Bright Data Alternatives
Six Bright Data alternatives, one honest test, five criteria each.
Bright Data does one thing better than anyone: it gives you the largest proxy network and the broadest web data toolkit on the market, a deserved 4.2 out of 5 in our test, with a near-perfect 4.8 on features. The catch is everything around that power. It is one of the priciest options, the dashboard is dense, and onboarding with KYC and minimum spends is heavy for a small team. If that is where Bright Data pinches, here are the six alternatives we rate highest, scored hands-on so you can pick the right one fast.
Some links are affiliate links, and it never affects our scores.
Why teams leave Bright Data
Let us be fair: Bright Data is one of the best web data platforms you can buy. The proxy pool is the largest we have used, the Web Unlocker and Scraping Browser handle the toughest anti-bot sites, and it scores 4.8 on features and 4.7 on integrations in our test. People do not leave because Bright Data is bad. They leave because it is an enterprise platform first and a friendly tool never, and a handful of specific frictions push them to look elsewhere.
It is expensive, and value suffers
The dashboard is overwhelming
Onboarding, KYC and minimum spends are heavy
Pricing is hard to predict
It is overkill for no-code use
Support is strong but enterprise-shaped
6 Bright Data alternatives compared
Here are the six alternatives at a glance. Scores come from our hands-on reviews and editorial assessment, and pricing was checked in 2026. The edge column is the single biggest reason to consider each one over Bright Data. Tap any tool to jump straight to its full breakdown.
| Best for | Edge over Bright Data | Free plan | Team size | Visit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oxylabs | Best enterprise alternative | Same-tier infra, cleaner UX | 4.4/5 | Proxies from ~$4/GB | — | Mid-market & enterprise | Visit → |
| 2 | Apify | Best for ready-made scrapers | Marketplace of 4,000+ actors | 4.2/5 | Free plan, paid from $49/mo | ✓ | Developers & teams | Visit → |
| 3 | Decodo | Best value alternative | Far cheaper proxies & API | 4.1/5 | Proxies from ~$1.50/GB | ✓ | SMBs & solo devs | Visit → |
| 4 | ScraperAPI | Best simple scraping API | One endpoint, predictable credits | 4.0/5 | Free trial, paid from $49/mo | ✓ | Developers | Visit → |
| 5 | Browse AI | Best no-code alternative | Point-and-click, no code | 3.8/5 | Free plan, paid from ~$49/mo | ✓ | Non-developers | Visit → |
| 6 | Thordata | Best budget pick | Lowest entry proxy pricing | 2.9/5 | Proxies from low $/GB | — | Cost-first users | Visit → |
Scores from our hands-on reviews and editorial assessment. Pricing checked 2026.
Which alternative is right for you?
A 100M+ residential IP pool and scraper APIs that rival Bright Data with cleaner onboarding.
You want ready-made scrapersApifyThousands of pre-built actors and a free plan, so you avoid building from scratch.
You are on a tight budgetDecodoQuality residential IPs and a Web Scraping API at a fraction of Bright Data's price.
You want the simplest APIScraperAPIOne endpoint, JS rendering and proxies handled, with predictable credit pricing.
You do not want to codeBrowse AIPoint-and-click robots that watch pages and return clean tables, no engineering needed.
You want the lowest sticker priceThordataThe cheapest entry pricing here, if you can accept lighter support and depth.
Oxylabs
Oxylabs is the alternative most serious Bright Data leavers should try first, because it is the only one that genuinely matches the raw infrastructure play. It runs a 100M+ residential IP pool, a capable Web Scraper API with JavaScript rendering and anti-bot handling, and a solid SERP API, all backed by a 4.5 on G2 and responsive account management. In our assessment it edges Bright Data overall thanks to slightly cleaner UX and consistently fast support at the buyer tier. Bright Data still wins on sheer breadth: its dataset marketplace, Web Unlocker and tooling go wider, and its 4.8 features score tops Oxylabs. Oxylabs is the better pick when you want enterprise reliability without Bright Data's complexity, and the worse pick if you are a small team chasing the lowest possible bill, since both sit at the premium end.
