Explore the best JavaScript web scraping libraries, their key features, and a handy comparison table to find the perfect tool for your project.
A JavaScript web scraping library helps extract data from online pages by sending HTTP requests, parsing HTML, and rendering JavaScript-based content.
You can learn more about JavaScript and node.js scraping here.
- Goal: Primary objective of the library.
- Features: Core capabilities.
- Type: Category (e.g., browser automation, HTTP client).
- GitHub stars: Popularity indicator.
- Weekly downloads: Usage frequency.
- Release schedule: Update frequency.
- Pros/Cons: Benefits and limitations.
1. Playwright
A powerful headless browser library for automated testing and dynamic website scraping.
- Features: Cross-browser support, auto-waiting, stealth plugin, etc.
- Type: Browser automation
- GitHub stars: ~68.3k
- Weekly downloads: ~8.7M
- Pros: Multi-browser support, advanced features
- Cons: Resource-heavy, steep learning curve
💡 Learn more about web scraping with Playwright and Python.
2. Cheerio
A fast, flexible HTML/XML parser with a jQuery-like API.
- Features: DOM manipulation, lightweight
- Type: HTML parser
- GitHub stars: ~28.9k
- Weekly downloads: ~6.9M
- Pros: Familiar syntax, fast parsing
- Cons: Slow development, lacks JavaScript rendering
💡 Learn more about web scraping with Cheerio.
3. Axios
Popular for making HTTP requests, ideal for retrieving HTML data.
- Features: Promise API, request interception
- Type: HTTP client
- GitHub stars: ~106k
- Weekly downloads: ~50M
- Pros: Widely used, advanced features
- Cons: Requires HTML parser, not lightweight
💡 Learn more about web scraping with Axios.
4. Puppeteer
A library for browser automation and dynamic content scraping.
- Features: User interaction simulation, anti-bot capabilities
- Type: Browser automation
- GitHub stars: ~89.3k
- Weekly downloads: ~3.1M
- Pros: Supports dynamic content, CLI for browser download
- Cons: No Safari support, limited automation API
💡 Learn more about web scraping with Puppeteer and Python.
5. Crawlee
A framework for advanced crawling and scraping.
- Features: Proxy rotation, error management
- Type: Scraping framework
- GitHub stars: ~16.5k
- Weekly downloads: ~15k
- Pros: All-in-one solution, easy deployment
- Cons: Steep learning curve, limited community support
💡 Learn more about web scraping with Crawlee.
HTTP client with browser impersonation for bypassing anti-bot systems.
- Features: TLS fingerprinting, browser impersonation
- Type: HTTP client
- Weekly downloads: ~50
- Pros: Low resource usage, multiple impersonations
- Cons: Limited resources, infrequent updates
💡 Learn more about web scraping with
curl-impersonateand Python.
| Library | Type | HTTP Requesting | HTML Parsing | JavaScript Rendering | Anti-detection | Learning Curve | GitHub Stars | Downloads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playwright | Browser automation | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | High | Steep | ~68.3k | ~8.7M |
| Cheerio | HTML parser | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | — | Gentle | ~28.9k | ~6.9M |
| Axios | HTTP client | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | Limited | Gentle | ~106k | ~50M |
| Puppeteer | Browser automation | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | High | Steep | ~89.3k | ~3.1M |
| Crawlee | Scraping framework | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | Configurable | Steep | ~16.5k | ~15k |
| node-curl-impersonate | HTTP client | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | High | Medium | — | ~50 |
These libraries help with web scraping in Node.js but face challenges like IP blocks and CAPTCHAs. Bright Data offers solutions like Advanced Proxy Services and Web Scraper APIs to overcome these issues.
Some of the most popular Web Scraper APIs include: