Firecrawl vs PhantomBuster (and is ScrapeField better?)
Firecrawl is an API that turns any web page into Markdown or JSON for AI agents, with search, crawling and a browser. PhantomBuster is no-code automations that run in the cloud through your own accounts. Here is how they differ, when to choose which, and where ScrapeField fits.
| Firecrawl | PhantomBuster | ScrapeField | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | An API that turns any web page into Markdown or JSON for AI agents, with search, crawling and a browser | No-code automations that run in the cloud through your own accounts | An API for five platforms, Google Maps, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and X |
| What it covers | Any public page; LinkedIn and X only through partners; map listings and an Instagram and TikTok index from its catalogue | LinkedIn, Sales Navigator and other sites, as automations | Google Maps, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and X: 45 endpoints |
| How you use it | An API, SDKs, an MCP server and a CLI; it is open source, so you can run it yourself | A no-code builder, schedules and CRM sync | From code, an agent or the MCP server: one GET returns the answer |
| How it bills | A monthly plan, from $19 for 5,000 credits; unused credits reset each month, except on Scale | $56, $128 or $352 a month billed annually, by execution hours, automation slots and credits | Credits per call, in packs from $39; they never expire |
| Free to try | 1,000 credits every month, no card | A trial, with exports of 10 rows | 2,000 credits once, and a demo with no account at all |
| Needs your login | No | Yes: it works through your own accounts | Never: no login, cookie or session of yours, for any reason |
| What you get back | Markdown, or JSON in a schema you write | Spreadsheets and CRM records | One documented schema per platform, named after its official API |
Checked 3 October 2026 against each vendor’s own pricing page. Rechecked quarterly — tell us if something here is out of date and we will fix it.
Which to choose
Choose Firecrawl if the data is on some other website, you want it as text an LLM can read, or you want to host it yourself.
Choose PhantomBuster if you want outreach: connection requests, sequences and lead lists that refresh themselves, synced to a CRM.
Is ScrapeField better?
Only for one job. Choose ScrapeField if you need Google Maps, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok or X data in your code, at a price per call you can multiply, without lending us an account. For anything else, choose Firecrawl or PhantomBuster as above.
Each has a full comparison with us, including where it wins: ScrapeField vs Firecrawl and ScrapeField vs PhantomBuster.
Try it before you decide
Every endpoint has a playground that runs against the live API with no key and no account. If the response shape does not fit your code, you will know in about a minute.