Crawlbase review: Web scraping API, proxy and crawler for developers and AI agents, with free start
Web scraping API, proxy and crawler for developers and AI agents, with free start
Starts at $99/mo, free plan: yes, prices checked on October 29, 2026.
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What Crawlbase does
Fetches web pages through rotating proxies and real-browser rendering, returning HTML, Markdown or structured JSON, with crawling at volume and an MCP server for AI agents.
Crawlbase is a web data service for developers and AI teams who need page content without running their own proxies or headless browsers. You send a URL, and the platform picks a route, renders JavaScript pages in a real browser when needed, deals with bot checks and returns HTML, Markdown or JSON. Maintained scrapers can return structured fields for sites such as Amazon, Walmart, Google and LinkedIn.
The product line has five parts: a Crawling API for single pages, an asynchronous Enterprise Crawler that delivers results by callback, a Smart AI Proxy with residential and datacenter IPs across 30 geographies, Cloud Storage for keeping crawled pages, and a Web MCP Server that lets AI agents read live pages. Official SDKs exist for Node, Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, .NET and Go, and the docs list connectors for LangChain, Zapier and n8n.
Pricing is credit based. Every account begins on pay as you go with no monthly fee, and only successful requests are billed. Up to 5,000 requests are free, with no credit card. Rates run from $3.00 down to $0.02 per 1,000 as volume grows. Optional subscriptions start with the Starter plan at $99 per month billed monthly, which includes 200K credits, and the largest listed block is 2M credits. Enterprise terms with custom volume are handled through sales.
- Crawling API for HTML or structured data
- Asynchronous Enterprise Crawler with callbacks
- Smart AI Proxy across 30 geographies
- Cloud Storage for crawled pages
- Web MCP Server for AI agents
- Maintained scrapers for major sites
- HTML, Markdown and JSON output
- SDKs for Node, Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, .NET and Go
Official video
How to Keep Web Pages Out of Your AI Agent's Context · by Crawlbase ·
The player loads only when you press play.
Good for / Not for
Good for
- Developers who want to scrape pages without maintaining proxies or browsers
- Teams running large asynchronous crawls with results delivered by callback
- AI projects that need live web pages for agents through the Web MCP Server
Not for
- Teams that need a fixed flat price regardless of rendering or site difficulty
- Users who need a Make or Airbyte connector today, since both are marked as not yet shipped
How to start
You can register at no cost and without a credit card; each new account begins with 1,000 free credits, and finishing setup tasks raises that amount to as much as 5,000. source
Pass a URL along with your token to the API, and the page comes back either as HTML or as structured JSON. source
Use an official SDK or a connector such as LangChain, Zapier or n8n if your workflow already uses them. source
Optionally set a hard spend cap in the dashboard so usage stops before the bill passes it. source
Limits and gotchas
- JavaScript rendering doubles the credits of any request. source
- Capturing a screenshot uses 2 credits, while keeping a stored page costs 0.5 credits each month. source
- Each monthly cycle resets the credit block of a subscription, and any usage beyond that block carries on at pay as you go rates. source
- Make and Airbyte integrations have not shipped yet; a workaround through the HTTP API is described. source
From the official site and docs of Crawlbase, checked on October 29, 2026.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Only successful requests are billed; failed or blocked requests cost nothing
- Free start of up to 5,000 requests with no credit card
- One credit balance covers the Crawling API, Crawler, Smart AI Proxy and Cloud Storage
- Official SDKs for seven languages plus LangChain, Zapier and n8n connectors
- Spend caps let you stop usage before a bill passes a set limit
Cons
- JavaScript rendering doubles the credits of any request
- Heavily defended sites carry higher multipliers, with the top tier listed at ×20
- New accounts begin with 1,000 free credits; reaching 5,000 requires completing setup steps
- Yearly billing is shown only as totals, with 1 month free and 8% off
- Make and Airbyte integrations are marked as not yet shipped
Our take
Crawlbase fits developers and data teams that want to hand off proxies, rendering and anti-bot upkeep and pay only for successful requests. The free start and pay as you go option suit small tests and uneven workloads, while the subscriptions suit steady volume. The trade-off is that cost depends on several variables: JavaScript rendering doubles credits and heavily defended sites carry higher multipliers. Budget carefully before committing. It also does not fit teams who need a no-code app, since the pages describe an API, proxy and SDK product.
Comparisons and lists with Crawlbase
Coming soon
Coming soon — we are writing comparisons that include Crawlbase.
Crawlbase pricing
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing (per month) | Limits / what’s included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay as you go $0 monthly fee, billed per 1,000 successful requests | Free | — | Rates from $3.00 down to $0.02 per 1,000; billed monthly in arrears; optional hard spend cap |
| Starter per month | $99 | — | 200K credits / mo |
| Scale 500K per month | $199 | — | 500K credits / mo |
| Scale 1M per month | $349 | — | 1M credits / mo |
| Growth per month | $599 | — | 2M credits / mo |
Free trial: none listed. Free plan: yes.
Prices checked on on the official Crawlbase pricing page. “—” = not published.
All Crawlbase plans, limits and annual prices →
Frequently asked questions
Does Crawlbase have a free plan?
Yes. Every account starts on pay as you go with no card required. New accounts get 1,000 free credits, and completing setup steps raises that to up to 5,000.
How much do subscriptions cost?
Starter is $99 per month billed monthly with 200K credits. Scale 500K is $199, Scale 1M is $349 and Growth is $599 per month billed monthly. Yearly totals are listed with 1 month free and 8% off.
Are failed requests charged?
No. Only successful requests are billed; a request that fails or is blocked costs nothing.
Can I give AI agents live web access?
Yes. The Web MCP Server connects models to current pages through the Model Context Protocol, and a LangChain provider is listed in the docs.
Which integrations are available?
LangChain, Zapier and n8n are listed as available. Make and Airbyte are marked as in development.
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