WebCrawler API vs Spider Cloud

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

Analysis reviewed Live tool data as of 2026-10-09
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At a glance

DimensionWebCrawler APISpider Cloud
Best ForDevelopers building AI support bots, RAG pipelines, solo entrepreneursAI agents, RAG pipelines, high-volume scraping, open-source flexibility
Key FeatureCrawling Agent (Wagent) for natural-language extraction; smart caching up to 10x speedAI Studio for natural language crawling; Browser AI commands (Act, Extract, Observe)
Output FormatsMarkdown, cleaned, html, linksMarkdown, HTML, JSON, CSV, XML, plain text, screenshot
Anti-blockingAutomatic proxy rotation, CAPTCHA solving, anti-bot bypassRotating proxies, automatic retries, AI unblocker endpoint, stealth anti-detection
Latest Update2026-06-19: Crawling Agent (Wagent) launched2026-03-05: Browser AI commands launched

For AI teams focused on clean markdown extraction with minimal infra, WebCrawler API's Wagent and smart caching offer a polished, solo-founder-backed solution. But if you need richer output formats, a generous free tier, or open-source flexibility, Spider Cloud's Rust engine, AI Studio, and 1,000+ scrapers provide more versatility at a lower entry cost.

Try WebCrawler APITry Spider Cloud
WebCrawler API
WebCrawler API

Hosted crawling and extraction API that turns any URL into clean markdown, HTML, or structured JSON for AI agents and RAG pipelines.

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Spider Cloud
Spider Cloud

Spider Cloud is a web scraping and crawling API that turns live pages into markdown or JSON for agents and RAG pipelines.

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Pricing
Freemium
Freemium
Plans
$0/mo
$29/mo
$99/mo
$499/mo
$1/GB + $0.0001/CPU-min
From $6/mo
From $40/mo
Custom
Popularity
5 views
7.5k views
Skill Level
Intermediate
Intermediate
API Available
Platforms
WebAPICLI
WebAPIPluginCLIDesktop
Categories
🌐 Web Scraping & Search APIs
🌐 Web Scraping & Search APIs🖱️ Browser & Computer-Use Agents
Features
Markdown extraction with menus, cookie banners, ads and footers stripped
LLM-cleaned /markdown endpoint (1–2s added latency, raw-markdown fallback)
/v2/scrape output_formats array: markdown, cleaned, html, links in one call
Structured 'links' output returning all page hyperlinks as an array
Structured extraction with JSON Schema output
Crawling Agent (Wagent) returns structured JSON from a natural-language prompt
Wagent model selection incl. openai/gpt-5.4-mini, anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6, google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview
Required max_spend_usd spending cap on every Wagent run
Change detection feeds with full content, additions, removals and diffs
Free cache hits on matching scrape requests and matching Wagent runs
Smart caching returning frequent pages in ~0.9s instead of ~4.7s (max_age=0 to bypass)
Sitemap-assisted crawl discovery via automatic sitemap.xml parsing
Synchronous /v2/scrape endpoint with a 3-minute timeout
Proxies, retries, headless browsers, JavaScript rendering, CAPTCHA solving, anti-bot bypass
Official SDKs for JavaScript, Python, PHP, Java and .NET
Scrape a single page into markdown, JSON, HTML, raw text, or plain text
Crawl entire sites with each page streamed as one JSONL line in order the moment it finishes
Web search endpoint returns SERP results plus the scraped pages behind them in one call
Custom browser renders like a user: scripts run, lazy images load, infinite scroll completes
Unblocker loads protected pages through a real browser engine with geo checks and a 200
Browser Cloud runs full sessions 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 the 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
Requests stream back as they land, in order, without waiting for the last URL
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
Integrations
Zapier
Make
n8n
Integrately
LangChain
MCP Server
LlamaIndex
CrewAI
FlowiseAI
Langflow
Dify
Agno
MCP
Claude Code
Codex
Cursor
Claude Desktop
Amazon S3
Google Cloud Storage
Google Sheets

Who should pick which

  • Solo founder building a support bot
    Pick: WebCrawler API

    WebCrawler API's clean markdown extraction and Wagent for natural-language crawling reduce manual data cleaning, ideal for rapid prototyping.

  • Developer needing multi-format output (JSON, CSV, screenshot)
    Pick: Spider Cloud

    Spider Cloud supports 6 output formats including screenshots, plus Browser AI for interactive scraping.

  • Enterprise team on a budget with high volume
    Pick: Spider Cloud

    Low per-page cost ($0.03 per 1k pages) and no billing for failed requests make it cost-effective at scale.

  • No-code user automating workflows
    Pick: WebCrawler API

    Integrations with Zapier, Make, and n8n allow easy connection to automation tools without coding.

  • Open-source enthusiast preferring self-hosting
    Pick: Spider Cloud

    Spider Cloud has an open-source core, allowing self-hosting as a fallback.

Frequently Asked Questions

WebCrawler API vs Spider Cloud: which should you choose?

For AI teams focused on clean markdown extraction with minimal infra, WebCrawler API's Wagent and smart caching offer a polished, solo-founder-backed solution. But if you need richer output formats, a generous free tier, or open-source flexibility, Spider Cloud's Rust engine, AI Studio, and 1,000+ scrapers provide more versatility at a lower entry cost.

Which API is better for AI agents?

Both are built for AI agents. WebCrawler API focuses on clean markdown; Spider Cloud offers more output formats and AI commands. Choose based on data format needs.

Does either offer a free tier?

Spider Cloud has a freemium model; WebCrawler API has no free tier or trial mentioned.

Which is more affordable for high-volume scraping?

Spider Cloud at $0.03 per 1,000 pages is very cost-effective. WebCrawler API pricing is undisclosed but likely more expensive per page.

Can I get structured data (JSON) from both?

Yes, WebCrawler API returns JSON via Wagent; Spider Cloud supports JSON, CSV, XML, etc.

Which has better anti-blocking capabilities?

Both: WebCrawler API uses auto proxy rotation and CAPTCHA solving; Spider Cloud uses rotating proxies and an AI unblocker endpoint.

Do they support natural language queries?

Yes: WebCrawler API has Wagent; Spider Cloud has AI Studio ($6/mo) and Browser AI commands.

Which integrates with more automation tools?

WebCrawler API integrates with Zapier, Make, n8n, etc.; Spider Cloud integrates with LangChain, LlamaIndex, and data connectors. The best depends on your stack.

Are there any open-source options?

Spider Cloud has an open-source core; WebCrawler API is fully managed.

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Explore each tool further

WebCrawler API
View WebCrawler API reviewWebCrawler API alternatives
Spider Cloud
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Last reviewed: July 3, 2026