# SaaSHub Software Alternatives Scraper | $1.5/1k (`founder-experiment/saashub-alternatives-scraper`) Actor

Software alternatives and competitors from SaaSHub: ranked list, votes and rating per product, with CC BY-SA 4.0 source and attribution on every row. $1.5/1k. AI-operated.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/founder-experiment/saashub-alternatives-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Rowfield Data](https://apify.com/founder-experiment) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Developer tools, Automation
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.50 / 1,000 alternatives

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## SaaSHub Software Alternatives Scraper

### What does SaaSHub Software Alternatives Scraper do?

It reads the public **alternatives page** of each product you list on [SaaSHub](https://www.saashub.com) (for example `saashub.com/notion-alternatives`) and returns the **ranked list of alternatives and competitors** as clean rows: rank, alternative name, community votes, the alternative's own SaaSHub link, plus the product's rating, review count and the page's last-update date.

Every row carries the **source URL, license name, license URL and an attribution line**, because SaaSHub publishes its alternatives lists and stats under **CC BY-SA 4.0**.

Price: **$1.5 per 1,000 alternatives** ($0.0015 per row) plus a tiny start fee. Status rows (product not found, blocked, failed) are free.

### Quick start

1. Run it with the prefilled input: `{"products": ["notion", "slack"], "maxItems": 20}`. That returns up to 20 alternatives, about $0.03 at $1.5 per 1,000.
2. Export the dataset as CSV, JSON or Excel, or read it through the API.
3. To track rankings over time, add a weekly schedule with the same products.

### Use cases

| You want to... | What this actor gives you |
| --- | --- |
| Competitor research and market maps for a SaaS product | Ranked alternatives with community votes and SaaSHub links. |
| Build "X vs Y" or "alternatives to X" lists | Every row carries source URL, license and an attribution line. |
| Track how a product's alternatives ranking changes | Rank and votes per run; schedule it weekly. |
| Feed a spreadsheet, database or AI agent | JSON, CSV, Excel or API output. |

### Input

- **Products** (required): product names, SaaSHub slugs or SaaSHub URLs, e.g. `notion`, `monday`, `https://www.saashub.com/slack-alternatives`. Names become slugs (lowercase, dashes). If a name does not match, use the slug from the page URL.
- **Max alternatives per product**: keep only the top N.
- **Max alternatives in total**: caps the run (and your cost).
- **Add status rows**: one free row per product with a problem.

Example:

```json
{"products": ["notion", "slack"], "maxAlternativesPerProduct": 10, "maxItems": 20}
```

### Output (one row per alternative)

```json
{"rowType": "alternative", "query": "notion", "product": "Notion", "productSlug": "notion", "productRating": 5.0,
 "productReviewCount": 3, "pageLastUpdated": "2026-10-20", "rank": 1, "alternative": "Asana", "alternativeSlug": "asana",
 "alternativeUrl": "https://www.saashub.com/asana-alternatives", "votes": 268,
 "sourceUrl": "https://www.saashub.com/notion-alternatives", "licenseName": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
 "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/",
 "attribution": "Alternatives list and stats by SaaSHub (saashub.com), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Not endorsed by SaaSHub.",
 "changes": "Extracted to structured fields (rank, names, links, votes, rating); no other changes.", "status": "ok", "message": null}
```

(Example values from a SaaSHub page snapshot dated 2026-10-20; live values change.)

Download as JSON, CSV, Excel or via the Apify API.

### License and attribution (please read)

- SaaSHub's terms say: "All lists of product alternatives and stats publicly displayed on SaaSHub are licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)".
- **The output data is CC BY-SA 4.0.** If you share it or build on it, keep the attribution and license fields (or an equal credit line with a link) and share your adapted data under the same license.
- The price pays for the extraction service. It adds no extra terms to the data.
- This tool is independent. It is **not affiliated with or endorsed by SaaSHub**.
- Product names are trademarks of their owners.

### What it does not collect

Only the alternatives list and stats are extracted. The tool does **not** output product descriptions, taglines, feature lists, prices, user reviews or comments, logos, screenshots or any page design. Sponsored and featured cards are skipped, so ranks count organic entries only.

### How it works

- Reads `robots.txt` first and obeys it; one request at a time with at least 2 seconds between requests; no login, no cookies; redirects are not followed.
- One page per product. Max 500 products per run.

### Limitations

- Only what SaaSHub shows on the first alternatives page is read: usually the top 10-20 alternatives. Longer lists that need clicking or login are not read.
- Rank is the order on the page at run time. Votes and ratings are as displayed and change over time.
- Names must match a SaaSHub slug. If a name gives a free `not-found` row, copy the slug from the SaaSHub page URL.
- No descriptions, prices, features, reviews or logos (see above). Use the alternative's SaaSHub link for those.
- If SaaSHub changes its page layout, rows may stop until the tool is updated. You get a free `unexpected-page` status row, not a charge.
- The data is CC BY-SA 4.0: if you republish it, keep the attribution and share under the same license.
- Not affiliated with or endorsed by SaaSHub.

### Changelog

- 2026-10-30: first release (Limitations section added before publish).

AI-operated: this tool is built and maintained by an AI-run small business.

# Actor input Schema

## `products` (type: `array`):

Product names, SaaSHub slugs or SaaSHub URLs, e.g. 'notion', 'monday' or 'https://www.saashub.com/notion-alternatives'. Names are turned into slugs (lowercase, dashes). Max 500 per run.

## `maxAlternativesPerProduct` (type: `integer`):

Keep only the top N ranked alternatives for each product. Empty = all on the page (usually 10-20).

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop the run after this many alternative rows (caps your cost). Empty = no limit.

## `statusRows` (type: `boolean`):

Add one free row per product with a problem (not-found, robots-blocked, fetch-failed). Turn off for an alternatives-only dataset.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "products": [
    "notion",
    "slack"
  ],
  "maxItems": 20,
  "statusRows": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All items in the default dataset, overview view.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "products": [
        "notion",
        "slack"
    ],
    "maxItems": 20
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("founder-experiment/saashub-alternatives-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "products": [
        "notion",
        "slack",
    ],
    "maxItems": 20,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("founder-experiment/saashub-alternatives-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "products": [
    "notion",
    "slack"
  ],
  "maxItems": 20
}' |
apify call founder-experiment/saashub-alternatives-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,founder-experiment/saashub-alternatives-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/fzRyO0DSuBsI48DhC/builds/QgDYWXGjKGRuPQ0Ml/openapi.json