Guide
Crawling API with built-in scrapers, Google SERP to JSON included
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among SERP and SEO data APIs, read from Crawlbase’s own pages.
Made by Crawlbase LLC · checked Oct 23, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Crawlbase’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Crawlbase’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 23, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 16 of the 38 other SERP and SEO data APIs we grade
Crawlbase is a web data platform whose Crawling API fetches pages through rotating residential proxies with CAPTCHA and block handling built in, and returns raw HTML or structured JSON from more than 100 built-in scrapers, Google search results among them. It also sells an asynchronous crawler, a rotating proxy endpoint and cloud storage, all drawing on one credit balance billed as you go or through a monthly subscription.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Crawlbase, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Judged on how fast a developer gets a first result: one API with built-in scrapers, and hard spending caps per account or workspace.
- 1
Best for Google results and other sites as JSON, pay as you go
Crawlbase fetches pages through rotating residential proxies with CAPTCHA handling and returns raw HTML or JSON from 100+ built-in scrapers, Google search results among them, billed as you go or by monthly block.
- 2
Paid plans start at $99 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $99 per month for 200,000 credits, billed monthly.
- 3
You can try it first
1,000 free credits on sign-up, up to 5,000 after setup steps, no card needed
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Crawling API
Fetches any page with rotating residential proxies, CAPTCHA and block handling included, optional JavaScript rendering in a real browser, and full-page screenshots.
- 6
Google SERP Scraper
Turns a Google search address into JSON with organic results, ads, People Also Ask, the local pack and related searches, at the same price as raw HTML.
- 7
Built-in scrapers
More than 100 scrapers return structured JSON from sites such as Amazon, Walmart, LinkedIn, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex and Tripadvisor.
- 8
A 2.4 GPA, above 16 of 38
That is against the other SERP and SEO data APIs we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Crawlbase you would be making search results fetched at scale from many countries without being blocked. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Crawlbase at a glance
- Pricing
- Free trial, from $99 per month for 200,000 credits, billed monthly
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- 1,000 free credits on sign-up, up to 5,000 after setup steps, no card needed
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Crawlbase LLC, since 2017
- Category
- SERP & SEO Data APIs
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for Google results and other sites as JSON, pay as you go
Crawlbase fetches pages through rotating residential proxies with CAPTCHA handling and returns raw HTML or JSON from 100+ built-in scrapers, Google search results among them, billed as you go or by monthly block. Heavily defended sites cost 1.5 to 20 times a standard request, JavaScript rendering doubles it, and subscriptions start at $99 a month.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Pay as you go has no monthly fee and is billed per 1,000 requests, from $3.00 for the first 1,000 down to $0.02 at high volume. Subscriptions start at $99 a month for 200,000 credits, about $0.50 per 1,000, well above this category's $29.99 middle as a monthly bill. |
| Free plan and trial | C | No free plan: 1,000 credits on sign-up with no card, rising to 5,000 after some setup steps. They're a one-off, not a monthly allowance. |
| Features | B | Google results as JSON with organic results, ads, People Also Ask, the local pack and related searches, 100+ scrapers including Bing, DuckDuckGo and Yandex, JavaScript rendering, screenshots and an asynchronous crawler. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | C | Judged on how fast a developer gets a first result: one API with built-in scrapers, and hard spending caps per account or workspace. No rating on record, and a request's cost changes with how defended the site is. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, with an API and a Web MCP server, plus Claude, Cursor, LangChain, Zapier and n8n. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Crawlbase is for
- Fits if your workload is uneven and suits pay as you go with a hard spending cap
- Works for developers who want Google, Bing and other sites as JSON from one API
Who it is not for
- Watch out: heavily defended sites cost 1.5 to 20 times a standard request, applied automatically
- Watch out: JavaScript rendering doubles any request, screenshots cost 2 credits and stored pages 0.5 credits a month
- Pricey if you want a subscription, which starts at $99 a month for 200,000 credits
- Tight if your usage swings, since a subscription's credits reset monthly and use past them is billed as you go unless you turn it off
Good to know
Good for
- Developers who want Google results and other sites as JSON from one API
- Uneven workloads that suit pay as you go with a spending cap
- Large crawls delivered to storage instead of fetched one by one
Worth knowing
- Without a subscription, pay as you go has no monthly fee and is billed in arrears per 1,000 requests, falling from $3.00 for the first 1,000 to $0.02 at high volume.
- Heavily defended sites cost 1.5 to 20 times a standard request, applied automatically, and JavaScript rendering doubles any request.
- A subscription's credits reset each month; use past them is billed as pay as you go unless you turn that off.
- Screenshots cost 2 credits each and stored pages 0.5 credits a month.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$99
A month to start
Crawlbase is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $99 per month for 200,000 credits, billed monthly.
They're a one-off, not a monthly allowance.
Starter
$99
per month for 200,000 credits, billed monthly
About $0.50 per 1,000 credits, or $1,089 a year with yearly billing. Use past the block continues as pay as you go.
Scale 500K
$199
per month for 500,000 credits, billed monthly
About $0.40 per 1,000 credits, or $2,189 a year with yearly billing.
Scale 1M
$349
per month for 1,000,000 credits, billed monthly
About $0.35 per 1,000 credits, or $3,839 a year with yearly billing.
Growth
$599
per month for 2,000,000 credits, billed monthly
About $0.30 per 1,000 credits, or $6,589 a year with yearly billing.
Enterprise
Custom
Custom volume above 2 million credits a month, with SLAs and invoicing. Through sales.
