Best Free Web Scraper Tools

10 Best Free Web Scraper Tools in 2024

Published on: March 9, 2023
Last Updated: March 9, 2023

10 Best Free Web Scraper Tools in 2024

Published on: March 9, 2023
Last Updated: March 9, 2023

Best Web Scrapers

#1 Top Rated
Phantombuster
NEW ERA OF DATA
the #1 web scraper

save 16%!
UNLOCK FREE TRIAL
#2 Top Rated
Oxylabs
API for web scraping

TRY IT FREE
#1 Top Rated
Phantombuster
NEW ERA OF DATA
the #1 web scraper

save 16%!
UNLOCK FREE TRIAL
#3 Top Rated
Bright Data
scrape data at scale

SIGN UP FREE

In a hurry?
The best free web scraper in 2024, as found in our independent testing, is Phantombuster!


Is the concept of web scraping new to you?

Or are you one of those non-programmers who need to perform data scraping?

Well in both cases you must be looking for tools and software that can do web scraping for you without the need for coding or programming.

Best Free Web Scrapers 2024

There are a lot of free web scraper tools and extensions designed specifically for non-programmers to help them extract and utilize the data for their business presence on the internet.

  1. Phantombuster – 🏆 Winner!
  2. ScraperAPI
  3. Bright Data
  4. Apify
  5. Octoparse
  6. Import.io
  7. Dexi.io
  8. ScrapeHero Cloud (Browser-Based)
  9. OutWitHub (Browser Extension)
  10. Diffbot

1. Phantombuster

Phantombuster

Phantombuster is an excellent non-code cloud service for web scraping that you can try for free.

It is specifically designed for extracting data from social media and websites.

Phantombuster also helps in the collection of accurate and precise data for eCommerce stores.

👉 Get started FREE

Multiple APIs are present in this tool that can be used for extracting data in specified fields like real estate, Google Maps, and information collection from social networks.

Prominent Features 

  • Quick response time
  • Simultaneous requests
  • Can be useful for bulk data collection
  • Great for social media

Although you can use this tool for free because there’s a trial, you’ll need to get a subscription when that free trial is up.

The price ranges vary and sometimes changes. It is a very quick tool and data is extracted straightaway.

2. ScraperAPI

ScraperAPI

Another excellent web scraping tool with a free trial, ScraperAPI is very famous among data scrapers.

This is one of the best tools available for web scraping and it tops the list because of its excellent and multiple features.

Prominent Features

  • Rotation of IP address
  • Data is available as JSON files
  • Excellent cloud service to store data
  • Webhooks and APIs for data incorporations
  • You can automate and schedule data collection
  • Also extract data from maps, graphs, and tables

3. Bright Data

Bright Data Data Collector

If you are somebody who is hoping to find a free trial with a scraper that can help you with all your online scraping needs so that you don’t have to blow the budget, then you definitely need to check out Bright Data.

As well as being considered one of the best web scrapers in the industry, the fact that they are free means that you are going to be able to take your web scraping a long way, and you don’t have to worry about how much it is going to cost you.

👉 Get FREE Account

You can either start straight away with them, or you can request a demo, so that you can really familiarize yourself with their features without having to compromise your finances.

Best Features

Bright Data offers a number of different features to its clients including their data collector, their search engine collector, and they also have proxy solutions as well.

They know how important it is to be able to pair up your free web scraping with a proxy, because the more you can protect yourself when you are implementing software like this online, the better off you’re going to be.

They have access to millions of residential and data center proxies, and they also have a data center and residential proxy manager, so that you can keep on top of what your proxies are doing, and you don’t have to worry about whether they are keeping you safe or not.

4. Apify

Apify - best free web scraper

You can convert any web page into an API with the Apify web scraping tool that comes in both free and premium versions.

Along with a web scraper tool you can try for free, Apify can also provide you with the integration of several services and APIs (web integration) and help you automate workflows such as form filling (web automation).

Apify has several tools that help in the smooth and flawless extraction of data from multiple URLs.

Proxy – It helps you hide your identity while scraping web data. This makes web scraping perfectly smooth and safe.

Actors – It is a computing tool that allows easy developing, running, and sharing of multiple cloud services.

Multiple Output Options –Apify allows you to download the extracted data in Excel, JSON, SCSV, and database formats.

5. Octoparse

Octoparse

If you are new to the web scraping world and you are a non-programmer, Octoparse is the best and perfect option for you.

This tool has made extracting data from the internet easy and simple for everyone.

There is no need for coding and data can be scraped within no time. You just have to put the URL, click and scrape.

Octoparse divides the process of web scraping into three phases. In the first phase, you just have to paste the URL of the web page from which you want to scrape data.

Secondly, you have to select what data you are willing to extract from the web page.

