Social Fetch vs Proxycurl
Proxycurl was the default LinkedIn enrichment API for many teams until it shut down in July 2025 after LinkedIn litigation. Traffic now points at Enrich Layer (and related successors). Social Fetch is a live multi-platform public social API — LinkedIn included, but not LinkedIn-only.
Last updated: 2026-07-21
At a glance
The rows teams scan first before reading the full page — how each product expects you to integrate, who runs the upstream fetch, and what billing looks like at a headline level. Numbers and sources are in the pricing section below; this table is the orientation pass.
| Social Fetch | Proxycurl | |
|---|---|---|
| Status (2026) | Live, actively maintained | Proxycurl shut down July 2025; successor products exist |
| Core focus | Public social data across 17 platforms | LinkedIn person/company enrichment (historically) |
| Entry pricing | 100 free credits; packs from $25 | Was credit-based; see Enrich Layer for current terms |
| Structured profile & company routes | Was deep LinkedIn enrichment; API now dark | |
| Other networks | TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, X, … | Not the historical product center |
| Best fit today | Teams rebuilding after Proxycurl or starting fresh | Enrich Layer if you want a like-for-like LinkedIn migration |
Proxycurl shut down in July 2025
Proxycurl was widely used for LinkedIn person and company enrichment: URL in, JSON out, credit billing, developer-friendly docs. In 2025 LinkedIn sued; the service wound down. The founder's public goodbye stated the team complied with the settlement and stopped the product.
If your integration still calls proxycurl.com hosts, it is already broken. This page exists for migration shopping, not for a living price war with a dead API.
Enrich Layer as the like-for-like path
Enrich Layer positions itself for former Proxycurl users: existing API keys, similar endpoints, credit carryover, base URL change. If LinkedIn enrichment is your only requirement and you trust that operator path, it can be the lowest-effort migration.
Social Fetch is not pretending to be a drop-in Proxycurl clone. Field names differ. People-search depth differs. What you get instead is a maintained multi-platform public social API with LinkedIn as one network among many — plus self-serve pricing and an official TypeScript SDK.
The lesson is vendor concentration
Proxycurl's revenue concentration on LinkedIn scraping became an existential risk when litigation hit. Teams that only ever needed LinkedIn still felt it; teams that had parked "we will add Instagram later" on the same vendor lost the whole enrichment layer overnight.
Social Fetch spreads public coverage across 17 platforms and 137 operations. That does not make anyone lawsuit-proof — public data vendors all carry platform risk — but it means your product roadmap is not a single-network monoculture behind one enrichment SKU.
Where they win
If you need maximum wire compatibility with old Proxycurl clients and LinkedIn is your only network, evaluate Enrich Layer first. Social Fetch will cost engineering time to remap fields.
If you are rebuilding anyway, or you already needed TikTok/Instagram/YouTube beside LinkedIn, starting on a live multi-platform API is usually cheaper than stitching Enrich Layer plus three other vendors.
Who should pick which
Short lists pulled from the sections above — not a scorecard. If your situation matches the right column, Proxycurl is probably the better buy even if Social Fetch wins more checkboxes down the page.
When Social Fetch is the better fit
- You are rebuilding and want a live vendor with published PAYG pricing
- You need LinkedIn plus other social networks under one key
- Official TypeScript SDK, playground, and requestId matter
- You want to reduce single-network vendor concentration risk
- Cold public enrichment without waiting on a LinkedIn-only successor sales motion
When Proxycurl is the better fit
- You want the lowest-effort Proxycurl → Enrich Layer migration for LinkedIn-only
- Your codebase depends on Proxycurl-shaped endpoints and you refuse a remap
- LinkedIn enrichment is the entire product surface
Migrating off a shutdown vendor
Proxycurl is no longer a buyable API. Nubela's goodbye post (July 2025) confirmed the shutdown after LinkedIn's lawsuit. Former customers were pointed toward successor options; Enrich Layer documents key/credit carryover for many Proxycurl users with a base URL change. Social Fetch is a separate vendor: self-serve credits from $25, Scale at $1.65/1k, LinkedIn plus 17 platforms under one key. Do not budget "Proxycurl rates" into a 2026 spreadsheet — those SKUs are gone.
