Crawlbase Alternative

Crawlbase Token Math Is Confusing. AlterLab Isn't.

One simple price per request. No normal tokens vs. JS tokens to manage — AlterLab auto-routes to the right tier. Pay for what you scrape, 80% less.

80%
Cheaper than Crawlbase
Based on average usage across all tiers
99.9% uptime
195+ countries
No credit card
80% cheaper JS rendering ($0.001 vs $0.005/request)
No token types — one API key, one endpoint
5-tier anti-bot routing vs Crawlbase's 2-mode system
Balance never expires (no monthly reset)
No subscription — $10 minimum vs monthly plans
5,000 free requests — no credit card required
Common frustrations

Why developers leave Crawlbase

Real pain points from developers who switched to AlterLab

Two Token Types, Endless Confusion

Crawlbase requires you to choose between 'normal tokens' and 'JS tokens' for every request. Get it wrong and you either waste expensive JS tokens on simple pages, or fail to render dynamic content. AlterLab's 5-tier routing makes this decision automatically.

5x More Expensive for JavaScript Rendering

Crawlbase charges ~$0.005 per JS token vs AlterLab's $0.001 for JS rendering. At 1M JavaScript-rendered requests per month, that's $4,000 vs $800 — a difference that compounds as you scale.

Weak Anti-Bot Escalation

Crawlbase offers basic Cloudflare bypass but lacks intelligent tier escalation. When a site blocks your request, Crawlbase returns an error. AlterLab automatically escalates through 5 tiers — residential proxies, stealth browsers, CAPTCHA solving — until the scrape succeeds.

Feature-by-Feature

Every feature, side by side

See exactly how AlterLab compares to Crawlbase across all key features

Feature
AlterLab
Winner
Crawlbase
Price per basic request
Cost for a standard HTTP scrape
$0.0002
$0.0010
Price per JS-rendered request
Cost when JavaScript execution is needed
$0.0010
$0.0050
Token types to manage
Number of pricing tiers you must select manually
Auto-routed
2 (normal + JS)
Balance expiry
Whether unused balance resets
Never expires
Monthly reset
Minimum spend
Minimum amount to start using the API
$10 one-time
Monthly plan
Free tier
Free requests to try the API
5,000 requests
Trial available
Save 80% vs Crawlbase

Same features, 80% less

Get the same capabilities at a fraction of the cost. Start with 5,000 free scrapes — no credit card required.

View Detailed Pricing
Interactive Calculator

See How Much You Save

Drag the slider to calculate your exact savings vs Crawlbase

pricing-calculator
100K
Best Price
AlterLab
$20.00
$0.0002 per request
Crawlbase
$100.00
$0.0010 per request
Your Monthly Savings
$80.00
80% less every month with AlterLab
That's $960.00 back in your budget annually
No credit card
5,000 free requests
2-min setup
Live API Preview

See AlterLab in action

One endpoint. Any website. Results in under 2 seconds. No Crawlbase complexity.

AlterLab API Playground
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Try it yourself with 5,000 free requests

No credit card required. Get your API key in 30 seconds.

Migration Time: 10 minutes

Switch from Crawlbase in 10 minutes

Simple easy migration process. No downtime, no complex setup.

Migration Steps

Code Migration Example

Before (Crawlbase)
Python
curl "https://api.crawlbase.com/?token=NORMAL_TOKEN&url=https://example.com"

# JS rendering requires a different token:
curl "https://api.crawlbase.com/?token=JS_TOKEN&url=https://example.com"
After (AlterLab)
Python
# One endpoint, one key — AlterLab auto-selects the right tier:
curl -X POST https://api.alterlab.io/api/v1/scrape \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com"}'

# Force JS rendering if needed (or let auto-routing decide):
curl -X POST https://api.alterlab.io/api/v1/scrape \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com", "tier": 2}'

Compatibility Notes

  • AlterLab auto-routes to JS rendering when needed — no separate JS token required
  • Response format is JSON by default; raw HTML available via the 'formats' parameter
  • All Crawlbase-supported site types are supported — static, SPA, Cloudflare-protected, e-commerce
  • Existing Crawlbase proxy rotation logic can be removed — AlterLab handles rotation internally

Ready to make the switch?

Start with 5,000 free requests. No credit card required.

Built for production workloads

Real platform metrics — not marketing promises

10M+
Requests processed monthly
99.9%
Uptime SLA guaranteed
195+
Countries covered
<1s
Avg response time

Start free — no credit card, no commitment

Frequently Asked Questions

Save 80% vs Crawlbase

Drop Crawlbase, keep your budget

5,000 free requests. No credit card. Migrate from Crawlbase in under 5 minutes.

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