- 100M+ residential IP pool rivalling Bright Data
- Web Scraper API with JS rendering and anti-bot handling
- Strong SERP API for search monitoring
- Responsive 24/7 support and account management
- ✓Closest infrastructure match to Bright Data
- ✓Cleaner onboarding than Bright Data
- ✓Free Web Scraper API trial with 2,000 results
- ✓Excellent reliability and global coverage
- ✗Premium pricing, not a budget option
- ✗Residential proxies need a contact form to start
- ✗Still less broad than Bright Data's full stack
| Criterion | Oxylabs | Bright Data |
|---|---|---|
| Residential IP pool | 100M+ | Largest |
| Free trial | Yes (Scraper API) | Limited |
| Ease (our score) | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| Features (our score) | 4.6 | 4.8 |
| From | ~$4/GB | ~$5/GB |
Switch if you want enterprise-grade proxies and scraping with cleaner onboarding than Bright Data, but Bright Data still wins on the sheer breadth of its datasets, unlocker and tooling.
Apify
Apify is the alternative for teams who would rather grab a ready-made scraper than build everything on raw proxies. Its marketplace has 4,000+ actors, pre-built scrapers for sites like Instagram, Google Maps, Amazon and LinkedIn, plus a full platform to run, schedule and store the results, all on a genuine free plan where Bright Data offers only limited trials. It matches Bright Data at 4.2 overall, beats it on value, and is far friendlier for getting a specific job done fast. Bright Data still wins on raw proxy scale and the toughest anti-bot targets: its 4.8 features and 4.7 integrations edge Apify, and its unlocker handles sites that need heavier muscle. Apify is the better pick when a pre-built actor already exists for your target, and the worse pick when you need the deepest proxy network for hard, custom scraping. Compare them in Apify vs Bright Data.
- Marketplace of 4,000+ pre-built actors
- Full platform to run, schedule and store data
- Genuine free plan with monthly credits
- Easy integrations and API access
- ✓Ready-made scrapers where Bright Data needs custom builds
- ✓Free plan where Bright Data has none
- ✓Better value for medium volume
- ✓Friendly developer experience
- ✗Proxy network smaller than Bright Data's
- ✗Per-actor compute pricing can be tricky to predict
- ✗Less muscle on the very hardest anti-bot sites
| Criterion | Apify | Bright Data |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-built scrapers | 4,000+ actors | Fewer |
| Free plan | Yes | Limited |
| Value (our score) | 4.0 | 3.2 |
| Features (our score) | 4.5 | 4.8 |
| From | Free | ~$5/GB |
Switch if you want ready-made scrapers and a platform to run them on a free plan, but Bright Data still wins on raw proxy scale and the toughest anti-bot targets.
Decodo
If you are leaving Bright Data over price, Decodo, the provider formerly known as Smartproxy, is the value champion. It offers all the proxy types, residential, datacenter, ISP and mobile, plus an all-in-one Web Scraping API, with residential traffic from around 1.50 dollars per GB against Bright Data's 5, and a free API tier with no card required. Value scores 4.4 against Bright Data's 3.2, support is consistently praised, and the dashboard is much easier to live in. The honest trade-off is depth: Bright Data's network is larger, its unlocker handles the hardest sites better, and its 4.8 features score tops Decodo's 4.0. Decodo is the better pick when budget and ease rule, and the worse pick for the very heaviest, hardest scraping at enterprise scale.
- Residential proxies from around $1.50/GB
- All proxy types plus a Web Scraping API
- Free API tier with no card required
- Consistently praised 24/7 support
- ✓Far cheaper than Bright Data (4.4 value vs 3.2)
- ✓Easier dashboard and onboarding
- ✓Free trial and free API tier
- ✓Strong support at the SMB tier
- ✗Smaller network than Bright Data
- ✗Less muscle on the hardest anti-bot sites
- ✗Fewer enterprise dataset products
| Criterion | Decodo | Bright Data |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes (API) | Limited |
| Value (our score) | 4.4 | 3.2 |
| Ease (our score) | 4.3 | 3.8 |
| Features (our score) | 4.0 | 4.8 |
| From | ~$1.50/GB | ~$5/GB |
Switch if budget and ease rule and you want quality proxies for far less, but Bright Data still wins on network size and the very hardest, heaviest scraping at scale.
