The best social media data API for indie hackers (2026)

I build crawlfeed, and I’m an indie developer myself, so I know the budget question. Here’s what I’d use for a side project, including the cheaper ones that aren’t mine.

The picks at a glance

Tool	Best for	Price	Free to start
ScrapeCreators	the most free credits and cheapest calls	$1.88 to $0.99 per 1k, prepaid	100, plus up to 7,000 bonus
crawlfeed (mine)	side projects using several platforms	From $19 prepaid; $7.60 to $2.33 per 1k calls	100 credits
SocialCrawl	many platforms on a small budget	£6.00 to £1.99 per 1k credits, prepaid (GBP)	100 credits
SociaVault	live data, small packs	$4.83 to $2.00 per 1k, prepaid	50 credits
Bright Data	a recurring free allowance	$1.50 to $1.30 per 1k records	5,000 records a month

1. ScrapeCreators

Best for: the most free credits and cheapest calls
Price: $1.88 to $0.99 per 1k, prepaid
Free to start: 100, plus up to 7,000 bonus

Claim the bonus credits and you can build a whole MVP for free. Once you pay, $47 buys 25,000 calls. It’s the cheapest option here. You’ll write a small mapper for each platform you use.

Visit ScrapeCreators

2. crawlfeedMine

Best for: side projects that read several platforms
Price: From $19 prepaid; $7.60 to $2.33 per 1k calls
Free to start: 100 credits

The smallest first purchase here in USD ($19), and every platform comes back in one shape, so you skip the mapper code. You pay more per call for that: $7.60 per 1k on the first pack.

See every crawlfeed endpoint and price

3. SocialCrawl

Best for: many platforms on a small budget
Price: £6.00 to £1.99 per 1k credits, prepaid (GBP)
Free to start: 100 credits

£15 for 2,500 credits, 67 platforms, unified schema. Billed in GBP.

Visit SocialCrawl

4. SociaVault

Best for: live data
Price: $4.83 to $2.00 per 1k, prepaid
Free to start: 50 credits

$29 entry pack, live on every call.

Visit SociaVault

5. Bright Data

Best for: a free allowance that renews
Price: $1.50 to $1.30 per 1k records
Free to start: 5,000 records a month

5,000 free records every month. More setup than the small APIs, but hard to beat if you stay under it.

Visit Bright Data

My pick

Building on one platform? Take ScrapeCreators’ free credits and go. Building something that compares platforms, like a creator dashboard? crawlfeed or SocialCrawl, so you don’t write a mapper per platform.

What I’d do today

Build against free credits only. Don’t buy anything before your first user.
Cache responses in your own database so you don’t pay twice for the same profile.
When you launch, buy the smallest pack and watch your real usage for a month.

Questions

What’s the cheapest social media API?

Per call, ScrapeCreators: $1.88 per 1k at entry, $0.99 at volume. For free usage every month, Bright Data’s 5,000 records.

Should I use a monthly plan?

Not before you have users. Prepaid credits that never expire are safer for side projects.

Try crawlfeed

100 free credits, no card. Credits are prepaid and never expire, so a quiet month costs nothing. Run your real workload through it for a week. If another tool on this page fits better, use that one.

Get 100 free credits See pricing

I checked prices and features for every product here in October 2026, on each vendor’s own site: ScrapeCreators, SocialCrawl pricing, SociaVault pricing, Bright Data pricing. Pricing in this market changes often, so check before you buy. Spotted something out of date? Tell me and I’ll fix it.