In the third phase, the tool will extract data within one or two minutes and the data will be available for download. You can download this data in the form of Excel, API, or CSV.

Advanced Features

  • Infinite scrolling and logins
  • Dealing with AJAX
  • It offers IP rotation (allows you to extract data without fear of getting blocked)
  • Limitless pages/crawl
  • An infinite number of computers
  • Longest data retention time (14 days)

6. Import.io

Import.io

A very prevailing and user-friendly free tool, Import.io is one of the best free software designed for beginners and non-programmers.

This software can perfectly be used to extract data for different URLs. It can also generate APIs that can integrate with other internet applications to scrape updated data from the same sources.

Import.io offers its users a very simple and comfortable interface. It has some of the best and most needed tools for web scraping.

Data Extractor – Import.io has a simple point-and-click system for selecting the data you want to extract from specific websites. This is as simple as a non-programmer wants.

Magic Tool – This is a data scraping tool that is totally online. It doesn’t require any setup or coding and provides results within seconds.  

Connector Tool – This tool makes you able to record the order of activities. For example, a search sequence that will help you extract the specified data from a web page.

Crawler Tool – This tool is extremely helpful for non-programmers who don’t know all the URLs. It helps to discover all the similar web pages to extract the required data.

How to Use It

You just have to enter the URL of the page you want to extract data from into the text box present in Import.io.

The required data such as images, prices, emails, and a lot more will be extracted within seconds.

This service is completely free and without any subscription charges ever. You just have to sign up to Import.io and you can download the extracted data file as CSV.

7. Dexi.io

Dexi.io is another excellent free scraping tool. It works as a cloud-based tool helping hundreds of users in extracting desired data with speed and accuracy.

This is an automated data processing tool that provides perfectly extracted data without false or bogus information.

Dexi.io has built-in bots. The whole process of web scraping becomes automated with the help of these bots.

Exclusive Features

  • The pipe Robot present in the dexi.io extracts data from both websites and APIs which makes it very useful in post-processing of the extracted data
  • Excellent debugging feature
  • Flawless data-processing
  • Data scaling
  • Perfect removal of duplications
  • Performs comprehensive background checks
  • Also has a data mining feature that enables you to extract data from protected websites (only paid versions offer this feature)

Dexi.io is one of the best tools for users who don’t understand the coding needed for data extraction. It has a point-and-click interface which makes it perfect for new users.

You can enjoy some of the features with the free version of Dexi.io but there is also a paid or premium version that allows access to all the features.

The price starts from 119 dollars/month for one feature.

8. ScrapeHero Cloud (Browser-Based)

ScrapeHero Cloud

One of the oldest scraper tools, Scrapehero Cloud is a browser-based tool for extracting and storing data.

It is very reasonable and comes with several in-built APIs and other features.

This tool is best for extracting data from eCommerce websites such as Walmart and Amazon, etc.

Its free version allows you to have access to several data extracting features to test the quickness and consistency of the tool.

ScrapeHero Cloud is one of the best options for web scraping for beginners and non-programers.

It saves you from the hassle of downloading, installing, learning, and running the complex web scraping tools and software.

You can use this tool on your browser. No programming or coding is needed to operate it.

It is as simple as copy-pasting. You just have to paste the URL and the tool will do the rest.

Just open your browser and sign in to the Scrapehero Cloud account. Choose and click on the crawler you want to execute.

You just have to click on the button ‘Gather Data’ and the work is done. You will receive extracted data in no time which will be downloadable as CSV, Excel, or JSON files.

You can also connect your Dropbox or cloud account and extracted data will be directly stored in these accounts.  

9. OutWitHub (Browser Extension)

OutWitHub

OutWitHub is a browser extension that acts as a free scraper. You can easily download the add-on of this tool and add it as an extension to your browser.

It is a very easy-to-handle and simple tool which makes it best for new users especially those who don’t know programming and coding.

It can help you extract data from any web page without the need for complex procedures.

Features

  • Completely free web scraping tool
  • Quick and smooth
  • Automated data extraction
  • Supports a large number of output formats including Excel, JSON, HTML, SQL, and more.

10. Diffbot

Diffbot

Diffbot provides you with a smooth and quick web scraping experience and it is one of the leading data extracting software present on the internet.

It has an automated system of page identification (Analyze API feature) which is extremely useful in extracting blogs, products, images, and videos.

Prominent Features

  • The in-built product API feature
  • Clean the extracted data automatically
  • Systemized search tools
  • Best for extracting videos, images, and discussions
  • Automated and in-built hosted SaaS

How Is Web Scraping Used?

Extracting and gathering data from different websites with the help of free web scrapers or tools, web scraping has become a very popular concept in the world of data science.

It is done with automated bot tools that allow you to access and scrape data from any web page present on the internet.

You can collect an enormous amount of data quickly and precisely.

