TL;DR
Apify is a general web scraping platform with 2,000+ tools. PhantomBuster focuses on LinkedIn and social media automation. Choose Apify for scraping. Choose PhantomBuster for automated LinkedIn outreach.
Different Purposes
Apify is a web scraping and automation platform. It extracts data from any website. 2,000+ pre-built actors cover social media, e-commerce, maps, and more.
PhantomBuster is a social media automation tool. It focuses on LinkedIn actions: connecting, messaging, profile visits. Some scraping, but automation is the core.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Apify | PhantomBuster |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Web scraping | Social automation |
| Tools Available | 2,000+ actors | ~100 phantoms |
| LinkedIn Focus | Scraping only | Scraping + automation |
| Auto-connect/message | No | Yes |
| General Scraping | Any website | Limited |
| Free Tier | $5/month | Trial only |
| Starting Price | $49/month | $59/month |
LinkedIn Comparison
Apify for LinkedIn
- Scrape profiles, company data, job listings
- Export to CSV/JSON
- No automation (no auto-connect, no messaging)
- Data extraction only
PhantomBuster for LinkedIn
- Scrape profiles and search results
- Auto-connect with personalized notes
- Auto-message sequences
- Profile visit campaigns
- Sales Navigator integration
When to Choose Apify
- You need to scrape data, not automate actions
- You are scraping Google Maps, Instagram, Amazon, etc.
- You want a general-purpose platform
- You need more than just LinkedIn
- Budget is a concern (free tier available)
When to Choose PhantomBuster
- You want automated LinkedIn outreach
- Auto-connecting and messaging is the goal
- You are running sales or recruiting campaigns
- You need LinkedIn-specific workflows
Risk Warning
Automated actions on LinkedIn (connecting, messaging) violate LinkedIn's terms. Accounts can get restricted or banned. PhantomBuster users report account issues regularly.
Apify scraping is lower risk. You extract data without taking actions on the platform.
Our Verdict
They solve different problems.
- Need to scrape data from many websites? Apify.
- Need to automate LinkedIn outreach? PhantomBuster (with caution).
- Need LinkedIn data without automation risk? Apify.
For Data Extraction
Apify covers LinkedIn scraping plus 2,000+ other tools. Start with the free tier.
Try Apify Free