Software Alternatives & Startups

Decodo VS Apify Python SDK

Compare Decodo VS Apify Python SDK and see what are their differences

Decodo

Decodo is perhaps the most user-friendly way to access local data anywhere. It has global coverage with 195 locations, offers more than 55M residential proxies worldwide and a great deal of scraping solutions.

Rating
4.5 · 2 reviews
Pricing
$12.5 (1 GB)
Apify Python SDK

Build and manage web scraping Actors in the cloud.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Decodo should be more popular than Apify Python SDK. It has been mentioned 6 times since March 2021.

social mentions
6 vs 2
Proxy popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 46

Base details

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

Decodo
Apify Python SDK
Website decodo.com docs.apify.com
Pricing
$12.5 (1 GB) Official pricing
Open source
Company 2018 —
Listed in

About Decodo and Apify Python SDK

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

Decodo
Apify Python SDK

Decodo has been a promising proxy provider since its first days in 2018. They offer a wide selection of proxies (residential, shared and private datacenter proxies) and three full-stack scraping APIs with 100% success rates and a no-code scraper. It has an easy-to-use dashboard, public API, and...

Read more about Decodo

No description of Apify Python SDK yet.

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Decodo 6 features
Apify Python SDK 4 features
  • Large Proxy Pool
    Smartproxy offers a vast pool of residential and data center proxies, which expands the choice and decreases the chance of IP bans.
  • User-friendly Dashboard
    The service provides an intuitive and easy-to-use dashboard, making it simple for users to manage their proxies and monitor usage.
  • High Anonymity
    Smartproxy ensures high levels of anonymity and privacy, useful for activities requiring discreetness like web scraping.
  • Global Coverage
    With proxies available in numerous locations worldwide, users can access geographically restricted content or conduct broad market research.
  • 24/7 Customer Support
    Their customer support is available around the clock, offering reliable and prompt assistance to users via live chat and email.
  • Flexible Pricing Plans
    Smartproxy provides a range of pricing plans catering to different needs and budgets, including pay-as-you-go options.

Possible disadvantages

  • Higher Cost for Premium Plans
    While they do offer flexible pricing, the more advanced plans can be expensive, making them less accessible for smaller businesses or individual users.
  • Usage Limitations
    There are bandwidth limitations depending on the plan you choose, which can be restrictive for tasks requiring large data transfers.
  • Shared Proxies
    Some of the proxies are shared, which can potentially slow down connection speeds or lead to IP bans if other users abuse the service.
  • No Free Trials
    Smartproxy does not offer a free trial, which could deter potential customers who are unwilling to commit without trying the service first.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    Utilizing some of the more sophisticated functionalities might require a learning curve, especially for users not familiar with proxy services.
  • Ease of Use
    The Apify Python SDK offers a high-level interface that simplifies the process of accessing Apify services and building web scrapers. This can save developers significant amounts of time and reduce complexity in their projects.
  • Integration
    The SDK is designed to work seamlessly with Apify's platform, making it straightforward to leverage Apify's hosting and scheduling capabilities, as well as accessing datasets and key-value stores.
  • Flexibility
    The SDK supports both headless and headful scraping, providing flexibility for users to choose the mode that best suits their needs.
  • Community and Support
    Apify has an active community and provides robust documentation and support resources, which can be especially beneficial for troubleshooting and learning best practices.

Possible disadvantages

  • Dependency on Apify Platform
    While the SDK simplifies many tasks, it is tightly integrated with Apify's platform. This could be a limitation for developers who are looking for a more standalone solution or who want to minimize dependencies on third-party platforms.
  • Learning Curve
    For developers not familiar with Apify, there might be an initial learning curve to understand how the SDK interacts with the broader Apify ecosystem and to learn its specific conventions and idioms.
  • Limited to Python
    As it is specifically for Python, developers using other programming languages may find this SDK irrelevant, and may need to look for other solutions or develop their own integrations.
  • Cost Considerations
    Using Apify's services involves subscription or usage fees, and developers need to consider these costs when implementing solutions that rely on the platform.

