Bright Data Reviews

We conduct economic research focused on Israel's tech industry and innovation policy. Our work mainly concerns understanding the Israeli tech sector. We're using data under the BYT initiative, but I am not actively using any scrapers. I only download data already collected and generously provided to us for free.

I use two datasets: LinkedIn profiles for individuals and LinkedIn profiles for companies. While we are exploring other datasets, these are the ones we've been using so far. We analyze this data to support various research projects, such as understanding the characteristics of employees in the tech industry. For example, we investigate how many employees companies are adding or losing, what tech workers study, and what kind of education is most likely to lead to a career in tech, including within different industry subsectors.

There are a lot more advanced options. It looks very impressive.

It would be better if variables like experience or education containing complex data were already organized into sub-variables. For example, the experience variable could be broken down into company name, company ID, job description, start year, and end year. 

As part of the Bright Initiative, since we’re a nonprofit, we are limited in the number of data points we can download. This can occasionally be challenging, but we manage to work around it. In the past, I encountered a few other challenges as well. Initially, I had difficulty transferring the data from Bright Data to our cloud.

One past issue involved date formats. There were many different date formats for the same data points. LinkedIn adjusts the date format based on the user’s browsing location. So, if you're viewing a profile from the US, the date might appear in a month-day-year format, whereas in other regions, it could show up as day-month-year.

When using automatic web crawlers to download data, the data formats can vary depending on the server's IP address running the scraper, not your location.

I received the employment start date variable in about fifty different formats, which I had to standardize. I wrote some code to convert all the time formats into a consistent format.

I have been using Bright Data for two years.

There were no issues with stability.

We have two researchers working on this and some research assistants.

We asked for help understanding some of the data on a few occasions. They were very professional and accommodating. Even though we’re not a paid customer, they genuinely went out of their way to help solve our problems. In a few cases, we asked if they could create new features for us, and they were willing to consider it, which was very nice. Overall, it was an excellent experience, and they quickly replied.

The filters used to retrieve and download the data are quite straightforward. It probably takes about an hour or two to go through the system and fully understand how it works. You can figure it out; it's simple.

For anyone working with data professionally, it's a manageable process. It requires some time investment, but it's not difficult, and someone experienced in data management should be able to get comfortable with it quickly.

LinkedIn profile data is organized in JSON file format. Understanding the structure of this data can be a bit tricky. For example, there's a variable called experience. Under this variable, a text string contains all the information the user has entered about their professional experience, similar to a resume. For some reason, possibly due to LinkedIn changing its format at some point, there are two different formats used for that experience string. To handle this, I wrote a small code that parses the string correctly and creates a table with all the necessary information. However, this took a lot of work—it involved thoroughly understanding the data, writing the code, and testing it to ensure it worked as intended. Some variables, like the country code, are straightforward. Other variables contain text strings that are difficult to decode from the JSON format into something useful. Extracting that information requires more effort.

We are using the free version. It’s expensive. We’re a small nonprofit with limited resources. Our work is focused on research for the public good, so we don’t have a lot of budget to spare.

We hired another company to scrape the data for us. The quality of the data we received was similar to what we had before, but accessing the data without doing it ourselves has been much more useful. When handling it independently, paying someone was much more expensive, and we were limited to datasets of only a few hundred thousand individuals.

We're working with datasets that include millions of profiles. For example, the number of Israeli LinkedIn profiles is about 1.8 million, and that's the scale of data we’re using now. I like the interface and the ability to apply filters to create specific subsets according to my research needs at any time. Downloading the data is straightforward, with many transfer options to various cloud services.

The support is very professional and excellent. If I need a data scrape, I’d consider them the first place to go.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

I utilized the platform for my project, which involved scraping data from Amazon and Flipkart, an e-commerce website in India. Specifically, I utilized it as a proxy server to facilitate data scraping from Amazon and used its web scraping API for Flipkart.

The solution provides comprehensive support services, including many tutorials and documentation. In terms of web scraping, it has proven to be the most effective tool.

The solution's proxy selection process needs improvement. Incorporating country-specific proxies would be beneficial.

I have been using Bright Data for approximately four to five months.

There have been occasional stability issues, particularly when my project experienced high request volumes, leading to temporary disruptions. 

Due to my project's relatively low number of users, I encountered minimal scalability challenges while using the product. 

I have relied on the extensive tutorials and documentation available for technical support. Although I have yet to interact with support directly, the resources provided have been comprehensive and helpful.

Setting up the proxy is simple; you only need to configure basic settings and obtain an API link. However, setting up the ID can be somewhat complex, especially for new users. It may be confusing initially, but experience makes the process more manageable.

Compared to other proxy servers, Bright Data's pricing is quite reasonable. It is relatively inexpensive while offering stable and effective performance for its cost.

Amazon tends to block IP addresses used for scraping, which would be a significant obstacle without a proxy. Bright Data's proxy server helps circumvent this issue by forwarding requests from my website to Amazon and sending the retrieved data back to me. 