ScraperAPI
ScraperAPI is the alternative for developers who want one endpoint to do everything Bright Data spreads across many products. You send a URL, and it handles proxy rotation, JavaScript rendering and anti-bot retries, returning the page, with predictable credit-based pricing from 49 dollars a month for 100,000 credits and a free 5,000-credit trial. Ease of use is its standout at 4.5, well ahead of Bright Data's 3.8, because there is almost nothing to configure. Bright Data still wins on depth and scale: its proxy network, dataset products and unlocker go far beyond a single scraping endpoint, and its 4.8 features score reflects that. ScraperAPI is the better pick when you want simple, predictable scraping baked into your code, and the worse pick when you need a full data platform or the hardest enterprise targets.
- One endpoint for proxies, JS rendering and anti-bot
- Predictable credit-based pricing
- Free trial with 5,000 credits
- Very fast to integrate into code
- ✓Far simpler than Bright Data (4.5 ease vs 3.8)
- ✓Predictable pricing, no per-GB guesswork
- ✓Free trial to start
- ✓Minimal configuration
- ✗Less depth than Bright Data (3.8 vs 4.8)
- ✗Not a full data platform
- ✗Weaker on the very hardest sites
| Criterion | ScraperAPI | Bright Data |
|---|---|---|
| Single endpoint | Yes | No |
| Free trial | Yes (5k credits) | Limited |
| Ease (our score) | 4.5 | 3.8 |
| Features (our score) | 3.8 | 4.8 |
| From | $49/mo | ~$5/GB |
Switch if you want one simple, predictable endpoint for scraping in your code, but Bright Data still wins when you need a full data platform and the hardest enterprise targets.
Browse AI
Browse AI is the alternative for people who do not want to write a line of code, something Bright Data simply assumes you will. You point and click to train a robot on a page, and it extracts data, monitors for changes and pushes results to your tools, with a 4.6 integrations score and a genuine free plan. For non-developers it is far more approachable than Bright Data's developer-first stack, and its 4.3 ease beats Bright Data's 3.8. The trade-offs are real: value scores a low 2.8 because credits get pricey at volume, and it is not built for massive, custom or anti-bot-heavy scraping, where Bright Data's 4.8 features win outright. Browse AI is the better pick for no-code monitoring and small extractions, and the worse pick for engineering teams scraping at scale. See the full Bright Data vs Browse AI comparison.
- Point-and-click robot training, no code
- Page monitoring and change alerts
- Strong integrations (4.6) into everyday tools
- Genuine free plan to start
- ✓No code where Bright Data assumes developers
- ✓Easier for non-technical users (4.3 ease)
- ✓Excellent integrations into no-code stacks
- ✓Free plan to begin
- ✗Weak value at volume (2.8)
- ✗Not built for massive or anti-bot-heavy scraping
- ✗Less depth than Bright Data for hard targets
| Criterion | Browse AI | Bright Data |
|---|---|---|
| No-code | Yes | No |
| Free plan | Yes | Limited |
| Ease (our score) | 4.3 | 3.8 |
| Value (our score) | 2.8 | 3.2 |
| From | Free | ~$5/GB |
Switch if you want no-code scraping and page monitoring without engineers, but Bright Data still wins on scale, depth and the hardest anti-bot targets.
Thordata
Thordata is the alternative for anyone whose first filter is sticker price. It offers residential and datacenter proxies plus basic scraping at some of the lowest entry rates in this list, so a cost-first user scraping modest volume can spend far less than on Bright Data. For straightforward jobs it does the basics. But the trade-offs are the steepest here: it scores 2.9 overall, support is the weakest in our test at 2.4, well below Bright Data's 4.4, and feature depth and integrations trail the field. Bright Data wins on almost every dimension except raw price. Thordata is the better pick when budget is the only thing that matters, and the worse pick the moment you need reliability, depth or responsive help. See the full Bright Data vs Thordata comparison.