Analysis

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

Decodo
Apify Python SDK

Overall verdict

  • Smartproxy is generally well-regarded in the proxy service industry. It is recommended for those who need reliable and efficient proxy solutions with a balance of cost and performance. However, like any service, it’s important for users to assess their specific needs and test the platform to ensure it meets their requirements.

Why this product is good

  • Smartproxy is considered a good proxy service provider due to its extensive network of residential IP addresses, competitive pricing, and high success rates for web scraping and bypassing geo-restrictions. The service offers user-friendly management tools and responsive customer support, making it suitable for both beginners and advanced users. Additionally, Smartproxy places a strong emphasis on security and privacy, which are crucial factors for many users.

Recommended for

  • Web scraping professionals
  • SEO specialists
  • Businesses looking to bypass geo-restrictions
  • Users concerned with online privacy and security
  • Data miners needing reliable residential proxies

Overall verdict

  • The Apify Python SDK is a robust, well-documented toolkit that makes building, running, and scaling web scraping and automation projects (Actors) straightforward for Python developers, offering strong integration with the Apify platform and solid tooling out of the box.

Why this product is good

  • Comprehensive and clear documentation with practical examples and API references
  • Native Python support that integrates seamlessly with popular libraries like BeautifulSoup, Playwright, Scrapy, and HTTPX
  • Built-in tools for managing storage (datasets, key-value stores, request queues) without extra boilerplate
  • Easy deployment and scaling of Actors on the Apify cloud platform, including scheduling and proxy management
  • Handles common scraping challenges like proxy rotation, retries, and browser automation
  • Active maintenance, strong community support, and regular updates

Recommended for

  • Python developers building web scrapers or crawlers
  • Teams needing scalable, cloud-hosted automation and data extraction
  • Data engineers and analysts collecting structured data from websites
  • Developers who want to publish and monetize reusable Actors on the Apify marketplace
  • Projects requiring managed proxy rotation and anti-blocking features

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Decodo 9 videos + Add
Apify Python SDK 0 videos + Add

Residential rotating proxies. Why choose Smartproxy?

More videos

  • - Smartproxy review & How to smartproxy
  • - Proxies for Scraping
  • - How to Start Using Smartproxy
  • - Smartproxy Review 2023: Best Price To Value Proxies
  • - IPFighter| Review Smartproxy
  • - DECODO Review 2025 (Ex-Smartproxy) | Still the BEST Proxy?
  • - Decodo Review 2025 (former Smartproxy) | FULL Review of new features!

No Apify Python SDK videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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
Decodo
Apify Python SDK
100% 100%
0% 0%
92% 92%
8% 8%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using Decodo and Apify Python SDK. 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.

Decodo 4.5 · 2 reviews
Apify Python SDK no reviews yet
  • Proxy Service Awards 2024
    proxyway.com · May 2024

    After all these years, we still can’t find a provider that combines mid-market rates, premium-grade performance, and newbie-friendly user experience as well as Smartproxy. You can get proxies that work effectively as...

  • Very good quality
    SaaSHub review
    · Mar 2024

    Residential proxy is quite good. High success rate with their proxies even though it is quite expensive

  • My Review of Smartproxy Service
    SaaSHub review
    · Dec 2023

    Smartproxy, in my experience, is a solid choice for heavy-duty web scraping tasks. Been using it for bulk data mining. Their proxy pool's massive – good for avoiding blocks and captchas. Speed's decent, uptime mostly...

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We have no reviews of Apify Python SDK yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

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

Decodo 6 mentions
Apify Python SDK 2 mentions

View more

  • How to Scrape LinkedIn Job Postings with Python: A Step-by-Step Guide
    To overcome these challenges, we will utilize the Apify SDK for Python and Residential Proxies, which enable us to route requests through legitimate devices, making our traffic indistinguishable from real users. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • How to scrape Bluesky with Python
    Then add Apify SDK for Python as a project dependency:. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago

Alternatives to Decodo and Apify Python SDK

When comparing Decodo and Apify Python SDK, you can also consider the following products.