Apify vs Decodo (Smartproxy)
Apify fits teams that want ready-made or custom actors rather than raw proxy ops; Decodo (Smartproxy) fits teams that knew smartproxy and need the decodo-branded same network.
Apify
Actor platform for web scraping — Free $0 ($5 usage); Starter $29/mo ($26 annual); Scale $199; Business $999.
Best for
- • Teams that want ready-made or custom Actors rather than raw proxy ops
- • Developers who need compute + storage + proxy in one platform
- • Projects that benefit from Apify Store scrapers
Starting from $29.00/user/mo
Free plan available
VS
Our verdict
There is no universal winner between Apify and Decodo (Smartproxy). Choose Apify when Teams that want ready-made or custom Actors rather than raw proxy ops. Choose Decodo (Smartproxy) when Teams that knew Smartproxy and need the Decodo-branded same network. Criterion scores come from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments and first-party research — not hands-on lab testing.
Apify is better for
- ✓ Free plan
- ✓ Integrations
- ✓ Security & admin
Decodo (Smartproxy) is better for
- ✓ Starting pricing
Choose Apify if: Teams that want ready-made or custom Actors rather than raw proxy ops
Choose Decodo (Smartproxy) if: Teams that knew Smartproxy and need the Decodo-branded same network
Decodo (Smartproxy)
Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) residential proxies — 3GB $11.25/mo ($3.75/GB); PAYG $4/GB; advertised $2/GB at 1000GB. 3-day trial. Slug remains smartproxy.
Best for
- • Teams that knew Smartproxy and need the Decodo-branded same network
- • Buyers who want a published $11.25 residential starter versus Bright Data commits
- • Projects that will validate a 3-day trial before GB scale
Starting from $11.25/user/mo
No free plan
Quick verdict
Start here — then dig into the evidence below.
Choose Apify if…
- Teams that want ready-made or custom Actors rather than raw proxy ops
- Developers who need compute + storage + proxy in one platform
- Projects that benefit from Apify Store scrapers
- You prioritize free plan
Choose Decodo (Smartproxy) if…
- Teams that knew Smartproxy and need the Decodo-branded same network
- Buyers who want a published $11.25 residential starter versus Bright Data commits
- Projects that will validate a 3-day trial before GB scale
- You prioritize starting pricing
Overall recommendation
There is no universal winner between Apify and Decodo (Smartproxy). Choose Apify when Teams that want ready-made or custom Actors rather than raw proxy ops. Choose Decodo (Smartproxy) when Teams that knew Smartproxy and need the Decodo-branded same network. Criterion scores come from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments and first-party research — not hands-on lab testing.
Key trade-off
Apify trades toward free plan; Decodo (Smartproxy) trades toward starting pricing.
Winner by category
Only dimensions with researched evidence for this pair.
| Dimension | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Starting pricing | Decodo (Smartproxy) wins | Decodo (Smartproxy) publishes a lower researched starting floor ($11.25/mo vs $29/mo for Apify). Confirm currency, renewals, and add-ons — not a total TCO winner. |
| Free plan | Apify wins | Apify researches a free plan; Decodo (Smartproxy) does not research a free plan. |
| Integrations | Apify wins | Apify leads on integrations (8/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing. |
| Security & admin | Apify wins | Apify leads on security admin (7/10 vs 6/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing. |
Side-by-side feature matrix
Normalized availability from product research — empty rows are not shown.
Capabilities
| Feature | Apify | Decodo (Smartproxy) |
|---|---|---|
| Incident management | Limited | Limited |
| Change & problem management | Limited | Limited |
| Service catalog | Limited | Limited |
| Infrastructure monitoring | Limited | Limited |
| APM & distributed tracing | Limited | Limited |
| Log management | Limited | Limited |
| Source control & repos | Limited | Limited |
| CI/CD & automation | Moderate | Moderate |
| Hosting control panel | Limited | Limited |
| Proxy / web data network | Strong | Strong |
| ITSM AI assistance | Limited | Limited |
| Developer AI assistance | Strong | Moderate |
| On-call & paging | Limited | Limited |
| Enterprise security & SSO | Moderate | Moderate |
| Analytics & reporting | Strong | Strong |
| Managed hosting platform | Not evidenced | Limited |
Pricing comparison
Pricing evidence last checked Sep 8, 2026.
