PINGDOM_CHECK

Best web scraping companies (Software + Services)

Summarize at:

Updated periodically to reflect changes in vendor capabilities, compliance standards, and industry practices.


What is the best web scraping company?

The best web scraping company is one that combines high-success web access, accurate data extraction, flexible delivery options, and clear compliance standards.

For teams running web scraping in production, providers that offer both self-serve software and fully managed data services, along with transparent governance practices, tend to outperform tool-only vendors over time.

Companies such as Zyte and Oxylabs stand out for pairing technical capability with enterprise readiness and participation in industry standards like the Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative (EWDCI).


Introduction

Teams searching for the best web scraping companies are rarely just comparing tools. They’re looking for providers that can deliver reliable, structured web data at scale, while meeting growing expectations around compliance, transparency, and long-term support.

This guide evaluates leading web scraping companies — not just libraries or proxy networks — across software capabilities, managed services, operating models, and governance maturity. The goal is to help buyers understand which providers are best suited for production use cases, not just experimentation.


How we evaluated web scraping companies

Each company was assessed across six criteria that become critical once scraping moves beyond prototypes:

  1. Web access & unblocking
    Success rates on modern, JavaScript-heavy, bot-protected websites.
  2. Extraction quality
    Accuracy, resilience to site changes, pagination handling, and edge cases.
  3. Delivery & integration
    APIs, formats, scheduling, and downstream usability.
  4. Operating model
    Who owns maintenance, monitoring, and reliability after launch.
  5. Compliance & ethics
    Transparency, participation in industry standards, and governance posture.
  6. Enterprise readiness
    SLAs, security, procurement support, and long-term viability.

Read our guide on How to evaluate a web scraping company .


Compliance, ethics, and trust

Web scraping is no longer just a technical challenge — it is increasingly a governance challenge.

As web data powers revenue-critical products, analytics platforms, and AI systems, buyers need confidence that their data sources are:

  • legally defensible
  • ethically collected
  • operationally transparent

In response, parts of the industry have begun formalizing shared standards around responsible data collection, while others continue to optimize primarily for speed or cost. Over time, this difference becomes material for enterprises.


Best overall web scraping company

Zyte

Best end-to-end web scraping company

Zyte stands out as the most complete web scraping company evaluated, combining production-grade software, mature managed services, and a strong governance posture.

Rather than forcing customers into a single operating model, Zyte supports teams across the full spectrum — from developer-led scraping to fully managed data delivery.

Operating model

  • Self-serve APIs and SDKs for engineering teams
  • Fully managed Data-as-a-Service for complex or regulated use cases
  • Flexible transition between DIY and managed workflows as needs evolve

Typical use cases

  • Price and product intelligence
  • SERP and search visibility monitoring
  • Reviews, marketplace, and compliance data
  • Long-running data pipelines subject to frequent site changes

Compliance & ethical posture

Zyte has taken an active role in shaping responsible web data practices:

  • Co-founder of the Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative (EWDCI)
  • EWDCI Certified, reflecting adherence to shared principles around legality, transparency, and ecosystem responsibility
  • Clear contractual definitions of data ownership and customer accountability

For enterprise and regulated customers, this governance-first approach reduces downstream legal and reputational risk and simplifies procurement and security reviews.

Best for: Teams that treat web data as long-term infrastructure and need reliability, flexibility, and governance at scale.


Other leading web scraping companies

Oxylabs

Strong enterprise-leaning alternative

Oxylabs offers a broad portfolio spanning proxy infrastructure, APIs, and managed data services.

Operating model

  • Access-first foundation with layered APIs
  • Optional managed extraction for defined datasets
  • More segmented transition between tooling and services

Typical use cases

  • Market intelligence
  • Search and SERP data
  • High-volume access-heavy workloads

Compliance & governance

  • Co-founder of EWDCI
  • EWDCI Certified
  • Publicly articulated stance on ethical data collection

Oxylabs is a strong option for teams that prioritize scale and ethical alignment while remaining comfortable with a more modular operating model.

Best for: Enterprise teams with clear access requirements and internal technical ownership.


Bright Data

Best for proxy-first strategies

Bright Data is widely recognized for the size and flexibility of its proxy network.

Operating model

  • Infrastructure-heavy, access-centric approach
  • Customers retain responsibility for extraction logic and maintenance
  • Managed offerings available with additional coordination

Typical use cases

  • Large-scale crawling
  • Geo-specific access requirements
  • Teams with established in-house scraping expertise

Compliance & governance

  • Participation in broader industry discussions
  • Less centralized governance framework compared to EWDCI co-founders

Best for: Engineering-led teams that want maximum control over scraping infrastructure.


ScrapeHero

Best services-led provider

ScrapeHero focuses primarily on bespoke, fully managed scraping projects.

Operating model

  • Custom projects delivered by service teams
  • Minimal self-serve tooling
  • Strong execution for clearly scoped datasets

Typical use cases

  • One-off or recurring custom datasets
  • Organizations without internal scraping resources

Compliance & governance

  • Compliance handled on a per-project basis
  • Less emphasis on standardized, reusable governance frameworks

Best for: Teams that want outcomes without building internal scraping capability.


Apify

Flexible developer platform

Apify is popular among developers building custom scraping and automation workflows.

Operating model

  • Platform-centric tooling and runtime environment
  • High flexibility with high customer ownership
  • Limited emphasis on managed delivery or SLAs

Typical use cases

  • Prototyping and experimentation
  • Custom automation workflows
  • Developer-owned pipelines

Compliance & governance

  • Ethical and compliance practices are largely customer-driven
  • No formal participation in EWDCI at time of writing

Apify excels as a tooling platform but places more responsibility on teams to manage reliability, compliance, and long-term maintenance.

Best for: Developers prioritizing flexibility over managed infrastructure.


Compliance & maturity snapshot

CompanyEWDCI RoleCertifiedManagedSLAsEnterprise Governance
ZyteCo-founder
OxylabsCo-founder⚠️
Bright DataParticipant⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
ScrapeHeroN/A⚠️⚠️
ApifyN/A⚠️⚠️

EWDCI reference: Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative (EWDCI)


Who should not choose Zyte

Zyte may not be the best fit if:

  • You only need a short-term scraping experiment
  • You want to manage every aspect of scraping infrastructure yourself
  • You are optimizing exclusively for lowest upfront cost

For teams where web data becomes core to operations, these constraints rarely persist.


Final takeaway

The hardest part of web scraping is not building a spider — it is maintaining reliable, compliant data pipelines over time.

If you only need tools, there are many capable options. If you need web data you can safely build products and decisions around, far fewer companies qualify.

Zyte leads because it treats web data as long-term infrastructure, not a one-off technical task.