# Bright Data — Web unlocking, SERP and 1,200+ pre-built scrapers on a 400M-IP proxy network, billed per successful record. > Source: The Agents Index — https://theagentsindex.com/bright-data (structured, researched, re-verified) Bright Data is a web data platform whose APIs search, crawl, unlock and extract public web pages, with remote browsers, proxy networks and ready-made datasets behind them. An MCP server and SDKs expose the same infrastructure to AI agents. **Best for:** Data and AI teams that need blocked public web pages returned reliably at scale | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Website | https://brightdata.com | | Category | Web search & scraping APIs | | Open source | Partly | | Price | Free | | Price source | https://brightdata.com/pricing/serp | | Price checked | 28 October 2026 | | MCP server | Yes | | API | Not stated | | Self-host | Partly | | Facts | 17 facts from 7 sources | | Facts checked | 28 October 2026 | Screenshot of Bright Data: https://theagentsindex.com/img/1920/screenshots/bright-data.webp, captured 29 October 2026 **What we checked** - Pages last read: 28 October 2026 - Facts checked: 17 facts (From 7 sources) - AI answers: Named in 2 of 151 (Our October check) ## What we checked on Bright Data ### Whose machine it runs on **Self-hosted** · Partly — Only the MCP server can be run on your own machines or private cloud; the unlocking, scraping and browser infrastructure it calls stays in the vendor cloud and still needs an account token. > Local (self-hosted) MCP: Set up your own MCP server instance on-premise or in your private cloud. > — https://docs.brightdata.com/products/mcp-server/overview · MCP server overview, 'Choose your MCP server' cards, checked 28 October 2026 **Open source** · Partly — The MCP server repository is published under the MIT licence and the Proxy Manager is described as open source, while the scraping and unlocking platform itself is closed. > A powerful Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides an all-in-one solution for public web access. > — https://github.com/brightdata/brightdata-mcp · Repository header, description and MIT License field, checked 28 October 2026 ### Building with it **SDK languages** · Yes — The vendor documents a Python SDK and a JavaScript SDK alongside a CLI, all authenticating with the same API key; no other language client is named. > The Bright Data CLI, Python SDK and JavaScript SDK use the same API key. Pass the key once when you set up the client, and every request the client sends carries the Authorization header for you. > — https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/authentication · Authentication, 'How do I authenticate with the CLI, Python SDK and JavaScript SDK?', checked 28 October 2026 **Tracing and evals** · Yes — Job management APIs, snapshot-based async jobs and a live credit view in the control panel let you follow each collection run; no separate evaluation layer is documented. > Performance at Scale: Unlimited concurrency, Batch & scheduled collection, Job management APIs > — https://brightdata.com/pricing/serp · 'Every plan gives you full access' feature grid, Performance at Scale column, checked 28 October 2026 ### What it costs to run **How it meters** · Yes — Billing is metered per successful request or delivered record, one credit each, while the Browser API meters traffic volume instead of time or seats. > The Web Unlocker API, SERP API and Web Scraper API consume one credit per request or record. Scraper Studio draws from the same pool and consumes one credit per page load. The Browser API consumes 5 credits per MB > — https://docs.brightdata.com/general/account/billing-and-pricing/free-tier · Free tier, 'How are free credits consumed?', checked 28 October 2026 **Cost of one job** · Yes — On the cheapest paid path, pay as you go, a thousand SERP or unlocked requests cost $1.50, dropping to $1.30 once the $499 Scale plan is in force. > Pay as you go $1.5/1K requests > — https://brightdata.com/pricing/serp · SERP API plan cards, Pay as you go column, checked 28 October 2026 **Price per 1,000 requests** · Yes — $1.30 per 1,000 requests in Scale, its cheapest mode. > $1.3/1K additional requests > — https://brightdata.com/pricing/serp · SERP API plan cards, Scale column bullet list, checked 28 October 2026 **Free credit** · Yes — $2 of free usage, once, at signup. > New accounts receive a separate one-time $2 trial credit (valid 7 days) to test the proxy products, plus an additional $5 bonus upon adding a payment method (valid 30 days). > — https://docs.brightdata.com/general/account/billing-and-pricing/free-tier · Free tier, note on proxy products, checked 28 October 2026 **Free tier** · Yes — Every new account gets a standing monthly allowance of 5,000 credits spendable across five products with no card and no sales call, and it renews each month. > Every new Bright Data account gets 5,000 free credits per month (~$7.50 value), usable across the Web Unlocker API, SERP API, Web Scraper API, Scraper Studio and Browser API. No credit card, no promo code, no commitment. > — https://docs.brightdata.com/general/account/billing-and-pricing/free-tier · Free tier, opening paragraph, checked 28 October 2026 **MCP server** · Yes — A hosted MCP endpoint and a local server both expose search, scraping, pre-built scrapers and browser control to any MCP client, with 5,000 requests a month free. > The Bright Data MCP server gives AI agents and assistants real-time access to public web data through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Connect it to Claude, Cursor or any MCP-compatible client > — https://docs.brightdata.com/products/mcp-server/overview · MCP server overview, opening paragraph, checked 28 October 2026 ### Buying it for a team **A company can buy it** · Yes — There are team accounts with multiple users, an Enterprise tier with an account manager and SLA, and billing through the AWS Marketplace. > For team accounts, that free tier is shared across all users within the account. If you require additional credits, please contact your account manager. > — https://docs.brightdata.com/products/mcp-server/overview · MCP server overview, closing note on the free tier, checked 28 October 2026 **Pooled budget** · Yes — Credits sit in one account-level pool that every product and every user on a team account draws from, rather than each seat holding its own balance. > Free credits are drawn from a single shared pool of 5,000 credits per account. ... Usage is metered and deducted from the same pool, regardless of which product made the call. > — https://docs.brightdata.com/general/account/billing-and-pricing/free-tier · Free tier, 'How are free credits consumed?', checked 28 October 2026 **Admin controls** · Yes — API keys carry one of five permission levels, so an admin can issue an agent a key that may call products but cannot touch billing or configuration. > User: Enables API usage on the proxy/API level without access to Billing or product configuration pages. > — https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/authentication · Authentication, 'What permissions level does an API key have?', checked 28 October 2026 **Audit log** · Partly — Audit logs appear only in the Browser API Enterprise column beside SSO; the published self-serve plans list no audit trail of administrative action. > Enterprise Custom Talk to sales: Custom packages, Dedicated account manager, Premium SLA, Priority support, Tailored onboarding, SSO & audit logs > — https://brightdata.com/pricing/scraping-browser · Browser API plan cards, Enterprise column, checked 28 October 2026 **Single sign-on** · Partly — SSO is listed as an Enterprise entitlement on the scraper, SERP and unlocker plan cards, so self-serve buyers on the free, pay as you go and Scale plans do not get it. > Enterprise Custom Talk to sales: Volume discounts, Account manager, Premium SLA, Priority support, SSO > — https://brightdata.com/pricing/serp · SERP API plan cards, Enterprise column, checked 28 October 2026 ### What happens to your code **Getting out** · Partly — Results can be pushed out to a webhook or S3 and customer data deletion is offered on request, but unused free credits are forfeited at the start of each month rather than carried over. > No. Credits reset to 5,000 on the first of each month. Unused credits are forfeited. > — https://docs.brightdata.com/general/account/billing-and-pricing/free-tier · Free tier FAQ, 'Do free credits roll over?', checked 28 October 2026 **Certifications** · Yes — ISO 27001, 27017 and 27018 certificates run to 2028, a SOC 2 Type II report is available under NDA with SOC 3 public, and GDPR and CCPA programmes are documented. > Yes. Bright Data holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022, ISO 27017, and ISO 27018 certifications, valid until August 11-13, 2028, issued by SII-QCD (ANAB Accredited, IAF & IQNET member). > — https://docs.brightdata.com/general/security/security-overview · Security & compliance FAQ, 'Is Bright Data ISO 27001 certified?', checked 28 October 2026 ## Bright Data price and terms **Terms** - Free plan: Yes — 5,000 credits a month on every new account, shared across Web Unlocker API, SERP API, Web Scraper API, Scraper Studio and Browser API (5 credits per MB), no credit card; unfunded accounts are rate limited to 1,000 requests a minute and unused credits do not roll over. Proxy products are excluded, with a separate one-time $2 trial credit. **What needs a higher plan** - Enterprise: Audit log, Single sign-on ## For AI agents - MCP server: Yes Pricing page as we captured it: https://theagentsindex.com/img/1920/screenshots/bright-data/pricing.webp, captured 29 October 2026 Read on https://brightdata.com/pricing/serp, 28 October 2026. ## Bright Data alternatives - [ProofFetch](https://theagentsindex.com/prooffetch) · Free plan, then $5 per pack of 500 extractions: Paid web extraction API returning cited paragraphs, SHA-256 receipts and prompt-injection indicators. - [Exa](https://theagentsindex.com/exa) · Free plan, then $4 per 1000 requests: Web search, contents and agentic research APIs built for AI agents, billed per request. - [Apify](https://theagentsindex.com/apify) · Free plan, then $19 a month: Marketplace and cloud platform of ready-to-run web scraping and automation tools, callable over API or MCP. - [Oxylabs](https://theagentsindex.com/oxylabs) · From $30 a month: Live web search, page scraping and a cloud browser on one 177M-IP proxy network, with MCP servers for agents. All 4 publish a price. [All 4 alternatives](https://theagentsindex.com/bright-data/alternatives/) ## Questions about Bright Data ### How much does Bright Data cost? Bright Data is free to use. From brightdata.com/pricing/serp, checked 28 October 2026. ### Does Bright Data have an API or an MCP server? It has an MCP server. ### Is Bright Data open source, and can you host it yourself? Part of it is open source. You can host part of it yourself. ### What have we checked on Bright Data? 17 facts, under these headings: Whose machine it runs on, building with it, what it costs to run, buying it for a team, what happens to your code. ### How do we check Bright Data? We hold 17 facts on Bright Data, quoted from 7 pages. Facts and price last checked 28 October 2026. How we check every listing: https://theagentsindex.com/methodology/ ## Sources and changes Last changed 29 October 2026 **Sources** (7) - https://docs.brightdata.com/general/account/billing-and-pricing/free-tier, read 28 October 2026 - https://brightdata.com/pricing/serp, read 28 October 2026 - https://docs.brightdata.com/products/mcp-server/overview, read 28 October 2026 - https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/authentication, read 28 October 2026 - https://github.com/brightdata/brightdata-mcp, read 28 October 2026 - https://docs.brightdata.com/general/security/security-overview, read 28 October 2026 - https://brightdata.com/pricing/scraping-browser, read 28 October 2026 ## Is this yours? AI assistants like ChatGPT and Claude opened The Agents Index pages 2,746 times in September. Claim Bright Data: https://theagentsindex.com/claim/bright-data Report an error if a fact is wrong: hello@theagentsindex.com, subject "Report an error: Bright Data (bright-data)".