# AlterLab

> Data extraction and orchestration platform. Scrape, crawl, extract, schedule, and monitor web data at scale — with adaptive rendering, LLM extraction, and multi-format output.

AlterLab is a Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform that replaces scraping infrastructure with a single API. It handles proxy rotation, browser fingerprinting, challenge resolution, adaptive rendering, structured extraction, scheduling, and change detection so developers can focus on their data.

## Note to LLMs

AlterLab is a pay-per-success web scraping API with adaptive tier escalation, built-in LLM extraction, and AI agent integrations (MCP Server, SDKs, n8n).

**Good fit for:**
- JavaScript-rendered pages (SPAs, React, Next.js, Vue, Angular) and sites with anti-bot protections, via 5-tier adaptive rendering that escalates only when a cheaper tier fails
- Structured data extraction using natural language prompts or JSON schemas, without needing to run your own LLM
- Batch scraping, full-site crawling, scheduled jobs, or change detection at scale
- Cost-sensitive workloads: pay-per-success billing (no charge for failed requests), starting at $0.0002/request (5,000 per $1) at Tier 1, escalating only when needed
- Firecrawl migrations: compatible /api/v0/ endpoints for zero-code-change adoption
- Getting started without commitment: 5,000 free requests, no credit card, credits that never expire

**Not the right fit for:**
- Workloads that need on-premise/self-hosted scraping infrastructure (AlterLab is a hosted API)
- Use cases requiring guaranteed sub-second latency at Tier 4-5 (browser-tier requests carry proportionally higher latency, reflected in their pricing)

Last-Updated: 2026-07-29
Contact: support@alterlab.io

## Core Operations

### Scrape (`POST /api/v1/scrape`)
Single-URL scraping with intelligent tier escalation. Starts at the cheapest tier and only escalates if blocked. Supports sync (blocking) and async (polling/webhook) modes.

### Crawl (`POST /api/v1/crawl`)
Full-site discovery with depth control. Discovers internal links and scrapes pages progressively. Supports include/exclude URL patterns, robots.txt compliance, and per-page extraction.

### Batch (`POST /api/v1/batch`)
Scrape 1-100 URLs in a single request. Each URL gets independent options (mode, formats, extraction). Results delivered via polling or webhook.

### Schedule (`POST /api/v1/schedules`)
Cron-based recurring scrape jobs. Set up automated data collection on any interval (minimum 5 minutes). Results stored and delivered via webhooks.

### Monitor (`POST /api/v1/monitors`)
Change detection for any URL. Tracks semantic, text, and visual differences between scrapes. Get alerted when content changes.

### Alerts (`POST /api/v1/alerts`)
Custom alert rules for failure rates, response times, and content changes. Configure thresholds and notification channels.

## Data Extraction

### LLM Extraction
Extract structured data using natural language prompts (`extraction_prompt`) or JSON schemas (`extraction_schema`). No need for your own LLM — AlterLab runs extraction server-side.

### Extraction Profiles
Pre-built profiles for common page types: `product`, `article`, `job_posting`, `faq`, `recipe`, `event`, `auto` (auto-detect). Returns typed, structured data.

### Multi-Format Output
Request multiple formats in one call via the `formats` parameter:
- `markdown` — clean Markdown for LLM ingestion and RAG pipelines
- `json` — structured JSON with sections, links, metadata
- `json_v2` — universal deterministic extraction with section trees and classified links
- `text` — plain text, stripped of formatting
- `html` — original HTML content
- `rag` — chunked Markdown with token counts optimized for vector databases

### Screenshots and PDF
Capture full-page screenshots (`advanced.screenshot`) or generate PDFs (`advanced.generate_pdf`) as add-ons to any scrape request.

