Full-stack web scraping platform. Get data from any website.

Automatically extract data from any website at scale with the Apify platform. Build your own scrapers, use ready-made web scraping tools, or rely on our Professional Services.

Data extraction at scale from any website

Enterprise-grade web scraping services on the cloud. Apify is a full-stack web scraping platform for developers, but with pre-built web scraping tools easy enough for anyone to use.

Apify is no.1 in the web scraping software category on Capterra in 2024, based on 145 reviews.
97% of users recommend Apify for web scraping.

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How does web scraping work?

Web scraping extracts data from websites by sending requests, analyzing the HTML responses, and saving the data. Here's how it's done.

1

Choosing the URLs to scrape

Select the URLs to scrape, and determine whether to gather all data from the web page or specific elements.

2

Inspecting the web page

Use browser DevTools (e.g. press F12 in Chrome) to inspect the web page's structure. Understand the HTML before scraping.

3

Locating the data to extract

Identify the web page's unique parts (e.g. specific <div> tags) that contain the information you want to extract, such as product reviews or prices.

4

Setting up your scraper

Create a scraping script that specifies which parts of the web page to extract. For instance, when scraping book reviews, define the title, author's name, and rating.

5

Executing the code

Run the code, and the scraper will gather information through 3 main steps:

Send HTTP request to server
Extract and parse web page code
Save data locally

6

Storing the data

Instruct the scraper to save the extracted information in suitable formats like Excel, CSV, or HTML for later use.

How to start web scraping with Apify

Use a ready-made web scraper, build your own, or use a web scraping framework.


Use a pre-built web scraper

Using pre-built web scrapers is like a shortcut - they save you from writing code for every unique website. These scraping tools can handle different sites, and they're often easy to use even if you're not a coder. Plus, they often have cool features like data cleaning, task scheduling, and customer support. Apify Store has 1,600+ ready-made scrapers and automation tools.

Instagram Scraper avatar

Instagram Scraper

apify/instagram-scraper

Scrape and download Instagram posts, profiles, places, hashtags, photos, and comments. Get data from Instagram using one or more Instagram URLs or search queries. Export scraped data, run the scraper via API, schedule and monitor runs or integrate with other tools.

User avatar

Apify

61k

550

Contact Details Scraper avatar

Contact Details Scraper

vdrmota/contact-info-scraper

Free email extractor and lead scraper to extract and download emails, phone numbers, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram profiles from any website. Extract contact information at scale from lists of URLs and download the data as Excel, CSV, JSON, HTML, and XML.

User avatar

Vojta Drmota

25.2k

206

Google Maps Scraper avatar

Google Maps Scraper

compass/crawler-google-places

Extract data from hundreds of Google Maps locations and businesses. Get Google Maps data including reviews, images, contact info, opening hours, location, popular times, prices & more. Export scraped data, run the scraper via API, schedule and monitor runs, or integrate with other tools.

User avatar

Compass

79.8k

585

Google Search Results Scraper avatar

Google Search Results Scraper

apify/google-search-scraper

Scrape Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Select the country or language and extract organic and paid results, AI overviews, ads, queries, People Also Ask, prices, reviews, like a Google SERP API. Export scraped data, run the scraper via API, schedule runs, or integrate with other tools.

User avatar

Apify

50.6k

245

Indeed Scraper avatar

Indeed Scraper

misceres/indeed-scraper

Scrape jobs posted on Indeed. Get detailed information from this job portal about saved and sponsored jobs. Specify the search based on location with the output attributes position, location, and description.

User avatar

Misceres

5k

132

Amazon Product Scraper avatar

Amazon Product Scraper

junglee/Amazon-crawler

Use this Amazon scraper to collect data based on URL and country from the Amazon website. Extract product information without using the Amazon API, including reviews, prices, descriptions, and Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASINs). Download data in various structured formats.

User avatar

Junglee

7.5k

91

Build your own web scraper

Building your own web scraper is like a DIY project - it takes more time, but you get something tailored just for you. You can write code that works perfectly for the specific sites you're interested in, which might mean better results. Plus, you can add custom features or tweaks, and you'll learn a lot about how websites and data extraction work along the way.

Use a web scraping framework

Using a web scraping framework is like having a handy toolkit - it provides you with a bunch of useful tools, but you still need to know how to use them. You can build more efficient scrapers with less code, and these frameworks often have solutions for common scraping problems. It's a bit more technical than pre-built scrapers, but it offers a great balance of flexibility and convenience.

Web scraping with Crawlee

Crawlee is an open-source web scraping and browser automation library that helps you build fast, reliable scrapers. Crawlee runs on Node.js and it's built in TypeScript.

Web scraping with Scrapy

Scrapy is a Python-based framework used for web scraping that enables developers to write spiders to navigate websites and extract structured data efficiently.

Frequently asked questions

What is web scraping?

Web scraping is just extracting data from a website with tools called web scrapers. They pull the data from each page and store it so that you can use it in databases, apps, or anywhere you need it. Read our full post on what is web scraping to learn more.

Yes, if you follow the rules. Web scraping's legality varies by jurisdiction and site. In general, scraping public data for personal use is often allowed, but scraping private or copyrighted data without permission is illegal.

Is web scraping easy?

It depends on your technical background and use case. Basic web scraping can be straightforward with the right tools and tutorials, but more complex tasks may require advanced programming skills.

How long does it take to learn web scraping?

Learning web scraping basics can take a few days to a week, depending on your prior programming experience. To master advanced techniques, several months of practice may be needed. Online tutorials can help you get started.

How do I start web scraping?

Begin by understanding HTML, CSS, and basic programming concepts. Familiarize yourself with Python and libraries like BeautifulSoup or Scrapy. Online tutorials can help you get started.

Which language is easiest for web scraping?

Web scraping with Python is popular and it is considered one of the easiest languages for web scraping. It has numerous libraries like Beautiful Soup, making the process simpler. You can also explore web scraping with JavaScript and Node.js.

Should I build a web scraping tool myself?

Building a scraping tool from scratch is time-consuming and requires advanced skills. Consider using existing libraries or tools unless you have specific needs that warrant custom development. Here's a list of 6 things to know before you build or buy a web scraper.

What is API web scraping?

API scraping is locating a website's API endpoints, and fetching the desired data directly from their API, as opposed to parsing the data from their rendered HTML pages.

What is a web scraping proxy?

A web scraping proxy is an intermediary server that acts as a gateway between your web scraper and the target website. It hides your IP address, allowing you to make requests anonymously and avoid IP bans or access restrictions. Proxies help to enhance privacy, distribute requests, and prevent blocking while scraping data.

Who uses web scraping?

Web scraping is a tool for anyone who wants to extract data from websites. Developers use it to programmatically extract information for applications, while businesses apply it for market insights, competitor analysis, and more. From researchers and journalists to hobbyists, web scraping is the most efficient method for gathering web data.

Does Apify offer web scraping services?

Apify has web scraping and automation experts who are ready to work with your company and provide premium, customized web scraping services for any scale. We can offer you a dedicated delivery team, enterprise-level SLA, maximum privacy, and flexible integrations, with data quality guaranteed. Apify can deliver a complete web scraping as a service solution. For smaller projects, you can work with certified Apify partners, who can help you build or set up your web scraping solutions.