# firecrawl vs Scrapling
_Research & Data Agents · independent comparison_

> firecrawl and Scrapling are both open-source research & data agents you can self-host for free. firecrawl has wider GitHub adoption — 160k stars vs 72k. Neither is universally better — pick by fit.

## Side by side

**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)

**Scrapling**
- Open source · Infrastructure · 72k★ · Python · BSD-3-Clause · active 4 days ago
- Best for: Scraping sites that change layout or block bots, with selectors that self-repair.
- Avoid if: You need a non-Python stack — Scrapling requires Python 3.10 or higher.
- [listing](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/scrapling) · [official](https://scrapling.readthedocs.io/en/latest/)

## Key differences

- firecrawl has wider GitHub adoption — 160k stars vs 72k.
- firecrawl is written primarily in TypeScript; Scrapling in Python.
- Licensing differs: firecrawl is AGPL-3.0, Scrapling is BSD-3-Clause.

## Which to choose

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

**Choose Scrapling if:** Scraping sites that change layout or block bots, with selectors that self-repair.

## FAQ

**What's the main difference between firecrawl and Scrapling?**
firecrawl has wider GitHub adoption — 160k stars vs 72k.

**Is firecrawl or Scrapling better?**
Neither is universally better. firecrawl is the stronger fit for Feeding agents clean web data: crawl, scrape, and convert to markdown via API; Scrapling for Scraping sites that change layout or block bots, with selectors that self-repair. Use the side-by-side specs to decide by your own constraints.

**Is firecrawl or Scrapling free?**
firecrawl is free to run and self-host; Scrapling is free to run and self-host. Both are free to self-host — you only pay for the infrastructure and any model or API usage.

**Which is more popular, firecrawl or Scrapling?**
By GitHub stars — a proxy for open-source adoption — firecrawl is ahead (160k vs 72k). Stars measure attention, not necessarily the better fit for you.

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