Smart Routing vs Flat Rate: Why AlterLab Costs Less
Bright Data charges $0.0015 whether you scrape a blog or bypass Cloudflare. Our smart router picks the cheapest tier that works — so your average cost is 30-40% lower.
Pricing Comparison
Same features. Dramatically different pricing.
Complete Feature Comparison
See exactly how AlterLab compares to Bright Data across all key features
Pricing Model
| Feature | AlterLab Winner | Bright Data |
|---|---|---|
Cost optimization How per-request pricing works | Smart routing — cheapest tier per URL | Flat rate — same price for everything |
Effective avg cost Blended cost for typical workload | ~$0.001/req | $0.0015/req |
Simple site cost Blogs, news, static pages | $0.0002/req | $0.0015/req |
Minimum commitment Smallest purchase | $10 one-time | $500/month |
Accessibility
| Feature | AlterLab Winner | Bright Data |
|---|---|---|
Onboarding How to get started | Self-service | Sales call required |
Contract Long-term commitment | None | Annual contract |
Credits expire Do unused credits expire | Never | Monthly |
Free tier Free credits to start | 5,000 requests | None |
Enterprise Features
| Feature | AlterLab Winner | Bright Data |
|---|---|---|
Proxy network size Number of proxy IPs | 10M+ | 72M+ |
CAPTCHA solving Automatic CAPTCHA resolution | Built-in | Built-in |
Dedicated support Support channel | Email + Discord | Dedicated account manager |
SLA Uptime guarantee | 99.9% | 99.99% |
Calculate Your Savings
See exactly how much you'll save by switching to AlterLab
Switch from Bright Data in 30 minutes
Simple moderate migration process. No downtime, no complex setup.
Migration Steps
Create AlterLab account
Self-service sign up in 2 minutes. No sales calls required.
Map your use case
Bright Data has many products. Most Web Unlocker / Web Scraper API users can switch to AlterLab directly.
Update integration
Replace Bright Data endpoint with AlterLab endpoint.
Test and compare
Run parallel requests to both APIs to compare quality and pricing.
Code Migration Example
// Bright Data (Web Unlocker)
const response = await fetch('https://api.brightdata.com/scraper', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_BRIGHTDATA_KEY',
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
},
body: JSON.stringify({
url: 'https://example.com',
format: 'html'
})
})// AlterLab — smart router picks the right tier automatically
const response = await fetch('https://api.alterlab.io/v1/scrape', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'X-API-Key': 'YOUR_ALTERLAB_KEY',
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
},
body: JSON.stringify({
url: 'https://example.com'
})
})Compatibility Notes
- •Bright Data has many products — AlterLab replaces the Web Unlocker / Web Scraper API
- •If using Bright Data proxies directly, you can bring them to AlterLab (BYOP discount)
- •AlterLab focuses on simplicity — fewer options, easier integration
- •Response format is similar (JSON with HTML content)
Ready to make the switch?
Start with 5,000 free requests. No credit card required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your first scrape.
Sixty seconds.
$1 free credit. No credit card. No SDK.
Just a POST request.
No credit card required · Up to 5,000 free scrapes · Credits never expire