Breaking News: On January 24, 2025, LinkedIn filed a federal lawsuit against Proxycurl for "unauthorized creation of hundreds of thousands of fake accounts and scraping of millions of LinkedIn member profiles." By July 2025, Proxycurl was officially shut down.
If you're here, you're either a former Proxycurl customer searching for a replacement, or you're researching LinkedIn data solutions and want to avoid Proxycurl's fate. Either way, you're in the right place.
This comprehensive guide reveals the best Proxycurl alternatives available today and introduces you to the one solution that stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Spoiler: While we'll cover 10+ alternatives, there's only one API that combines premium quality, bulletproof compliance, and enterprise-grade reliability without compromise. That API is LinkdAPI and by the end of this guide, you'll understand why it's the definitive choice for serious businesses.
Why Proxycurl Failed (And Why It Matters)
Before diving into alternatives, let's understand what went wrong with Proxycurl because choosing the wrong replacement could land you in the same situation.
The Proxycurl Problem:
Fake Accounts at Scale:
- Created hundreds of thousands of fake LinkedIn accounts
- Violated LinkedIn's User Agreement at a massive scale
- Put customers at legal and operational risk
Why This Matters to You:
If you built your business on Proxycurl, you experienced:
- ❌ Service disruption overnight
- ❌ Lost revenue during transition
- ❌ Wasted integration time and money
- ❌ Customer trust issues
- ❌ Scrambling to find alternatives
The Hard Truth: Any API that uses LinkedIn accounts (real or fake) is vulnerable to the same fate. LinkedIn is actively hunting these services down.
The Solution: Choose an API that doesn't require ANY LinkedIn accounts making it legally defensible and practically immune to shutdowns.
What You Really Need (Not What Proxycurl Offered)
Let's be brutally honest about what you actually need:
What Failed with Proxycurl:
- ❌ Risky compliance approach (fake accounts)
- ❌ Uncertain future (always at risk)
- ❌ Stale data (28+ days old for cached)
- ❌ Hidden costs (1 credit for cache, 2 for fresh)
- ❌ Limited support (customers complained)
- ❌ Eventual shutdown (lawsuit death)
What You Actually Deserve:
- ✅ Bulletproof compliance (no accounts, no risk)
- ✅ Permanent stability (can't be shut down)
- ✅ Fresh data (real-time, always current)
- ✅ Transparent pricing (no surprises)
- ✅ Premium support (responsive, helpful)
- ✅ Long-term partnership (built to last)
Only one solution delivers all six: LinkdAPI
The Ultimate Proxycurl Alternative: LinkdAPI
Before we compare the field, let's introduce the undisputed champion.
Why LinkdAPI is Different (And Better)
LinkdAPI isn't just another Proxycurl alternative it's the evolution of what a LinkedIn API should be. Built from day one with compliance, quality, and customer success as non-negotiables.
🏆 The LinkdAPI Advantage
1. Compliance Beyond Reproach
Unlike Proxycurl (fake accounts) or others (real account risks), LinkdAPI uses ZERO LinkedIn accounts.
What this means for you:
- Cannot be shut down like Proxycurl
- No legal liability for your business
- Sleep soundly knowing your foundation is solid
- Build your business on rock, not sand
Technical Approach:
- Direct API access to LinkedIn's public endpoints
- Same infrastructure LinkedIn's mobile apps use
- No authentication required
- Completely legal access to public data
2. Enterprise-Grade Reliability
99.9% Uptime SLA — When your business depends on LinkedIn data, downtime is not an option.
What this means for you:
- Your customers get consistent service
- Your revenue streams stay uninterrupted
- Your reputation remains intact
- Your sleep schedule stays normal
Infrastructure:
- Multi-region deployment
- Automatic failover
- Real-time monitoring
- Proactive maintenance
3. Comprehensive Data Coverage
40+ Specialized Endpoints Every data point you need, none you don't.
