The Firecrawl Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Firecrawl 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.
Firecrawl
The Insider’s Guide
Web search, scrape and crawl API that returns LLM-ready data
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among SERP and SEO data APIs, read from Firecrawl’s own pages.
Made by Firecrawl · checked Nov 12, 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 Firecrawl’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Firecrawl’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.6
GPA, above 39 of the 48 other SERP and SEO data APIs we grade
Firecrawl is an API that searches the web and scrapes pages into Markdown, JSON or screenshots for language models and agents. Endpoints cover search, scrape, map, crawl and browser interaction. The core project is open source and can be self-hosted, while the paid cloud adds more features.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Firecrawl, taken from its own pages and our grades.
It is a developer API, with keys and code to set up.
- 1
Best for turning web pages into clean text for AI apps
Firecrawl searches, scrapes and crawls pages into Markdown or JSON, and its core is open source.
- 2
Paid plans start at $16 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $16 per month for 5,000 credits, billed annually ($19 billed monthly).
- 3
There is a free plan
1,000 credits a month, no card needed, 2 concurrent requests and low rate limits.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Search with page content
Searches the web and returns full page content from the results, not only links. Costs 2 credits per 10 results.
- 6
Scrape to Markdown or JSON
Turns a URL into Markdown, structured JSON, screenshots or other formats. A basic scrape costs 1 credit per page.
- 7
Crawl and map
Crawl follows a site page by page at 1 credit per page. Map lists a site's URLs for 1 credit per call.
- 8
A 2.6 GPA, above 39 of 48
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 Firecrawl 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.
Firecrawl at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $16 per month for 5,000 credits, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Firecrawl
- Category
- SERP & SEO Data APIs
- Our grade
- 2.6 GPA, good
The report card
Best for turning web pages into clean text for AI apps
Firecrawl searches, scrapes and crawls pages into Markdown or JSON, and its core is open source. The free plan is 1,000 credits a month, and the pricing steps up quickly, with JSON output costing 4 extra credits a page and some features only on the hosted cloud.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B | $16 a month on yearly billing for 5,000 credits, inside the cheapest quarter of this category ($19). Standard jumps to $83 for 100,000. |
| Free plan and trial | C | A free plan with 1,000 credits a month and no card, but only 2 concurrent requests and low rate limits. |
| Features | B | Search, scrape, crawl, map and interact, with SDKs and an open-source core. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core scraping job. |
| Ease of use | C | No store rating on record. It is a developer API, with keys and code to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web only, but it plugs into LangChain, Claude, ChatGPT and Ollama and has SDKs. |
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 Firecrawl is for
- Fits if you feed web pages into an LLM and want Markdown back
- Works for people happy to self-host the open-source core
Who it is not for
- Tight if you stay free: 1,000 credits, 2 concurrent requests and low rate limits
- Watch out: JSON, Question and Highlight formats add 4 credits a page
- Watch out: Agent, Browser and the managed dashboards are Cloud only, not in the open-source version
- Pricey if you scale: $83 for 100,000 credits and $333 for 500,000, and pay-as-you-go is for paid plans only
Good to know
Good for
- Developers feeding web pages into LLM or RAG pipelines
- Teams that want the option to self-host the core
- Agents that must click through dynamic pages
Worth knowing
- Per-page cost rises with format: JSON, Question and Highlight formats add 4 credits per page on Scrape and Crawl.
- The docs say Agent, Browser, managed dashboards, enhanced proxy paths and enterprise controls are Cloud-only.
- Pay-as-you-go (credits added in $5 steps up to a monthly limit you set) is for paid plans only.
- A page that returns an error status such as 403 or 404 still costs 1 credit.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$16
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Firecrawl has a free plan. Paid plans start at $16 per month for 5,000 credits, billed annually ($19 billed monthly).
Free
$0
1,000 credits a month (500 searches or 1,000 pages scraped), 2 concurrent requests.
Hobby
$16
per month for 5,000 credits, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
5 concurrent requests, basic support, and extra credits at 1,000 per $5.
Standard
$83
per month for 100,000 credits, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
25 concurrent requests, standard support, extra credits at 2,000 per $5.
Growth
$333
per month for 500,000 credits, billed annually ($399 billed monthly)
50 concurrent requests, priority support, extra credits at 2,500 per $5.
Scale
$599
per month for 1,000,000 credits, billed annually ($749 billed monthly)
100 concurrent requests, priority support, extra credits at 5,000 per $5.
Enterprise
Custom
Custom credits and concurrency, dedicated support and SLA, SSO, zero-data retention.
The free plan
1,000 credits a month, no card needed, 2 concurrent requests and low rate limits.
Read from firecrawl.dev on Nov 12, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
Annual billing saves about 2 months
Annual prices are lower than monthly (Standard $83 against $99 a month); the homepage banner says 2 months free when billed annually.
Stated on firecrawl.dev
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
Web search, scrape and crawl API that returns LLM-ready data. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, public API, AI agents, sERP API.