Apify
From $29.00/user/mo
- Free$0.00/user/mo
- Starter$29.00/mo
- Scale$199.00/mo
- Business$999.00/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
Decodo (Smartproxy)
From $11.25/user/mo
- Residential 3GB$11.25/mo
- PAYG residentialCustom
- Residential 1000GBCustom
Seat-count estimates
Labeled estimates from verified starting per-seat pricing — not invoices.
| Seats | Apify | Decodo (Smartproxy) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | ~$145.00/mo (5 × starting seat) | ~$56.25/mo (5 × starting seat) |
| 10 | ~$290.00/mo (10 × starting seat) | ~$112.50/mo (10 × starting seat) |
| 25 | ~$725.00/mo (25 × starting seat) | ~$281.25/mo (25 × starting seat) |
| 50 | ~$1,450.00/mo (50 × starting seat) | ~$562.50/mo (50 × starting seat) |
Estimate from verified starting per-seat pricing — actual total depends on plan, annual discounts, and add-ons.
Apify researched starting price from $29/mo; a free plan is researched. Decodo (Smartproxy) researched starting price from $11.25/mo. Affiliate economics excluded.
Best for
Scenario picks from researched strengths — not a universal ranking.
- → Apify
Best for free plan
Apify researches a free plan; Decodo (Smartproxy) does not research a free plan.
- → Apify
Best for integrations
Apify leads on integrations (8/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
- → Apify
Best for security & admin
Apify leads on security admin (7/10 vs 6/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
- → Decodo (Smartproxy)
Best for starting pricing
Decodo (Smartproxy) publishes a lower researched starting floor ($11.25/mo vs $29/mo for Apify). Confirm currency, renewals, and add-ons — not a total TCO winner.
The differences that actually matter
Pair-specific analysis for Apify vs Decodo (Smartproxy) — not generic category copy.
Starting pricing
Decodo (Smartproxy) aheadOn starting pricing, Decodo (Smartproxy) is ahead. Apify: Trails Decodo (Smartproxy) on this criterion. Decodo (Smartproxy): Decodo (Smartproxy) publishes a lower researched starting floor ($11.25/mo vs $29/mo for Apify). Confirm currency, renewals, and add-ons — not a total TCO winner.. Feature evidence also diverges on Developer AI assistance (Apify: Strong; Decodo (Smartproxy): Moderate).
Free plan
Apify aheadOn free plan, Apify is ahead. Apify: Apify researches a free plan; Decodo (Smartproxy) does not research a free plan.. Decodo (Smartproxy): Trails Apify on this criterion.
Integrations
Apify aheadOn integrations, Apify is ahead. Apify: Apify leads on integrations (8/10 vs 7/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.. Decodo (Smartproxy): Trails Apify on this criterion.
Security & admin
Apify aheadOn security & admin, Apify is ahead. Apify: Apify leads on security admin (7/10 vs 6/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.. Decodo (Smartproxy): Trails Apify on this criterion.
Pros and cons
Product-specific for this pair — derived from researched outcomes and editorial notes.
Apify
Pros
- Stronger on free plan
- Stronger on integrations
- Stronger on security & admin
Cons
- Trails on starting pricing
Decodo (Smartproxy)
Pros
- Stronger on starting pricing
Cons
- Trails on free plan
- Trails on integrations
- Trails on security & admin
Who should not choose each product
Decision quality improves when we say who should walk away.
