7 Best Web Data Scraping Extensions for Chrome

Before we begin analyzing the 7 tools listed below, let’s first look at what a web scraping extension is. In essence, it’s a software add-on allowing users to extract and collect data from websites automatically. Naturally, you may ask yourself, why would you choose an extension over a dedicated scraping tool, such as a scraper API?

And the answer is simplicity and cost. Web scraping extensions tend to be free, require no code, and have straightforward usage steps. A free scraping extension is a perfect solution for someone who wants to test out scraping functionality, has little coding experience, or does not need advanced scraping features as their project is small-scale. Whereas a dedicated scraping tool may need extensive analysis looking at questions like the best language for web scraping, extensions list their key features instead, and if they fit your criteria, download and use it for free.

Now, having covered the purpose of web scraping extensions, let’s look at some of these solutions and what they can offer you.

1. Web Scraper

Advantages

One of the key advantages of Web Scraper is that it requires minimal coding knowledge. By having a grasp of basic HTML and CSS selectors, you can effectively utilize this extension for web scraping. For example, users can pinpoint HTML tags and extract the desired data, such as contact details, easily.

Also, the user-friendly interface of Web Scraper enhances its accessibility. With a point-and-click approach, you can engage in web scraping without needing technical proficiency. This interface allows users to easily select and extract data concerning different elements, such as email addresses, images, and customer reviews, by following simple point-and-click actions.

Notably, it has a visual element selector feature as well, which lets you visually spot and choose particular data items on a web page. You can highlight various data items such as images, links, or texts in this way and scrape them easily.

Limitations

Web Scraper, despite its user-friendly interface, is not without its technical challenges and limitations. Users may initially find success in basic scraping tasks, but as complexity increases, so do the potential technical issues. Complex website structures and anti-scraping mechanisms can be challenging, especially when interaction such as form filling is required. In such cases, you may encounter difficulties that surpass the capabilities of Web Scraper.

The extension also struggles to handle challenges like CAPTCHA, AJAX, and data extraction from authenticated websites. Its limitations become apparent in scenarios where web scraping demands a nuanced understanding of unconventional data structures or when websites use dynamic content-loading techniques specifically aimed at stopping scrapers.

Another issue related to tools stopping data gathering is that Web Scraper encounters compatibility issues with websites employing anti-scraping mechanisms or featuring unusual data structures. Difficulties arise when dealing with websites utilizing client-side rendering or dynamic content loading. Furthermore, as a free and basic tool, Web Scraper exhibits performance and stability constraints.

Features

• Handling pagination

• Parsing of data

• Visual element selector

• Extracting multiple records from a single page

Pricing

As a web extension, it and some of its features are free. Beyond the extension, however, there are monthly plans that start at 50$. More complex aspects of Web Scraper are paid for, as well.

Usability

The interface of Web Scraper is certainly its strong suit. As a simple point-and-click interface, it creates an overall user-friendly experience, even for someone who has limited coding experience.

Rating

On the Chrome Web Store, its rating stands at 4.1, which is roughly the average rating for most of these extensions. Common listed issues are related to its free versions being somewhat limited and how some of its features sometimes fail to function, though this may well be attributed to user error.

2. Scraper

Advantages

Scraper is a straightforward and no-cost data mining extension. Users can employ it to streamline online research, enabling swift collection of data in spreadsheet format. Also, if you have knowledge of XPath, you can enhance the precision of data retrieval.

Limitations

The often-mentioned limitation of Scraper is that it’s not as easy to use as other web scraping extensions. Even the page Scraper notifies its potential users that the tool is meant “for intermediate to advanced users who are comfortable with XPath,” thus, it may be difficult to use for people who haven’t done scraping tasks before.

Furthermore, the application is more than a decade old and hasn’t been updated since 2015, which can be highly detrimental to scraping jobs as anti-scraping features tend to develop and evolve quite rapidly.

Features

• Quick collection of data in spreadsheet form

• XPath utilization for precision

• Can streamline the process of collecting and structuring data as it's done automatically

Pricing

Unlike many other tools, Scraper is completely free.

Usability

Due to it being an old extension, its UI is rather outdated and not that easy to use, especially when compared to more modern alternative tools. Sadly, it's also among the most complex extensions mentioned in this list, as there is a requirement to have experience with XPath to use it effectively.

Rating

The rating stands at 3.9, which, compared to other extensions listed here, is on the lower side. This might be related to the fact that the extension is old and somewhat complex.

