Apify is the best overall lead scraper for 2026 if you need broad source coverage, scheduling, cloud execution and room to scale. Lead Scrape is the budget desktop pick, PhantomBuster suits no-code social prospecting, Import.io is the managed visual option, Outscraper is strongest for Google-service pay-as-you-go jobs, and Octoparse is approachable for straightforward sites.
The rankings below follow Theo Vasilis’s March 3, 2026 comparison for Apify. Its tests are the author’s reported evaluations, not an independent laboratory benchmark. Prices, limits and integrations can change, so confirm current terms before purchasing. Scraping personal data or restricted sites also requires a separate privacy, contract and terms-of-service review.
Quick comparison
| Rank | Tool | Best fit | Starting price cited | Execution and scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apify | Scalable, general-purpose workflows | $19/month; free plan has $5 monthly credits | Cloud Actors, scheduling, storage and 20+ integrations |
| 2 | Lead Scrape | Low-cost desktop lead collection | $97 annually ($8/month) Standard | Local desktop; two-computer license and limited sources/exports |
| 3 | PhantomBuster | No-code social prospecting | $69/month | Phantoms and Flows; entry plan capped at 20 execution hours/month |
| 4 | Import.io | Managed, point-and-click extraction | $199/month | Browser-based visual tools and managed services |
| 5 | Outscraper | Google-focused, usage-based jobs | $3 per 1,000 results after 500 results on cited medium tier | API/UI for Google Maps, Search, Shopping, Reviews, email and contacts |
| 6 | Octoparse | Visual extraction from simple sites | $119/month | Templates, scheduling, cloud extraction and cleaning |
How the six tools differ
Apify: best overall for scale and flexibility
Apify’s ready-made Actors cover lead generation and many other sites, while its platform adds schedules, cloud storage, multiple export formats and more than 20 integrations. You can start with the forever-free plan’s $5 monthly credit and move to paid plans from $19 per month. This combination makes it the safest default when a team expects several sources, recurring runs or custom automation.
In the comparison’s Contact Details Scraper Actor demonstration, Apify reported 68 results in 43 seconds and $0.156 of the free credit used. A cited itrinity case study reported growth from 50 to 400 emails in a week and more than 40 hours of manual work saved. Those figures are reported examples, not guarantees for your targets.
Recommended Free Tools
#1 Best Overall
Lead Scrape: cheapest practical desktop choice
Lead Scrape’s Standard plan is cited at $97 annually ($8 per month equivalent), and Business at $247 annually ($20 per month equivalent). A forever-free trial lowers the barrier for a small team collecting a defined list of local prospects. The trade-off is a license for only two computers, fewer source options and exports, and limited support. Its New York restaurant test collected 211 leads in just over 10 minutes, according to the comparison.
PhantomBuster: no-code social workflows
PhantomBuster uses “Phantoms” and “Flows” to automate profile scraping, lead generation, enrichment and actions across LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Maps and HubSpot. The cited entry price is $69 per month, with a 20-hour monthly execution cap. Its trial lasts 14 days and is limited to two hours and 10 CSV rows. Choose it when social sequences matter more than unrestricted crawling; monitor execution hours before scheduling large campaigns.
Import.io: managed visual extraction
Import.io provides browser-based point-and-click extraction and managed solutions for nontechnical teams. The cited starting price is $199 per month. In the reported Amazon test it scraped 10 rows in six seconds, but the comparison noted limits with dropdown menus, pop-ups and infinite-scroll pages. It can reduce setup work, yet its price and complex-page constraints make it harder to justify for occasional jobs.
Outscraper: Google-service specialist
Outscraper offers both an API and UI for Google Maps, Shopping, Search, Reviews, email and contact extraction. The cited medium-tier rate is $3 per 1,000 results after the first 500, and credits do not expire. That pay-as-you-go model is attractive when your workload is irregular and concentrated on Google properties. Confirm the current credit schedule and the exact fields returned by each endpoint before estimating a campaign.
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Rank #2
Octoparse: approachable visual option
Octoparse includes templates, scheduling, cloud extraction, data cleaning and integrations. The lowest paid plan cited is $119 per month. In the comparison, a free-plan run failed to extract a complex Amazon page without proxies. It is a reasonable starting point for simple, stable pages, but proxy availability and page complexity should be tested with a representative URL.
Choosing by source and operating model
| Need | Most suitable first test | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Many unrelated websites or recurring pipelines | Apify | Actors, schedules, cloud storage and integrations provide a broad automation surface. |
| A small local list on two computers | Lead Scrape | Lowest cited annualized price, with desktop licensing constraints. |
| LinkedIn, Twitter or Google Maps social prospecting | PhantomBuster | Phantoms and Flows are built around no-code social workflows. |
| Nontechnical, managed extraction | Import.io | Visual browser setup and managed services, at a higher price. |
| Occasional Google Maps or Search jobs | Outscraper | Usage-based credits do not expire. |
| Simple pages and visual templates | Octoparse | Templates and scheduling reduce setup, but complex pages may need proxies. |
Accuracy, freshness and page complexity
Lead quality depends on more than the row count: selectors must still point to the right fields, pages must be current, and duplicate or stale contacts must be removed. Run a pilot against the exact pages, geography and fields you need. Check whether the tool can handle login walls, consent dialogs, pop-ups, dropdowns and infinite scroll. A fast result on one page does not establish reliability on another.
