Apify Pricing 2025 Analysis: Is It Actually Worth The Money?

Apify has made a name for itself as a web scraping powerhouse, offering flexible plans that range from free to $999 per month for enterprise teams. On paper, it sounds impressive. They claim users save 10–20x compared to hiring developers or buying data elsewhere. But here’s the real question: does Apify’s pricing actually deliver value for your workflow, or are you paying for complexity you don’t need? If your goal is simple, no-code lead scraping, tools like IGLeads’ email scraper may offer a faster, more straightforward path.

This guide breaks down exactly what you’ll pay for Apify in 2025, what you get at each pricing tier, and whether it’s truly the best fit, or if a simpler alternative makes more sense.

No fluff. No sugarcoating. Just the practical breakdown you need to make the right call.

Apify’s pricing breakdown: what you actually get in 2025

Apify splits its pricing across five tiers, each designed for different usage patterns. Here’s the real breakdown of what you’ll pay and what makes sense for your team.

Plan	Price	Credit Limits	API & Integrations
Free	$0/month	❌ $5 monthly usage credits 7-day data retention	❌ No external API access
Starter	$39/month + overages	⚠️ $200 monthly platform limit 14-day data retention	⚠️ API with platform usage limits
Scale	$199/month + overages	✅ $1,000 monthly platform limit 21-day data retention	✅ API access + shared proxy pool
Business	$999/month + overages	✅ $5,000 monthly platform limit 30-day data retention	✅ Priority API + dedicated support
Enterprise	Fully custom	✅ Unlimited platform usage Unlimited data retention	✅ Custom API limits + dedicated infra

Free Plan: Testing ground with tight limits ⭐⭐

The Free Plan gives you $5 worth of platform credits monthly, 4GB actor RAM, and 7-day data retention. Once you burn through those credits, you’re locked out until next month. Community support only, and proxy access works exclusively within Apify. No external use.

Good for: Kicking the tires, running small tests
Reality check: Most real projects will exhaust this quickly

Starter Plan: $39/month + overages ⭐⭐⭐

At $39 monthly, you get 32GB actor memory, 14-day data retention, and email support. The catch? Pay-as-you-go kicks in after your prepaid credits, with a $200 platform limit. Hit that ceiling, and you’ll see charges on your next invoice.

Good for: Small teams running regular but predictable scraping
Watch out for: Overage billing that can surprise you mid-month

Scale Plan: $199/month with startup perks ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This tier offers 128GB actor memory, 21-day retention, 100 shared proxies, and chat support. Platform limit jumps to $1,000. Startups get 30% off this plan, which makes it more reasonable for growing companies.

Good for: Teams scaling up, especially startups with the discount
The upside: Significantly more headroom before hitting limits

Business Plan: $999/month for serious operations ⭐⭐⭐

At nearly $1,000 monthly, you get 256GB memory, dedicated account manager, priority support, and a $5,000 platform limit. Includes one hour of monthly technical training.

Good for: Large teams with complex, high-volume needs
The reality: Most smaller teams will never justify this cost

Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing, unlimited everything ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Custom pricing removes all limits: unlimited credits, RAM, retention, and team seats. Premium support and dedicated resources included.

Good for: Large organizations with massive data requirements
The trade-off: You’ll need to negotiate pricing and terms

Key Pricing Patterns

Apify’s pricing follows a usage-based model layered on top of fixed monthly fees. Lower-tier plans offer affordable entry points but come with strict usage caps, meaning costs can escalate quickly if you run heavy tasks. Unlike flat-rate platforms, Apify blends compute usage, proxy fees, and storage into its pricing, adding complexity to budgeting.

What’s consistent across all plans:

• Access to Apify’s cloud infrastructure and Actor marketplace
• Ability to run serverless scrapers (Actors)
• Integrated proxy management (within usage limits)
• Data export options in formats like CSV, JSON, and Excel

Bottom line: Apify’s pricing works if you can predict your usage and don’t mind overage billing. The pay-as-you-go model means costs can escalate quickly, especially if you hit compute-heavy jobs unexpectedly. For teams that want predictable monthly costs, this structure can be challenging to budget around.

Who actually gets value from Apify?

After digging into user feedback and platform usage patterns, we’ve identified three groups that consistently get strong ROI from Apify’s pricing tiers. These aren’t theoretical use cases. These are teams actually using the platform and seeing results.

