Firecrawl vs Parallel: search and web data API pricing compared
Updated 2026-11-10 · listed A to Z, not ranked
Firecrawl is a web scraping and crawling API that turns pages into clean Markdown or JSON for AI apps. Every endpoint draws on one monthly credit balance.
Parallel (parallel.ai) offers web search, extract, task and monitor APIs for AI agents. It is pay-as-you-go: you pay for units of work rather than tokens.
Listed A to Z, from firecrawl.dev and parallel.ai. Every figure below is quoted from those pages.
- Main price table
- Free, Hobby, Standard, Growth, Scale, Enterprise
- Free option
- Free: $0
- Published prices
- Free 1,000 credits/month, Hobby $16/mo, Standard $83, Growth $333, Scale $599 billed annually. 1 credit = 1 page.
- Main price table
- Free, Build, Scale, Enterprise
- Free option
- Free: Free
- Published prices
- Free via MCP, Build pay-as-you-go with $5 free monthly, Scale $1,000/mo in credits; Search API from $1 per 1k requests.
How we checked: Prices quoted from each official pricing page: Firecrawl checked Nov 10, 2026, Parallel checked Nov 10, 2026. Taxes, usage overages and promotions can change what you pay; confirm with each provider before you buy.
How they compare
- Main price table. Firecrawl lists 6 entries (Free, Hobby, Standard, Growth, Scale, Enterprise); Parallel lists 4 (Free, Build, Scale, Enterprise).
- Free option. Firecrawl: Free: $0. Parallel: Free: Free.
Firecrawl plans and prices
| Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Credits per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 1,000 |
| Hobby | $16/month | $19/month | 5,000 |
| Standard | $83/month | $99/month | 100,000 |
| Growth | $333/month | $399/month | 500,000 |
| Scale | $599/month | $749/month | 1,000,000 |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Paid plans can add credits pay as you go in $5 increments, up to a monthly limit you set. Credits roll over only on Scale (one month) and Enterprise.
| Action | Credits |
|---|---|
| Scrape or crawl, basic page | 1 per page |
| Map call | 1 |
| Search | 2 per 10 results |
| Interact (browser) | 2 per browser minute |
| JSON, Question or Highlight format | +4 per page |
| Monitor (deterministic extraction) | 7 per page per check |
From firecrawl.dev, checked Nov 10, 2026. Full breakdown: Firecrawl pricing.
Parallel plans and prices
| Plan | Price | Included |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Web search and page fetch in your own AI tools via Parallel MCP, no account needed |
| Build | Pay-as-you-go | $5 free monthly with a card on file, plus up to $80 at signup; up to 5,000 free requests per month; Search and Extract 600/min |
| Scale | $1,000/mo | $1,000 in credits each month at standard API rates, no rollover (or $12,000 per year); Search and Extract 1,500/min; zero data retention |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom pricing, rate limits and contract terms; SSO (SAML) |
| API | Starting price |
|---|---|
| Search API | From $1 per 1k requests (10 results per request) |
| Images API | From $1 per 1k requests (up to 20 results per request) |
| Extract API | $1 per 1k URLs |
| Decisions API | $1 per 1k requests (up to 100 questions per request) |
| Task API | From $5 per 1k successful runs |
| Responses API | From $10 per 1k successful requests |
| Monitor API | From $3 per 1k checks |
Prices in USD. Parallel says starting prices are each API's lowest published tier; additional Search results are $1 per 1k results.
From parallel.ai, checked Nov 10, 2026. Full breakdown: Parallel pricing.
FAQ
How much does Firecrawl cost?
Free 1,000 credits/month, Hobby $16/mo, Standard $83, Growth $333, Scale $599 billed annually. 1 credit = 1 page. (checked Nov 10, 2026).
How much does Parallel cost?
Free via MCP, Build pay-as-you-go with $5 free monthly, Scale $1,000/mo in credits; Search API from $1 per 1k requests. (checked Nov 10, 2026).
Do Firecrawl and Parallel have a free option?
Firecrawl: Free: $0. Parallel: Free: Free.
Which is better, Firecrawl or Parallel?
We do not pick a winner. The two price and package their products differently; the tables above quote each official pricing page so you can match a plan to your own usage.
Where do these prices come from?
Each vendor's own pricing page: firecrawl.dev (checked Nov 10, 2026) and parallel.ai (checked Nov 10, 2026). Prices change; confirm on the vendor's page before you buy.
Sources (official pages, read 2026-11-10)
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