Stekpad vs Apify
Two different shapes of “scraping platform”. Pick the one that matches how you build.
Pick the one that matches your team.
- Stekpad ships a fixed, opinionated API: 5 verbs, 19 enrichers, dataset storage, MCP server, cookie bridge.
- Apify ships a marketplace of “actors” — community and first-party scripts you compose into pipelines.
- Pick Stekpad if you want predictable verbs, native enrichment in one place, and an MCP server day one.
- Pick Apify if you want a wide catalog of pre-built actors and you’re comfortable picking among them.
Side-by-side, ten rows.
| Feature | Stekpad | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Fixed 5-verb API + 19 enrichers | Marketplace of 1,000+ actors |
| Native dataset storage | Yes, every scrape | Yes, "Apify datasets" — different model |
| Native enrichment | 19 enrichers in-house | Per-actor, varies wildly |
| Cookie bridge (zero stored cookies) | No — server-side cookies | |
| First-class MCP server | Yes, 8 tools, day one | |
| Pricing | PAYG credit packs from 9 €, no subscription required | Subscription, with compute units |
| Predictability | Fixed verbs, fixed costs | Varies per actor |
| Custom code | No (v1) — opinionated by design | Yes — write your own actors |
| Marketplace | 1,000+ public actors | |
| Best for | Agents, growth/ops, devs who want one stable API | Teams that want a catalog |
Four real product diffs.
One stable API surface
5 verbs, 19 enrichers, predictable JSON, predictable costs. Apify gives you 1,000+ actors with varying shapes — that's the trade.
Enrichment in-house
Find emails, verify them, enrich companies, geocode — all built-in. Apify enrichment is per-actor and varies wildly.
MCP server, day one
8 MCP tools shipped at launch. Apify ships no first-class MCP server.
Cookie bridge
Authenticated scraping where cookies stay in your Chrome. Apify uses server-side cookies.
The honest verdict.
- You need a long tail of pre-built scrapers for specific sites (LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Google Maps) and you’re fine vetting community actors.
- You want to write custom JavaScript scrapers and have them run on a managed platform.
- You already have an Apify-based pipeline and switching costs are real.
Where we win on substance.
- You want one stable API surface — 5 verbs, predictable JSON, predictable costs.
- You want enrichment in the same product — 19 native enrichers, no marketplace shopping.
- You want a first-class MCP server for agents from day one.
- You need authenticated scraping where cookies stay in your browser.
- You prefer PAYG over a subscription.
Common questions.
Can Stekpad scrape the same sites as Apify actors?
Most of them, yes — the cookie bridge unlocks authenticated sites without cookie storage. For genuinely site-specific tricks (e.g. a particular Google Maps pagination), an Apify actor may be more polished.
Does Stekpad have a marketplace?
Not in v1. v1.5 ships a templates catalog (30 templates at launch) — pre-built scrape configs, not custom code.
Is Stekpad cheaper than Apify?
For most workloads, yes — and you don't need a subscription. PAYG packs from 9 €. See /pricing.
Try the Stekpad API.
300 free credits, no subscription, MCP server included.