The software mostly used for web scraping can clean data during scraping so that you get properly structured and pure information from a web page.

Web scraping software triggers the browsing of a web page just like humans. It collects data in the form of an HTML file by sending a query to the server.

This HTML file is just like the complete coding of that web page. The software reaches the data with the help of this file and starts scraping data from the website.

Additionally, if the software has a proper configuration, it also cleans the data.

The scraped data is presented to you in the form of a perfectly structured and ready-to-use downloadable file.

Importance Of Web Scraping

Data extracted and scraped from websites can be very useful for enhancing the productivity and sales of businesses.

The present-day Internet has become a tremendously crowded place. Almost 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created on the internet in a single day.

Isn’t it mind-blowing?

Doesn’t matter if you are starting a new business on the internet or you have been running one for years.

The data present on the internet if scraped and gathered properly can be a great source of converting visitors into potential buyers and holding them away from other businesses by hitting the right target.

This data also helps you to win back these customers again and again.

You can save your business from failing if you automate the process of web scraping and converting the scraped data into spreadsheets that can be easily accessed and used.

This is one of the main aspects of today’s businesses, especially for the ones that want a strong internet presence.

Web scraping also helps you in the lead generation which is almost the need of every business present on the internet.

This is the most prominent aspect of web scraping every business is taking benefits of.

You can easily know information like what products are popular among people, what people like, what prices they pay, and almost every data related to your potential customers through web scraping.

This data also provides you with information about the location and density of potential leads which help you retarget your sales campaigns.

You can personalize your campaigns and offers according to the targeted customers as you know all their preferences.

Just think, what and how long it will take you to extract this data manually? Probably you will spend years doing so.

This is where web scraping software and tools come into play. They are automated tools that can scrap tons of data for you in no time.

Choosing a web scraping software and tool for yourself can be very intimidating as there are hundreds of them present on the internet.

There are some factors that can help you in selecting the best one for your business.

Factors That Can Help In Selecting The Best Free Web Scrapers

Web Scraping 803

You might think that it is very easy and cheap to scrape all the data from the internet.

Well, in the real world, you may find it difficult and expensive if you don’t choose the right scraper tool for the job.

That is why it is very important to consider some factors that can help you choose.

Less Setup Time

Being a non-programmer you definitely will not have the knowledge and stamina to sit and spend hours learning new software.

The complex web scraping software has more setup time and they require proper coding or programming to execute data scraping tasks.

But for a non-programmer like you who doesn’t know anything about coding, finding a tool that has very less setup time is the best option.

Who Is It Made For?

All the software is designed for different purposes. For example, web scraping software might be designed for generating leads for eCommerce businesses.

Similarly, some tools might be exclusively made for programmers and coding specialists.

Make sure you don’t select such a web scraping software. You need software designed exactly for non-programmers like you.

Contain Proper Learning Materials

Web scraping software for non-programmers must be full of learning material and tutorials. In this way, they can learn and scrape data at the same time.

Inexperienced and newbies need step-by-step guidance about the interface of the software.

Software that has a blog can be very helpful in this matter. It can help non-programmers learn how to use web scraping tools.

Must Have Cloud Service

Being a non-programmer you may not have the skill to handle multiple profiles and systems to scrape data from the internet.

You definitely need software that has a cloud service so that you can get every job done from a single computer system.

Cloud service can help you gather the scraped data in a single place which is easy for you to access and interpret.  

Can Handle Anti-Scraping 

If you are a non-programmer, it might be difficult for you to detect a false lead or bogus data.

That is why it is very important to choose a web scraping software that has anti-scraping technology.

This will help in keeping out the false information and broken leads out of the data.

Key Takeaways

When selecting a web scraping software, you have to consider the requirements and scope of your business.

Some of these free web scraper tools can be best for you if you have an eCommerce business.

Others may be suitable for web scraping of general data for surveys and lead generation.

Things you must consider while selecting a tool or browser extension can include, functionalities, limitations, pricing, features, etc.

As web scraping can be very crucial for the development of your business, you need to be extra careful while selecting the tool for it.

Web scraper tools can provide you with some excellent features and you should definitely consider them if you have no knowledge of programming or coding.

Stay on top of the latest technology trends — delivered directly to your inbox, free!

Subscription Form Posts

Don't worry, we don't spam

Written by Jason Wise

Hello! I’m the editor at EarthWeb, with a particular interest in business and technology topics, including social media, privacy, and cryptocurrency. As an experienced editor and researcher, I have a passion for exploring the latest trends and innovations in these fields and sharing my insights with our readers. I also enjoy testing and reviewing products, and you’ll often find my reviews and recommendations on EarthWeb. With a focus on providing informative and engaging content, I am committed to ensuring that EarthWeb remains a leading source of news and analysis in the tech industry.
4.5/5