Comparison
A webscraper.io alternative without the sitemap.
Web Scraper from webscraper.io is a capable, free extension, and its Cloud is a serious product. If what you want is the table on the page in front of you — every page of it, on a schedule, into Excel or Google Sheets — without building a sitemap or paying monthly, this is the other way to do it.
The difference in one minute
No sitemap
Web Scraper starts from a sitemap: start URLs plus selectors, built with its AI wizard or by hand in the developer tools. Magic Scraper starts from the page: click the icon and the list is already found, with the columns named.
Schedules without a Cloud plan
Web Scraper’s scheduler, API and integrations are part of its Cloud, from $50 a month billed annually. Magic Scraper’s schedules, Google Sheets and webhooks are in a one-time $19 Pro, and run in your browser.
The page behind each row
Both can open each row’s own page. In Magic Scraper it is drill-down: choose the link column, preview the first page, and the details come back as columns.
Feature by feature
| Magic Scraper | Web Scraper (webscraper.io) | |
|---|---|---|
| Free browser extension | Yes, Chrome and Edge | Yes, Chrome, Firefox and Edge |
| How you set up a scrape | Click the icon; the list is found | Build a sitemap: AI wizard or selectors in DevTools |
| Pagination, Load more, infinite scroll | Yes | Yes |
| Open the page behind each row | Yes, drill-down | Yes, with link selectors |
| CSV and Excel export | Yes, free | Yes, free |
| JSON export | Yes, free | Not listed for the free extension |
| Google Sheets | Free: Open in Sheets. Pro: send rows | Cloud integration |
| Scheduled runs | Pro, one-time $19, in your browser | Cloud, from $50/month billed annually |
| Runs while your computer is off | No — it runs in your browser | Yes, on their Cloud |
| Proxies, API, captcha handling | No | Cloud plans |
| Account needed | No | Not for the extension; yes for Cloud |
When Magic Scraper is the better fit
When the job is a list you can see: search results, a directory, a catalogue, a table. There is nothing to configure before the first export, and the setup you make — columns left out, names changed — is remembered for the site.
When you want it to repeat on its own — every morning, every few hours — and land in Excel or your own Google Sheet, without a monthly bill. Pro is a one-time purchase: $19 at the founding price for the first 100 buyers, $25 after that, with every update included.
When to keep Web Scraper
When runs have to happen with your computer off, at scale, through proxies, or from an API — that is what webscraper.io’s Cloud is for, and Magic Scraper doesn’t do it. And if you already have sitemaps that work, there is no reason to rebuild them.
Try both on the same page
The practice site has a paginated catalogue, tables, Load more, infinite scroll and a detail page behind every row, made to be scraped by any tool. Run each on the same page and compare the sheets.
Reasonable questions
What is a good alternative to webscraper.io?
If you want the list on the page without building a sitemap, Magic Scraper finds it when you click the icon, follows every page, opens the page behind each row, and exports Excel, CSV or JSON for free. Schedules and Google Sheets are in a one-time Pro rather than a monthly Cloud plan.
Is Web Scraper from webscraper.io free?
Its extension is free for scraping in your own browser, with CSV and Excel export. Scheduling, the API, proxies and integrations such as Google Sheets are part of its paid Cloud plans, which start at $50 a month billed annually according to its pricing page.
Do I need to build a sitemap or write selectors?
Not with Magic Scraper: it detects the repeating rows and names the columns itself. If it picks the wrong list, Wrong list? offers the others or lets you point at the one you want.
Can Magic Scraper run while my computer is off?
No. It runs inside your browser, so scheduled runs happen while the browser is open. For unattended runs on servers, webscraper.io Cloud is built for that.
Can I import my webscraper.io sitemaps?
No. Magic Scraper does not use sitemaps; each site is set up by opening the page and clicking the icon.