Compare Crawlora's platform-specific public web data APIs with Crawlbase's Crawling API, async Crawler, Smart AI Proxy, and Cloud Storage products on one shared credit balance.
Benchmark
Before comparing Crawlora to Crawlbase on the table below, here’s how Crawlora performs on its own: we ran Crawlora’s /web/scrape endpoint once against a stratified sample of 30 public URLs (docs, e-commerce, and anti-bot-protected sites), with the cache bypassed. 21/30 requests returned usable content.
This is Crawlora's own measured reliability on a single disclosed run — not a head-to-head benchmark against Firecrawl, Scrapfly, or any other named competitor. We don't hold API keys for competitor products and won't publish a number for a tool we haven't actually run.
Internally conducted benchmark, run . Last verified . Full methodology and per-URL results.
Short verdict
Crawlora is stronger for documented, predictably priced data from named platforms. Crawlbase is stronger as a generic crawling, proxy, and storage layer for arbitrary pages where a graduated, difficulty-based rate card is an acceptable tradeoff.
Quick comparison
Use this table as a starting point for evaluating Crawlora against Crawlbase, then verify current details on both providers' official pages before making a production decision.
Pricing verified: .
| Category | Crawlora | Crawlbase |
|---|---|---|
| Product focus | Platform-specific public web APIs | Crawling API, async Crawler, Smart AI Proxy, and Cloud Storage on one credit balance |
| Best for | Structured JSON from named platforms | Crawling and storing arbitrary pages at volume |
| Output format | Normalized JSON by endpoint | Rendered HTML, a screenshot, or JSON via ~100 built-in scrapers |
| Platform-specific APIs | Yes for supported platforms | ~100 built-in scrapers for named sites, priced the same as raw HTML |
| Proxy management | Managed proxy routing for supported workflows | Smart AI Proxy — point your own scraper at it, keep your own crawler code |
| Storage | Not a focus | Optional Cloud Storage, 0.5 credits per page stored per month |
| Screenshot capture | Not a separate line item | 2 credits per full-page capture through the Crawling API |
| Site-difficulty pricing | None — one fixed weight per endpoint | 8-tier multiplier, 1x (Standard) up to 20x (Extreme II), applied automatically |
| JS rendering surcharge | Included in the per-endpoint weight where used | Flat 2x multiplier over a plain request, on any site tier |
| Async/callback crawling | Not applicable — synchronous endpoint responses | Dedicated async Crawler product for high-volume jobs |
| Entry price | 2,000 free credits monthly, no card required | 1,000 free credits (up to 5,000 after setup steps), no card; pay-as-you-go from $3.00/1K down to $0.02/1K, or Starter $99/mo for 200,000 credits |
| Buyer profile | Developers and SaaS teams wanting ready-made platform data | Teams crawling arbitrary or unsupported sites at volume, with optional storage |
Details
Choosing between Crawlora and Crawlbase depends on output format, target coverage, developer workflow, and how much infrastructure your team wants to operate.
Crawlbase runs its Crawling API, an async Crawler, a Smart AI Proxy, and Cloud Storage off a single credit balance, so a full workflow can touch more than one product before you're done. Crawlora instead ships one documented endpoint per platform, with proxy routing and rendering already decided for you inside that endpoint.
For roughly 100 named sites, Crawlbase's generic-extractor mode returns structured JSON at the same request price as raw HTML, narrowing the gap with Crawlora for that subset. Outside that list, a Crawlbase request still returns rendered HTML or a screenshot you parse yourself, while every Crawlora endpoint returns documented fields regardless of source.
Crawlbase multiplies a request's cost by an automatic site-difficulty tier — Standard (1x) and Moderate (1.5x) cover most of the web, climbing through Complex, Complex I/II, and Extreme, Extreme I/II up to 20x for the hardest-defended sites — and JavaScript rendering adds a flat 2x on top of whatever tier applies. Crawlora charges one fixed, documented weight per endpoint no matter how defended the underlying source is.
Crawlbase's own calculator prices 100,000 standard pay-as-you-go requests at $76.40 (about $0.76 per 1,000), 1,000,000 at $527.50 (about $0.53 per 1,000), and 10,000,000 at $1,471.90 (about $0.15 per 1,000) — the blended rate falls as the graduated ladder fills higher brackets. A subscription buys the same credits at a fixed lower rate: Starter is $99/mo for 200,000 credits (about $0.50 per 1,000). Run your own request mix through both models before comparing to Crawlora's flat per-endpoint credit.
Crawlora is designed for responsible public web data workflows. It should not be used for private or protected data, and no comparison page should be read as a guarantee that every target will succeed. Review provider terms, target-site rules, and your own compliance requirements before production use.
Evaluation checklist
Compare Crawlora and Crawlbase against your real workflow and maintenance burden, not just top-line feature labels.
FAQ
These Crawlbase comparison answers use conservative language and should be verified against both providers' official pages for current product and pricing details.
Crawlbase (formerly ProxyCrawl) runs a Crawling API, an async Crawler, a Smart AI Proxy, and Cloud Storage off one credit balance, priced on a graduated rate card that falls as volume grows.
For named platforms, yes. Crawlora returns a documented JSON schema per endpoint; Crawlbase is a broader crawling, proxy, and storage platform priced by request difficulty.
For roughly 100 named sites, its generic-extractor mode returns structured JSON at the same price as raw HTML. Outside that list, a request returns rendered HTML or a screenshot you parse yourself.
Every request is automatically tagged Standard (1x) through Extreme II (20x) based on how defended the target is, and that multiplier scales the whole request's rate-card cost; JavaScript rendering adds a flat 2x on top. Crawlora charges one fixed, documented weight per endpoint regardless of target difficulty.
Every account starts with 1,000 free credits (growing to up to 5,000 after onboarding steps), then pay-as-you-go from $3.00 per 1,000 requests down to $0.02 per 1,000 beyond a billion, or a subscription from $99/mo for 200,000 credits. A screenshot capture costs 2 credits and stored pages cost 0.5 credits per month.
Yes — Smart AI Proxy is a proxy endpoint with the same anti-bot handling, but you keep your own crawler code and parsing logic. Crawlora doesn't offer a raw proxy endpoint; it returns already-parsed, normalized JSON for supported platforms instead.
Yes. Use Crawlora for supported platforms and Crawlbase for generic crawling, proxying, or storing pages outside that catalog.
It's a callback-based crawler for high-volume jobs where you don't want to hold thousands of synchronous requests open — you submit URLs and get results via webhook. Crawlora's endpoints are synchronous request/response, matching how most platform-data workflows are built.
Last reviewed: . Competitor pricing and features can change. Check each official provider page for the latest details.
Browse endpoint docs, run a Playground request against a platform Crawlbase doesn't cover, and compare credit-based pricing before deciding whether Crawlora fits your workflow.