3. Agenty

Advantages

This Chrome extension offers a powerful web scraping solution with AI integration, enabling you to extract data effortlessly from websites through a point-and-click interface. Its no-code web data scraping software supports automatic data extraction using CSS Selectors or AI, making it accessible for users with varying technical backgrounds. One notable advantage is the real-time preview of web data extraction, allowing users to download the results in formats like JSON, CSV, or TSV. It also contains more complex and useful features, such as scheduling, which is often missing from the alternative tools.

Additionally, the extension allows for the creation of web scraper scripts, which can be hosted on the Agenty cloud for batch URL processing, enabling bulk extraction and incorporating advanced features such as anonymous website proxies, website crawling, and simultaneous extraction from multiple websites. This allows you to harness the extension and build three types of agents: web scraping agents, change detection agents, and web crawling agents providing versatility for diverse data extraction needs.

Limitations

Despite positioning itself as an advanced web scraper in the Chrome Web Store, Agenty has certain limitations. While it excels in no-code web data scraping, meaning you can easily extract data through point-and-click actions, it comes with a caveat – Agenty is not a free tool. Although users can explore its capabilities with a credit limit of 100 pages to unlock additional features and continue using the tool, a subscription to one of its paid plans (Basic, Professional, or Business) is required.

The advanced web scraping features such as scheduling, anonymous website scraping, and simultaneous scraping of multiple web pages are part of the paid plans, potentially restricting access for users seeking a free solution.

Features

• Web scraping software with AI integration.

• Point-and-click extension for easy data extraction from websites.

• No-code web data scraping with CSS Selectors or AI.

• Real-time web data extraction preview.

• Download data in various formats like JSON, CSV, or TSV.

• Scheduling

• Simultaneous scraping of multiple web pages

Pricing

To reiterate what was discussed in the limitations section, Agenty is only free for the specific credit limit, and the vast majority of its advanced functions are only available in the premium plans.

Usability

Its UI is somewhat more complex than its competitors, but that can be attributed to its diverse set of features, which are often lacking in similar extensions. The overall complexity of Agenty can vary depending on your experience. However, even someone with limited coding skills should be able to use this extension effectively.

Rating

Its rating stands at 4.2 in the Chrome Web Store, which is slightly higher than most of the other listed extensions, likely due to the feature-filled aspect of this extension (even if some of them are only available in premium versions).

4. Data Scraper

Advantages 

Data Scraper excels with its intuitive interface, ensuring a seamless experience for users with limited technical knowledge. The tool's design facilitates effortless navigation, making it accessible to a broad range of users.

Compared to other extensions, Data Scraper distinguishes itself by offering a diverse array of options for data extraction. Its capabilities extend to scraping various data items, including product details, contact information, emails, phone numbers, and real estate listings.

Another notable feature of Data Scraper is how it empowers users with over 60,000 pre-set extraction rules and the flexibility to create customized rules. This allows you to tailor your data extraction methods according to unique requirements.

Limitations 

Data Scraper encounters limitations when dealing with highly complex or large-scale data extraction tasks. It is most effective for small to medium-scale web scraping projects, showcasing a constrained scope compared to some of the alternatives.

Data Scraper also lacks proxy support, leading to potential disruptions when websites restrict access. Additionally, the absence of an API restricts the integration of extracted data into users' systems, limiting the options to download and save data in formats like CSV or Excel.

There are scraping limitations as well. It allows scraping only one page at a time, resulting in a time-consuming process. Extracting 500 pages can take quite a while, necessitating constant monitoring to prevent interruptions. Sadly, it also lacks 24/7 customer support, meaning there might be crucial situations where your request may be unanswered for many hours.

Features

• Regular updates and no coding are required

• Automated crawling of paginated websites

• Scrape single-page or multi-page pagination and crawl

• Automatic navigation to the next page

• Quality interface

Pricing

It’s seen as a costly option because even though the extension and some of its unique features are free, the paid plans are expensive for what they offer.

Usability

Data Scraper has a more complex UI than some of its competitors, but that can be related to it having more features that are available even on the free extension. As a no-code scraper, it shouldn’t be overly complicated for a user of any level of expertise.

Rating

Its rating is 4.0, which is slightly lower than the average for the extensions listed in this article, possibly due to how it's perceived as a pricey option.

5. Instant Data Scraper

Advantages

Instant Data Scraper, an automated data extraction tool, is, in many cases, a unique extension and stands out for its ability to effortlessly extract data from web pages and export it in Excel or CSV files (XLS, XLSX, CSV). Utilizing advanced AI, this tool predicts the most relevant data on an HTML page, allowing you to save it with ease. The absence of website-specific scripts distinguishes Instant Data Scraper, as it employs heuristic AI analysis of HTML structures to identify data for extraction.