Trying it first
1,000 free credits on sign-up, up to 5,000 after setup steps, no card needed
Read from crawlbase.com on Oct 23, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
One month free with yearly billing
Crawlbase's pricing page says yearly billing gives one month free, about 8% off: Starter is $1,089 a year instead of $99 a month.
Stated on crawlbase.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Crawling API with built-in scrapers, Google SERP to JSON included. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, sERP API.
Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job.
- Crawling API
- Fetches any page with rotating residential proxies, CAPTCHA and block handling included, optional JavaScript rendering in a real browser, and full-page screenshots.
- Google SERP Scraper
- Turns a Google search address into JSON with organic results, ads, People Also Ask, the local pack and related searches, at the same price as raw HTML.
- Built-in scrapers
- More than 100 scrapers return structured JSON from sites such as Amazon, Walmart, LinkedIn, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex and Tripadvisor.
- Enterprise Crawler
- Crawls asynchronously at scale and delivers the results to storage, for jobs too large to run request by request.
- Smart AI Proxy and Cloud Storage
- A single proxy endpoint that rotates residential IPs, and storage that keeps crawled pages for 0.5 credits a page a month.
- Spend caps and MCP server
- Set a hard spending cap on the account or a workspace, and give AI agents live web data through the Web MCP server.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- Claude
- Cursor
- LangChain
- Zapier
- n8n
Crawlbase is made by Crawlbase LLC, and has been around since 2017.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
16/38
Other SERP and SEO data APIs it is graded above
Crawlbase's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 16 of the 38 other SERP and SEO data APIs we grade, and level with 14.
It stands best on features (B, above 26 of 38) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $99 a month, against a middle price of $29.49 for the category: 22 of the 25 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 39 SERP and SEO data APIs we grade, cut by the letter each got. Crawlbase’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 1 of 38
- CFree plan and trialAbove 2 of 38
- BFeaturesAbove 26 of 38
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 38
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 9 of 38
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 26 SERP and SEO data APIs. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Crawlbase is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Crawlbase you would be making search results fetched at scale from many countries without being blocked. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $1,188 a year.
What you could not
- Search results fetched at scale from many countries without being blocked.
- It plugs into other products, Claude, Cursor and LangChain among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Crawlbase’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
ScraperAPI, ScrapingBee, Zyte, Scrapingdog and ZenRows
The 5 tools Crawlbase is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.2GPA
ScraperAPI
Free plan · from $44.10/mo
Web scraping API with Google search endpoints, priced in API credits.
- ScraperAPI has a free plan. Crawlbase does not, though it has a free trial.
- 2.4GPA
ScrapingBee
Free trial · from $19/mo
Web scraping API with a Google search endpoint, priced by credits.
- 2.4GPA
Zyte
Free trial · from $100/mo
Web scraping API with ban handling, AI extraction and a SERP endpoint.
- 2.4GPA
Scrapingdog
Free trial · from $40/mo
Web scraping and Google SERP APIs on one shared credit plan.
- 2.4GPA
ZenRows
Free plan · from $16/mo
Web scraping API for protected sites, priced by monthly credits.
- ZenRows has a free plan. Crawlbase does not, though it has a free trial.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Crawlbase free?
No, Crawlbase is a paid product, but you can try it first. 1,000 free credits on sign-up, up to 5,000 after setup steps, no card needed.
How much does Crawlbase cost?
Crawlbase lists 5 plans. Starter: $99 per month for 200,000 credits, billed monthly.
What platforms does Crawlbase work on?
Crawlbase is available on Web.
Does Crawlbase offer any discounts?
Crawlbase publicly lists the following: One month free with yearly billing.
Does Crawlbase have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. Crawlbase is listed for Web.
Does Crawlbase have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. Crawlbase is listed for Web.
Is Crawlbase open source?
Crawlbase is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 23, 2026.
Does Crawlbase have an API?
Yes. Crawlbase offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Crawlbase integrate with?
Crawlbase's listing names Claude, Cursor, LangChain, Zapier and n8n. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes Crawlbase?
Crawlbase is made by Crawlbase LLC. It dates from 2017.
What are the alternatives to Crawlbase?
The closest alternatives to Crawlbase in our directory are ScraperAPI, ScrapingBee, Zyte, Scrapingdog and ZenRows.
How does Crawlbase compare with other SERP and SEO data APIs?
Crawlbase's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 16 of the 38 other SERP and SEO data APIs we grade, and level with 14.
Is Crawlbase good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Crawlbase C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $99 a month, against a middle price of $29.49 for the category: 22 of the 25 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Crawlbase?
To replace Crawlbase you would be making search results fetched at scale from many countries without being blocked.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Crawlbase’s own pages on Oct 23, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 24, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Crawlbase's own pages on 23 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Crawlbase LLC. Prices change, so check crawlbase.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Crawlbase, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/crawlbase
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Crawlbase: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 23, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/crawlbase
Know someone choosing between SERP and SEO data APIs?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/crawlbase/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded SERP and SEO data APIs after Crawlbase, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- SERP & SEO Data APIs Insider's GuideEvery one of the 39 SERP and SEO data APIs we grade, compared
- Apify Insider's GuideScraping platform with a store of ready-made Actors, Google included2.8 GPA
- DataForSEO Insider's GuidePay-as-you-go APIs for SERP, keyword, backlink and AI mention data2.8 GPA
- Decodo SERP Scraping API Insider's GuideSERP scraping for Google, Bing and more, inside a web data API2.8 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Crawlbase’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Crawlbase is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Crawlbase LLC. Prices and plans change: check crawlbase.com before you buy.