SocialScrape and Apify, side by side
| SocialScrape | Apify | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | One-time packs and monthly plans. | Monthly platform plans. Each Actor sets its own pricing: pay per event, pay per usage, or both. Source |
| Entry price | Starter pack: $15 for 5,000 credits ($3.00 per 1,000). Starter plan: $15 a month for 6,500 ($2.31 per 1,000). | Starter: $19 a month ($17 on annual billing) with $19 of platform usage. Free: $5 of usage a month, no card. Source |
| Free to try | 100 credits on signup, no card. | $5 of usage a month on the free plan, no card. Past the prepaid usage, access stops until the next cycle. Source |
| Credits expire | Pack credits never expire. Monthly plan credits reset each month. | The pricing page says unused usage expires at the end of the billing cycle. Source |
| Platforms | 173 endpoints across 28 platforms and sources, all in beta. | Its pricing page names an Instagram Scraper Actor. Source |
| MCP server | An MCP server for agents, in early access with the API. | Runs an MCP server at mcp.apify.com that lets agents find and run Actors. Source |
Also on their page. Example of per-event pricing on the page: Instagram Scraper at $2.30 for 1,000 results. Compute units cost $0.20 on Free and Starter, $0.16 on Scale, $0.13 on Business. Source
Where Apify fits better
- A platform for running scrapers: each Actor has its own inputs, outputs and pricing, which suits a custom job.
- Runs an MCP server for finding and running Actors.
Where SocialScrape fits better
- One key, one response shape and a fixed credit price per request, not a mix of Actor prices and compute.
- Pack credits never expire; unused Apify usage expires at the end of the cycle, per its pricing page.
Other alternatives
- Bright Data. A data collection platform with a Web Scraper API and a library of social media scrapers.
- Data365. A monthly-subscription social media data API sold by number of networks.
- EnsembleData. A daily-units API for scraping posts, profiles, comments and hashtags.
Pricing is on the pricing page. The short version is SocialScrape vs Apify.