Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Apify VS Switch2OSM

Compare Apify VS Switch2OSM and see what are their differences

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.

Apify logo Apify

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

Switch2OSM logo Switch2OSM

Switch2OSM is a platform where you can build beautiful and interactive maps from the actionable data in place.
  • Apify Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-30

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 locally or in the cloud, rotate proxies and much more.

  • Switch2OSM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-06-26

Apify features and specs

  • 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 of Apify

  • 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.

Switch2OSM features and specs

  • Free and Open Source
    OpenStreetMap (OSM) data is free to use under the Open Database License, and the tools and software provided by Switch2OSM are open-source, allowing users to customize and contribute to the mapping ecosystem.
  • Community-Driven
    Switch2OSM benefits from a large, active community that continuously updates and improves the map data, especially in areas that may be underrepresented in commercial mapping applications.
  • Up-to-Date Mapping
    Thanks to the vast network of contributors, OSM data is frequently updated, meaning that maps can be highly accurate and up-to-date with new roads, paths, and geographical changes.
  • Customizability
    Users can tailor maps to their specific needs, including styling, detail levels, and data layers, making OSM data flexible for various applications such as navigation and geographic analysis.
  • No Usage Limits
    Unlike many proprietary mapping services, there are no usage limits or additional costs for higher traffic levels, which can be particularly beneficial for small businesses and developers.

Possible disadvantages of Switch2OSM

  • Technical Complexity
    Setting up and maintaining a tile server or integrating OSM data can be complex and may require technical expertise, which could be a barrier for beginners or smaller teams without dedicated resources.
  • Variable Data Quality
    While some areas have detailed and high-quality data due to active contributors, other regions may lack granular information or updates, leading to inconsistencies in map quality.
  • Limited Support
    As a community-driven project, OSM relies on volunteers for support, which might not be as immediate or comprehensive as the dedicated support offered by commercial map providers.
  • Software Ecosystem
    The ecosystem around Switch2OSM, while robust, may not always have the polished, user-friendly tools or APIs available from commercial services, requiring users to piece together solutions from various sources.
  • Dependency on Community Contributions
    The efficacy and accuracy of the maps largely depend on community contributions, which can be uneven across different geographic locations, sometimes resulting in sparse data for less populated areas.

Apify videos

Apify product news - 2019/01/30

Switch2OSM videos

No Switch2OSM videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apify and Switch2OSM)
Web Scraping
100 100%
0% 0
Maps
0 0%
100% 100
Data Extraction
100 100%
0% 0
Web Mapping
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Apify and Switch2OSM

Apify Reviews

Top 15 Best TinyTask Alternatives in 2022
This is another tinytask alternative. For you to link various web services and APIs, Apify has provided many web integration options. You can add data processing and customised computation processes in addition to letting the data flow between them. With the data that is freely accessible on the web, you may provide crucial insights, and easy lead creation allows you to...

Switch2OSM Reviews

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apify should be more popular than Switch2OSM. It has been mentiond 26 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apify mentions (26)

  • How to scrape TikTok using Python
    For deployment, we'll use the Apify platform. It's a simple and effective environment for cloud deployment, allowing efficient interaction with your crawler. Call it via API, schedule tasks, integrate with various services, and much more. - Source: dev.to / 19 days ago
  • How to scrape Bluesky with Python
    We already have a fully functional implementation for local execution. Let us explore how to adapt it for running on the Apify Platform and transform in Apify Actor. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Web scraping with GPT-4o: powerful but expensive
    We've had the best success by first converting the HTML to a simpler format (i.e. markdown) before passing it to the LLM. There are a few ways to do this that we've tried, namely Extractus[0] and dom-to-semantic-markdown[1]. Internally we use Apify[2] and Firecrawl[3] for Magic Loops[4] that run in the cloud, both of which have options for simplifying pages built-in, but for our Chrome Extension we use... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Current problems and mistakes of web scraping in Python and tricks to solve them!
    Developed by Apify, it is a Python adaptation of their famous JS framework crawlee, first released on Jul 9, 2019. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Show HN: Crawlee for Python – a web scraping and browser automation library
    Hey all, This is Jan, the founder of [Apify](https://apify.com/)—a full-stack web scraping platform. After the success of [Crawlee for JavaScript](https://github.com/apify/crawlee/) today! The main features are: - A unified programming interface for both HTTP (HTTPX with BeautifulSoup) & headless browser crawling (Playwright). - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
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Switch2OSM mentions (5)

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apify and Switch2OSM, you can also consider the following products

import.io - Import. io helps its users find the internet data they need, organize and store it, and transform it into a format that provides them with the context they need.

Google Maps - Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

Scrapy - Scrapy | A Fast and Powerful Scraping and Web Crawling Framework

Leaflet - Leaflet is a modern, lightweight open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps.

ParseHub - ParseHub is a free web scraping tool. With our advanced web scraper, extracting data is as easy as clicking the data you need.

OpenStreetMap - OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.