A web crawler, or spider, is a type of bot with a purpose to index the content of websites all across the Internet so that those websites can appear in search engine results or to gather and index information from websites. This makes them play a crucial role in organizing vast amounts of online data, helping businesses, researchers, and developers access valuable insights about the web.
Whatever may be the reason you’re looking into web crawling, we’ve curated a list of the 10 best web tools available on the market, which were carefully evaluated based on their features and the most bank for your buck. Whether you’re looking to enhance SEO, automate data collection, or conduct research, these web crawling tools provide the solutions you need.
Disclaimer: The analysis presented in this article relies on information current as of 2025/01/06. Before depending on any comparative data, all users are advised to confirm the most recent status of products and services.
Best web crawlers in 2025
1. Oxylabs – the best overall web crawler
2. Scrapy – advanced open-source crawler
3. Node Crawler – JavaScript-based web crawler
4. ZenRows – anti-bot headless crawling
5. Parsehub – visual dynamic web crawler
6. Octoparse – user-friendly web crawling software
7. WebHarvy – point-and-click web crawler
8. Apify – large-scale web crawling
9. DYNO Mapper – SEO-focused visual crawler
10. Oncrawl – Technical SEO web crawler
Now, let’s take a deeper look at why each of these providers stands out and why you should consider them for your web crawling needs.
Oxylabs
Oxylabs' Web Crawler is integrated into their Web Scraper API, designed to efficiently discover and collect relevant data from target websites. It automatically navigates web pages to gather the exact data for your specific needs. As a part of Web Scraper API, it also allows to utilize OxyCopilot in your crawling jobs – the AI-based assistant builds powerful web scrapers without coding them manually.
Oxylabs’ Web Crawler offers users control over the crawling approach and scope. Results can be obtained as parsed data, a collection of HTML files, or a list of URLs. The Web Crawler systematically follows links from an initial webpage to other web pages, continuing this process until all accessible pages on a website are visited and indexed.
Pros
High success rate: Delivers reliable data extraction with minimal errors.
Scalability: Capable of handling large-scale data collection across extensive websites.
AI features: Incorporates artificial intelligence to enhance data gathering efficiency.
Ethical data collection: Adheres to the best practices in data acquisition
Cons
Learning Curve: May require time for new users to fully understand and utilize all features effectively
Price
Has a free trial, premium plans start at $49 per month
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Request a free trial for Web Scraper API along with Web Crawler
Scrapy
Scrapy is a free and open source web crawler written in Python, designed for web scraping and extracting data using APIs. It enables developers to create scalable web crawlers by providing a comprehensive set of tools and a well-structured architecture centered around "spiders," which are self-contained crawlers with specific instructions.
Scrapy’s design follows the "don't repeat yourself" (DRY) principle, allowing for code reuse and efficient scaling of large crawling projects. Scrapy is widely used by developers and data scientists for complex scraping tasks due to its flexibility.
Pros
Open-source scraping library: Freely available under the BSD license, with plenty of community contributions.
Suitable for complex scraping tasks: Equipped to handle intricate web scraping projects with ease.
Ideal for developers and data scientists: Offers extensive customization and control
Cons
Steep learning curve: Requires a solid understanding of Python and web scraping concepts, which may be challenging for beginners.
Resource intensive: Can consume significant system resources, especially when handling large-scale scraping operations.
Not beginner friendly: May be overwhelming for newcomers due to its complexity and the need for programming expertise
Price
Free
Node Crawler
Node Crawler is a widely used web crawling library for Node.js. It leverages Cheerio as its default parser, enabling efficient HTML parsing and manipulation. The library offers extensive customization options, including queue management that handles concurrency, rate limiting, and retries.
This flexibility makes Node Crawler a great choice for developers familiar with Node.js, as it integrates seamlessly into JavaScript-based workflows. Its lightweight nature ensures minimal memory usage, contributing to efficient performance even when handling numerous requests.
Pros
Ideal for Node.js developers: Seamlessly integrates into JavaScript-based workflows, making it a preferred choice for those proficient in Node.js.
Lightweight and efficient: Designed to be resource-efficient, ensuring minimal memory usage during operations.
Cons
Lacks native JavaScript rendering: Does not handle JavaScript rendering out-of-the-box, which may require additional tools or configurations for dynamic content
Price
Free
ZenRows
ZenRows is a comprehensive web data scraping and crawling API designed to facilitate large-scale data extraction without the risk of being blocked. It distinguishes itself with advanced anti-bot features, including rotating proxies, headless browser capabilities, and CAPTCHA resolution.
The platform supports JavaScript rendering and headless browsers, enabling efficient crawling of dynamic content. By handling complexities such as proxy rotation and CAPTCHA bypass, ZenRows ensures a smooth and effective web crawling experience.
Pros
Suitable for large-scale web scraping: Enables extensive data extraction without the risk of being blocked.
