Is Maxun really free?

Yes. Maxun is open source: the code is public and installing it costs nothing. At most you pay for hosting if you put it on a server, often a few euros a month. ScrapingBee, on the other hand, costs €17 a month.

Do I need to code to install Maxun?

No. The level is intermediate and the install takes about 20 minutes with the prompt from the page: Claude does the work, you answer its questions.

How is it different from ScrapingBee?

Maxun does most of what ScrapingBee does, without a subscription, and your data stays with you. The point by point comparison is on the page.

Yes. With an open source tool installed on your side, your files stay on your machine or your server. Nobody can close your account or change the price.

Free alternative

Free alternative to ScrapingBee

ScrapingBee costs €17 a month. Maxun does the same job for free, in open source: you install it on your machine or a small server, and you stop paying.

Public entry price, taken from ScrapingBee’s website (scrapingbee.com). Over a year, that is €204 that stays in your pocket.

What replaces ScrapingBee

The main alternative

Maxun

🟡 Intermediate⏱️ ~20 min to installSave €17/mo

Maxun is the open source alternative to ScrapingBee: it turns any website into clean data, without code. You build a robot by clicking on what you want to collect, and it replays the path on every run, next pages included. Or you describe it in one sentence and AI builds it, with Claude, ChatGPT or a local model through Ollama. Run it on a schedule, even behind a login, or call it as your own API. Results go out as CSV, to Google Sheets, Airtable or a webhook. It installs with Docker Compose: plan for at least 4 GB of free memory and keep it updated. The limit: proxy rotation and captcha solving are reserved for their cloud. On sites that block robots, you need your own proxies, which are paid.

Loucash’s verdict on Maxun

7/10

Maxun has what ScrapingBee does not: you build your robots without code, by clicking on the page or describing what you want in one sentence. For collecting data from public sites, prices, listings, catalogues, it is free with no page limit. What I like: the AI mode with a local model through Ollama, so no cost per page, and the MCP server that lets Claude run the robots for me. Why 7 and not more: the free version lacks what ScrapingBee charges for, rotating proxies and captcha solving. On a site that blocks robots, you will have to pay for proxies or move to their cloud. The project is still at version 0.0.47, with a flaw fixed in June 2026, so updates are a must. And you need Docker and a machine with some memory.

Who it is for: You want to collect data from public sites on a regular basis (prices, listings, catalogues, content for Claude) without coding or paying per page. If you need to extract heavily protected sites at scale, ScrapingBee or a proxy service will still be needed.

See the full page →See the tool ↗

Maxun versus ScrapingBee: the match

Price
Maxun
€0 on your machine
ScrapingBee
€17/month (Hobby)
Pages a month
Maxun
Unlimited
ScrapingBee
About 15,000 with JavaScript
Protected sites (proxies, captchas)
Maxun
Your own proxies, paid
ScrapingBee
Included

ScrapingBee ↗

VS	Maxun	ScrapingBee ↗
Price	€0 on your machine	€17/month (Hobby)
Pages a month	Unlimited	About 15,000 with JavaScript
Protected sites (proxies, captchas)	Your own proxies, paid	Included
No code	Robots built by clicking or described in one sentence	An API to call from your code
AI extraction	Claude, ChatGPT or a free local model	5 extra credits per page
Monitoring and scheduled runs	Included	Up to you to schedule
What you need	Docker and 4 GB of memory	An API key

The prompt that installs Maxun

Paste this prompt into Claude: it checks the repository, asks you its questions and installs the tool step by step.

Installe Maxun sur ma machine : c'est la plateforme open source qui remplace ScrapingBee pour extraire des données de sites web (dépôt GitHub getmaxun/maxun, site maxun.dev). Vérifie d'abord que Docker est installé et que la machine a au moins 4 Go de mémoire libres. Suis ensuite le guide Docker Compose de la documentation (docs.maxun.dev) : récupère le docker-compose.yml et le fichier d'exemple des variables d'environnement du dépôt, remplace toutes les valeurs d'exemple par des mots de passe et des clés secrètes solides, et lance l'ensemble. Si c'est sur un serveur, place l'interface derrière mon nom de domaine en HTTPS. Pour le mode IA, branche ma clé Anthropic, ou installe Ollama si je préfère un modèle local gratuit. Crée ensuite avec moi un premier robot sur un site public de mon choix, en mode enregistrement puis en mode IA, et montre-moi comment exporter en CSV, envoyer les résultats dans Google Sheets et programmer un passage chaque jour. Explique-moi aussi quoi faire si un site bloque le robot (proxies), et comment mettre Maxun à jour. Explique chaque étape simplement, je débute.

Review the GitHub repository and check whether it is safe to install given my machine and my infrastructure. Ask me as many questions as possible, using widgets, to clarify my request and be as precise as you can.

Frequently asked questions

Is Maxun really free?: Yes. Maxun is open source: the code is public and installing it costs nothing. At most you pay for hosting if you put it on a server, often a few euros a month. ScrapingBee, on the other hand, costs €17 a month.
Do I need to code to install Maxun?: No. The level is intermediate and the install takes about 20 minutes with the prompt from the page: Claude does the work, you answer its questions.
How is it different from ScrapingBee?: Maxun does most of what ScrapingBee does, without a subscription, and your data stays with you. The point by point comparison is on the page.
Do I own my data?: Yes. With an open source tool installed on your side, your files stay on your machine or your server. Nobody can close your account or change the price.

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