Web crawling is the process by which automated software programs called web crawlers or spiders systematically browse and index the web. Web Crawlers start with a list of seed URLs and recursively traverse the web graph by following links on each page to identify new pages to crawl. Well-designed crawlers are efficient, and scalable and respect server loads and protocols while comprehensively indexing the vast web.
Crawlers enable competitive analysis by gathering data on competitor content, backlinks, and more for benchmarking strategies. Additionally, by regularly accessing and analyzing web pages, crawlers keep business data like products, prices, and competitor details up-to-date, empowering data-driven business decisions through access to fresh online information.
Top 7 Web Crawlers Online
#1 Octoparse
Octoparse is a no-coding solution for web scraping. It’s an AI web scraping assistant for anyone. Whether users have zero experience in coding or coding experts can turn pages into structured data within clicks.
Octoparse can be applied to diverse industries with a wide range of goals. For example, online store owners can track product prices, analyze competitors, conduct market research, etc., with the powerful crawling features of Octoparse. Here are some key pros of using Octoparse:
- User-friendly visual interfaceThe drag-and-drop scraper builder makes it easy for users of all technical levels to extract data without coding.
- Powerful scraping capabilitiesIt can handle dynamic websites, JavaScript-rendered content, CAPTCHAs, and automation techniques for complex scrapers.
- Scheduling and automation Scraping tasks can be automated to run on a schedule or triggered by events for continuous real-time data extraction.
- Data export flexibilityExtracted data can be exported to CSV, JSON, Excel, Google Sheets, and common database formats.
- API integrationAPIs allow extracted data to power other apps and dashboards or integrate with third-party tools.
- Constant updates Frequent new releases add features and compatibility to keep up with changing web technologies.
For both individuals and corporations, Octoparse’s cost is inexpensive; even the free plan gives users access to the majority of data extraction features and can handle most basic, small-scale jobs. For more advanced features, you can subscribe:
- Standard Plan – $89/mo, which is great for small teams
- Professional Plan – $249/mo, which is ideal for medium-sized businesses
- Enterprise Plan – custom pricing for large enterprise-ready
#2 Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a desktop program that allows you to crawl websites to analyze and audit technical SEO issues. It was created by the UK-based SEO agency Screaming Frog. It generates comprehensive crawl reports showing issues like broken links, duplicate content, page speed, structured data, and more.
Pricing:
The free version allows up to 500 URLs. Paid plans start at $149 per year for up to 5,000 URLs, and up to $449 per year for 250,000 URLs.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Comprehensive crawl reports and audits for SEO – Advanced features like JavaScript rendering – Integrations with other tools – Sitemap generator and robots.txt tester – Scales from small to large sites | – No browser extension for on-page SEO – Limited to desktop use, no mobile app – Can be complex for beginners – Free version limited to 500 URLs |
#3 Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a popular SEO tool known for its massive web crawler and extensive backlink data. The crawler collects over 15 billion pages and processes over 3 billion backlinks, providing users with insights into competitors’ sites and backlink profiles.
Ahrefs offers a comprehensive suite of SEO tools, including site audits, rank tracking, content research, and backlink analysis. Key capabilities include:
- Backlink checker to see who is linking to a site or page
- Site explorer to analyze backlinks and discover link-building opportunities
- Keyword research and tracking tools
- Content gap analysis based on top-ranking competitors
- Site audit for on-page optimizations
Pricing：
- Lite ($99/month) – basic backlink and site explorer features
- Standard ($179/month) – rank tracking, content gap, and more capabilities
- Advanced ($399/month) – full features but limited usage
- Agency ($999/month) – full access with unlimited usage
| Pros | Cons |
| – Massive backlink and crawler database – Powerful site explorer and audit tools – Comprehensive keyword research – Easy-to-use interface and clear reports | – Expensive pricing, especially for full access – Data accuracy depends on the crawler scope – Steep learning curve to master all features |
#4 SEMrush
SEMrush is a popular web crawler and SEO tool that provides comprehensive website auditing and analysis capabilities. SEMrush crawls websites to identify issues like broken links, duplicate content, technical SEO problems, and more.
