Compare Gaffa vs. SlimerJS

Gaffa is a REST API built for web scraping and browser automation, allowing developers to run real, full browsers at scale with a single API call. It removes the difficulty of managing headless browser frameworks, rotating proxies, CAPTCHA solving, and scaling infrastructure, all of which are handled automatically. JavaScript-heavy and dynamic websites render exactly as they would for a human visitor by default. Beyond standard scraping, Gaffa supports AI-driven structured data extraction (extract data into a defined schema without writing CSS selectors), screenshot and PDF capture, infinite-scroll and form-filling automation, and clean Markdown conversion for feeding webpages directly into LLM and RAG pipelines. A rotating residential proxy network keeps access reliable across regions, and a credit-based pricing model means teams pay only for the browser time and bandwidth they actually use. Gaffa is designed for AI engineers, data teams, and developers who want production-grade web data extraction without having to build and maintain their own infrastructure.

SlimerJS is a free, open-source browser that can be programmed for web development, enabling users to interact with web pages via external JavaScript scripts. This tool facilitates a variety of functions, including opening web pages, clicking on links, and altering content, which makes it advantageous for tasks like functional testing, automating page interactions, monitoring network activity, capturing screens, and scraping web data. In contrast to PhantomJS, SlimerJS utilizes Gecko, the rendering engine used by Mozilla Firefox, rather than WebKit, and it can function in both headless and non-headless modes. The APIs provided by SlimerJS bear similarities to those of PhantomJS, although there are notable differences in their functionalities. Despite these distinctions, most scripts designed for PhantomJS are currently compatible with SlimerJS, providing a seamless transition for developers looking to switch between the two. This versatility ultimately enhances the scripting experience for web developers.