Don't choose Apify if…
- You need Decodo (Smartproxy)'s stronger starting pricing more than Apify's strengths
- Your primary fit looks closer to: Teams that knew Smartproxy and need the Decodo-branded same network
- Your primary fit looks closer to: Buyers who want a published $11.25 residential starter versus Bright Data commits
Don't choose Decodo (Smartproxy) if…
- You need Apify's stronger free plan more than Decodo (Smartproxy)'s strengths
- You need Apify's stronger integrations more than Decodo (Smartproxy)'s strengths
- You need Apify's stronger security & admin more than Decodo (Smartproxy)'s strengths
- Your primary fit looks closer to: Teams that want ready-made or custom Actors rather than raw proxy ops
Alternatives worth considering
When neither product is the right fit.
Web data / proxy platform — pay-as-you-go from ~$4/GB residential; starter commitments from ~$499/mo.
Enterprise proxy + Web Scraper API — Residential Starter 5GB $30/mo ($6/GB); Web Scraper API from $49/mo; ISO 27001.
Managed scraping API — Free 1,000 credits; Hobby $49/mo ($44.10 annual); 7-day trial with 5,000 credits.
Budget proxy + scraper tooling — Residential from $2/GB (1GB pack); Web Scraper API credit packs from ~$30.
Final verdict
Scenario-level close — not a repeat of the intro.
Apify wins when…
Teams that want ready-made or custom Actors rather than raw proxy ops
Decodo (Smartproxy) wins when…
Teams that knew Smartproxy and need the Decodo-branded same network
- Best for free planApify
- Best for integrationsApify
- Best for security & adminApify
- Best for starting pricingDecodo (Smartproxy)
Which one should you choose?
Choose Apify if:
- Teams that want ready-made or custom Actors rather than raw proxy ops
- Developers who need compute + storage + proxy in one platform
- Projects that benefit from Apify Store scrapers
Choose Decodo (Smartproxy) if:
- Teams that knew Smartproxy and need the Decodo-branded same network
- Buyers who want a published $11.25 residential starter versus Bright Data commits
- Projects that will validate a 3-day trial before GB scale
Product screenshots
Real product UI from our media library — no placeholders.
Apify
Decodo (Smartproxy)
FAQ
- Is Apify better than Decodo (Smartproxy)?
- There is no universal winner between Apify and Decodo (Smartproxy). Choose Apify when Teams that want ready-made or custom Actors rather than raw proxy ops. Choose Decodo (Smartproxy) when Teams that knew Smartproxy and need the Decodo-branded same network. Criterion scores come from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments and first-party research — not hands-on lab testing.
- Which It Development fits which team?
- Apify: Teams that want ready-made or custom Actors rather than raw proxy ops Decodo (Smartproxy): Teams that knew Smartproxy and need the Decodo-branded same network
- Does Apify or Decodo (Smartproxy) have a free plan?
- Apify: Free plan available. Decodo (Smartproxy): No free plan.
- How does Apify vs Decodo (Smartproxy) pricing compare?
- Apify starts from $29.00/user/mo. Decodo (Smartproxy) starts from $11.25/user/mo. Confirm live vendor pricing before purchasing.
- How did SoftwareGlimpse compare these products?
- We map both products to the same category criteria, then evaluate trade-offs using verified product, pricing and feature evidence. Affiliate relationships never change outcomes.
- reviewApify review
- reviewDecodo (Smartproxy) review
- pricingApify pricing
- pricingDecodo (Smartproxy) pricing
- alternativeBright Data alternative
- alternativeOxylabs alternative
- alternativeScraperAPI alternative
- guideWhat Is IT & Development Software?
- guideHow to Choose IT & Development Software
- guideIT & Development Software Pricing Guide
- categoryIt Development hub
- finderFind My CRM
- calculatorCost calculator
Related comparisons
Alternatives to consider
Bright Data
Web data / proxy platform — pay-as-you-go from ~$4/GB residential; starter commitments from ~$499/mo.
Oxylabs
Enterprise proxy + Web Scraper API — Residential Starter 5GB $30/mo ($6/GB); Web Scraper API from $49/mo; ISO 27001.
ScraperAPI
Managed scraping API — Free 1,000 credits; Hobby $49/mo ($44.10 annual); 7-day trial with 5,000 credits.
ThorData
Budget proxy + scraper tooling — Residential from $2/GB (1GB pack); Web Scraper API credit packs from ~$30.
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