Updated 10 Nov 2026 · 6 min read · 5 free options compared
Short answer
You can scrape a website for free in three ways: a Chrome extension for one-off pages, an API with a free monthly allowance for repeat jobs, or a short Python script if you can code.
For most people, start with a free extension. If you need clean text for an AI agent, Firecrawl and Context.dev each give 1,000 free credits a month with no card.
Pick the right free route
| Tool | Route | Free limit | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firecrawl On Launch Llama |
API + no-signup web tool | 1,000 credits a month (about 1,000 pages), no card | Clean Markdown for AI agents and RAG |
| Context.dev On Launch Llama |
API | 1,000 credits a month, 10 requests a minute, no card | Scrape, crawl and enrich in one call |
| GMB Scraper On Launch Llama |
Chrome extension | 200 records on the free plan | Google Maps business leads to CSV |
| Monocrawl On Launch Llama |
API | 150 credits to start, they don't expire, no card | Posts, profiles and reviews from 70+ platforms |
| Python + Scrapy Not listed |
Code | Free, no limits beyond the site's own | Full control if you can code |
Also free and widely used: the Instant Data Scraper and Web Scraper Chrome extensions (not listed on Launch Llama).
Step by step: scrape Google Maps leads with GMB Scraper
- Install GMB Scraper from the Chrome Web Store. It also works in Edge.
- Open Google Maps and search for a business type and place, for example
plumbers in Chicago. - Click Start Auto Extract. The extension works through every listing in the results.
- When it finishes, download the results as CSV or XLSX.
- Open the file in Google Sheets and remove duplicates before you use it. The free plan stops at 200 records.
Scrape a page with 6 lines of Python
If you're comfortable in a terminal, requests and lxml are free and enough for simple pages that don't need JavaScript.
import requests
from lxml import html
page = requests.get("https://example.com", headers={"User-Agent": "my-scraper"})
tree = html.fromstring(page.content)
print(tree.xpath("//h1/text()"))For whole sites, switch to Scrapy. For pages that load content with JavaScript, use Firecrawl's free credits instead of running your own browser.
What stops free scrapers
- Rate limits. Free plans cap how fast you go. Context.dev, for example, allows 10 requests a minute. Space out large jobs.
- Blocking. Sites like LinkedIn and Amazon block plain scripts quickly. APIs with proxies built in get through more often.
- JavaScript pages. A plain
requestscall returns empty HTML on many modern sites. Use a tool that renders the page. - Terms and robots.txt. Check the site's
/robots.txtand terms before you scrape, and never collect personal data you don't have a lawful reason to keep.
Questions people also ask
Is it illegal to scrape a website?
Scraping public pages is generally allowed in many places, but it depends on the site's terms, what data you collect and where you are. Personal data is covered by privacy laws such as GDPR. When in doubt, use the site's official API.
How do I scrape a website without getting banned?
Go slowly, identify your scraper with a User-Agent, respect robots.txt and avoid logging in. For harder sites, use an API that rotates proxies for you.
Can ChatGPT scrape a website?
ChatGPT can read a page you give it, but it isn't built to collect data across many pages. Use a scraper to collect the pages, then give the results to ChatGPT or Claude to clean up.
Is web scraping detectable?
Yes. Sites can spot unusual traffic patterns, missing browser signals and repeated requests from one IP address. Free tools with built-in proxies are harder to spot than a plain script.
Free scraping tools on Launch Llama
Free limits checked on each tool's own pricing page on 10 Nov 2026. Plans change, so check before you rely on a limit.