# Tech Stack Detector – Wappalyzer & BuiltWith Alternative (`siftwright/tech-stack-detector`) Actor

Find out what any website is built with: CMS, ecommerce platform, frameworks, analytics, ad pixels, hosting, CDN, email and DNS provider. Every detection shows its evidence. $2 per 1,000 websites; failed sites are free.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/siftwright/tech-stack-detector.md
- **Developed by:** [Siftwright](https://apify.com/siftwright) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Developer tools, SEO tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$2.00 / 1,000 website scanneds

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

## Tech Stack Detector

Find out **what any website is built with**: CMS, ecommerce platform, JavaScript framework, analytics and ad pixels, hosting and CDN, cookie banner, live chat, **email provider and DNS provider**. Paste domains, get one clean JSON row per website — and **every detection comes with the evidence** that proves it (the header, meta tag, script, HTML snippet or DNS record that matched).

**Price: $2 per 1,000 websites ($0.002 each).** Websites that fail to load, time out or don't exist are **free**. Duplicates in your list are removed before scanning.

![Input and run record from a real test run: 7 URLs in, 1 duplicate removed, 5 charged](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/l7U7OEgyzNQvETVv0/records/tech-stack-input.png)
![Real dataset output: one row per website with the technologies detected](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/l7U7OEgyzNQvETVv0/records/tech-stack-output.png)
![Evidence for every detection on vercel.com: headers, meta tags, HTML and DNS records](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/l7U7OEgyzNQvETVv0/records/tech-stack-evidence.png)

*Screenshots are rendered from a real test run on 2026-09-30 (run input, dataset and run record), not mock-ups.*

### Why use this detector

| | |
|---|---|
| 💵 **Price** | **$2 per 1,000 websites**, no monthly rental |
| 🛡️ **Pay only for success** | Dead domains, timeouts and invalid URLs cost **$0** |
| 🔍 **Evidence, not guesses** | Each technology lists what matched, e.g. `header server: Vercel` or `dns mx: aspmx.l.google.com` — easy to verify and to trust |
| 📬 **Email & DNS stack included** | MX, SPF and NS records reveal Google Workspace / Microsoft 365, SendGrid / Amazon SES / Postmark, Cloudflare / Route 53 — no extra charge |
| 🏷️ **Versions where visible** | e.g. WordPress, Drupal, Nginx, jQuery versions when the site exposes them |
| ⚡ **Fast** | Plain HTTPS and DNS, no browser: 5 sites in about 5 seconds in our test |
| 🤖 **AI-agent ready** | Callable from Claude, ChatGPT & Cursor through Apify's MCP server |

### What it detects (about 200 fingerprints)

- **CMS & site builders:** WordPress (+ WooCommerce, Elementor, Yoast), Drupal, Joomla, Ghost, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Framer, HubSpot CMS, Contentful, Sanity, Payload, Hugo, Docusaurus…
- **Ecommerce & payments:** Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, PrestaShop, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Stripe, PayPal, Klarna, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy…
- **Frameworks & libraries:** Next.js, Nuxt, Gatsby, Remix, Astro, SvelteKit, Angular, React, Vue, jQuery, Bootstrap, Tailwind CSS…
- **Analytics, tags & ads:** Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Segment, Mixpanel, Amplitude, PostHog, Plausible, Hotjar, Clarity, Meta Pixel, LinkedIn Insight, TikTok Pixel…
- **Marketing & support:** HubSpot, Marketo, Pardot, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Intercom, Zendesk, Drift, Crisp…
- **Hosting & CDN:** Cloudflare, Vercel, Netlify, AWS CloudFront, Fastly, Akamai, Azure, Google Cloud, Nginx, Apache, IIS…
- **Security & consent:** reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, Turnstile, OneTrust, Cookiebot, HSTS, Sentry…
- **Email & DNS (from DNS records):** Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho, Proton, Mimecast, Proofpoint, SendGrid, Amazon SES, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare DNS, Route 53…

### What you can use it for

- 🎯 **Lead generation & sales targeting** – find every Shopify store or HubSpot user in your prospect list, then pitch what fits their stack.
- 🧭 **Competitor research** – see which analytics, A/B testing and marketing tools competitors run.
- 🧹 **CRM enrichment** – add "CMS", "Ecommerce platform" and "Email provider" columns to your accounts.
- 🔐 **Security & compliance audits** – check a portfolio of sites for HSTS, consent managers and outdated libraries.
- 🤝 **Agencies & partners** – qualify leads by platform (e.g. WordPress or Webflow sites only).

### How to use

1. Click **Try for free**.
2. Paste domains or URLs into **Websites** (e.g. `stripe.com`).
3. Click **Start** and download the results from the **Output** tab as JSON, CSV or Excel.

