Best Bright Data Alternatives for Data Collection: Faster, Better, More

While Bright Data (formerly Luminati) continues to shine as usual in the data collection department, 2025 brings a rich tapestry of alternatives. All of them differ significantly, yet there’s a high likelihood that some of them may answer the questions Bright Data has no answer to for your particular use case.

Overview:

We’re aware that searches for alternatives are triggered by different motives. So, we’re going to concentrate on:

1. Bright Data alternatives in general
2. Free alternatives
3. And open-source solutions

Let’s start while that bandwidth is still valid, so in case you decide to migrate, there will be as little loss as possible.

Bright Data Alternatives

Bright Data is a provider of proxy networks and web data collection solutions for businesses. It has a vast infrastructure for gathering public web data, which is perfect for large-scale web scraping, market research, brand monitoring, tracking search engine results, verifying ads, and academic research. 

Bright Data Pricing

The previous paragraph sounded great. However, here’s something to balance it: the main problems with Bright Data (including data collection) are that it costs a lot, is hard to use (both in terms of pricing and technical use), has a limited trial tier, and has a support and onboarding process that is only for big companies. Let’s see.

• API-Driven solutions include their Scraper API at $1.05 per 1,000 requests and the more data-intensive Scraping Browser API at $5.88 per GB.
• Custom scraper solutions start at $300/month.

If you’re searching for alternatives in the data retrieving sense, you’re likely after similar functionality: high uptime and scraping APIs. So, we choose tools that match as many of Bright Data’s features as possible, plus a few additional ones to streamline even those processes that are usually still.

1. Data365 Social Media API

It is a powerful tool for businesses that rely on large-scale public data collection from social media. Data365 supports mid-sized teams and enterprises that are looking for the infrastructure that balances investment and results. Its user-oriented approach is perfect for those looking for tools with plug-and-play simplicity. 

Its main benefit lies in its versatility that supports a 360-degree view into the needed topic  – users can collect data from various social media platforms.

Best for:

• Cybersecurity and real-time threat intelligence. The API supports cybersecurity efforts by enabling real-time data extraction from social media to monitor emerging threats and suspicious activities, providing early warnings to cybersecurity teams.
• Social media intelligence and data acquisition cost reduction. Companies can successfully scale their social media intelligence platforms.
• Monitoring public opinion that showcases Data365’s strength in supporting healthcare organizations, researchers, and policymakers, aiming to monitor public opinion and improve communication strategies.
• Text analytics and media monitoring. The platform is used by PR professionals and marketers for ongoing social media listening and analytics in various countries, helping them manage brand reputation and gather insights on public sentiment.
• Innovative, community-driven initiatives that use social media data to inform, engage, or protect society from different types of threats.

In summary, Data365 is best for real-time and large-scale social media data extraction, analysis, and monitoring to support intelligence, sentiment analysis, public relations, healthcare research, and cybersecurity threat detection.

Key Strengths

• Real-time, high-volume public data access
• All main social media platforms in one solution
• Flexible data endpoints (e.g., search, profile, post, comments, trending content)
• Structured output
• Flexible pricing
• Scalability for fast-growing projects
• A team that is on the watch for social media policy changes, so the API never sleeps

Pricing & Trial

Data365’s Social Media API pricing starts at €300 monthly for their Basic plan with 500,000 credits. And instead of a 7-day free trial, with Data365, you get 14 days to test the solution and how well it applies to your needs.

Want to test how it runs? Simply fill in the form, and we will assist you.

2. Oxylabs

Oxylabs is as close as it gets to Bright Data in terms of reach, but with a strong focus on reliability and compliance.

Best For:

• Teams with global scraping requirements
• Use cases that demand compliance and scale

Key Strengths:

• AI-powered web unblocker
• Vertical-specific scraping APIs (e.g., e-commerce, SERP, travel)
• 24/7 human support and onboarding for enterprise clients

Pricing & Trial:

• Starts at $3.9/GB
• 7-day trial available

3. SOAX

When granular geo-targeting is crucial, SOAX works pretty well.

Best for: 

• Teams and businesses requiring sophisticated anti-blocking/anti-detection technology, round-the-clock support, and scalable data extraction.
• For ease of use, clients want a single plan that gives them access to both proxies and scraping APIs.
• well-liked for price aggregation, social media monitoring, SEO, fraud prevention, e-commerce intelligence, ad tech, and more.

Key Strengths:

• By 2025, SOAX will provide a single subscription that includes access to both proxies and scraping APIs, with higher data allotments and rates per gigabyte that are up to 50% lower than in prior years. Teams that only want data collection infrastructure, however, pay for extraneous features.
• Simple setup, a clear dashboard, live chat that is available around the clock, and useful onboarding materials.

Pricing & Trial:

25GB for $90/month, starting at $3.60/GB. There is only a three-day trial period.

Bright Data Open Source Alternative: Scrapy

Scrapy is an open-source web crawling and scraping framework built in Python. It’s designed for developers who need complete control over their data extraction workflows. Unlike tools with visual interfaces, Scrapy requires coding knowledge, but in return, it offers flexibility and speed. The only question here is whether you’re ready for this barter or not.

Best For:

• Developers with technical expertise
• Projects needing custom control over every part of the stack
• Those exploring cost-free or low-cost setups

Key Strengths:

• Fully customizable and scalable
• Active developer community
• Free to use with no subscription fees
• Built-in support for handling requests, logging, and data export

A Free Alternative to Bright Data

The free options may not be as powerful as the paid ones for businesses, but they are definitely worth considering for startups and people on a budget:

• When it comes to giving you value, ScraperAPI doesn’t mess around. The free tier includes proxy handling, CAPTCHA solving, and JavaScript rendering, which are all things that users love about Bright Data. It’s a great way for teams to try out some of the features without spending any money. It’s like getting a taste of full-scale data collection; you won’t be completely happy, but you’ll get a good idea of what it’s like.
• Apify fills the gap between basic scraping and advanced automation by taking a different approach. It goes beyond simple scraping and rolls out the red carpet. You can get pre-made “Actors” and scraping recipes for free, which can save you from having to come up with new ideas.
• Firecrawl is new to the scene with its AI-powered features and a free plan that lasts forever with 500 credits. They’re especially useful for teams that want to add scraping tools to their AI workflows, which is a field that is becoming very popular right now.

And now, something that all free API solutions have in common. They work well for small or test projects, but they aren’t usually good for big, strong, or enterprise-level applications because of their limitations and risks.

Stop Looking for Bright Data Reviews or The End of the Alternative Hunt

User feedback trenches are deep and intriguing.  They are the exact place where raw truth lives. What concerns Bright Data reviews is that users consistently acknowledge it genuinely delivers the goods when it comes to enterprise-scale data collection operations. However, there’s a recurring theme that bubbles up in reviews: the platform can feel like piloting a jumbo jet when you just need to get across town. 

Many users find themselves captivated by complex dashboards and intricate pricing structures that require significant technical chops to navigate effectively. The support experience also appears to be somewhat of a mixed bag – while enterprise clients sing praises about their dedicated account managers, smaller players occasionally find themselves feeling like they are left alone with their struggles and doubts.

The beauty of today’s competitive environment lies in the abundance of alternatives that don’t require you to give your last penny or navigate labyrinthine dashboards to extract insights. For teams whose hearts beat to the rhythm of social media intelligence, the path forward becomes particularly clear. Why own a Swiss Army knife (some of its tools have never been used) when you need a precision instrument designed specifically for your craft?

Ready to experience social media data collection that actually makes sense?

Start your free 14-day trial with Data365 and discover how straightforward API-driven insights can transform your workflow – no PhD in APIs required.