Startups running lean lead generation

Early-stage companies get a solid advantage through Apify’s 30% discount on the Scale plan, specifically for qualifying startups. This applies to SaaS companies or businesses where Apify plays a critical role in their product offerings.

The real value here isn’t just the discount. It’s what startups can accomplish without hiring expensive research teams. As Lucjan K., a Senior Demand Generation Manager, puts it: “I discovered Apify less than a month ago and it’s already one of the core tools in my stack. Without Apify, I’d have to use virtual assistants, which would be less convenient and more time-consuming”.

Most startups use Apify’s ready-made lead generation scrapers to find prospects, extract contact details, and pull emails, phone numbers, or social media profiles. For teams that need to move fast and test multiple audiences, this beats manual research or expensive data providers.

Enterprise teams with serious data requirements

Large organizations with heavy data extraction needs find the higher-tier plans worth the investment. Enterprise customers get unlimited platform credits, unlimited actor RAM, unlimited data retention, and unlimited team seats. More importantly, they get dedicated account managers and priority support.

Charlie Orford, a Lead Data Collection professional, explains the infrastructure benefits: “The combination of Javascript, Node and Apify gave us all the pieces we needed to address every one of our existing challenges, futureproof our platform and resume scaling up our web collection”.

For enterprise teams, the biggest win is not having to manage proxies, fingerprints, and other unblocking technologies internally. That alone can justify the cost when you factor in engineering time and infrastructure headaches.

Freelancers and developers monetizing their skills

Independent developers represent the third group getting strong value from Apify. The platform lets them generate passive income by publishing code as Actors on Apify Store. Freelancers can earn a 20% commission on their customers’ Apify spending through the affiliate program.

For developers already building web scrapers on platforms like Upwork or Freelancer, Apify offers an alternative revenue stream without infrastructure management. Top performers can join Apify’s certified partner program, where they “keep all revenue for the development of web scrapers and integrations” while earning an additional 20% commission from platform fees.

The appeal is clear: build once, earn repeatedly, without dealing with servers or scaling issues.

Each of these groups benefits from different aspects of Apify’s platform, but they all share one thing: they need the technical flexibility and scalability that Apify provides. However, for teams that prioritize simplicity over technical depth, the platform’s complexity might outweigh its benefits.

Apify Pricing Pros and Cons

Now that we’ve broken down Apify’s pricing tiers, usage limits, and growth challenges, let’s talk about what you actually get in real-world use. After analyzing hundreds of user reviews and testing the platform ourselves, it’s clear that Apify delivers serious power for automation and scraping, but it also creates friction the moment you try to scale without a technical team.

What Works: Flexibility, Automation, Developer Freedom

What I like: Apify’s flexibility is top-tier. If you know how to code (or are willing to hire someone), the platform can automate nearly any web task, from scraping public directories to running complex workflows across hundreds of websites. The Actor marketplace offers hundreds of pre-built scrapers, which saves tons of development time for common tasks.

Apify also wins on extensibility. It integrates well with developer tools, APIs, cloud storage, and automation platforms. If you need full control over how data is scraped, processed, and delivered, Apify is unmatched compared to typical no-code tools.

For technical users, startups offering data-driven products, or agencies handling scraping at scale, Apify’s cloud infrastructure is a massive asset. No need to run your own servers.

✅ Pros:

• Extreme flexibility for custom scraping and automation
• Large Actor marketplace with pre-built scrapers
• Powerful API access and developer-friendly integrations
• Proxy management and unblocking handled by the platform
• Cloud-based infrastructure, no servers needed

The Problems: Overage Fees, Complexity, and Scaling Costs

The biggest issue? Apify’s pricing punishes unpredictability. Jumping from Scale to Business isn’t minor. It’s a jump from $199 to $999 monthly, with no gradual progression in between. And if your Actors consume more compute time or proxy bandwidth than expected, you immediately hit platform limits or trigger overage charges.

The compute-credit system creates artificial pressure. Tasks that take longer, pull more pages, or deal with complex websites quickly burn through credits. If your scraping needs are inconsistent, heavy this week, light the next, you still risk blowing through your monthly cap fast.

There’s also a complexity wall. While the Actor marketplace simplifies some tasks, most serious projects still require scripting in JavaScript or Python. For non-technical teams, this adds friction and dependence on freelancers or developers.

Cancellation isn’t instant either. While you can downgrade, fully canceling requires contacting support, no one-click cancellation, and there are no refunds for unused credits.