If predictions fall short, you can customize selections for increased accuracy without relying on extensive user-created libraries of scraping scripts. This approach makes the tool versatile, functioning effectively with both smaller websites and industry giants, catering to users without coding, JSON, or XML skills.

Limitations

There is little to say in regards to issues with Instant Data Scraper, and that shows when its ratings are considered.

Features

• Detecting data for extraction with AI

• Detecting when dynamic data has loaded

• Support for pagination

• Support for infinite scrolling

• Data export to Excel spreadsheet or CSV file

Pricing

Many extensions are free and less capable versions of paid solutions, and yet Instant Data Scraper isn’t. The solution encompasses many advanced features and is completely free.

Usability

Instant Data Scraper’s UI is easy to use. This is further enhanced by step-by-step video tutorials detailing how to use the extension, which not every extension has. Regarding the overall complexity of Instant Data Scraper, a person with no technical background should be able to easily use it as a no-code tool.

Rating

Instant Data Scraper’s rating is at a phenomenal 4.8, with nearly 4 thousand reviews. This is the highest-rated extension in this list and by a rather large margin. These reviews can be mainly attributed to it being easy to use, free, and filled with features that tend to be paid for in other extensions.

6. Simplescraper

Advantages

Simplescraper is a user-friendly web scraping extension designed to allow individuals to scrape data easily without extensive coding knowledge. The installation process is straightforward and accessible, meaning developers and non-coders can integrate Simplescraper effortlessly. With a straightforward point-and-click interface, the extension simplifies web scraping, making it easy. Simply click, run, and extract structured data without intricate configurations or coding.

This extension also extracts data from any website within seconds. Users can download instantly, scrape at scale in the cloud, or create APIs – once again, without the requirement of coding skills. Simplescraper provides use cases featuring successful data extractions from notable websites such as Zillow, Shopify, Coingecko, and Yellow Pages to show its capabilities.

Limitations

Simplescraper, like numerous other scraping extensions, has the issue that many of its more advanced features, such as using built-in recipes or scheduling scraping tasks, are all behind a paywall. The free plan offers 100 scrape credits (a page takes ½ credits). Therefore, for a larger scraping job, using an extension like this can quickly become a rather expensive project.

Features

• Advanced automation

• Comprehensive toolkit

• Versatility in data extraction

• Integration with external platforms like Google Sheets

• Transformation of scraped websites in APIs

• Advanced security and configuration options like proxy rotation

Pricing

The tool is free until 100 credits are used up. Afterward, a paid plan has to be chosen to continue using Simplescraper.

Usability

Simplescraper was created with ease of use in mind, and it shows. From its no-code usage and straightforward UI to detailed guides and videos showcasing the usage processes, Simplescraper is arguably the top choice for scraping extension accessibility.

Rating

Simplescraper’s rating is rather high, at 4.5, and it can certainly be attributed to how easy it is to use this extension, even for someone who has no coding experience.

7. Listly

Advantages

Listly advertises itself as a free, easy-to-use web scraping tool, and there is merit to this statement. The key advantage of Listly is that it can convert any website to an Excel. While some extensions are capable of doing similar actions, Listly does it with great simplicity, as all you need to do is make a handful of clicks. After all, like most extensions discussed above, Listly is a no-code scraper.

Listly also aims to be a tool used by marketing, PR, real estate, and many other specialists, as it can significantly simplify their work.

Limitations

The limitations of Listly are primarily the same issues discussed throughout other extensions, mainly because some of its more advanced features are behind a paywall. So, while the free version can be enough for a more basic scraping task, a project requiring more complex features will likely need to be paid for.

Features

• Exporting data to Excel or CSV/JSON

• Easily integrating with Google Sheets

• Scheduling daily extractions

• Exporting multiple pages to Excel

• Adding a custom proxy server to change IP address and avoid getting blocked

Pricing

Like other extensions, it’s free, although the more advanced features will require you to pay a subscription fee, starting at $ 90$ a month.

Usability

As a no-code scraper with existing tutorials and a refined UI, Listly is not a complex web scraping extension to use, especially when compared to some of its competitors.

Rating

At 4.4, Listly is rated higher than most other scraping extension tools, attributed to its more focused purpose of extracting data to Excel and Sheets and its easy-to-use interface.

Scraping extensions compared