| Scenario | Social Fetch | Proxycurl |
|---|---|---|
| Can I buy Proxycurl today? | N/A | No — service shut down July 2025 |
| LinkedIn profile JSON (live vendor) | ~$0.00165 per standard lookup at Scale | Enrich Layer / other LinkedIn APIs (separate pricing) |
| Multi-platform in one key | Yes — 137 operations | Historically LinkedIn-centric |
| Free start on Social Fetch | 100 credits, no card | N/A (Proxycurl) |
| Single-network shutdown risk | ~$0.00165 | Realized — LinkedIn legal action ended the product |
| Migration effort from Proxycurl | Map person/company fields to SF LinkedIn routes | Enrich Layer aims for wire-compatible migration |
Shutdown details from Nubela's Proxycurl goodbye post (July 2025) and public migration guides. Enrich Layer terms from enrichlayer.com docs. Social Fetch pricing from socialfetch.com (July 2026).
Feature checklist
Yes means the capability is on the default path for most users. Partial usually means a different SKU, a marketplace listing that covers only some endpoints, or a workaround you have to wire yourself. A green check for Proxycurl does not mean it belongs in your stack — match each row to the workflow you are actually shipping.
| Capability | Social Fetch | Proxycurl |
|---|---|---|
| Synchronous REST JSON (no actor run polling) | ||
| One API key for all platforms | ||
| Unified schema across platforms | ||
| Public OpenAPI specification | ||
| Official TypeScript SDK | ||
| Interactive API playground | ||
| TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit, X in one vendor | ||
| Pay-as-you-go without required monthly subscription | ||
| PAYG credits never expire | ||
| Web fetch (markdown/HTML) in same product | ||
| Native scheduling / batch pipelines | ||
| Webhooks & large dataset export |
Bottom line
The pricing table and feature checklist above are for narrowing the field. This section is the pick-one answer for Social Fetch vs Proxycurl. If their integration shape fits your roadmap better, take it — the prose and “when they win” lists above name those cases on purpose.
Dead LinkedIn API vs live multi-platform API
Proxycurl is gone. Enrich Layer is the continuity bet for LinkedIn-only stacks. Social Fetch is the rebuild bet for teams that want public social JSON across many networks with self-serve credits. Choose based on migration pain versus roadmap breadth — not on nostalgic Proxycurl rate cards.
If Social Fetch is still in the running, run one real endpoint before you buy a subscription elsewhere. The playground uses the same API key and response envelope as production — you will know in a few minutes whether the JSON shape fits your code.
Questions about this pairing
What teams ask when Social Fetch and Proxycurl land on the same shortlist — migration, billing surprises, and whether the integration model changes when you add a second platform. For cross-vendor framing, start on the compare hub.
- Is Proxycurl still available?
- No. The service shut down in July 2025. Treat any "Proxycurl pricing 2026" page that implies you can buy it as outdated.
- What is Enrich Layer?
- A LinkedIn-focused successor path documented for many former Proxycurl customers (keys/credits/base URL). Evaluate it separately from Social Fetch.
- Does Social Fetch replace Proxycurl 1:1?
- Not as a wire-compatible clone. Expect to remap LinkedIn person/company fields to Social Fetch routes and retest. You gain multi-platform coverage in exchange.
- Does Social Fetch offer LinkedIn people search like Proxycurl?
- Check current LinkedIn routes in our API reference — coverage is profile/company oriented public data, not a promise of every historic Proxycurl search endpoint. Validate the exact operations you need.
- Why compare against a dead product?
- Because search traffic still asks "Proxycurl alternative." This page answers with accurate shutdown context and a live multi-platform option — without pretending Proxycurl still sells credits.