❌ Cons:

• Steep pricing jumps as you scale (no smooth upgrade path)
• Compute-based billing creates unpredictable monthly costs
• Proxy usage and run-time overages add to the final bill
• Steep learning curve for non-developers
• No self-serve cancellation. You must contact support

Bottom line: Apify is an excellent choice for developers, automation pros, and data-driven startups that need flexible, customizable scraping infrastructure. But for businesses focused on lead generation, not managing scripts, proxies, or compute usage, the pricing model becomes a growth blocker.

This is exactly why so many teams are switching to flat-rate tools like IGLeads.io, which offers unlimited scraping with no usage caps, no overage fees, and no surprise billing.

What users actually say about Apify pricing

Real user experiences tell a different story than marketing pages. After digging through hundreds of reviews across G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot, some clear patterns emerge about Apify’s pricing model.

The platform gets solid ratings: 4.7/5 stars on G2 (100+ reviews), 4.8/5 on Capterra (200+ reviews), and 4.6/5 on Trustpilot (44 reviews). But dig into the actual feedback, and you’ll find pricing concerns showing up consistently.

What users love about Apify’s pricing model

Flexibility is the biggest win. The credit-based system lets you pay for exactly what you use, and the marketplace of pre-built actors can save serious development time. Integration with tools like Google Sheets keeps workflows simple.

“Apify has become an essential tool in our workflow. From ready-made actors to custom scripts, it handles everything with ease. Scheduling, integrations, and auto-retries work flawlessly. Support is quick, and scaling is effortless. A powerful platform for anyone serious about web automation”. – Enis

Users also appreciate the scalability. For high-volume scraping projects, Apify’s infrastructure handles the load without requiring you to manage proxies, fingerprints, or other technical headaches.

Where users hit frustration

The credit system that makes Apify flexible also makes it confusing. Multiple users call out the same issue: “Apify’s pricing is pretty confusing”.

The bigger problem? Costs can spiral fast. You’re potentially paying for server run time, data storage, and proxy usage simultaneously, making it hard to predict your monthly bill.

“No support (don’t include Discord as “support”). These unneeded actors max out my account. There are only 1 or 2 actors that have a delete or remove option”. – Louis C., Owner

Small teams get squeezed out. The minimum plans often exceed what solo operators or small teams actually need: “The only thing I didn’t like was that you can’t buy as many credits as you need. Instead, you have to buy the minimum plan, which is too much for my needs”.

Bottom line: Apify works well for teams that can justify the complexity and cost. But if you’re looking for simple, predictable pricing for basic lead generation, the learning curve might not be worth it.

Is Apify actually worth the price?

When you’re shopping for web scraping tools in 2025, the real question isn’t whether Apify’s pricing makes sense on paper. It’s whether you can find better value elsewhere. User feedback tells a clear story: many teams are switching to simpler alternatives that deliver results without the complexity.

Why teams are moving away from Apify

The biggest complaint isn’t about Apify’s capabilities. It’s about the friction. As one frustrated user put it: “Apify is a masterclass in doing the most to deliver the least… with a UI that feels like it belongs in a Cold War missile silo”. The complexity becomes the bottleneck, not the solution.

“Cost, and that it forces you to subscribe after the initial credit”. – Mohammed A., CEO

Unlike Apify’s multi-layered pricing with separate charges for compute units, actor rental, and proxy usage, teams are gravitating toward tools that eliminate guesswork. No more budget surprises. No more technical overhead.

Need another opinion? Read our Apify review.

Apify vs IGLeads: Which One Delivers Better Value in 2025?

After breaking down Apify’s pricing structure, compute limits, and scaling headaches, here’s the real question: does it deliver enough value to justify the cost?

The answer? It depends on how technical your team is, how predictable your scraping needs are, and whether you’re okay managing usage credits, overage fees, and technical complexity month after month.

Feature
Pricing Transparency	⚠️ Tiered pricing with usage caps, compute overages, and proxy fees	✅ Flat monthly pricing with no overage fees or hidden costs
Credit/Usage Model	⚠️ Compute-based billing: pay more as jobs run longer or use more resources	✅ No credit system: unlimited scraping based on your plan
Ease of Use	⚠️ Technical setup required, scripts or Actor management needed	✅ No-code interface: start scraping in minutes with zero technical setup
Platform Coverage	⚠️ Mainly website-based scraping; custom scripts needed for each target	✅ Pre-built scrapers for Google Maps, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Real Estate, and more
Phone Numbers & Contact Data	❌ Not included by default (unless custom-built)	✅ Phone numbers, emails, and full contact details from multiple platforms (when available)
Free Trial or Free Plan	✅ Free plan with $5 monthly usage credit	❌ No free trial, but free dashboard access + sample CSV available
Contract Commitments	⚠️ Cancel by contacting support. No one-click cancellation	✅ Cancel anytime: no contracts, no commitments

When Apify Makes Sense

Apify shines for developers, technical teams, or startups building data-driven products. If you need to scrape highly custom websites, automate multi-step workflows, or process data at scale with full control, Apify delivers.

