# Consensus vs firecrawl
_Research & Data Agents · independent comparison_

> Consensus and firecrawl take different routes to the same job: one is a commercial product, the other open-source and self-hostable. Choose based on whether you want a managed experience or full control.

## Side by side

**Consensus**
- Freemium · Agent
- [listing](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/consensus) · [official](https://consensus.app)

**firecrawl**
- Open source · Infrastructure · 160k★ · TypeScript · AGPL-3.0 · active 1 day ago
- Best for: Feeding agents clean web data: crawl, scrape, and convert to markdown via API.
- Avoid if: You need a full browser-automation agent rather than a data API.
- [listing](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/firecrawl) · [official](https://firecrawl.dev)

## Key differences

- Consensus is a commercial product; firecrawl is open-source and self-hostable.
- Pricing model differs — Consensus is freemium, firecrawl is open source.

## Which to choose

**Choose Consensus if:** you want a managed, commercially-supported product.

**Choose firecrawl if:** Feeding agents clean web data: crawl, scrape, and convert to markdown via API.

## FAQ

**What's the main difference between Consensus and firecrawl?**
Consensus is a commercial product; firecrawl is open-source and self-hostable.

**Is Consensus or firecrawl better?**
Neither is universally better. Consensus is the stronger fit for a managed, commercially-supported product; firecrawl for Feeding agents clean web data: crawl, scrape, and convert to markdown via API. Use the side-by-side specs to decide by your own constraints.

**Is Consensus or firecrawl free?**
Consensus is free to start (freemium), with paid tiers; firecrawl is free to run and self-host.

**Which is more popular, Consensus or firecrawl?**
We rank open-source projects by GitHub adoption, but at least one of these is a commercial product and stars don't measure commercial adoption — so compare them on capabilities and pricing instead.

---
Source: [Agent Search Engine](https://agentsearchengine.app) — https://agentsearchengine.app/compare/consensus-vs-firecrawl