Arch vs Spider Cloud

Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and ratings

Analysis reviewed Live tool data as of 2026-09-14
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At a glance

DimensionArchSpider Cloud
Primary Use CaseAI proxy for agent orchestration / routing / securityWeb data extraction for AI agents / RAG
DeploymentSelf-hosted sidecar / standalone (open-source)Cloud API (managed) + open-source self-host option
Key DifferentiatorLLM-agnostic routing + guardrails + OTEL tracing out-of-boxRust-based high-performance crawling; Browser AI commands
Notable FeaturesFilter Chains, zero-code agentic signals, multi-agent supportAI extraction fallback, data connectors (S3/GCS/Sheets), scraper catalog
Ideal ForDevs building multi-agent systems with safety/observabilityDevs needing real-time web data for LLMs

Spider Cloud and Arch solve entirely different problems: Spider Cloud pulls live web data into AI pipelines, while Arch orchestrates and secures agent-to-LLM communication. Pick Spider Cloud if your bottleneck is getting structured web content fast (news, product pages, search results). Pick Arch if you're wiring multiple agents together and want built-in moderation, tracing, and model routing without reinventing the wheel. They are complementary – you could use Spider Cloud as a web tool inside an Arch-routed agent.

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Arch
Arch

Open-source AI-native proxy for agent orchestration, smart LLM routing, observability, and guardrails

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Spider Cloud
Spider Cloud

Spider Cloud is an AI web scraping API that turns any site into markdown or JSON for agents and RAG.

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Pricing
Free
Freemium
Plans
$0/mo
$1/GB + $0.001/min CPU
from $6/mo
$40/mo
$350/mo
Popularity
3 views
7.5k views
Skill Level
Intermediate
Intermediate
API Available
Platforms
CLIAPI
WebAPI
Categories
🚦 LLM Gateways & Model Routers🛡️ AI Governance & Guardrails📡 LLM Observability & Evals
🌐 Web Scraping & Search APIs🖱️ Browser & Computer-Use Agents
Features
Agent orchestration
Smart LLM routing by model name, alias, or preferences
Zero-code Agentic Signals™ and OTEL traces/metrics capture
Filter Chains for jailbreak protection, moderation, and memory hooks
YAML-based agent and route configuration
OpenAI-compatible API endpoint
Sidecar or standalone deployment
Multi-agent support without modifying app code
Model provider agility (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic)
Free hosted Plano-Orchestrator model (4B parameters) for dev
Built on Envoy by core contributors
Apache-2.0 open source license
Docker deployment support
Any language or AI framework support
Random sampling tracing for evaluation
Scrape a single page into markdown, JSON, HTML, raw text, or plain text
Crawl entire sites with pages streaming back as JSONL, in order, as each finishes
Web search endpoint returns SERP results, scraped pages, and AI extraction in one call
Custom browser renders pages like a user: scripts run, lazy images load, infinite scroll completes
Unblocker handles bot walls, CAPTCHAs, and geo checks with automatic retries and rotating proxies
Browser Cloud runs full browser sessions with stealth and CAPTCHA solving on by default
AI commands (Act, Extract, Observe) sent directly over the Browser API WebSocket
AI Studio Alpha exposes natural-language extraction endpoints on your existing key
Two-phase AI extraction fallback: fast model for most pages, capable model for complex layouts
Proxy network with 215M+ residential and ISP exits across 199 countries, rotated per request
MCP server at mcp.spider.cloud for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, and Claude Desktop
Agent skill file (SKILL.md) lets a coding agent self-onboard against the entire API
1,000+ ready-made scraper examples across 32 categories, each with working code
Provider router lets you fall back to outside providers on your own keys
10,000 core API requests per minute per account by default
Integrations
OpenAI
Anthropic
LangChain
LlamaIndex
CrewAI
FlowiseAI
Langflow
Dify
Agno
Julep
Claude Code
Codex
Cursor
Windsurf
Claude Desktop

Who should pick which

  • Solo AI developer building a RAG chatbot
    Pick: Spider Cloud

    You need real-time web content (docs, news, product info) to ground your LLM’s answers. Spider Cloud’s API + structured output (markdown, JSON) feeds directly into your vector store. The scraper catalog saves weeks of integration effort.

  • Team of engineers building multi-agent workflow
    Pick: Arch

    You need to route prompts across agents (e.g., planner, executor, checker), apply safety filters, and trace every step. Arch’s zero-code OTEL capture and Filter Chains provide this out-of-box without modifying agent code.

  • Data scientist extracting e-commerce data
    Pick: Spider Cloud

    Spider Cloud’s Browser AI Extracting mode can pull structured data (prices, reviews) from dynamic pages. The data connectors pipe results directly to Google Sheets or S3 for analysis.

  • Startup prototyping an agentic app
    Pick: Arch

    You can quickly set up Arch as a sidecar to add routing, moderation, and observability – no infrastructure heavy lifting. Free Apache 2.0 license means zero vendor lock-in.

  • Developer needing both web data and agent orchestration
    Pick: Spider Cloud

    Use Spider Cloud as a tool within an agent orchestrated by Arch. They’re complementary: Arch routes the agent’s requests, Spider Cloud fetches the data. But if you had to pick one first, Spider Cloud provides immediate data access; Arch adds coordination later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Arch vs Spider Cloud: which should you choose?

Spider Cloud and Arch solve entirely different problems: Spider Cloud pulls live web data into AI pipelines, while Arch orchestrates and secures agent-to-LLM communication. Pick Spider Cloud if your bottleneck is getting structured web content fast (news, product pages, search results). Pick Arch if you're wiring multiple agents together and want built-in moderation, tracing, and model routing without reinventing the wheel. They are complementary – you could use Spider Cloud as a web tool inside an Arch-routed agent.

Can Spider Cloud be used without the AI Studio add-on?

Yes, the core crawling/scraping API works without AI Studio. The add-on enables natural language crawling instructions and advanced AI extraction features.

Does Arch support rate limiting or authentication?

Arch focuses on LLM routing, safety, and observability. It does not include traditional API gateway features like rate limiting or authentication out-of-box; you may need a separate gateway.

What integration does Spider Cloud have with LangChain?

Spider Cloud has native integrations with LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI, and other AI frameworks, making it easy to plug into existing agent or RAG pipelines.

Is Arch truly free? Any hidden costs?

Arch is completely free and open-source under Apache 2.0. There are no paid tiers. You only incur costs for the infrastructure you run it on (e.g., cloud VM).

Which tool handles anti-bot measures better?

Spider Cloud includes a Browser Cloud with stealth anti-detection, rotating proxies, and an /ai/unblocker endpoint. Arch does not handle web scraping.

Can I use both tools together?

Absolutely. You can use Arch to orchestrate an agent that calls Spider Cloud’s API as a web search or extraction tool. They solve different problems and work great in combination.

Does Spider Cloud offer a free tier?

Spider Cloud is freemium – you get some free credits to start, then pay per page. Failed requests are not billed.

What is the latest news about Spider Cloud?

Recent updates include Browser AI commands (Act, Extract, Observe via WebSocket), a redesigned logs dashboard, a scraper catalog of 1,000+ examples, two-phase AI extraction fallback, and data connectors to S3/GCS/Sheets/Azure/Supabase.

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Explore each tool further

Arch
View Arch reviewArch alternatives
Spider Cloud
View Spider Cloud reviewSpider Cloud alternatives

Browse these categories

Best AI LLM Gateways & Model Routers toolsBest AI Web Scraping & Search APIs toolsBest AI AI Governance & Guardrails toolsBest AI Browser & Computer-Use Agents tools
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Last reviewed: July 3, 2026