The tool is relatively user-friendly and straightforward compared to other options. The interface is designed to be intuitive, and with some research and learning from available tutorials, users can navigate it effectively.

I highly recommend the platform, especially its new features like browser tracking capabilities. The basic features, including proxy management and ID setup, are notably faster and offer significant flexibility. Overall, it provides excellent functionality and a unique user experience.

I rate it an eighty out of ten. 

When I worked at a web scraping company, I used Bright Data for the different kinds of proxies it offers, such as data center proxies and mobile proxies.

The solution's most valuable feature is its mobile proxies. Sometimes, systems have a lot of security, and we get blocked if we make a lot of requests. This won't happen if we use mobile proxies.

The solution's initial setup, including the documentation, is not very developer-friendly. It can be improved so that new developers' onboarding to the documentation becomes easier. Bright Data is not easy to use, and its documentation is not very clear. The solution's documentation and initial setup are longer than they should be.

We did not face any stability issues with Bright Data. Once the setup is done, it is very smooth to use. It doesn't break, and we didn't get any bugs.

Bright Data is a scalable solution. If you want to make requests at a large scale, we always have an option for data center proxies. It will provide you with many different proxies that you can use. You can use it for web scraping at scale. It is reliable and won't break or give you errors or issues.

The solution's technical support was good, and we faced no issues. I personally did not get a chance to create a customer ticket and get involved in the process. However, I can say from my team's experience that the support is good. If you have any issues, they will get back to you as soon as possible and help you resolve them.

Bright Data is not an expensive tool compared to its competitors. It offers a wide range of different kinds of proxies. You can decide which one to use according to your needs.

In my previous organization, we scraped many e-commerce websites on a large scale. When we make normal requests to any website or application without using a proxy, we would normally get blocked by CloudFlare or any other security layer they have. We used their proxies to make different requests that prevented us from getting blocked.

For websites that don't have securities, we can use their data center proxies, which are cheaper. We can use that if we know there are no securities and we won't get blocked. However, if there is a chance of getting blocked or not getting the request by the security layer, we would use local proxies or mobile proxies.

I would recommend the solution to other users. New users should first understand their requirements. Bright Data offers many services, and it would be great if they found the right fit for their requirements. Then, they will be able to make the most of the tool.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

I use Bright Data to scrape web pages for an e-commerce platform project. I needed to gather data from various sources, such as Amazon, to create a comprehensive database of products.

The platform's most valuable feature is the availability of predefined templates for data sets and collections. It lets users quickly specify their data requirements without writing code from scratch. For instance, I could easily scrape data from Amazon by selecting the appropriate template and specifying the data I needed, such as iPhone details or tech gadgets.

The product's primary area for improvement is the documentation. As a developer, I rely heavily on comprehensive and up-to-date documentation. However, it did not always reflect the latest product updates, which led to difficulties and delays.

I rate the product stability a seven. 

The solution is scalable. It offers features tailored to various project sizes and requirements, making it suitable for both small—and large-scale data scraping needs. 

I rate the scalability a seven.

My experience with customer service and support was positive. They were responsive and addressed my concerns, particularly regarding the documentation.

Positive

The initial setup was relatively straightforward, especially with the predefined templates available. However, navigating through the documentation presented some challenges due to its outdated nature.

The product pricing is reasonable for its features.

I evaluated other options, including ZenRows, another web scraping platform. However, I ultimately decided on this solution due to its comprehensive features and the positive experience during the hackathon.

Before using the solution, I would advise new users to familiarize themselves with the basics of web scraping. Having a fundamental understanding will make it easier to utilize the platform effectively. Additionally, contacting customer support for any queries can be helpful as they are quite responsive.

I rate it an eight out of ten. 

I use the solution mainly since it helps me with the technical writing about Bright Data. I use it to do some web scraping from eBay for some product names, prices, and customer reviews.

When you are doing web scraping, most scraping libraries don't give you what you and you probably have to use other third-party libraries to maybe navigate against being blocked by the site or maybe solve CAPTCHA, but somehow, the product seems to have all of those features, specifically if you are using a premium version, and not on a trial one. If you are using a premium version, it has all those features. You need to set it up properly, and it does most of the work for you.

I think Bright Data and the tools within its catalog are still unpopular. Earlier, I did not know that Bright Data had a web scraping browser. I know about tools like Playwright, Selenium, and Scrapy. I also know a lot of other web scraping tools, but I had a gig to write about Bright Data and its scraping browser before I knew about it. I think the tool needs to get to a lot of other people to use it properly even before you can even think of improving it because there is no use in improving it if nobody knows about its functionalities.

I have experience using Bright Data.

For the time I used it, I think Everything was pretty smooth, and I was able to do the web scraping for a chunk of data while not having to go back and check if my code was correct or if something happened. Everything just went through, and it was seamless.

