Crw vs Spider Cloud

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

Analysis reviewed Live tool data as of 2026-10-19
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At a glance

DimensionCrwSpider Cloud
LATEST NEWS2024-07-03: anti-bot scraping APIs comparison; 2024-07-02: vs Firecrawl/fastCRW feature scope2024-03-05: Browser AI commands (Act/Extract/Observe); 2024-02-25: scraper catalog 1,000+ examples
IntegrationsPython, Node.js, Go, Rust SDKs; LangChain, CrewAI, n8n, MCP, Cursor, Vercel, DifyLangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI, FlowiseAI, AutoGen, Agno, Dify; S3, GCS, Sheets, Azure, Supabase
Feature HighlightsOpen-source AGPL-3.0; Firecrawl-compatible endpoints; 63.74% truth-recall; self-host ~8MB binaryAI Studio for NL crawling; Browser AI WebSocket commands; AI unblocker; 1,000+ scraper examples
Best ForAI agent devs needing low-latency, open-source Firecrawl replacementDevs needing high-success-rate scraping with AI-powered extraction & data connectors
Self-HostingYes (single binary ~8MB, ~6MB RAM)Open-source core on GitHub, but cloud is primary offering

Choose Crw if you want an open-source, drop-in Firecrawl replacement with tiny self-host footprint and a proven 63.74% truth-recall rate. Choose Spider Cloud if you need a high-success (99.9%) cloud API with AI Studio, Browser AI commands, and 1,000+ ready-made scrapers. For budget-conscious, open-source-first teams, Crw wins; for convenience and anti-bot muscle, Spider Cloud leads.

Try CrwTry Spider Cloud
Crw
Crw

Web scraping and search API for AI agents — scrape, crawl, map, extract, and monitor the web from one REST endpoint.

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Spider Cloud
Spider Cloud

Spider Cloud is a web scraping, crawling, and search API that streams live pages as markdown or JSON for AI agents and RAG pipelines.

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Pricing
Freemium
Freemium
Plans
$0/mo
$11/mo (billed $132/yr)
$59/mo (billed $708/yr)
$237/mo (billed $2,844/yr)
$467/mo (billed $5,604/yr)
Custom
$1/GB + $0.0001/CPU-min
From $6/mo
From $40/mo
Custom
Popularity
8 views
7.5k views
Skill Level
Intermediate
Intermediate
API Available
Platforms
APICLIPlugin
WebAPIPluginCLIDesktop
Categories
🌐 Web Scraping & Search APIs
🌐 Web Scraping & Search APIs🖱️ Browser & Computer-Use Agents
Features
AI-powered web search returning full page content, multi-engine and structured
Scrape any URL into clean markdown, JSON, or HTML
Full JS rendering for single-page applications
Smart wait — waits for content to load before extracting
Crawl an entire site with every page returned as structured data
Map every URL on a domain without full page loads
Extract structured JSON via prompt or JSON schema (managed LLM, paid plans)
Parse web-hosted PDFs to markdown, CPU-only and billed per page with no LLM
Monitor pages for changes with an AI verdict and a webhook
Interactive scraping actions: click, scroll, write, wait, press
Built-in anti-detection with header rotation and CAPTCHA handling, no proxy setup
Selective caching with configurable caching patterns
Source attribution — every response includes source URLs and metadata
MCP server with one-command install: npx crw-mcp@latest install
Self-host the AGPL-3.0 engine as a single ~8MB binary with no runtime dependencies
Scrape a single page into markdown, JSON, HTML, raw, or plain text
Crawl entire sites with each page streamed as one JSONL line in order as it finishes
Web search endpoint returns SERP results plus the scraped pages behind them
Custom browser renders like a user: scripts run, lazy images load, infinite scroll reaches the end
Load protected pages through a real browser engine with geo checks, returning a 200
Run full browser sessions over WebSocket with anti-detection and rotating exits
Send AI commands (Act, Extract, Observe) over the Browser API WebSocket
Send a prompt on a scrape or crawl request and get named fields back as JSON
Two-phase AI extraction: a fast model for most pages, a stronger model for complex layouts
Provider router sends scrape and crawl requests to outside providers on your own keys
Data connectors pipe crawl results into S3, GCS, Google Sheets, Azure Blob, or Supabase
Proxy network with 215M+ residential and ISP exits in 199 countries, rotated per request
MCP server at mcp.spider.cloud for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and Claude Desktop
1,000+ ready-made scraper examples across 32 categories, each with working code
API responses support JSON, JSONL, CSV, and XML; up to 10,000 core API requests per minute by default
Integrations
LangChain
CrewAI
Dify
Agno
n8n
Make
Zapier
Claude Code
Cursor
Windsurf
Cline
Continue.dev
Codex
Gemini
Copilot
LlamaIndex
FlowiseAI
Langflow
MCP
Claude Desktop
Amazon S3
Google Cloud Storage
Google Sheets

