Web Scraping Api

5 Web Scraping Api Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

•

Updated: October 10th, 2024

In today’s data-driven world, accessing web data efficiently can make or break a business. Enter: web scraping APIs. This business idea revolves around developing an API service that programmatically extracts data from websites, enabling businesses to gather actionable insights without manual effort.

By setting up a web scraping API, you’ll provide companies the tools they need to automate data collection, whether for market research, competitor analysis, or content aggregation. You’ll need robust coding skills and knowledge of web protocols to build and maintain the API's reliability.

The beauty of this business lies in its versatility—your service can cater to a multitude of industries. Start small with a niche focus, then expand as you grow. With businesses increasingly turning to data analytics, offering a reliable web scraping API could be a lucrative venture for those willing to dive into the technical details.

In this list, you'll find real-world web scraping API success stories and very profitable examples of starting a web scraping API that makes money.

1. ScrapingBee ($1.5M/year)

Pierre de Wulf leveraged his experience as a data engineer and reused code from a failed startup to launch ScrapingBee in 2019, which now generates $1.5 million annually.

How much money it makes: $1.5M/year
How many people on the team: 2

How Pierre de Wulf Built ScrapingBee to $1.5 ARR in 2 Years Without VC Funding

This case study showcases how ScrapingBee, a web scraping API, was built on a shoestring budget using a mix of tools and outsourced services, achieving impressive growth through SEO content and targeted marketing strategies, with revenues averaging $125K/month, generating $1.5M/year since 2019.

Read this case study

Read by 383 founders

2. Scrapingdog ($264K/year)

Manthan Koolwal, founder of Scrapingdog, was inspired by the productivity and entrepreneurship culture in his hometown of Gujarat, India. After completing his B.tech degree, he learned to code and discovered the potential of web scraping. He launched Scrapingdog as an MVP, focusing on SEO and writing quality blog posts to attract customers. Since then, Scrapingdog has grown to generate $22k per month, with Manthan emphasizing the importance of SEO in growing a business.

How much money it makes: $264K/year
How much did it cost to start: $300
How many people on the team: 6

How I Bootstrapped A $264K/Year Data Scrapping API [From India]

Scrapingdog, a web scraping API founded in India by Manthan Koolwal, is making $22k per month and has increased its paid customer base by 15-18% every month, focusing on SEO and quality backlinks to attract customers and achieve a 99% success rate in web scraping.

Read this case study

Read by 4,347 founders

3. ScrapingAnt ($240K/year)

Oleg, a serial entrepreneur with a technical background, came up with the idea for ScrapingAnt after trying out various e-commerce projects and realizing the need for a reliable data scraping solution. He partnered with his friend Andrii, who had experience in setting up scalable infrastructures for data gathering, and together they created a simple solution based on AWS Lambdas. They launched the business on the RapidAPI marketplace and focused on content marketing and providing excellent customer support to attract and retain customers. The company has achieved profitability and continues to invest in technology and search for their "thingy" that will bring in more customers. Recently, they entered into a collaboration with software development company Codery to expand their capacity.

How much money it makes: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 2

I Started My First Business At 12 Years Old. Now, My Friend & I Run A Profitable Web Scraping Service

ScrapingAnt is a web scraping service with an easy-to-integrate API, making it the ideal data extraction infrastructure solution for companies and private entrepreneurs, making a profit of $7.1K in December 2021 and actively looking for technical and non-technical content creators.

Read this case study

Read by 2,842 founders

4. Data Excavator ($48K/year)

Vitaly, a programmer and entrepreneur, came up with the idea for Data Excavator while working on a project to create a catalog of automobile oils. Frustrated with the difficulty of obtaining data from manufacturers, he developed a prototype that could scrape information from websites using CSS selectors. The prototype proved successful, allowing him to collect the desired database in just a few hours.

How much money it makes: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $30K
How many people on the team: 2

How Selling Motor Oil Led Me To Create A $48K/Year Web Scraping Tool

Vitaly, a programmer and entrepreneur, accidentally created a data scraping app while working on a different startup that has since compiled energy-efficient databases of about 500,000 goods used by five large companies and many small ones, with monthly sales of over $100 million.

Read this case study

Read by 2,689 founders

5. Planit ($600/year)

Billy, a 20-year-old math student from Brisbane, Australia, came up with the idea for PlanIt after struggling to plan adventures in the physical world. Drawing on his experiences in designing cutting-edge recommender systems at venture-funded startup Atmos, he applied his knowledge to create a seamless travel search and planning experience. PlanIt has since expanded its database coverage and user growth, positioning itself as a platform for travel and lifestyle businesses to list their details and generate revenue.

How much money it makes: $600/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.5K
How many people on the team: 0

On Building A Travel Recommendations Platform

PlanIt is a travel recommendation and planning platform that has seen compelling growth in database coverage and user growth, covering every country in the world with several thousand users and a large SEO focus as well as a growing interest from travel and lifestyle businesses to list their details.

Read this case study

Read by 4,743 founders