Search, scrape, crawl, map and interact, with SDKs and an open-source core.
- Search with page content
- Searches the web and returns full page content from the results, not only links. Costs 2 credits per 10 results.
- Scrape to Markdown or JSON
- Turns a URL into Markdown, structured JSON, screenshots or other formats. A basic scrape costs 1 credit per page.
- Crawl and map
- Crawl follows a site page by page at 1 credit per page. Map lists a site's URLs for 1 credit per call.
- Interact
- Scrapes a page, then clicks, fills forms or navigates it from AI prompts or code, at 2 credits per browser minute.
- Open-source core
- The core scrape, crawl, map and search APIs can be self-hosted with Docker Compose, per the docs.
- SDKs and shared credits
- Python, Node.js, cURL and CLI examples are shown. One credit balance is shared across all endpoints.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- LangChain
- Claude
- ChatGPT
- Ollama
Firecrawl is made by Firecrawl.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
39/48
Other SERP and SEO data APIs it is graded above
Firecrawl's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 39 of the 48 other SERP and SEO data APIs we grade, and level with 5.
It stands best on features (B, above 33 of 48) and worst on ease of use (C, above 1).
Its paid plans start at $16 a month, against a middle price of $29 for the category: 3 of the 33 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 49 SERP and SEO data APIs we grade, cut by the letter each got. Firecrawl’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 29 of 48
- CFree plan and trialAbove 3 of 48
- BFeaturesAbove 33 of 48
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 48
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 12 of 48
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 34 SERP and SEO data APIs. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Firecrawl 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 Firecrawl 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 is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.6 is higher than 39 of the 48 other SERP and SEO data APIs we grade. It costs $192 a year. Firecrawl is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could not
- Search results fetched at scale from many countries without being blocked.
- An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- It plugs into other products, LangChain, Claude and ChatGPT among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Firecrawl’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
Tavily, Apify, ScrapingBee, ZenRows and Scrapfly
The 5 tools Firecrawl is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
Tavily
Free plan · from $30/mo
Web search, extract and crawl API built for AI agents.
- Firecrawl is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Tavily also covers AI search and research.
- 2.8GPA
Apify
Free plan · from $19/mo
Scraping platform with a store of ready-made Actors, Google included.
- Firecrawl is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Firecrawl also covers AI agents.
- 2.4GPA
ScrapingBee
Free trial · from $19/mo
Web scraping API with a Google search endpoint, priced by credits.
- Firecrawl has a free plan. ScrapingBee does not, though it has a free trial.
- Firecrawl is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Firecrawl also covers AI agents.
- 2.4GPA
ZenRows
Free plan · from $16/mo
Web scraping API for protected sites, priced by monthly credits.
- Firecrawl is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Firecrawl also covers AI agents.
- 2.4GPA
Scrapfly
Free trial · from $30/mo
Web scraping API with anti-bot unblocking, browsers and AI extraction.
- Firecrawl has a free plan. Scrapfly does not, though it has a free trial.
- Firecrawl is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Firecrawl also covers AI agents.
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 Firecrawl free?
Firecrawl has a free plan. 1,000 credits a month, no card needed, 2 concurrent requests and low rate limits.
How much does Firecrawl cost?
Firecrawl lists 6 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does Firecrawl work on?
Firecrawl is available on Web.
Does Firecrawl offer any discounts?
Firecrawl publicly lists the following: Annual billing saves about 2 months.
Does Firecrawl have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Firecrawl is listed for Web.
Does Firecrawl have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Firecrawl is listed for Web.
Is Firecrawl open source?
Yes. Firecrawl is open source, according to its own site.
Does Firecrawl have an API?
Yes. Firecrawl offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Firecrawl integrate with?
Firecrawl's listing names LangChain, Claude, ChatGPT and Ollama. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes Firecrawl?
Firecrawl is made by a company of the same name.
What are the alternatives to Firecrawl?
The closest alternatives to Firecrawl in our directory are Tavily, Apify, ScrapingBee, ZenRows and Scrapfly.
How does Firecrawl compare with other SERP and SEO data APIs?
Firecrawl's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 39 of the 48 other SERP and SEO data APIs we grade, and level with 5.
Is Firecrawl good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Firecrawl B for value for money. Its paid plans start at $16 a month, against a middle price of $29 for the category: 3 of the 33 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Firecrawl?
To replace Firecrawl 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 Firecrawl’s own pages on Nov 12, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 12, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Firecrawl's own pages on 12 November 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 Firecrawl. Prices change, so check firecrawl.dev before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
5,038
Tools graded, in 95 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.
5,038
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Firecrawl, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/firecrawl
- 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, "Firecrawl: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 12, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/firecrawl
Know someone choosing between SERP and SEO data APIs?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/firecrawl/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded SERP and SEO data APIs after Firecrawl, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- SERP & SEO Data APIs Insider's GuideEvery one of the 49 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 Firecrawl’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. Firecrawl is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Firecrawl. Prices and plans change: check firecrawl.dev before you buy.