Scramjet vs
Apify
Apify scrapes. Scramjet scrapes AND processes. One pipeline file replaces an Apify Actor + post-processing script.
TL;DR
Apify is the largest web scraping platform with 23K+ pre-built Actors and managed proxy infrastructure. Focused on data extraction at scale. Scramjet is a composable pipeline engine — fetch, transform, AI enrich, and output in one declarative YAML file. Free conversion tools, $19/mo for automation.
| Feature | Scramjet | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free + $19/mo | $49/mo (250K compute units) |
| Free tier | Unlimited conversions | Limited trial |
| Scraping | Built-in scraper + browser rendering | 23K+ pre-built Actors |
| Post-processing | Dedup, filter, sort, AI, aggregate | Minimal — separate tools needed |
| AI enrichment | 6 LLM providers built-in | Via separate Actors |
| Pipeline composability | Fetch → transform → AI → output | Actor → Dataset (single step) |
| Infrastructure | Serverless edge ($0.001/run) | Managed cloud (compute units) |
| Proxy network | No built-in proxies | Residential + datacenter proxies |
| Anti-bot bypass | Basic (browser rendering) | Advanced (fingerprint, rotation) |
| Output formats | JSON, webhook, Slack, R2 | JSON, CSV, Excel, API |
Why switch to Scramjet
- + 60-100x cheaper — serverless edge vs compute-unit pricing
- + Composable pipelines — scrape + dedup + AI enrich in one YAML
- + No separate post-processing needed — transformations are built in
- + AI-native — enrich scraped data with 6 LLM providers
- + Fire-and-forget — schedule and never think about it again
- + Free conversion tools — no commitment needed to start
Where Apify is better
- ~ 23,000+ pre-built Actors for every website and use case
- ~ Enterprise proxy infrastructure (residential, datacenter, ISP)
- ~ Advanced anti-bot bypass (fingerprinting, CAPTCHA solving)
- ~ Mature platform for large-scale scraping operations
- ~ Better for pure scraping without data transformation needs