Support for JavaScript rendering and headless browsers: Capable of handling dynamic content by rendering JavaScript, ensuring comprehensive data retrieval
Cons
Requires complementary tools for parsing: While ZenRows excels at data extraction, parsing the retrieved data may necessitate additional tools like BeautifulSoup for further processing
Price
Starts at $69 per month
Parsehub
ParseHub is a web crawling software capable of scraping dynamic web pages. This tool uses a point-and-click mechanism and requires no coding knowledge, making it accessible to users without programming experience. It allows users to extract data from complex web pages and export the scraped data in multiple formats, including CSV, Excel, and JSON.
Pros
Multiple export formats: Can export data in various formats, enhancing flexibility in data utilization.
No coding required: Designed for users without programming skills
Cons
Potential slowness with high-volume tasks: The process can be slow during high-volume operations.
Unsuitable for heavily protected websites: May struggle to crawl websites with anti-bot measures
Price
A free basic plan, premium plans starting at $189/month
Octoparse
Octoparse is a no-code tool designed for web crawling and data extraction and transforms it into structured spreadsheets. It offers a user-friendly, point-and-click interface, making it suitable for non-developers. Additionally, Octoparse provides discounts for educational purposes and non-profits, supporting a wide range of users.
Pros
User-friendly interface: Point-and-click interface suitable for non-developers, facilitating ease of use.
Dynamic site crawling and scraping capability: Capable of extracting data from dynamic websites, enhancing versatility
Cons
Limitations in free version: The free version has limitations, which may restrict functionality for some users.
Less flexibility compared to coding-based solutions: Does not offer the same level of flexibility as coding-based solutions, potentially limiting advanced customization
Price
A free basic plan, premium plans starting at $99/month
WebHarvy
WebHarvy is a web data scraping program that operates with a point-and-click interface which can be used for crawling websites. It can collect and organize data such as text, photos, URLs, and emails from websites and save them in various formats, including XML, CSV, JSON, or TSV files. Users can also export the collected data to an SQL database.
Pros
Multiple export formats: Exports data in various formats, providing flexibility in crawled data handling.
Accessible to non-coders: Suitable for individuals with no coding experience, lowering the barrier to entry.
User-friendly interface: Designed with an intuitive interface, enhancing user experience
Cons
Windows-only application: Limited to Windows operating systems.
Limited advanced customization: May not offer extensive customization options for complex scraping and crawling tasks.
Performance issues with large data sets: Can experience performance issues when handling large volumes of data, affecting efficiency
Price
Free trial, $139 for a single user license
Apify
Apify is a comprehensive web scraping and automation platform that enables users to extract, process, and manage data from websites efficiently. It provides a variety of tools, including pre-built actors, which automate and streamline the crawling process to gather structured data from websites.
The platform supports various data formats, such as JSON, XML, and CSV, allowing for seamless integration with other applications and workflows. Apify’s scalable infrastructure ensures reliable performance, even for large-scale crawling projects, helping users effectively manage and process vast amounts of web data.
Pros
Smooth integration: Easily integrates with other tools and services, enhancing workflow efficiency.
Cons
Learning curve: May require time for users to become proficient with all features and functionalities.
Maintenance requirements: Regular maintenance may be necessary to ensure optimal performance and adapt to website changes
Price
A free basic plan, premium plans starting at $49/month
DYNO Mapper
DYNO Mapper is a visual sitemap generator that crawls through a website by following all internal links, similar to a search engine bot. Based on the crawling results, it generates a visual sitemap that displays the website’s architecture, aiding in understanding user navigation. It provides information in various formats, including interactive visual sitemaps, HTML, CSV, XML, PDF, JSON, and Excel (XLSX). Additionally, DYNO Mapper offers content inventory and audit features, as well as accessibility testing to ensure ADA website compliance.
Pros
Multiple format outputs: Provides information in various formats, enhancing flexibility in data utilization.
Content inventory and audit: Assists in organizing and optimizing website content effectively.
Accessibility testing: Offers tools to ensure website compliance with accessibility standards
Cons
Limited free plan features: The free plan has limited features, which may not suffice for all users.
Steep learning curve: May require significant time and effort to master all functionalities
Price
Free trial, cheapest plan starts from $39/month
Oncrawl
Oncrawl is a web crawling tool designed specifically for SEO and technical website analysis. It provides comprehensive SEO audits, customizable reports and dashboards, and scalability for large websites, making it a valuable asset for digital marketing strategies.
Pros
Comprehensive SEO Audits: Delivers in-depth analysis of website SEO performance.
Customizable reports and dashboards: Allows users to tailor reports and dashboards to their specific needs.
Scalability for large websites: Capable of handling extensive websites efficiently
Cons
Limited crawl control for small websites: May offer less control over crawling parameters for smaller sites.