It’s also a great choice if your team knows JavaScript, understands proxy management, and doesn’t mind handling compute configurations.

Where Apify’s Pricing Model Starts to Hurt

The pricing model becomes a real obstacle when scraping gets heavier. Scaling from Scale ($199) to Business ($999) is a huge jump, and overage charges can creep in even before you hit that level.

Non-technical users often hit a wall fast. Setting up Actors, debugging scripts, managing proxy rotations. All require a technical skill set. If you just need leads, not custom web automations, the complexity adds more cost and frustration than value.

A Better Alternative for Growing Teams

This is exactly why IGLeads exists. Instead of managing compute units, proxy credits, and usage limits, you get instant access to scrape leads from LinkedIn, Instagram, Google Maps, YouTube, TikTok, and more, with flat-rate pricing.

The difference is simple: Apify charges based on server time, compute usage, and proxy bandwidth. IGLeads charges a flat monthly rate, scrape as much as you want, without any surprise billing.

Key advantages of switching to IGLeads:

• Scrape all you want with the Unlimited Plan vs. Apify’s compute-based limits
• Multi-platform scraping without coding: social media, local businesses, creators, and more
• Transparent pricing: $49/month for Starter, $149/month for Business (unlimited emails + automation bots)

Plus, automated scraping bots deliver fresh leads straight to your inbox, usually within a few hours, without scripts, servers, or extensions.

For teams tired of compute charges, scaling limitations, and technical bottlenecks, IGLeads offers a faster, cleaner, and cheaper way to scale. Start using IGLeads today and experience lead generation without limits.

A Simpler Alternative to Apify’s Pricing Model

If Apify’s compute fees, overage costs, and technical complexity are slowing your growth, IGLeads.io offers a completely different approach. No credits. No compute charges. No usage caps. Just predictable pricing and unlimited scraping.

IGLeads Pricing: What You Actually Pay

IGLeads keeps it simple with two main plans. The Starter Plan costs $59/month ($49 if you commit to an annual plan) and gives you access to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Google Maps, and B2B scrapers. The Business Plan runs $149/month ($79 if you subscribe to the annual plan) and adds unlimited emails, automated scraping bots, and specialized tools for homeowners and off-market deals. Annual plans bring the price down even more.

Compare that to Apify’s $199/month Scale plan with a $1,000 usage cap, or the $999/month Business plan. With IGLeads, you scrape what you need, when you need it, without checking a usage meter.

What IGLeads Does That Apify Can’t

Apify is built for developers automating complex web tasks. IGLeads is built for teams who just need fresh, verified leads, fast. Instead of managing Actors and compute credits, you launch scrapes from a simple dashboard and download the data.

IGLeads pulls contacts from platforms Apify doesn’t natively support, like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, without needing custom scripts.

Apify doesn’t offer native, guaranteed scrapers for platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, or TikTok. While third-party Actors exist in the marketplace, they typically require technical adjustments and are subject to higher failure rates due to platform restrictions.

What I like: IGLeads runs entirely in the cloud, so your scrapes happen even when your computer’s off. It’s designed for teams who want to set it, forget it, and wake up to ready-to-use leads.

The Real Difference: Predictable Costs

Apify’s pricing model punishes growth. IGLeads rewards it. You pay a flat monthly rate and scrape as much as you need, without surprise bills or scaling fees.

The platform stays compliant with CFAA, DMCA, and GDPR, so you’re not taking legal risks for public data. And unlike Apify’s system, there’s no stress about compute burn, proxy costs, or task failures inflating your bill.

Try IGLeads Without the Commitment

IGLeads offers free dashboard access plus sample CSVs so you can test the platform before deciding. Users consistently say it’s “the best tool for scraping phone numbers, emails, and leads” ,  but you can see for yourself.

Ready to escape Apify’s compute-based pricing? Start using IGLeads and experience what unlimited prospecting actually feels like.