Proxycurl vs PhantomBuster vs ScrapeLinkedIn: LinkedIn API Comparison (2026)
An honest, numbers-first comparison for developers who need LinkedIn profile data.
If you need LinkedIn profile data programmatically, you have three main options in 2026. Proxycurl, PhantomBuster, and ScrapeLinkedIn each take a different approach to the same problem. Here is an honest comparison based on real usage, not marketing pages.
The Contenders
Proxycurl is the established player in the LinkedIn data API space. It offers broad data coverage that extends beyond profiles to company data, job listings, and more. Plans start at $49/month with 500 credits included. If you need a wide surface area of LinkedIn data types, Proxycurl has the most comprehensive catalog.
PhantomBuster is a browser automation platform where LinkedIn scraping is one of many available "Phantoms." It is built for marketers and growth teams who want to automate LinkedIn workflows beyond just data extraction. Plans start at $56/month. The tradeoff: you are paying for a full automation platform, not just an API.
ScrapeLinkedIn is an API-only service focused on one thing: getting structured LinkedIn profile data as cheaply and simply as possible. It costs $0.01 per profile with no monthly commitment. You pay for what you use, and failed lookups are automatically refunded.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ScrapeLinkedIn | Proxycurl | PhantomBuster |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per profile | $0.01 | $0.03 - $0.10 | ~$0.14+ |
| Minimum spend | $1 (100 credits) | $49/mo (500 credits) | $56/mo |
| Free tier | 5 credits | 10 credits | 14-day trial |
| Monthly commitment | None | Required | Required |
| Pay-per-success | Yes (auto-refund) | Yes | No |
| Batch API | Up to 1,000/req | Yes | Via workflows |
| 24h caching (free re-lookups) | Yes | No | No |
| Rate limit | 10 req/min | 300 req/min | Varies |
| Auth method | API key header | Bearer token | API key |
| Response format | JSON | JSON | JSON/CSV |
| Webhook/callback | Yes | No | Yes |
| Name + company search | Yes | Yes | No |
The Same Request, Three Ways
Here is the exact same profile lookup with each provider. You want structured data for a LinkedIn profile URL. That is it.
ScrapeLinkedIn
curl -X POST https://scrapelinkedin.com/api/v1/scrape \
-H "X-API-Key: sk_your_key" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"linkedin_url": "https://linkedin.com/in/satyanadella"}'One request, one response. Poll the returned id or use a webhook callback. Results are cached for 24 hours, so repeated lookups for the same profile are free.
Proxycurl
curl https://nubela.co/proxycurl/api/v2/linkedin \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
-G --data-urlencode "url=https://linkedin.com/in/satyanadella"Synchronous response. Clean and straightforward. Proxycurl also offers additional endpoints for company data, job listings, and role lookups if you need them.
PhantomBuster
# PhantomBuster requires setting up a "Phantom" via their dashboard first
# Then launching it via API:
curl -X POST https://api.phantombuster.com/api/v2/agents/launch \
-H "X-Phantombuster-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"id": "YOUR_PHANTOM_ID"}'
# Then poll for results...PhantomBuster requires a two-step process: configure the Phantom in their dashboard, then trigger it via API. This makes sense for complex automation workflows, but adds overhead for simple profile lookups.
Cost at Scale
Pricing gets interesting once you move past small volumes. Here is what each provider costs at different scales.
| Profiles/month | ScrapeLinkedIn | Proxycurl | PhantomBuster |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | $1 | $49 | $56 |
| 500 | $5 | $49 | $56 |
| 1,000 | $10 | $49 | $56 |
| 5,000 | $50 | $150+ | $128+ |
| 10,000 | $100 | $300+ | $352+ |
The gap is most dramatic at low volumes. If you only need a few hundred profiles per month, the monthly commitment of Proxycurl and PhantomBuster means you are paying for credits you may never use. At higher volumes, the per-profile cost difference still compounds significantly.
When to Choose Each
Choose ScrapeLinkedIn if...
You want the lowest cost, pay-as-you-go pricing, and a simple REST API. Best for developers building data pipelines, AI agents, or CLI tools where you need LinkedIn profile data without platform overhead. The 24-hour caching and auto-refund on failures mean you only ever pay for successful, unique lookups.
Choose Proxycurl if...
You need LinkedIn data beyond individual profiles. Proxycurl offers company data, job listings, role lookups, and other endpoints that go well beyond profile scraping. If your use case requires a broad surface area of LinkedIn data types, Proxycurl has the most comprehensive catalog. The higher rate limit (300 req/min vs 10 req/min) also matters if you need high-throughput synchronous lookups.
Choose PhantomBuster if...
You need LinkedIn automation beyond data extraction. Connection requests, messaging sequences, post engagement, and other actions are where PhantomBuster shines. It is a full automation platform, not just a data API. If you are a growth team that wants to automate LinkedIn workflows end to end, the extra cost covers a much larger feature set.
Bottom Line
All three tools work. The right choice depends on what you are building. For pure profile data at the lowest cost, ScrapeLinkedIn is the clear winner. For broader LinkedIn data coverage, Proxycurl is hard to beat. For full LinkedIn automation, PhantomBuster does things the other two do not even attempt.