SEMrush offers automated site audits to find crawl errors, track site indexing, and monitor site changes over time. Key capabilities include:
- Crawl website to find SEO issues
- Generate reports on-site audits and SEO data
- Analyze backlinks and competitor links
- Track organic and paid search rankings
- Keyword research and analysis
- Site traffic analytics
Pricing：
- Pro: $99/month
- Guru: $199/month
- Business: $399/month
- Enterprise: Custom Quote
| Pros | Cons |
| – Powerful crawlers can audit large sites – Wide range of SEO and marketing tools – Useful reports and tracking over time | – Can be complex for beginners – Limitations on smaller plans – Some inaccuracies in reporting |
#5 DeepCrawl
DeepCrawl is a powerful web crawling and SEO auditing tool. It provides comprehensive crawling of websites to analyze on-page SEO issues, broken links, accessibility problems, page speed, and more. It offers full site crawls to analyze and identify SEO issues. It generates detailed crawl reports to highlight problems and opportunities for optimization.
Pricing:
- Starter: $49/month for 20,000 URLs
- Professional: $199/month for 300,000 URLs
- Elite: $399/month for 1 million URLs
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
- Higher tiers include more advanced features like change tracking, API access, and custom reporting. A free 30-day trial is available.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Comprehensive technical/on-page SEO audits – Incremental crawl comparison – Easy-to-use interface and reporting- Broad range of integrations | – Can be complex for first-time users – Limited keyword/rank tracking capabilities – Higher price point than some competitors |
#6 Botify
Botify is a cloud-based enterprise SEO crawler that allows users to audit and analyze websites to uncover technical SEO issues and optimize pages for search engine indexing.
Overview and capabilities: Botify utilizes a powerful crawler that can analyze millions of pages, providing insights into site architecture, duplicate content, broken links, page speed, structured data, and more. It generates comprehensive SEO audits and prioritizes issues based on impact. Botify integrates with Google Analytics and Search Console and allows for custom reporting. It also provides page-level recommendations for improving discoverability and ranking potential.
Pricing:
- Starter ($599/month for 300k pages)
- Growth ($1,999/month for 1 million pages)
- Enterprise (custom pricing)
| Pros | Cons |
| – Very large crawl capacity for enterprise sites – Helpful filters and integrations for reporting – Wide range of recommendations based on crawl data | – Can be complex for smaller sites – Expensive compared to some competitors – Technical focus may not suit less savvy users |
#7 Sitebulb
Sitebulb is a comprehensive web crawler tool designed for technical SEO audits and analysis. Some key capabilities of Sitebulb include:
- Crawls websites to analyze site architecture, indexability, on-page optimization, and more
- Offers detailed crawl insights and customizable reports to identify issues.
- Integrates with Google Analytics and Search Console for additional data.
- Tracks ranking changes, monitors backlinks, and provides competitor analysis.
- Available as a desktop app with browser extensions.
Pricing:
Starts at $99 per month for the Starter plan. More expensive plans add features like larger crawl limits, historical data, white-label reporting, and more support.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Easy-to-use interface – Wide range of insights into traffic sources, page behavior, SEO opportunities, website speed, and more – Syncs with Google Analytics and other tools for a unified data view | – The free tier only allows 2 projects and limited data – Some insights have a delay of a day or more to show up due to data processing times – Maybe a steeper learning curve than basic Google Analytics |
Wrap Up
Web crawlers have become an essential tool for businesses and organizations to gather data and insights from across the web. As we have seen, the top web crawlers today provide powerful capabilities to index websites, scrape content, monitor changes, and conduct competitive research.
When used properly and legally, web crawlers enable companies to better understand their industry, customers, and competition. The data and insights gained can optimize business strategies, improve products and services, and fuel artificial intelligence and machine learning applications.