Who should pick which

  • Solo founder building an AI agent
    Pick: Crw

    Crw's low-cost self-hosting and Firecrawl-compatible endpoints make it easy to migrate and control costs. The 63.74% truth-recall benchmark is ideal for agent accuracy.

  • RAG pipeline developer needing reliable, high-volume scraping
    Pick: Spider Cloud

    Spider Cloud's 99.9% success rate, data connectors (S3, GCS, etc.), and AI extraction (Browser AI commands) streamline feeding fresh data into vector stores.

  • Enterprise team needing SOC 2/HIPAA compliance
    Pick: Crw

    Crw can be self-hosted on compliant infrastructure, giving full control over data handling. Spider Cloud lacks explicit SOC 2/HIPAA in its description.

  • Developer migrating from Firecrawl to open-source
    Pick: Crw

    Crw is explicitly a drop-in replacement for Firecrawl with identical endpoints, minimizing migration effort. Benchmarks show better truth-recall.

  • Automation engineer needing browser-level interaction
    Pick: Spider Cloud

    Spider Cloud's Browser AI commands (Act/Extract/Observe) via WebSocket enable complex browser automation, which Crw lacks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Crw vs Spider Cloud: which should you choose?

Choose Crw if you want an open-source, drop-in Firecrawl replacement with tiny self-host footprint and a proven 63.74% truth-recall rate. Choose Spider Cloud if you need a high-success (99.9%) cloud API with AI Studio, Browser AI commands, and 1,000+ ready-made scrapers. For budget-conscious, open-source-first teams, Crw wins; for convenience and anti-bot muscle, Spider Cloud leads.

Is Crw fully open-source?

Yes, Crw (fastCRW) is licensed under AGPL-3.0, meaning the source code is freely available and you can self-host.

Does Spider Cloud offer a self-hosted version?

Spider Cloud has an open-source core on GitHub, but the cloud-hosted service is the primary offering with full features.

Which is cheaper at scale?

Crw self-hosted is the cheapest at high volume (only infrastructure cost). Spider Cloud's cloud pricing is $0.03/1k pages, which is extremely cost-effective compared to Crw's $0.003/page cloud rate.

Can I use Crw as a drop-in for Firecrawl?

Absolutely. Crw's API endpoints are designed to be compatible with Firecrawl's /v1 endpoints, so you only need to change the base URL.

Does Spider Cloud have AI-powered extraction?

Yes, it offers AI extraction via two-phase fallback, and the AI Studio add-on for natural language crawl commands. Also Browser AI commands (Extract, Act, Observe) via WebSocket.

What integrations does each support for AI agents?

Crw integrates with LangChain, CrewAI, n8n, MCP, Cursor, Vercel, Dify, plus SDKs. Spider Cloud integrates with LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI, FlowiseAI, AutoGen, Agno, Dify, and data connectors to cloud storage.

Which is better for scraping behind anti-bot measures?

Spider Cloud likely wins with its unblocker endpoint, rotating proxies, and silent AI unblocker. Crw's approach is simpler; it relies on robots.txt respect but may struggle with aggressive bot walls.

Do both offer free credits?

Crw offers a one-time 500 free credits. Spider Cloud does not mention a free tier, but pay-as-you-go starts immediately; failed requests are not billed.

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Explore each tool further

Crw
View Crw reviewCrw alternatives
Spider Cloud
View Spider Cloud reviewSpider Cloud alternatives

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Last reviewed: July 3, 2026