Learning curve: Users may need time to fully understand and utilize all features effectively
Price
Starts from $69/month
Best web crawlers compared
| Provider | Best features |
|---|---|
| Oxylabs | Advanced proxy infrastructure and residential IPs for scalable and ethical web scraping and web crawling. |
| Scrapy | A powerful open-source Python framework for building custom web crawlers and scrapers. |
| Node Crawler | A flexible, JavaScript-based crawler built on Node.js, ideal for modern websites with dynamic content. |
| ZenRows | Provides headless browser crawling with built-in anti-captcha and proxy solutions for easy crawling. |
| Parsehub | Visual web scraping tool with the ability to crawl and collect data from dynamic websites using point-and-click features. |
| Octoparse | User-friendly web scraping software with advanced workflow automation and cloud-based data crawling and collection. |
| WebHarvy | A point-and-click visual web scraper and crawler that extracts data from websites with complex structures and patterns. |
| Apify | A versatile platform for web scraping, automation, and handling large-scale crawls |
| DYNO Mapper | Focuses on creating visual sitemaps and conducting SEO audits for website optimization and structure analysis. |
| Oncrawl | A technical SEO-focused web crawler with advanced analysis for website architecture, crawl budget, and log files. |
What is web crawling?
Web crawling involves systematically browsing the internet to discover and index URLs or links across websites, focusing on mapping their structure and content. Unlike web scraping, which extracts specific data from web pages for analysis or content aggregation, web crawling focuses more on discovering and organizing information at a broader level.
Web crawlers can be broadly categorized as open-source web crawlers or proprietary tools, each offering distinct advantages. Open-source web crawlers are freely available and allow users to access, modify, and adapt the source code to suit their specific needs, providing flexibility and cost-efficiency. In contrast, proprietary web crawlers are commercial tools often designed with user-friendly interfaces and robust support systems, offering features like advanced analytics and seamless scalability. While open-source web crawlers excel in customization and community-driven innovation, proprietary solutions are ideal for businesses seeking scalable web crawling tools with dedicated customer support.
Web crawling is essential for search engines to index web pages, enabling efficient information retrieval for users. It also plays a crucial role in monitoring website changes, gathering competitive intelligence, and conducting research by providing a comprehensive view of web content. Additionally, web crawling helps businesses collect large volumes of data, enabling better decision-making. However, challenges such as anti-bot measures, resource requirements, and maintaining high data quality must be managed effectively for successful web crawling.
The choice between web crawling and web scraping largely depends on your objectives. If you need to explore website structures or gather extensive datasets across multiple sites, web crawling is the ideal approach. On the other hand, if your goal is to extract precise information from specific web pages, web scraping is the better option – we also looked into the best website scrapers to help you choose. In many cases, these two processes are used together – crawling to discover URLs and scraping to extract the desired data. This combination allows for a more efficient and tailored data collection process.
Conclusion
No matter the reason you need to crawl websites, the best crawler for you depends on your specific needs. Whether you’re seeking a no-code solution, advanced features, or scalability for large projects, you should find the best tool tailored to your specific requirements right here. From our list, Oxylabs Web Crawler stands out as a premium choice, offering powerful features, scalability, and ethical data collection. Choose the one that fits your needs, and utilize the full potential of web crawling.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest web crawler?
Determining the "fastest" web crawler depends on specific use cases, including the nature of the target websites and the infrastructure available. Scrapy is known for its efficiency and high-performance capabilities, making it a top choice for rapid web crawling tasks. Additionally, Oxylabs is another top-performing website crawler tool, known for its scalability and reliable performance.
What is the best tool for web scraping?
During our research, we found that Oxylabs offers Web Scraper API – the best tool for web scraping due to its advanced proxy infrastructure, which ensures seamless, ethical, and scalable data extraction. With features like rotating residential IPs, headless browsers, and real-time crawling capabilities, Oxylabs provides high-quality, reliable web data scraping without the risk of getting blocked. Its user-friendly API and customizable solutions make it ideal for both small and large-scale web scraping projects, ensuring optimal performance and accuracy.
What is the difference between web crawling and web scraping?
Web scraping can be done on both large scale and small scale, with the scraper visiting only the select pages of a website. As it is done selectively, it is focused on collecting particular data, like product prices or reviews. The collected data is used for data analysis, price monitoring, market research.
Web crawling can only be done on a large scale – it is focused on indexing as many web pages as possible. The crawling process is often continuous, based on crawling schedules or updates. Data that is collected through crawling is used for building search engines, indexing websites, or tracking broken links.
For a more in depth look, check out our blog post about the differences between crawling and scraping.
About the author
Akvilė Lūžaitė
Junior Copywriter
Akvilė ventured from the very physical metal processing industry to a more abstract immaterial tech industry – and enjoys every second of it.
All information on Oxylabs Blog is provided on an "as is" basis and for informational purposes only. We make no representation and disclaim all liability with respect to your use of any information contained on Oxylabs Blog or any third-party websites that may be linked therein. Before engaging in scraping activities of any kind you should consult your legal advisors and carefully read the particular website's terms of service or receive a scraping license.
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