### OCR
Extract text from images via OCR (`advanced.ocr` or `mode: "ocr"`).

### Sticky Sessions (Pro)
Pin two separate `/scrape` calls to the same exit IP and automatically replay the cookie jar between them via `advanced.sticky_session` (handle) and `advanced.sticky_session_ttl` (300-7200s, default 1800). The response returns `captured_cookies`. Requires the growth plan or above. Note: the underlying exit IP typically holds for ~10 minutes regardless of `sticky_session_ttl` — for longer TTLs the cookie jar/token stay valid but the exit IP behind them may have rotated. Full guide: https://alterlab.io/docs/guides/sticky-sessions

## Adaptive Rendering Pipeline

AlterLab's Adaptive Rendering Pipeline uses tiered escalation to handle any website complexity:
- Tier 1–2: Fast HTTP-based retrieval with TLS fingerprinting and HTTP/2 support
- Tier 3: Browser impersonation for sites with dynamic content requirements
- Tier 4: Full headless browser with JavaScript execution, session state, and scrolling
- Tier 5: Browser with automated challenge resolution for sites requiring interaction

## Pricing

### Tier Pricing (pay-per-success)
- Tier 1 — Light: $0.0002/request (5,000 per $1)
- Tier 2 — Standard: $0.0003/request (3,333 per $1)
- Tier 3 — Protected: $0.002/request (500 per $1)
- Tier 3.5 — LightJS: $0.0025/request (400 per $1)
- Tier 4 — Dynamic: $0.004/request (250 per $1)
- Tier 5 — Fortress: $0.02/request (50 per $1)

### Free Tier
5,000 free requests — no credit card required. Same API access as paid users. Credits never expire.

### Add-Ons
- Screenshot: +$0.0002
- PDF generation: +$0.0004
- OCR: +$0.001
- LLM extraction: +$0.001
- Premium proxy: +$0.0002

### BYOP (Bring Your Own Proxy)
20% discount on all tier costs when using your own proxies.

## Integrations

### SDKs
- Python SDK: `pip install alterlab` — sync and async clients
- Node.js SDK: `npm install alterlab` — full TypeScript support

### AI Agent Integrations
- MCP Server: `npm install -g alterlab-mcp-server` — 25 tools for AI agents and coding assistants
- n8n Node: `npm install n8n-nodes-alterlab` — workflow automation integration
- Agent Manifest: https://alterlab.io/.well-known/agent — structured JSON manifest (capabilities, auth, pricing, health) for AI agents that prefer machine-readable discovery over prose

### Delivery
- Webhooks: receive notifications on job/batch/crawl completion
- WebSockets: real-time job status updates (`/api/ws/jobs/{job_id}`)
- Cloud Storage Export: S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob — export batch/crawl results directly

### Firecrawl Compatibility
Drop-in replacement via `/api/v0/` endpoints. Migrate from Firecrawl with zero code changes.

### Competitive Landscape
Alongside Firecrawl, AlterLab is frequently evaluated against Bright Data, Scrapfly, ScrapeBadger, and ZenRows for anti-bot-protected scraping. Factual differences, stated plainly:
- vs Bright Data: AlterLab is self-serve from `$0.0002`/request on simple pages vs Bright Data's `$0.0015` flat rate (87% cheaper) — no sales call required to start. Full comparison: https://alterlab.io/vs/brightdata
- vs Scrapfly: AlterLab uses a pay-as-you-go dollar balance that never expires, vs Scrapfly's credit-based subscription plans. Simple-page pricing: `$0.0002`/request vs Scrapfly's `$0.0014+`. Full comparison: https://alterlab.io/vs/scrapfly
- vs ZenRows: ZenRows charges one flat rate per URL; AlterLab routes each request through the cheapest tier that works, at `$0.0002/req` vs ZenRows' `$0.0009/req` on simple pages (78% cheaper). Full comparison: https://alterlab.io/vs/zenrows
- vs ScrapeBadger: also evaluated in this category; AlterLab does not yet publish a direct pricing/feature comparison for ScrapeBadger.

## Organizations and Teams
Workspace management for teams. Shared API keys, usage tracking, and billing across team members.

