XCrawl vs n8n

Tagline

AI-ready web scraping API converting websites into structured JSON, Markdown, HTML, and screenshots with built-in proxy rotation.

Fair-code workflow automation with native AI nodes

Category

Pricing

Rating

Platforms

API

Open source

Description

XCrawl is a powerful REST-based web scraping API designed for developers and AI workflows. It seamlessly extracts clean, structured JSON and Markdown from any webpage, handles JavaScript-heavy content using headless browsers, and bypasses blocks with built-in proxy rotation. Additionally, it offers automated multi-page crawling, SERP data extraction, and deep integrations with automation and AI platforms like n8n, Zapier, and Claude's Model Context Protocol (MCP).

n8n is a source-available automation platform with 400+ integrations and LangChain-powered AI nodes.

Key features

• Headless browser rendering
• Structured JSON output
• AI-ready Markdown conversion
• HTML and screenshot capture
• Built-in rotating proxies
• Multi-page crawling with depth control
• SERP data extraction
• Claude Model Context Protocol (MCP) support
• n8n and Zapier integrations
• Official Python SDK
• Official Node.js and TypeScript SDK

• Cited synthesis
• Custom source allow-lists
• Team workspaces

Pros

• Every new account includes 1,000 free credits with no credit card required to start testing.
• Supports headless browser rendering to seamlessly load and scrape JavaScript-heavy, dynamic websites.
• Provides multiple clean output options including JSON, AI-ready Markdown, raw HTML, and screenshots.
• Features built-in proxy rotation to bypass access restrictions and anti-scraping blocks automatically.
• Allows intelligent multi-page crawling across full domains or sections with reliable depth control.
• Extracts structured SERP data from search engines like Google to power SEO and market analysis.
• Integrates smoothly with AI workflows and agents via MCP for Claude, Zapier, Make, and n8n.
• Offers official SDKs for Python and Node.js/TypeScript alongside examples for Go, Ruby, PHP, and cURL.

• Self-hostable and source-available
• 400+ integrations
• Native LangChain and AI nodes
• Visual workflow builder
• JavaScript and Python code nodes
• Fair-code license
• Active open community
• Powerful branching and error handling

Cons

• Credit consumption rates vary based on request complexity, meaning advanced scraping uses credits faster.
• No official graphical user interface (GUI) or desktop application was mentioned on the site.
• Official SDKs are limited to Python and Node.js/TypeScript; other languages rely on direct REST API integration.
• The exact credit consumption table for different request types is not detailed on the main pricing page.
• No compliance certifications such as SOC2, ISO, or HIPAA are explicitly listed in the available pages.

• Steeper learning curve than Zapier
• Self-hosting takes ops effort
• Community edition has feature limits
• Debugging complex flows is hard
• UI less polished than paid rivals
• Docs gaps in advanced features
• Enterprise features gated
• Slower than raw code at scale

Pricing plans

• Free TrialUSD0/one_time
  • • 1,000 free credits to start
  • • Structured JSON, Markdown, or screenshot output
  • • Built-in proxies and anti-bot evasion
• Scale Plans—
  • • Higher rate limits
  • • More concurrent browsers
  • • Priority dedicated support

• Starter—
  • • Unlimited users
  • • Unlimited workflows
  • • Every integration
  • • Forum support
• Pro—
  • • Everything in Starter plan
  • • Unlimited users
  • • Unlimited workflows
  • • Every integration
• Business—
  • • Everything in Pro plan
  • • For companies with < 100 employees
  • • Custom nodes available in self-hosted
  • • Custom actions when workflow fails
• Enterprise—
  • • Everything in Business plan
  • • Custom number of workflow executions
  • • For strict compliance and governance needs
  • • Dedicated support
• Start-up Plan—
  • • 50% off the Business plan
  • • All features from the Business plan
  • • Forum support
  • • Available for self-hosted deployments
• Community Edition—
  • • Standard self-hosted version
  • • Available on GitHub

Website