Octoparse Alternative - Simplify Web Scraping with ProxiesAPI

Sep 30, 2023 ยท 2 min read

Octoparse is a visual web scraping tool that lets you build scrapers without coding. But like any GUI tool, it has limitations for customization and scale. A more flexible API-based alternative is ProxiesAPI.

The Trouble With Octoparse

Octoparse makes it easy to point-and-click your way to building a web scraper. It has handy features like:

  • Browser extension to identify elements
  • Visual workflow designer
  • Prebuilt templates
  • Proxy rotation
  • Captcha solving
  • This lowers the barrier to entry for non-coders. But you sacrifice flexibility:

  • Can't customize scraping logic with code
  • Limited to what actions Octoparse supports
  • Scaling requires expensive cloud plans
  • Serious scrapers often outgrow visual tools. To build advanced scrapers that customize logic and scale affordably, an API-based solution like ProxiesAPI is better.

    ProxiesAPI - Simple Scraping API

    ProxiesAPI reduces web scraping down to a single API call:

    curl "<http://api.proxiesapi.com/?key=API_KEY&url=https://example.com>"
    

    One line of code returns the HTML of any webpage. Under the hood, ProxiesAPI handles:

  • Proxy Rotation - Each request uses a different proxy/IP to avoid blocks.
  • Browser Identities - Randomized user agents.
  • Automatic Retries - Retries failed requests with new proxies.
  • CAPTCHAs - Automatically solves captchas.
  • Javascript Rendering - Returns fully loaded pages, not just HTML.
  • You get all the proxy management and scraping essentials without the visual tool overhead.

    Plus, pricing starts at just $23/month for 250,000 API requests - far cheaper than Octoparse's cloud plans.

    Why ProxiesAPI Beats Octoparse

    Here's a comparison between Octoparse and ProxiesAPI:

    FeatureOctoparseProxiesAPI
    Visual WorkflowYesAPI requests
    Custom CodeLimitedFull control
    Scaling CostExpensive cloud plansCheap API requests
    Proxy RotationYesYes
    Browser IdentitiesYesYes
    CAPTCHA SolvingYesYes
    Javascript RenderingYesYes

    With ProxiesAPI, you get just the essential features without the visual tool bloat. And the API approach makes custom scraping logic easy, unlike Octoparse's limited built-in actions.

    Take Control of Your Web Scraping

    If you've outgrown visual scraping tools, ProxiesAPI gives you full control via API requests. Scrape any site with custom proxy management and zero coding overhead.

    For basic needs, Octoparse is great. But advanced scrapers need the flexibility of code. ProxiesAPI makes it easy to scale your scraper while handling all the proxy headaches for you.

    Get started with 1,000 free API requests at ProxiesAPI.com. Take control of your web scraping project with the simplicity of ProxiesAPI.

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    The easiest way to do Web Scraping

    Get HTML from any page with a simple API call. We handle proxy rotation, browser identities, automatic retries, CAPTCHAs, JavaScript rendering, etc automatically for you


    Try ProxiesAPI for free

    curl "http://api.proxiesapi.com/?key=API_KEY&url=https://example.com"

    <!doctype html>
    <html>
    <head>
        <title>Example Domain</title>
        <meta charset="utf-8" />
        <meta http-equiv="Content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
    ...

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