Software Alternatives & Startups

Apify VS Hazel

Compare Apify VS Hazel and see what are their differences

Apify

Apify is a web scraping and automation platform that can turn any website into an API.

Rating
0 reviews
Hazel

Lighweight update server for Electron apps

Rating
0 reviews
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Apify seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 64 times since March 2021.

social mentions
64 vs 0
Web Scraping popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 171

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Apify
Hazel
Website apify.com github.com
Pricing —
Company Startup from the Czech Republic · 10 - 19 employees —
Listed in

About Apify and Hazel

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

Apify
Hazel

Apify is a JavaScript & Node.js based data extraction tool for websites that crawls lists of URLs and automates workflows on the web. With Apify you can manage and automatically scale a pool of headless Chrome / Puppeteer instances, maintain queues of URLs to crawl, store crawling results...

Read more about Apify

No description of Hazel yet.

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Apify 7 features
Hazel 5 features
  • Ease of Use
    Apify provides a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for users of all technical levels to create and manage web scraping tasks.
  • Scalability
    Apify is built to handle tasks of various sizes, from small-scale projects to enterprise-level operations, making it a scalable solution.
  • Integration and API Support
    It offers extensive API support, allowing for seamless integration with other tools and systems to enhance automated workflows.
  • Customizability
    Users can customize their scraping bots (actors) with different settings and scripts to fit specific needs and requirements.
  • Cloud-based
    Being a cloud-based platform, Apify allows users to run their scraping tasks without needing local resources, which is convenient and efficient.
  • Comprehensive Documentation
    Apify provides thorough documentation and tutorials, which help users get started quickly and solve issues efficiently.
  • Community and Support
    Apify has an active community and solid customer support to assist users with their needs and enhance their overall experience.

Possible disadvantages

  • Learning Curve
    While the interface is user-friendly, there may still be a learning curve for those new to web scraping and automation.
  • Cost
    Apify can be expensive compared to other web scraping tools, particularly for extensive use cases that require high volumes of data.
  • Dependency on External Factors
    Web scraping often depends on the stability of the target websites. Changes in website structures can break scripts, requiring ongoing maintenance.
  • Performance Limitations
    The performance of cloud-based scraping tasks can be affected by network latency and other external factors beyond user control.
  • Potential Legal Issues
    Web scraping can raise legal concerns, particularly when scraping data from websites that restrict such activities in their terms of service.
  • Resource Intensity
    Complex scraping tasks can be resource-intensive, potentially requiring higher-tier subscriptions and more computing resources, driving up costs.
  • Easy Integration
    Hazel is designed to be easily integrated into existing Electron applications, providing a straightforward way to manage updates for desktop apps.
  • Auto-update functionality
    Hazel provides built-in support for automatic updates, which can greatly enhance the user experience by ensuring that end-users always have the latest version without manual intervention.
  • Simple Configuration
    The setup and configuration of Hazel are relatively simple, making it accessible for developers who may not have extensive experience with update systems.
  • GitHub Releases Support
    Hazel is tightly integrated with GitHub releases, allowing developers to use GitHub as a distribution server, which simplifies the release process.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project under the Vercel organization, Hazel benefits from community contributions and transparent development practices.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Customization
    While Hazel is easy to set up, it offers limited customization options compared to more complex update management solutions, which could be a drawback for advanced use cases.
  • Dependency on GitHub
    Hazel's reliance on GitHub for release hosting may be a limitation for teams that use other repository hosting services or prefer to host their updates independently.
  • Scale Limitations
    For larger applications or those with significant distribution needs, Hazel might not scale as effectively as more robust, enterprise-grade update management systems.
  • Maintenance and Updates
    The frequency and responsiveness of updates and maintenance can be inconsistent, which may impact its reliability if critical issues arise.
  • Compatibility
    Hazel is primarily designed for Electron applications and may not be suitable or easily adaptable for non-Electron environments.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Apify
Hazel

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Apify is considered a good choice for web scraping and automation needs due to its comprehensive features, user-friendly interface, and strong community support. It is especially beneficial for those who require efficient, large-scale data extraction and workflow automation.

Why this product is good

  • Apify is an established platform known for its robust web scraping and automation capabilities. It provides a powerful API, pre-built actors for common tasks, and allows you to create custom web scrapers with ease. The platform is scalable, supports a variety of programming languages, and offers features like scheduling, proxies, and data storage solutions. This versatility makes it a valuable tool for businesses and developers needing efficient data retrieval and workflow automation.

Recommended for

  • Developers looking for a versatile web scraping solution.
  • Businesses needing to automate data collection processes.
  • Researchers and analysts requiring extensive data from the web.
  • Marketers seeking competitive analysis through data scraping.
  • Tech enthusiasts interested in exploring web automation tools.

Overall verdict

  • Hazel is a well-regarded tool for developers looking to implement distributed computing solutions. It is particularly favored for its reliability and performance in handling complex data processing tasks. Hence, Hazel can be considered a good choice for projects that require distributed architecture.

Why this product is good

  • Hazel is considered good because it acts as an open-source framework for building robust and scalable distributed applications and services. It's known for its distributed architecture, support for real-time data processing, and ease of integration with other tools and systems. Furthermore, Hazel offers high availability, automated failover, and partitioned data structures, making it suitable for critical applications.

Recommended for

  • Developers building distributed applications
  • Teams needing real-time data processing capabilities
  • Systems architects looking for scalable infrastructure solutions
  • Projects requiring automated failover and high availability

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Apify 1 video + Add
Hazel 3 videos + Add

Apify product news - 2019/01/30

Big Bulky Blast from the Past - MG 1/100 Gundam TR-1 Hazel Review - MECHA GAIKOTSU

More videos

  • - HGUC Gundam TR-1 Hazel Custom (Review)
  • - HGUC Gundam TR-1 Hazel II (Review)

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Apify
Hazel
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using Apify and Hazel. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Apify no reviews yet
Hazel no reviews yet

We have no reviews of Hazel yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Apify 64 mentions
Hazel 0 mentions
  • How to track competitors' Google ads in a Google Sheet automatically
    It takes about 15 minutes and runs on Apify. Disclosure: I built both Actors used here. - Source: dev.to / 4 days ago
  • How to Track Hiring at a List of Startups (Greenhouse, Lever & Ashby) Without Writing a Scraper
    A free Apify account. The free plan includes $5 of usage every month. - Source: dev.to / 4 days ago
  • Get Google Trends data in Python without pytrends (and without 429 errors)
    Create a free account on Apify, then copy your API token from Settings → API & Integrations. Install the Python client and pandas:. - Source: dev.to / 13 days ago

View more

Tracking Hazel since Mar 2021.

Alternatives to Apify and Hazel

When comparing Apify and Hazel, you can also consider the following products.