For every pilot, record the URL set, run time, number of rows, missing-field rate, duplicates, blocked pages and total spend. Re-run a small sample after a site redesign. Keep a source timestamp in your CRM so sales users can distinguish newly observed data from an old export.
Scaling without losing control
Start with a bounded workload
- Define permitted domains, fields, geography, maximum requests and retention period.
- Run 20–50 representative URLs and inspect records manually.
- Set a schedule only after the extraction survives retries and a page-layout change.
- Export to a staging table, deduplicate by domain, email and business identifier, then send approved records to the CRM.
Compare operational limits
- Apify is the strongest fit for cloud scheduling and multi-source growth.
- Lead Scrape’s two-computer license can become a bottleneck for a distributed team.
- PhantomBuster’s 20-hour entry-plan cap requires an execution-hour budget.
- Import.io’s managed model reduces engineering work but raises the fixed monthly cost.
- Outscraper’s expiring? No: the cited credits do not expire, which helps intermittent projects.
- Octoparse may require proxy access for difficult targets; the cited free-plan Amazon run failed without proxies.
Pricing and support decisions
Do not compare the headline prices as if they represented the same unit. Apify’s figure is a monthly subscription plus usage credits; Lead Scrape’s figures are annual payments; PhantomBuster and Import.io are monthly plans with execution or service limits; Outscraper charges by results; and Octoparse’s cited price is a monthly plan. Model one complete campaign, including retries, proxy costs, storage, enrichment and exports.
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Compliance and responsible use
Public visibility does not automatically grant permission to collect or reuse data. Review each target’s terms, robots directives, authentication requirements, applicable privacy law, contractual restrictions and opt-out obligations. Minimize personal data, document the lawful purpose, restrict access, set deletion dates and honor suppression requests. None of the cited comparison’s prices or features is jurisdiction-specific legal advice.
When you need screenshots of lead-source pages
A scraper extracts records; sometimes you also need a visual record of the page used for QA, an audit or a sales handoff. ScreenshotNeo is the alternative to try first for that separate screenshot task: it removes cookie/consent banners, newsletter popups and chat widgets before capture, bills only clean shots, and reports page verdict and billing status in response headers.
Or skip the browser setup
One GET request returns PNG, JPEG, WebP or PDF. The API can wait for selectors or network idle, load lazy images, capture a CSS-selected element, set a viewport or device, run custom CSS/JavaScript, use cookies and headers, block trackers, and more. Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts and failed loads are not billed; cache hits are also free. An MCP server lets Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients call take_screenshot, get_page_info and capture_pdf.
The Tool Desk
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curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpThere is a free allowance of 1,000 screenshots per month with no card. Paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots. Create a free ScreenshotNeo account.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshooting checklist
Rows are missing
Check lazy loading, pagination, consent overlays and selector changes. Increase a selector wait or network-idle wait, then compare the rendered page manually.
The run is blocked
Stop increasing concurrency blindly. Verify permission, slow the schedule, review required cookies or authentication, and use a vendor-supported proxy or browser mode where permitted.
Duplicates keep appearing
Normalize domains, phone numbers and email addresses before matching. Store the source URL and first-seen timestamp, then upsert instead of appending every run.
The bill is higher than expected
Separate subscription fees from result, execution-hour, proxy and retry charges. Set a small pilot budget and alert on usage before enabling a recurring schedule.
A visual capture is blank
Check that the page is not a bot check or failed load, wait for the required selector, and inspect the response verdict headers. ScreenshotNeo does not bill those failed categories.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which lead scraper is cheapest in 2026?
Lead Scrape has the lowest cited paid entry price at $97 annually ($8 per month equivalent), but that price comes with a two-computer license, limited sources and exports, and little support.
What is the best scraper for Google Maps?
Outscraper is the specialist pay-as-you-go choice for Google Maps and related Google services. PhantomBuster also reports a 10-place Google Maps test and is better suited to broader no-code social workflows.
Can these tools legally collect personal data?
Legality depends on the target, data type, jurisdiction, contract and purpose. Review terms and privacy obligations separately, minimize data and provide suppression and deletion processes.
Are the reported speed figures guarantees?
No. The 68-result Apify run, 211 Lead Scrape leads, 10 PhantomBuster places and 10 Import.io rows are vendor-comparison observations on particular tests, not service-level guarantees.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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