Better questions before a cheaper tool.
These guides do not rank a vendor. They explain the parts of a data purchase that decide whether the tool fits: the unit, the output schema, the access route and the difference between a completed run and a correct dataset.
Start here
Read the Actor guide for the basic model, the pricing guide for the unit, and the output-schema guide before trusting a field list. The access guide is the one to open before collecting personal data or touching a login-gated source.
Method and catalogue data checked 2026-11-12. Read the scoring method.What is an Apify Actor? A practical buyer's guide
Actors are hosted programs on Apify that take an input, run on the platform and write structured data to a dataset. Here is what that means for buying and comparing one.
Read the guide guide2026-11-12Web scraping cost: how to read price per 1,000 results
Compare scraping prices without mixing subscriptions, credits, actor start events and per-result rates. Learn the formula and the hidden cost lines.
Read the guide guide2026-11-12Can I scrape this site? Access, terms and personal data
A practical access checklist for public web data: logins, robots, official APIs, rate limits, personal data and the difference between reachable and permitted.
Read the guide guide2026-11-12How to read a scraper output schema before you buy
Field names, nested paths, published schemas and empty values: a practical guide to judging whether a scraper returns the data your workflow needs.
Read the guide guide2026-11-12Scraper success rate: what it measures and what it misses
A public 30-day success rate is a starting signal, not a data-quality guarantee. Learn how to read it alongside freshness, sample size and field completeness.
Read the guidePut the guide into practice
The guides sit above the tools, not instead of them. Use the field finder for a specific schema field, the cost estimator for a row count, and the complete catalogue for the full Actor shelf.