ScrapeSelect

Head-to-head

Bright Data vs Apify

Bright Data Web Unlocker API is cheaper at all three volumes. 100,000 pages: Bright Data Web Unlocker API is $150/mo on Pay as you go, Apify Apify Platform is $163/mo on Starter; 500,000 pages: Bright Data Web Unlocker API is $651/mo on Scale $499, Apify Apify Platform is $739/mo on Scale; 2 million pages: Bright Data Web Unlocker API is $1,999/mo on Scale $1,999, Apify Apify Platform is $2,682/mo on Business. All prices are for 20% JavaScript, medium bot protection, US targets, 40 concurrent requests, monthly billing.

Pricing checked Nov 14, 2026 · 0.1.0 · cost wins Bright Data 3 – Apify 0

MetricBright Data Web Unlocker API

Web Unlocker · Per successful request

Apify Apify Platform

Scraping platform · Compute units

Cost for the same workload
100,000 pagesper month

$150

Pay as you go · $1.50 per 1K pages

Cheaper at this volume

$163

Starter · $1.63 per 1K pages

500,000 pagesper month

$651

Scale $499 · $1.30 per 1K pages

Cheaper at this volume

$739

Scale · $1.48 per 1K pages

2 million pagesper month

$1,999

Scale $1,999 · $0.9995 per 1K pages

Cheaper at this volume

$2,682

Business · $1.34 per 1K pages

BillingPer successful requestCompute units
Capabilities
JavaScript renderingYesYes
Premium proxyYesNot documented
Country targetingYesYes
City targetingNoNot documented
Cookie persistenceNoNot documented
Unlimited concurrencyYesNot documented
Residential proxyNot documentedYes
Sticky sessionNot documentedYes
Self managed codeNot documentedYes
Limits
max concurrent runsNot documented
  • 5 · free
  • 32 · starter
  • 128 · scale
  • 256 · business
Things to know
Billing notes
  • JS rendering and proxy selection are included in the per-request price; no surcharge is published.
  • Enabling custom headers, cookies or 'expect' makes 100% of requests billable, including failures.
  • Premium domains, a quarterly-updated list of hard sites, cost more when 'Premium Domains' is enabled on the zone. The docs had marked this deprecated on 20 May 2026 and describe it again since October 2026; the premium rate isn't published, so estimates use the standard rate.
  • The Scale plan is a slider with three price points; its rate is both the effective and the overage price.
  • Temporary promos (deposit match up to $500) are not included.
  • The subscription price is prepaid platform usage; compute, proxy and storage are drawn from it and extra usage is billed as overage on paid plans.
  • Compute is billed by RAM-time whether or not a page succeeds, so failed attempts cost money.
  • Pages per compute unit are not published as a price. Apify's own Website Content Crawler README reports roughly 0.8 CU per 1,000 pages over raw HTTP and 2-20 CU per 1,000 pages with a headless browser; the cost engine uses these as labelled assumptions.
  • Annual billing is 10% off; exact annual prices were not verifiable in the static page.
  • Store Actors can instead be priced per event/result by their developers; not modelled here.
  • Free-plan concurrency conflicts between the pricing page (5) and the limits doc (25).

“Not documented” means the provider's pages don't say, not that the capability is missing. Estimates use list prices and exclude promotions and taxes; the provider's checkout is authoritative.

Cheapest at each volume

  • 100k: Bright Data Web Unlocker API — $150/mo on Pay as you go
  • 500k: Bright Data Web Unlocker API — $651/mo on Scale $499
  • 2M: Bright Data Web Unlocker API — $1,999/mo on Scale $1,999

Switch to Apify when…

  • It documents residential proxy, which the other does not.
  • It documents sticky session, which the other does not.
  • It documents self managed code, which the other does not.
  • You want to run the crawler and browsers yourself.

Stay with Bright Data when…

  • It is cheaper for this workload: $651/month versus $739/month.
  • It documents premium proxy, which the other does not.
  • It documents unlimited concurrency, which the other does not.

Bright Data vs Apify FAQ

Is Bright Data cheaper than Apify?

It depends on volume. 100,000 pages: $150/mo on Pay as you go vs $163/mo on Starter; 500,000 pages: $651/mo on Scale $499 vs $739/mo on Scale; 2 million pages: $1,999/mo on Scale $1,999 vs $2,682/mo on Business. Prices are list prices for 20% JavaScript, medium bot protection, US targets, 40 concurrent requests, monthly billing, checked Nov 14, 2026.

What is the difference between Bright Data and Apify?

Bright Data bills by per successful request; Apify bills by compute units. The capability and limit tables above list the documented differences; billing notes list the add-ons that change the headline price.

Which is better for JavaScript-heavy pages?

For Bright Data Web Unlocker API, JavaScript rendering is documented as supported. For Apify Apify Platform, JavaScript rendering is documented as supported. The cheaper option at your volume is in the cost table above.

Can I switch from Bright Data to Apify?

The APIs are not drop-in replacements: endpoints, parameters and billing units differ. Check each product's docs before switching; this page compares published prices and documented capabilities, not migration effort.

More ways to compare

Product pages list the official sources and check dates. The methodology explains what the cost engine does and does not model.