What I was doing with the tool was limited, so I wouldn't probably experience some bugs. If I extended the use of the tool to perform other complex jobs, then maybe I would be sure I could figure out the tool's stability.

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

The way the tool is set up is scalable because you really don't have to do anything. You write your web scraping code, but immediately, you input some of your required details with the scraping browser, like resolving CAPTCHA issues, the proxy rotation, and all such stuff, while also giving a human simulation, considering that some sites may notice a bot and the tool could be blocked. Web scraping handles a lot of things for you, which, for me, means scalability since I can do a lot more without getting blocked. I think the tool is pretty much scalable. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

I really didn't need to deploy the tool.

I think the pricing is fair, if it is used in a business. The pricing model might need some adjustments if I am using it for a personal purpose, especially if I use it for a month or two.

The proxy would help you sometimes, especially considering that I am in Africa, where, at times, you really don't have access to some sites because of your location, and you get blocked. The proxy feature would probably help you navigate sites without being blocked, and then you can go for web scraping.

It is a really easy tool. All you just need to do is sign up, get your account, and make sure that you've activated the premium version by making the payment. Everything about the dashboard seems intuitive. The tool also has good documentation to help you if you need it.

I don't think the AI feature was incorporated into the tool.

I would recommend the product to anyone who wants to do something around web scraping or data mining. I would also suggest that others use the premium version of the product since most would want to go for a free version.

The tool is not popular. Besides the fact that I had to use it, I don't really know what the other features that might be eye-catching in the tool are. I don't know whether the tool might be a Swiss knife, and I may only probably need to use it as a knife alone.

I rate the tool a seven out of ten.

We use Bright Data to gather information from various websites. It helps us enhance our internal data by collecting specific data points that we're interested in. Bright Data offers pre-set data as well as customized data scripts tailored to our requirements. This allows us to improve the quality and accuracy of the data we have.

The most valuable feature of Bright Data in the last few months has been their customer support and the availability of filters. Their customer support is responsive and helpful, especially when I needed a custom data set. The filters they offer are also great because they save time by allowing us to exclude unwanted data before pulling the full dataset.

Bright Data could improve its user interface and dashboard to make it more user-friendly. I found it confusing and difficult to navigate initially, and even after using it for two years, it still hasn't become crystal clear to me when I'm looking for specific data sets. It would be helpful if they could enhance the presentation and organization of their dashboard to make it easier for users to navigate and manage data effectively. Learning to use Bright Data may take time due to its current usability challenges, but it's manageable. However, realizing its full capabilities might take longer due to lack of clarity in data presentation.

I have been using Bright Data for the past two years.

I'd rate Bright Data a nine for stability.

It is scalable based on my experience. In our company, between five and ten people use Bright Data.

I've had positive experiences with their customer support. They are quick in their responses and turnaround for custom data requests, which was done within a few days of providing the necessary information.  

Positive

The setup and deployment of Bright Data were quite easy, requiring just an email address and password to get started. There hasn't been a need for maintenance.

We chose Bright Data over competitors based on positive feedback and discussions with them, finding that they offered what we needed. We are also exploring their APIs, which could streamline our data handling processes in the future.

If Bright Data improves its data presentation, it would increase our likelihood of continuing to use their services. 

Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

I have learned about Bright Data, a good provider of proxy servers and web scraping services. So, I decided to try it and switch to Bright Data Services. Currently, I am using it to scrape data from Amazon and LinkedIn to train an LLM model. I use the solution for both proxy server and web scraping purposes.

The most valuable feature of Bright Data is its proxy server, which effectively mimics real human behavior, avoiding complex navigation in the browser and reducing server load during scraping. This makes it easier to scrape data sets.

The solution could be improved by simplifying the setup process for new developers, as it can be complex for those without experience. Making manual settings easier and enabling a one-click setup would help bridge this gap. Everything else about Bright Data is fine.

I have been using the product for a month. 

I haven't experienced any bugs with the product. It works as expected. 

One of my friends is also using Bright Data in his company. He uses it to navigate through LinkedIn and scrape job listings, job locations, and job descriptions to train his AI model.

I chose the solution because it provided a one-step solution for proxy servers and web scraping. Earlier, I was using my personal IP address to scrape data from LinkedIn, which got me banned for around one and a half months. Bright Data offered a proxy server and web scraping capabilities from the same platform, which was very helpful. It felt like a perfect combination, like jam and cream for the same bread.

I would recommend using Bright Data. I've already suggested it to my friends who are into data scraping because Bright Data's web scraper is much more organized than other tools. For someone experienced like me, it was easy to set up and use. However, my junior, who was not experienced, found it challenging.

I rate it a nine out of ten.

I used Bright Data solely for research purposes.

I appreciate the platform's services, which are affordable and offer various options. 

The product could be more user-friendly for beginners.

The platform is scalable and works well with large projects. I have not experienced any issues with scalability.

The product has average pricing. 

I advise others to have some background experience with web scraping before using the product. 

I recommend it to others and rate it a seven.