> **For coding agents and LLMs:** This is one Social Fetch marketing page (markdown export). For API orientation start with [`/llms.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms.txt); for auth and crawl rules use [`/agents.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/agents.txt); for every operation use [`/llms-endpoints.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms-endpoints.txt). ## This page - **On-site (HTML):** - **Markdown (.mdx) URL:** --- # Social Fetch vs Firecrawl Firecrawl is a web context API for AI — scrape, crawl, map, and search pages into LLM-ready markdown. Social Fetch is a social data API — TikTok handles, Instagram posts, LinkedIn companies as normalized JSON. If your agent needs a whole docs site, Firecrawl. If it needs a creator's follower count, Social Fetch. ## At a glance | | Social Fetch | Firecrawl | | --- | --- | --- | | Primary job | Structured social media data | Web scrape, crawl, and search for AI agents | | Typical output | Normalized profile/post JSON | Markdown, HTML, or schema extract per page | | Pricing shape | From $1.35/1k; PAYG credits never expire | Monthly plans (Hobby $19 → Growth $399); credits reset | | TikTok profile by handle | First-class REST route | Scrape the public URL yourself — no social schema | | Site-wide crawl / map | Not the product (web fetch is single-page) | Core product | | Social catalog | 264 ops / 25 platforms | Any URL — you own parsing social HTML | ## Pricing (last verified 2026-07-21) **Credits for pages vs credits for social lookups.** Firecrawl: Free 1k/mo, Hobby $19/5k, Standard $99/100k, Growth $399/500k. Scrape/Crawl 1 credit/page; JSON extract and Enhanced Mode add credits. Plan credits reset; auto-recharge packs roll. Social Fetch: prepaid packs at $1.64/1k — different unit (page vs social operation). | | Social Fetch | Firecrawl | Note | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1,000 standard social profile lookups | ~$1.64 | N/A as a social product — scrape URLs + parse HTML | | | 1,000 web pages to markdown | Web fetch routes exist; not priced as a crawl farm | ~1,000 credits (Hobby covers 5k/mo) | | | Unused credits next month | Still on your balance (PAYG) | Plan credits reset (auto-recharge packs roll) | | | Required subscription | No on PAYG | Yes for volume above free tier | | | Crawl entire documentation site | Wrong tool | Designed for this | | Firecrawl pricing from firecrawl.dev/pricing (July 2026). Hobby $19/mo or $16/mo annual; Standard $99/$83; Growth $399/$333. Confirm current credit modifiers for JSON and Enhanced Mode on their billing docs. ## Feature matrix | Feature | Social Fetch | Firecrawl | | --- | --- | --- | | Synchronous REST JSON (no actor run polling) | Yes | Yes | | One API key for all platforms | Yes | Yes | | Unified schema across platforms | Yes | No | | Public OpenAPI specification | Yes | Yes | | Official TypeScript SDK | Yes | Yes | | Interactive API playground | Yes | Partial | | TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit, X in one vendor | Yes | No | | Pay-as-you-go without required monthly subscription | Yes | No | | PAYG credits never expire | Yes | No | | Web fetch (markdown/HTML) in same product | Yes | Yes | | Scheduled account / feed monitors | Yes | Partial | | Signed webhooks when watched accounts post | Yes | No | ## Do not compare credits until you compare jobs Firecrawl turns URLs into LLM-ready markdown — crawl, map, search. Social Fetch returns `/v2/instagram/profiles/{profile}` with followerCount without an HTML parser. Do not pick Firecrawl for social data or Social Fetch to crawl a 10,000-page help center. Read the job first. ## Scraping a social URL is not a social API Yes, you can point Firecrawl at https://www.tiktok.com/@user. You will get markdown or HTML reflecting whatever the public page rendered that day. You will not get our lookupStatus, normalized fields across Instagram and YouTube, or a support trail when the page structure shifts. Social platforms actively break generic scrapers. Firecrawl's Enhanced Mode and proxy stack help for many sites; they are still general web tools. Social Fetch's extraction layer is maintained per platform as the product. That is why we charge per social operation instead of per HTML page. ## Monthly page credits vs non-expiring social credits Firecrawl's plans reset monthly. Quiet weeks waste allotment unless you buy auto-recharge packs that roll. JSON extraction and Enhanced Mode stack extra credits on top of the base page cost — budget the modifiers, not only the headline 1 credit/page. Social Fetch PAYG credits sit until you spend them. A launch spike in March and silence in April does not burn April's budget. Optional monthly plans exist if you want included credits; they are not required. If your usage is steady page crawling for an agent fleet, Firecrawl's Standard 100k credits at $99/mo can be rational. If your usage is bursty social lookups, non-expiring packs fit better. ## Use both when the agent needs both worlds A practical agent stack: Firecrawl (or Tavily/Exa) for open-web research, Social Fetch for structured creator and brand entities. MCP and LangChain integrations exist on both sides of that split. We are not trying to replace Firecrawl for crawl/map. We are trying to stop social lookups from being implemented as brittle page scrapes. ## When Firecrawl is the better choice - Crawling or mapping entire websites into markdown for RAG - Agent workflows that need browser interact / multi-step page actions - Open-web search + scrape where social schema is irrelevant - Teams already on Firecrawl's monthly credit plans for non-social pages ## When Social Fetch is the better choice - TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc. as structured JSON - Product features that need lookupStatus and stable field names - PAYG social credits that never expire - Avoiding HTML parsers for social profile pages ## Verdict: Web context API vs social data API Firecrawl is the right buy for LLM-ready web crawl and scrape. Social Fetch is the right buy for production social profiles and posts. Credits are not interchangeable: one meters pages, the other meters social operations. Keep Firecrawl for the open web; use Social Fetch when the entity is a creator, brand, or post on a social network. ## FAQ ### Can Firecrawl replace Social Fetch for TikTok data? Only if you are willing to scrape TikTok URLs and maintain your own parsers. Firecrawl will fetch pages; it will not give you our social schema, multi-platform envelope, or platform-specific maintenance. For production social features, use a social API. ### Does Social Fetch crawl websites like Firecrawl? No. We offer web fetch utilities for individual pages alongside social routes. We do not offer Firecrawl-style crawl, map, or browser interact products. ### Which is cheaper? For web pages, compare Firecrawl's monthly credit plans. For social lookups, compare Social Fetch's $1.64/1k packs. Mixing the unit of work into one "cheaper API" number is how budgets go wrong. ### Do Firecrawl credits roll over? Monthly plan credits do not. Auto-recharge packs do. Social Fetch PAYG packs never expire.