In the era of COVID19, people are interested in finding remote jobs. A lot of job posting sites offer different positions from different companies, either remote or onsite. If you want to gather all of those remote jobs manually, there is a possibility COVID19 ends before you finish the task. Copy-pasting all that info according to your needs is known as web scraping. In our modern days, scraping is mostly done using automated systems. As already stated, manually, copy-pasting data can take forever. The subtlety here is that it is possible to find either paid or free web scraping options. According to your budget and needs, you can choose the one that suits you the most.
Tools for Web Scraping
If you surf enough through the internet, there is a strong likelihood you will find what you are looking for. The same goes for scrapers—especially free ones. You don’t have to surf for a long time. A lot of web scraping services already offer their tools for free. Of course, there is a catch. The tools are for general use and may not meet your requirements. In scraping, everyone has different needs, and scraping tools are developed according to that. The free tools are offered to show the capability of the scrappers to some extent. Therefore, if collecting data is of utmost importance for you, we advise you to use tools from professionals, like MyDataProvider.
Top 5 Free Web Scraping Tools
It would be fair to list some free scraping tools with their pros and cons. Just note that those scraping tools can be separate applications, browser extensions, separate browsers, or just an addon or a library for programming languages.
1. MyDataProvider
MyDataProvider is a professional data scraping service. Together with paid options, it delivers users a free tool. All you need to use the software is sign up, download the tool, and test it. In case you like the app but need more functionality, you may consider buying a paid version. That way, you will be able to use the app to its fullest potential.
2. Octoparse
Octoparse is a cloud-based web data parsing service that doesn’t require any previous coding knowledge. You can find different plans according to your needs. Moreover, it is possible to get a discount for writing a review, for being educational and non-profit institutions. The main disadvantage that some users complained about it being detected as a robot and blocked. Also, running locally, not the cloud, is limited to some time, about 4 hours. The paid plans start at $75/month only if you pay annually. Otherwise, it is $89/month for only monthly payment. It only has Windows and Mac versions.
3. Parsehub
Parsehub is a scraper that works inside a browser. It has Windows, Mac, and Linux versions. What is even better, it offers browser extension, but for Firefox only. The free version has some limitations. Like 200 pages per run or 5 public projects. The paid version starts at $149, which is a little pricey. Some online users complain about limited javascript/regex integration.
4. Web Scraper
Web Scraper is an extension and doesn’t need any installation. The downside is that you are limited to Chrome. One of the powerful extension based scrapers. Most users are satisfied with the results it delivers. The biggest issue with it is that it is tough to find enough support. Community issues on the Chrome store are not addressed. The official website offers paid tools that start 50$/month.
5. Scrapy
Scapy is intended for Python developers since it is more of a framework that a tool. Most probably, it has the tools you need for scraping. Yet, if you are unfamiliar with coding, then you are in the wrong territory. Otherwise, it is straightforward to use, has one of the most detailed documentation, and the community support is exceptional. For some projects, where milliseconds matter, some developers prefer not to use Scrapy due to its performance.
6. Apify
Apify is a web scraping and web automation platform that offers a variety of free and paid ready-made scrapers and on-demand custom solutions for businesses. Apify even has free tools to help you find your ideal job by scraping job listings from popular websites such as Glassdoor and Indeed.
Verdict
Provided that you are looking for a free scrapping option, give a try to Free Web Scraping Tool from MyDataProvider. In case you are satisfied, we are more than sure that you will be, and need much more data, consider a paid version. Feel the power of the cloud web scraping.