apify vs diffbot
Apify vs Diffbot — features, pricing, and which to choose for your SEO workflow in 2026.
Quick Verdict
Apify and Diffbot represent two different philosophies in web scraping for SEO. Apify positions itself as a developer-friendly platform with pre-built scrapers for common SEO tasks like SERP monitoring and competitor analysis. Diffbot takes an AI-first approach, automatically understanding webpage structure to extract data without manual configuration.
The choice between them often comes down to technical expertise and budget. Apify requires more hands-on setup but offers granular control at a lower price point. Diffbot's AI handles complexity automatically but demands a premium for that convenience.
Feature Comparison
Apify excels in its marketplace of pre-built scrapers specifically designed for SEO workflows. You'll find ready-made tools for Google SERPs, YouTube metadata, Instagram posts, and Amazon product data. The platform runs on a JavaScript-based SDK, giving developers full control over scraping logic and data processing. Apify's scheduler and proxy management are solid, with residential proxies included in higher-tier plans. Diffbot's standout feature is its automatic data extraction using computer vision and natural language processing. Point it at any webpage, and it identifies articles, products, discussions, or other content types without manual field mapping. Diffbot also builds knowledge graphs, connecting entities across millions of web pages — valuable for competitive intelligence and market research. However, it lacks the SEO-specific scrapers that Apify provides out of the box. Both platforms handle JavaScript-heavy sites well, but Apify gives you more control over browser automation through Playwright and Puppeteer integrations. Diffbot's strength lies in processing unstructured content at scale without technical setup.
Pricing Comparison
The pricing gap is significant. Apify starts at $49/month for 100,000 results, with a generous free tier offering 5,000 results monthly. Most small SEO agencies and solo practitioners find the starter plan sufficient for regular SERP monitoring and competitor tracking. Diffbot's entry point is $299/month, targeting enterprise users who need large-scale data extraction. While both offer free tiers, Diffbot's 10,000 monthly API calls get consumed quickly in serious SEO work. The price reflects Diffbot's AI processing power, but it's prohibitive for smaller operations.
Best For
Apify is better when you need cost-effective scraping with SEO-specific tools. If you're monitoring rankings, tracking competitor content, or gathering product data for affiliate sites, Apify's pre-built scrapers eliminate development time. The platform suits agencies managing multiple client projects within budget constraints. Diffbot excels when you're processing diverse, unstructured web content at enterprise scale. If you're building comprehensive competitor databases, analyzing industry trends across thousands of sites, or need automatic content classification, Diffbot's AI capabilities justify the premium pricing.
The Verdict
For most SEO professionals, Apify offers better value and more relevant features. Its SEO-focused scraper marketplace, reasonable pricing, and developer-friendly approach make it the practical choice for agencies and in-house teams. Diffbot's AI-powered extraction is impressive, but unless you're processing massive amounts of unstructured data, the price premium isn't justified for typical SEO use cases.