# Onto vs Firecrawl · Where each one fits
> Both turn a URL into Markdown for agents. Firecrawl adds search, crawl, browser actions and LLM extraction; Onto adds a free 0–100 score, no model in the pipeline, and an SDK for your own Next.js site.

**Source:** /compare/firecrawl
**Extracted:** 2026-09-24T18:14:20.546Z

---
Compared · Onto vs Firecrawl

## Firecrawl scrapes, crawls and searches. _Onto reads, and scores what it read._

Both turn a URL into Markdown an agent can use, and both come with an MCP server. Firecrawl goes wider: search, deep crawls, browser actions, and JSON extraction by a model. Onto stays narrower on purpose: no model in the pipeline, a free 0–100 score for any page, and an SDK for serving agents from your own site.

[Try the scanner free](/scanner) [All comparisons](/compare)

70

firecrawl.dev AIO score

80

buildonto.dev, ours

24 Sep 2026

both scanned

Shared ground

### What Firecrawl and Onto both do.

Starting anywhere else would be dishonest. For a lot of jobs either one is a reasonable answer.

Markdown

#### HTML in, clean Markdown out

Both strip the chrome, keep the headings, lists, tables and links, and hand back text a model can read directly.

Many pages

#### More than one URL

Both map a site's URLs and read many pages. Firecrawl also crawls recursively; Onto reads a list of up to 50 in one batch.

MCP

#### An MCP server

Both run an official MCP server, so Claude Code, Cursor and other clients can read pages through them.

Free tier

#### 1,000 credits a month

Both give 1,000 credits a month free, and a basic page costs 1 credit on either.

Line by line

### Where the two differ.

A dot marks who comes out ahead on the row, when anyone does. A dash means the product doesn't do it. Their side is from Firecrawl's own site, 24 Sep 2026.

CapabilityOntoFirecrawl

Page → MarkdownYes · 1 credit a URL, cached an hour, failures refundedYes · 1 credit a page

JavaScript renderingNo · client-rendered pages come back flaggedYes

A 0–100 score for the page0–100, every penalty named · /v1/score is free—

Hallucination-risk labellow, medium or high, per page—

Structured extractionWhat the page declares (JSON-LD, OpenGraph, meta) · no model · 1 creditJSON format, by a model · +4 credits a page

Map a site/v1/map · sitemap, then on-page linksYes · 1 credit

Read many pages/v1/batch · up to 50 URLs, 1 credit eachCrawl, recursively · 1 credit a page

Web search—Yes

Browser actions—Interact

MCP serverYes · six tools, OAuth or npxYes

Serve agents from your own site@ontosdk/next, for Next.js 14+—

Free1,000 credits a month1,000 credits a month

Paid$9, $49 or $250 a month, plus credit packsFrom $16 a month, billed annually

Which to pick

### When to choose Firecrawl instead.

Both columns are real. If the right-hand one describes you, use them.

#### Pick Onto if…

*   You want to know how readable a page is before your agent grounds on it, and you'd rather not pay for the check.
*   You want extraction that only returns what a page declares, with no model deciding.
*   You run a Next.js site and want agents served Markdown from it, with their visits in a dashboard.
*   Your reads are single URLs, or lists of up to 50.

#### Pick Firecrawl if…

*   The pages you read need JavaScript to render.
*   You need a model to pull out fields a page never states.
*   You need search, deep recursive crawls or browser actions in the same API.

Common questions

### Details worth knowing.

01Does Onto do AI extraction like Firecrawl's JSON format?

No, on purpose. `/v1/extract` returns the structured data a page already declares (JSON-LD, OpenGraph, meta), with no model in the loop. Firecrawl's JSON format runs a model to infer fields, for 4 extra credits a page; if that's what you need, it's a real reason to pick Firecrawl. [Why we left the model out](/blog/no-ai-inside).

02Does Onto render JavaScript?

No. It reads the HTML the server sends. A page that only fills in after scripts run comes back with a warning in `warnings`, so you know the Markdown may be thin.

03Is the score in every read?

`/v1/read` returns the Markdown with its metadata and stats. `/v1/score` returns the score alone and costs nothing; `/v1/read-and-score` returns both for 1 credit. [How the score works](/scoring).

About Firecrawl, from its own pages on 24 Sep 2026: [Firecrawl pricing](https://www.firecrawl.dev/pricing) · [Firecrawl MCP docs](https://docs.firecrawl.dev/mcp-server) . About Onto: [the Read API docs](https://docs.buildonto.dev/api/read) and [pricing](/pricing). Prices on both sides change; check before you decide.

Decide for yourself

### Run the same URL through both.

The scanner is free and needs no account. Compare the actual output rather than the marketing.

[Open the scanner](/scanner) [All comparisons](/compare)

---
## Structured Data (JSON-LD)
```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "@id": "https://buildonto.dev/#org",
      "name": "Onto",
      "url": "https://buildonto.dev",
      "logo": "https://buildonto.dev/icon.png",
      "sameAs": [
        "https://x.com/buildonto",
        "https://github.com/ravixalgorithm/ontosdk"
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "@id": "https://buildonto.dev/#site",
      "url": "https://buildonto.dev",
      "name": "Onto",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://buildonto.dev/#org"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "SoftwareApplication",
      "name": "Onto",
      "applicationCategory": "DeveloperApplication",
      "operatingSystem": "Web",
      "url": "https://buildonto.dev",
      "description": "Onto serves AI agents clean Markdown from your own site, at the same URL, and shows you which agents came. Plus the AIO score, a Read API and an MCP server.",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://buildonto.dev/#org"
      },
      "offers": {
        "@type": "Offer",
        "price": "0",
        "priceCurrency": "USD",
        "description": "Free tier: 1,000 credits / month"
      }
    }
  ]
}
```