Iteration Layer vs Firecrawl
Firecrawl is a strong web scraping platform; Iteration Layer returns typed JSON from a schema instead of raw page content.
Why developers switch from Firecrawl
Firecrawl gives you page content and crawling tools. Iteration Layer gives you typed fields, confidence scores, and citations from a single public page.
Schema in, typed JSON out
Define the fields you need — dates, prices, addresses, nested arrays — and get typed JSON with confidence scores and citations. No scraping logic to build.
Confidence scores and citations
Every extracted value includes a confidence score and a verbatim source citation from the page, so you know when to trust the result and when to flag it for review.
EU-hosted, zero data retention
All processing runs on EU infrastructure. Page content is processed in memory and not retained. DPA available for all plans.
Feature-by-feature comparison
We went through the docs so you don't have to. Here's how every feature compares — including the ones where we're not the better choice.
| Feature | Iteration Layer | Firecrawl |
|---|---|---|
| Schema-defined extraction |
Yes
Define fields in a schema and receive typed JSON results |
Limited
Primarily returns page content, not schema-based fields |
| Confidence scores |
Per field
Confidence score between 0 and 1 for every extracted field |
No
No per-field confidence scoring |
| Source citations |
Yes
Verbatim source citation from the page for every field |
No
No source citations for extracted values |
| Crawling depth |
Single page
One public URL per request |
Crawler platform
Built for multi-page crawling and scraping |
| EU hosting |
EU only
All processing on EU-hosted servers |
US-hosted
Primary infrastructure is US-based |
| GDPR / Data privacy |
Zero retention
No page content stored beyond temporary 90-day logs |
Hosted platform
Hosted scraping, search, crawl, and interact platform with SOC 2 Type 2 positioning |
| Data used for training |
Never
Page content is never used to train or improve AI models |
AI data platform
Public pages emphasize AI-ready web data and hosted crawling rather than a zero-retention extraction guarantee |
| Pricing model |
Per page
One credit per extraction request |
Per credit
Platform credits for scraping and extraction |
| Infrastructure required |
None
Fully managed API with no deployment needed |
None
Fully managed platform |
Pricing
Start usage-based. Switch to a subscription when your volume becomes predictable.
Usage-based
Graduated pricing. Your effective rate decreases automatically as monthly usage grows.
- No monthly commitment
- Pay only for credits used
- Automatic volume discounts as usage grows
Predictable volume
Fixed recurring credit packs with lower effective credit prices for steady usage.
- Lower effective per-credit prices
- Fixed recurring credit packs
- Predictable monthly budget
Try Iteration Layer with 100 credits
Start with one shared trial pool before choosing subscription or pay-as-you-go billing.
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