Apify vs ScrapeCreators
A marketplace of scrapers against a single API. Both reach most of Instagram; they differ on how you run them, what you end up paying, and who answers when something breaks. ScrapeCreators is cheaper and simpler from your own code; Apify wins for no-code runs and data ScrapeCreators doesn’t sell, like follower lists.
Researched by Which Social API editorial teamLast reviewed 29 October 2026How we review
Which Social API uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative review methods, based on each provider’s documentation, published pricing and public user reviews. We never accept money in exchange for a higher ranking or a better review. Who runs this site
The quick answer
For developers, ScrapeCreators. One key, one billing unit, instant calls, and 20 Instagram endpoints covering profiles, posts, reels, comments, highlights, transcripts and search. It’s cheaper than Apify’s own Instagram Actors: $1.88 per 1,000 calls on the $47 pack against $2.30 per 1,000 results for Apify’s Instagram Scraper on the $19 Starter plan, and its credits never expire.
Apify wins for people who don’t write code, and for jobs ScrapeCreators doesn’t cover. Its scheduler and its Make, Zapier and n8n integrations let anyone run a weekly export, and third-party Actors sell follower and following lists. Cheaper third-party Actors exist too, from under $0.50 per 1,000 results. Check the author, the rating and the add-on fees before you rely on one.
Choose Apify if
Someone non-technical needs to run or schedule itYou need follower lists or places dataYou’re happy to vet each Actor and its authorChoose ScrapeCreators if
You’re calling Instagram from your own codeYou want one vendor to answer for every endpointYou’d rather not pay for a monthly planHead to head
Our ratings from published docs, prices and track record. The longer bar is better, and the winner’s bar is in its colour.
For cost, the lower number gets the longer bar. How we review
For cost, the lower number gets the longer bar. How we review
For cost, the lower number gets the longer bar. How we review
For cost, the lower number gets the longer bar. How we review
Who covers more, and where
Share of the data types we check for that each returns. Darker is higher.
Pricing compared
Apify bills per result from a monthly plan credit, and the price depends on the Actor and your plan. ScrapeCreators bills per call from credit packs that never expire.
Features side by side
If you’re building on the API
With Apify you call an Actor, not an endpoint. Short runs can return items in the same request; longer ones run as jobs that notify a webhook, and results land in a dataset you export as JSON, CSV, Excel or XML. Each Actor has its own input schema, its own output and its own author, who handles its issues. There are JavaScript and Python clients, a CLI and an MCP server, and concurrent runs are capped by plan, from 5 on Free to 256 on Business.
ScrapeCreators is a direct REST API: one request, JSON back, and no run to start for a single lookup. It has no account-level rate cap, an MCP server and a CLI, and it also publishes its own Actors on Apify if you want it inside Apify’s workflows.
Apify API
- Model
- Actors, run as jobs
- Calls
- Sync for short runs, async with webhooks
- Auth
- API token
- SDKs
- JavaScript, Python, CLI, MCP server
- Concurrency
- 5 to 256 runs, by plan
ScrapeCreators API
- Model
- One REST API
- Calls
- Sync only
- Auth
- API key header
- SDKs
- None official; MCP server, CLI
- Concurrency
- No account cap; under 500 advised
Where each falls short
Apify
The price on the Actor page isn’t the whole bill: many Actors charge for run starts, transcripts or downloads on top. Quality varies. Apify’s own hashtag scraper is rated 3.49 out of 5, and its search scraper finished only 90.3% of runs in the last 30 days. Each run handles one content type, the free plan stops at about 15 comments per post, and runs are jobs, not instant calls.
ScrapeCreators
No live stories and no follower lists, both of which Apify reaches through third-party Actors. There’s no scheduler or no-code layer of its own. Comments with replies cost 15 credits, with about 90% success expected by its own account, and it’s a small team with no SOC 2. Much of the Apify comparison content online, benchmarks included, is written by ScrapeCreators itself.
Alternatives to both
See all 8 Instagram scraping APIs in our ranking
Questions
Is Apify or ScrapeCreators better for Instagram?
ScrapeCreators if you’re writing code: it’s cheaper than Apify’s own Actors, instant, and one vendor covers every endpoint. Apify if you want no-code runs and scheduling, or data ScrapeCreators doesn’t sell, like follower lists.
Which is cheaper?
ScrapeCreators, against Apify’s own Actors: $1.88 per 1,000 calls (or $0.99) against $2.30 per 1,000 results on Starter. Some third-party Apify Actors are cheaper still, from under $0.50 per 1,000, but quality varies and add-on fees apply.
Can I get Instagram followers with either?
Through Apify, yes, using a third-party Actor such as Scraping Solutions’ followers and following scraper, at $0.70 per 1,000 on Starter. ScrapeCreators doesn’t sell follower lists.
Is ScrapeCreators faster than Apify?
ScrapeCreators says so. Its own benchmark on 1,000 post URLs found it cheaper and faster, while Apify succeeded on 100% of first attempts against its 99.6%. That’s a vendor-run test, not an independent one. Either way, ScrapeCreators answers in a single call, while Apify starts a run.
Do I need to code to use them?
Not for Apify, which runs from its console with scheduling and Make, Zapier and n8n integrations. ScrapeCreators is built for code, though it has an n8n integration and its own Actors on Apify.