Crustdata and Apify both return websearch data via APIs, but they are built for very different purposes.
Apify is built for web scraping and automation workflows
Apify enables teams to collect data from websites by running scraping jobs (Actors) in the cloud. These Actors can be custom-built or selected from a marketplace of pre-built scrapers.
The platform handles infrastructure such as proxy rotation, scheduling, and execution, but users are responsible for defining extraction logic and managing workflows.
Crustdata provides a different model, returning structured data directly through APIs without requiring scraping setup.
| Feature | Crustdata | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Data access model | Structured APIs | Scraping workflows (Actors) |
| Infrastructure (proxies, scaling) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Scraping logic required | ❌ | ✅ |
| Output format | Structured & normalized | Structured (depends on Actor) |
| Feature | Crustdata | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Structured JSON output | ✅ | ✅ |
| Multi-source search (web + news + social + AI) | ✅ | ❌ |
| Query-based API access | ✅ | ❌ |
| Requires scraping configuration | ❌ | ✅ |
Web Search API vs search result scraping
Apify is designed to extract data from search engine results by running scraping Actors against platforms like Google or other websites.
Crustdata provides a Web Search API that returns structured results directly, without requiring scraping setup or maintenance.
Structured APIs vs extraction-based data pipelines
Apify returns structured outputs (typically JSON, CSV, or datasets), but the structure depends on how each Actor is configured.
Users often need to:
Define what data to extract
Handle inconsistencies across sources
Maintain scrapers as websites change
Crustdata provides pre-structured, normalized data across multiple sources, allowing applications to consume data directly without post-processing pipelines.
| Feature | Web Search | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Unified schema across sources | ✅ | ❌ |
| Data normalization | ✅ | ⚠️ Depends on Actor |
| Multi-source aggregation | ✅ | ❌ |
| Requires post-processing | ❌ | ✅ |
| Feature | Crustdata | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Data retrieval | On-demand (API request) | On job execution |
| Update frequency | Real-time | Depends on schedule |
| Webhooks | ✅ | ✅ |
| Event-based tracking | ✅ | ❌ No native support |
Real-time APIs vs scheduled data collection
Apify retrieves fresh data when scraping jobs are executed. Data freshness depends on:
When jobs are triggered
Scheduling frequency
Pipeline configuration
Crustdata retrieves and structures data at the moment of request through real-time APIs.
See our websearch API in action
Apify provides the infrastructure to collect data from the web. Crustdata provides structured data designed to be consumed directly by applications and AI systems.
From enrichment to discovery and monitoring, Crustdata enables systems to operate on live data without maintaining scraping pipelines.
Discovery and list-building capabilities
Apify is typically used to extract data from predefined targets such as specific websites, marketplaces, or directories. Crustdata enables discovery across datasets using filters, allowing teams to:
Search for companies and people in real time
Build lists that update automatically
Track changes via webhooks
| Feature | Web Search | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time people/company search | ✅ | ❌ |
| Target-based scraping | ❌ | ✅ |
| Auto-updating lists | ✅ | ❌ |
| Change tracking (events) | ✅ | ❌ |
| Feature | Crustdata | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Enriched entity profiles | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Historical data | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Depends on scraping |
| Multi-source enrichment | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Raw data extraction | ❌ | ✅ Yes |
Data depth and enrichment
Apify extracts raw or semi-structured data based on what is available on a given website. Crustdata provides enriched profiles built from multiple sources. All profiles include 350+ datapoints, such as:
Work history and job timelines
Education and skills
Company growth signals
News and activity data
Apify is designed as a data collection infrastructure platform, providing tools to scrape and automate interactions with websites. Crustdata is designed as a data layer, providing structured, ready-to-use intelligence through APIs.
This difference impacts how teams build products.
AI agents and automation systems
Building custom data extraction workflows
Recruiting and outbound workflows
Building custom data extraction workflows
Internal data products
Large-scale crawling and monitoring
Book a demo to see how Crustdata replaces scraping workflows with a structured, real-time data layer.