- Some of the lowest entry proxy pricing
- Residential and datacenter pools
- Basic scraping for straightforward jobs
- Low cost for modest volume
- ✓Cheapest entry pricing in this list
- ✓Fine for simple, low-volume jobs
- ✓Lower bill than Bright Data
- ✓No big commitment to start
- ✗Weakest support in our test (2.4 vs 4.4)
- ✗Less depth and fewer integrations
- ✗Not built for hard or large-scale scraping
| Criterion | Thordata | Bright Data |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Lowest | Premium |
| Support (our score) | 2.4 | 4.4 |
| Features (our score) | 3.4 | 4.8 |
| Integrations (our score) | 3.2 | 4.7 |
| From | Low $/GB | ~$5/GB |
Switch if the lowest possible price is your only priority, but Bright Data still wins on support, depth, integrations and reliability for anything serious.
How to choose a Bright Data alternative
The right alternative depends on why Bright Data stopped fitting. Start from your real reason for leaving, price, complexity, a no-code need or a simpler API, then match it to the tool below. Our scores weight all five criteria, ease, value, features, support and integrations, equally, so a tool wins on balance rather than one headline number. Here is how we would steer the most common cases.
Leaving over price
Need enterprise-grade infra
Want it simpler
Migrating from Bright Data
- Name your real reason for leaving: price, complexity, a no-code need or a simpler API.
- Decide if you need the full stack (proxies, datasets, unlocker) or just the proxy or scraping layer.
- Check the entry pricing model: per-GB, per-request or per-credit, and whether it is predictable.
- Confirm there is a free trial or tier so you can test on your own target sites first.
- Test your hardest anti-bot targets before you commit, since that is where tools differ most.
- Project the real monthly cost at your actual volume, not just the headline entry rate.
Bright Data alternatives, the FAQ
What is the best Bright Data alternative in 2026?
For most teams the best Bright Data alternative in 2026 is Oxylabs, because it is the only option that genuinely matches Bright Data's infrastructure. It runs a 100M+ residential IP pool, a capable Web Scraper API with JavaScript rendering and anti-bot handling, and a strong SERP API, all with cleaner onboarding than Bright Data and a 4.5 rating on G2. In our assessment it scores 4.4 overall, edging Bright Data's 4.2 on balance. That said, the right pick depends on why you are leaving: Decodo wins on value, Apify on ready-made scrapers, ScraperAPI on simplicity, and Browse AI for no-code users. Start from your real reason for switching and match the tool to it rather than chasing a single overall number.What is a cheaper alternative to Bright Data?
Decodo, the provider formerly known as Smartproxy, is the cheapest credible alternative to Bright Data. Its residential proxies start from around 1.50 dollars per GB against Bright Data's roughly 5, it offers all proxy types plus a Web Scraping API, and it has a free API tier with no card required, which is why it wins our best value award with a 4.4 value score against Bright Data's 3.2. Thordata is cheaper still at the entry level, but its support and depth are noticeably weaker. Just remember the cheapest sticker price is not always the cheapest in practice: on hard anti-bot targets a tool with a lower success rate can cost more in retries, so test your real target sites before you commit.Is Oxylabs better than Bright Data?
It depends on what you need, and the two are close, with Oxylabs at 4.4 and Bright Data at 4.2 in our assessment. Oxylabs wins if you want enterprise-grade proxies and scraper APIs with cleaner onboarding and consistently fast support at your tier. Bright Data wins on sheer breadth: its dataset marketplace, Web Unlocker and Scraping Browser go wider, and its 4.8 features score tops Oxylabs. The honest split is this: Oxylabs is the better like-for-like infrastructure swap for most teams, while Bright Data is the deeper, broader platform for the very hardest, largest jobs. Both sit at the premium end, so neither is the budget choice. If you want simpler onboarding, lean Oxylabs; if you need maximum depth, Bright Data is hard to beat.What is the best Bright Data alternative for a small team?
For a small team it comes down to how technical you are and what you scrape. If you have developers and want quality proxies for far less, Decodo is the value champion with residential traffic from around 1.50 dollars per GB and a free API tier. If you want one simple endpoint that handles proxies and rendering for you, ScraperAPI is the easiest to drop into code. If you do not want to code at all, Browse AI lets you point and click to scrape and monitor pages on a free plan. Our advice is to pick based on your real reason for leaving Bright Data, then run the free trial or tier with your own target sites for a few days before committing, since success rate on your specific pages matters more than any headline feature.Can I migrate from Bright Data easily?