### Input example

```json
{
  "urls": ["vercel.com", "wordpress.org", "shopify.com"],
  "includeDns": true
}
```

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `urls` | Domains or URLs to scan; the page you give is scanned (usually the homepage) |
| `includeDns` | Also read MX, SPF and NS records to detect email and DNS providers (default `true`, no extra charge) |
| `timeoutSecs` | Per-website timeout, 5–60 seconds (default 20) |
| `maxConcurrency` | Websites scanned in parallel (default 10) |

### Output example

A real row from a test run on 2026-09-30 (shortened):

```json
{
  "domain": "wordpress.org",
  "status": "ok",
  "httpStatus": 200,
  "title": "Blog Tool, Publishing Platform, and CMS – WordPress.org",
  "generator": "WordPress 7.2-alpha-64027",
  "technologyCount": 9,
  "technologyNames": [
    "WordPress",
    "Google Fonts",
    "PHP",
    "HSTS",
    "Open Graph",
    "Schema.org JSON-LD",
    "Twitter Cards",
    "Google Tag Manager",
    "Nginx"
  ],
  "byCategory": {
    "CMS": [
      "WordPress"
    ],
    "Font": [
      "Google Fonts"
    ],
    "Programming language": [
      "PHP"
    ],
    "Security": [
      "HSTS"
    ]
  },
  "technologies": [
    {
      "name": "WordPress",
      "categories": [
        "CMS"
      ],
      "version": "7.2",
      "evidence": [
        "meta generator: WordPress 7.2-alpha-64027",
        "asset https://wordpress.org/wp-content/mu-plugins/pub-sync/blocks/language-suggest/build/front.…"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Nginx",
      "categories": [
        "Web server"
      ],
      "version": null,
      "evidence": [
        "header server: nginx"
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

Also included: `byCategory` for every category, the `dns` records used, `finalUrl` after redirects and the page `title`. Websites that fail return `"status": "error"` with a readable `error` (e.g. `Domain not found (DNS lookup failed)`) and are **not charged**.

### Limits you should know about

- It scans **one page per website** (the URL you give) over plain HTTPS, **without running JavaScript**. Tools that are only loaded later by JavaScript or a tag manager can be missed, and sites behind a bot challenge may return less.
- About 200 fingerprints: fewer than Wappalyzer's or BuiltWith's catalogues. It covers the technologies most people ask about, and each result is evidence-based rather than a guess.
- Email tools found in **SPF records** are services the domain *authorises to send email*, not proof they are used today.
- It detects live technology only; it has **no history** of what a site used in the past.

### Pricing

Pay-per-event: **$0.002 per website scanned** (= $2 per 1,000). Failed websites and duplicates are free, and runs respect your *maximum cost per run* setting exactly. Apify's free plan includes monthly credits, so you can try it at no cost.

### Quick start in Python

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("siftwright/tech-stack-detector").call(run_input={
    "urls": ["vercel.com", "wordpress.org", "shopify.com"],
})
## apify-client 3.x (pip install apify-client); on 2.x use run["defaultDatasetId"]
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item["domain"], item.get("byCategory") or item.get("error"))
```

### Use it via API

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/siftwright~tech-stack-detector/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"urls":["vercel.com","shopify.com"]}'
```

Works with Python and JavaScript API clients, Make, Zapier, n8n, LangChain and LlamaIndex. **AI agents** (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor) can call it directly through [Apify's MCP server](https://mcp.apify.com).

### FAQ

**How is this different from Wappalyzer or BuiltWith?** Those have larger catalogues and (BuiltWith) historical data. This detector checks the live site and DNS right now, shows the evidence for every match, adds the email/DNS stack, and costs $2 per 1,000 websites with failures free.

**Why was a technology I know the site uses not detected?** Most often it is loaded only by JavaScript after the page renders, or it's on a different page than the one scanned. Try the exact page URL, and tell us on the **Issues** tab — we add fingerprints quickly.

**Can I scan thousands of sites?** Yes. Raise `maxConcurrency` for large lists; set a *maximum cost per run* if you want a hard budget — the run stops exactly there.

**Is it legal?** It reads the same public page and DNS records any browser or mail server sees. Use the results in line with applicable law and the sites' terms.

**Something broke or you need a feature?** Open an issue on the **Issues** tab or email support@siftwright.com.

# Actor input Schema

## `urls` (type: `array`):

Domains or URLs to scan, e.g. stripe.com or https://www.shopify.com. The page you give is scanned (usually the homepage).

## `includeDns` (type: `boolean`):

Also read the domain's MX, SPF and NS records to detect the email provider (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365...), transactional email services and DNS provider. No extra charge.

## `timeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

How long to wait for each website before giving up (free).

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many websites to scan at the same time.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "vercel.com",
    "wordpress.org",
    "shopify.com"
  ],
  "includeDns": true,
  "timeoutSecs": 20,
  "maxConcurrency": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

One row per website with the technologies detected and the evidence for each.

# 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 = {
    "urls": [
        "vercel.com",
        "wordpress.org",
        "shopify.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("siftwright/tech-stack-detector").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 = { "urls": [
        "vercel.com",
        "wordpress.org",
        "shopify.com",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("siftwright/tech-stack-detector").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 '{
  "urls": [
    "vercel.com",
    "wordpress.org",
    "shopify.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call siftwright/tech-stack-detector --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,siftwright/tech-stack-detector"
        }
    }
}
```

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/7T99YYOwJllJZJBcB/builds/bAFFUEyaQL6A7MKHs/openapi.json