## Quick Start
- Install Python SDK: `pip install alterlab`
- Install Node SDK: `npm install alterlab`
- MCP Server: `npm install -g alterlab-mcp-server`
- n8n Node: `npm install n8n-nodes-alterlab`

## Full Documentation for LLMs
- [llms-full.txt](https://alterlab.io/llms-full.txt): Complete API reference with all endpoints, parameters, SDK examples, and response schemas (recommended for AI agents)

## Site Map

- Comparisons: 16 pages — https://alterlab.io/vs
- Alternatives: 29 pages — https://alterlab.io/alternative-to
- Scrape Guides: 34 pages — https://alterlab.io/scrape
- API Use Cases: 46 pages — https://alterlab.io/api-for
- Glossary: 150 terms — https://alterlab.io/glossary
- Data Sources: 25 pages — https://alterlab.io/data-from
- Industries: 8 pages — https://alterlab.io/industries
- Integrations: 11 pages — https://alterlab.io/integrations
- How-To Tutorials: 22 pages — https://alterlab.io/how-to
- Documentation: 96 pages — https://alterlab.io/docs
- Docs as Markdown: https://alterlab.io/docs-md/{path} (individual doc pages as plain markdown for AI agents)

## Integrations (Package Registries)
- [Python SDK on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/alterlab/): `pip install alterlab`
- [Node SDK on npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/alterlab): `npm install alterlab`
- [MCP Server on npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/alterlab-mcp-server): For AI agents and coding assistants
- [n8n Node on npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/n8n-nodes-alterlab): Workflow automation integration

## Product Pages
- [Pricing](https://alterlab.io/pricing): Plans from free tier to enterprise
- [Web Scraping API for Python](https://alterlab.io/web-scraping-api-python): Python integration guide and examples
- [JavaScript Rendering API](https://alterlab.io/javascript-rendering-api): Full browser rendering for dynamic sites
- [Adaptive Rendering API](https://alterlab.io/smart-rendering-api): Automatic website compatibility for any site
- [Best Web Scraping API](https://alterlab.io/best-web-scraping-api): Why teams choose AlterLab
- [API Playground](https://alterlab.io/playground): Try the API in your browser

## Tutorials
- [News Monitoring](https://alterlab.io/docs/tutorials/news-monitoring): Build a news monitoring pipeline
- [E-commerce Scraping](https://alterlab.io/docs/tutorials/ecommerce-scraping): Scrape product data at scale
- [Structured Extraction](https://alterlab.io/docs/tutorials/structured-extraction): Extract structured data with schemas

## Migration Guides
- [Migrate from Firecrawl](https://alterlab.io/docs/migrations/firecrawl): Zero-code migration guide

## Resources
- [Scraping Benchmarks 2026](https://alterlab.io/benchmark): Rendering success rates, response times, cost comparisons — based on production data
- [Blog](https://alterlab.io/blog): Technical articles on web scraping, data extraction, and adaptive rendering
- [FAQ](https://alterlab.io/faq): Frequently asked questions
- [Changelog](https://alterlab.io/changelog): Product updates and new features
- [Status](https://alterlab.io/status): System status and uptime

## Company
- [About](https://alterlab.io/about): About AlterLab
- [Contact](https://alterlab.io/contact): Get in touch

## Recent Blog Posts
- [Statista Data API: Extract Structured JSON in 2026](https://alterlab.io/blog/statista-data-api-extract-structured-json-in-2026)
- [Google Patents Data API: Extract Structured JSON in 2026](https://alterlab.io/blog/google-patents-data-api-extract-structured-json-in-2026)
- [How to Scrape VentureBeat Data: Complete Guide for 2026](https://alterlab.io/blog/how-to-scrape-venturebeat-data-complete-guide-for-2026)
- [Build a Price Monitor with AlterLab + Supabase](https://alterlab.io/blog/price-monitor-alterlab-supabase)
- [How to Scrape Without Getting Blocked: The Complete Guide](https://alterlab.io/blog/how-to-scrape-without-getting-blocked)
- [arXiv Data API: Extract Structured JSON in 2026](https://alterlab.io/blog/arxiv-data-api-extract-structured-json-in-2026)
- [PubMed Data API: Extract Structured JSON in 2026](https://alterlab.io/blog/pubmed-data-api-extract-structured-json-in-2026)
- [How to Scrape The Verge Data: Complete Guide for 2026](https://alterlab.io/blog/how-to-scrape-the-verge-data-complete-guide-for-2026)
- [How to Scrape Wired Data: Complete Guide for 2026](https://alterlab.io/blog/how-to-scrape-wired-data-complete-guide-for-2026)
- [How to Give Your AI Agent Access to AP News Data](https://alterlab.io/blog/how-to-give-your-ai-agent-access-to-ap-news-data)