Yes, in most cases migrating off Bright Data is a code and configuration job rather than a data export, because proxy and scraping APIs are broadly similar in shape. You swap the proxy endpoint or API base URL, re-map your authentication and credentials, and adjust request formatting to the new provider, which almost all alternatives document clearly. The most important step is to re-test your hardest target sites first, since anti-bot performance varies most there, then port the easy ones once you are confident. For a simple proxy swap expect an afternoon, rising to a day or two if you rely on datasets or the Web Unlocker on harder targets. Always test with your real target sites before you commit.Why is Bright Data so expensive?
Bright Data is expensive for three main reasons. First, it runs the largest and most heavily compliant proxy network on the market, and that scale, ethical sourcing and KYC overhead cost money, which is passed on in per-GB and per-request pricing. Second, its best rates are locked behind monthly commitments of 499 to 999 dollars, so low and medium volume users pay the higher pay-as-you-go rates of around 5 dollars per GB. Third, costs are split across proxy traffic, unlocker requests and dataset pulls, so the bill adds up across products. That is why value scores a soft 3.2 in our test even though the technology is excellent. For lower volume, Decodo and Thordata are markedly cheaper, while Oxylabs sits at a similar premium tier.Bright Data vs Apify: which should I choose?
Choose Apify if you want ready-made scrapers and a platform to run them, since its marketplace has 4,000+ pre-built actors for sites like Google Maps, Amazon and LinkedIn, plus a genuine free plan, and it scores better on value at 4.0 against Bright Data's 3.2. Choose Bright Data if you need the largest proxy network and the toughest anti-bot handling for hard, custom scraping, since its 4.8 features and 4.7 integrations edge Apify and its Web Unlocker handles sites that need heavier muscle. In short, Apify is the faster way to get a specific job done when a pre-built actor exists, while Bright Data is the deeper infrastructure for the hardest targets at scale. Both score 4.2 overall, so match the tool to your job rather than the headline number.What is the best no-code alternative to Bright Data?
Browse AI is the best no-code alternative to Bright Data. Where Bright Data assumes you will write code and manage proxies, Browse AI lets you point and click to train a robot on a page, then extract data, monitor for changes and push results into your everyday tools, all on a genuine free plan. It scores 4.3 on ease against Bright Data's 3.8 and a strong 4.6 on integrations. The trade-off is value, which scores a low 2.8 because credits get pricey at volume, and it is not built for massive or anti-bot-heavy scraping. So Browse AI is the clear pick for non-developers doing monitoring and small extractions, while engineering teams scraping at scale will still want Bright Data or a developer-first tool like ScraperAPI or Decodo.Which Bright Data alternative has the simplest API?
ScraperAPI has the simplest API of the alternatives here. You send a single request with a URL, and it handles proxy rotation, JavaScript rendering and anti-bot retries for you, returning the page, with predictable credit-based pricing from 49 dollars a month for 100,000 credits and a free 5,000-credit trial to start. It scores 4.5 on ease against Bright Data's 3.8 precisely because there is almost nothing to configure. Decodo's Web Scraping API and Scrape.do are similarly simple and worth a look too. The trade-off with a single-endpoint tool is depth: it is not a full data platform, so when you need the largest proxy network, dataset products or the hardest enterprise targets, Bright Data or Oxylabs remain the stronger choice.Do these alternatives work for the hardest anti-bot sites?
It varies, and this is the dimension where tools differ most, so test before you commit. Bright Data sets the bar on the toughest sites thanks to its Web Unlocker and Scraping Browser, and its 4.8 features score reflects that. Among the alternatives, Oxylabs is the closest match for hard targets, with capable anti-bot handling and a huge residential pool, and Apify and ScraperAPI handle many difficult sites well through JavaScript rendering and retries. Decodo manages most mainstream targets but can trail on the very hardest, while Browse AI and Thordata are better suited to straightforward pages than heavily defended ones. The practical rule is to run your hardest target sites through a free trial first, since success rate on your specific pages decides real cost and reliability.
