Head to head
Bright Data vs Crustdata
As a data enrichment API, Crustdata rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 95.7 to 80.3, a 15.4-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Bright Data | Crustdata |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 80.3 | 95.7 |
Specifications
| Bright Data | Crustdata | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Bulk public people and company datasets for data teams | Real-time data for AI agents and sourcing |
| Free tier | Free dataset samples; new-account credits (unconfirmed for datasets) | Free trial credits + free-forever tier |
| Pricing | Per 1,000 records ($2.50 CPM), plans/commits | Per credit (additive) |
| Official SDKs | 5 languages | 5 languages |
Is Bright Data better than Crustdata?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, Crustdata rates higher (95.7 vs 80.3). It leads on the four weighted criteria, but price is reported separately, so the best choice still depends on your budget.
Verdict in one line
Crustdata leads by 15.4 points (95.7 vs 80.3) and wins 4 of 4 criteria.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 82 | 96 | |
| Reliability | 80 | 95 | |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 82 | 95 | |
| Accessibility | 76 | 97 |
Choose Bright Data if… / choose Crustdata if…
- →your use case matches its focus: bulk public people and company datasets for data teams
- →documentation & dx matters most to you (96 vs 82)
- →reliability matters most to you (95 vs 80)
- →ecosystem & sdks matters most to you (95 vs 82)
- →accessibility matters most to you (97 vs 76)
- →your use case matches its focus: real-time data for ai agents and sourcing
Pricing side by side
- Model
- Per 1,000 records ($2.50 CPM), plans/commits
- Free tier
- Free dataset samples; new-account credits (unconfirmed for datasets)
- Dataset Marketplace (one-time)$250 for 100K records
- Dataset subscriptionDiscounted refresh
- Scraper API (pay-as-you-go)About $1.50 per 1,000 records
- EnterpriseCustom
- Model
- Per credit (additive)
- Free tier
- Free trial credits + free-forever tier
- Free tier$0/mo
- Real-time API AccessCredit-based / not publicly listed
- Flat File DatasetsCustom
- EnterpriseCustom (contact sales)
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-10-07 (Bright Data) and 2026-06-27 (Crustdata).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 1
REST API
Only Bright Data · 4
Python (brightdata-sdk)JavaScript SDKMCP server (remote, OAuth)Snowflake / S3 / GCS delivery
Only Crustdata · 4
Official MCP server (Model Context Protocol)crustdata-mcp (community pip package)crustdata-screener-mcp (community package)Composio toolkit (Claude Code, Vercel AI SDK, OpenAI Agents SDK, Mastra AI)
Strengths and weaknesses
- +Self-serve Search (sync, up to 1,000 records) and Filter (async snapshots) APIs
- +Published $2.50 per 1,000 records with no charge for zero-match queries
- +669M+ LinkedIn people profiles plus company and jobs datasets
- –Public profile fields only; no verified emails or direct dials by default
- –No free API tier for datasets; $250 minimum for 100K-record packages
- –Enrichment emails/phones depend on a third-party partner
- +Genuine real-time / live web indexing, returns data for untracked companies within minutes rather than serving stale batch data
- +Watcher API + webhooks push change signals (job changes, funding, promotions) the moment they're detected
- +Clean, fast, well-documented REST API that reviewers say makes integration 'almost effortless'
- –Paid plan pricing is opaque, no named tiers or list prices published; heavier endpoints gated behind enterprise/demo requests
- –Credit-based model can create unpredictable costs without active monitoring
- –No first-party SDKs, integration is raw REST (client libraries are community/third-party only)
Bright Data vs Crustdata: questions
- Which has better documentation, Bright Data or Crustdata?
- Crustdata scores higher on documentation and developer experience: 96 vs 82 out of 100.
- Which is more reliable, Bright Data or Crustdata?
- Crustdata scores higher on reliability: 95 vs 80 out of 100.
- Do Bright Data and Crustdata have a free tier?
- Bright Data: yes (Free dataset samples; new-account credits (unconfirmed for datasets)). Crustdata: yes (Free trial credits + free-forever tier).
- How are Bright Data and Crustdata priced?
- Bright Data: Per 1,000 records ($2.50 CPM), plans/commits. Crustdata: Per credit (additive).
- Which has more official SDKs?
- Both list 5 official SDKs.