Profile Endpoints (10 types):
- Complete profile overview (all public data)
- Contact information (emails, phones, websites)
- Full work experience with descriptions
- Complete education history
- Skills with endorsement counts
- Certifications and licenses
- Professional recommendations (given/received)
- Social metrics (connections, followers)
- Similar profile suggestions
- Advanced profile search
Content & Engagement:
- Featured posts (pinned content)
- All posts with full pagination
- Complete post details
- Comment threads (nested)
- Post likes with user details
- Engagement breakdowns by type
Company Intelligence:
- Complete company profiles
- Employee lists with filters
- Similar company suggestions
- Company posts and updates
Jobs & Opportunities:
- Job listings by company
- Complete job descriptions
- Application requirements
- Job search with filters
Articles & Thought Leadership:
- Article content extraction
- Author information
- Publication analytics
What this means for you:
- Build any feature you can imagine
- No data gaps in your product
- Competitive advantage through completeness
- One API for everything
4. Premium Performance
300-900ms Average Response Time Fast enough for real-time applications.
What this means for you:
- Delightful user experience
- Higher conversion rates
- Lower bounce rates
- Happy customers
Performance Specs:
- Sub-second API responses
- Concurrent request handling
- Async SDK for maximum throughput
- Smart caching where appropriate
5. Developer Experience Excellence
5 Minutes to First Data Not days, not hours. Minutes.
Python SDK (Async):
1import asyncio
2from linkdapi import AsyncLinkdAPI
3
4async def main():
5 # Initialize - one line
6 client = AsyncLinkdAPI("your_api_key")
7
8 # Get complete profile - one line
9 profile = await client.get_profile_overview("ryanroslansky")
10
11 # Data is clean, structured, ready
12 print(f"✓ {profile['firstName']} {profile['lastName']}")
13 print(f"✓ {profile['headline']}")
14 print(f"✓ {profile['followerCount']} followers")
15
16 return profile
17
18# That's it. Production-ready code in 3 lines.
19asyncio.run(main())What this means for you:
- Launch faster than competitors
- Lower development costs
- Junior devs can implement
- Senior devs stay productive
Documentation:
- Every endpoint documented
- Real code examples
- Use case guides
- Interactive API explorer
6. Transparent, Predictable Pricing
No Hidden Costs. No Surprises. No Games.
Unlike Proxycurl's confusing credit system (1 credit for cache, 2 for fresh, premium parameters cost extra), LinkdAPI's pricing is crystal clear.
Free Tier:
- 100 API credits
- All endpoints included
- No credit card required
- Perfect for testing
Paid Plans:
- Pay-as-you-go: Use what you need
- Monthly subscriptions: Predictable costs
- Enterprise plans: Custom solutions
- Volume discounts: Scale economically
What this means for you:
- Budget with confidence
- Scale without surprises
- ROI you can calculate
- No accounting nightmares
7. White-Glove Support
Actual Humans Who Actually Care Revolutionary, we know.
Support Channels:
- Email: [email protected]
- Average response: <4 hours
- Technical expertise: Deep
- Problem resolution: Fast
What this means for you:
- Issues get solved quickly
- Questions get answered thoroughly
- Features get built based on feedback
- You have a true partner
8. Zero Maintenance Burden
We Handle LinkedIn Changes, You Sleep Well
When LinkedIn updates their APIs or data structures, LinkdAPI adapts automatically. Your code never changes.
What this means for you:
- $0 maintenance cost
- $0 developer time
- 0 emergency fixes
- 0 stress
Annual Maintenance Savings: $20,000-60,000
Why LinkdAPI is the Premium Choice
Let's be clear: LinkdAPI isn't the cheapest option. It's the best option.
The LinkdAPI Promise:
We don't compete on price.
We compete on value, reliability, quality, and long-term partnership.
We're not for everyone.
We're for businesses that value:
- ✅ Compliance over shortcuts
- ✅ Quality over quantity
- ✅ Stability over savings
- ✅ Partnership over transactions
- ✅ Excellence over "good enough"
We're for serious businesses building serious products.
If you're looking for the cheapest option, skip to the alternatives below. They're good tools for their use cases.
But if you're building a business that depends on LinkedIn data if your revenue, your customers, and your reputation are on the line—there's only one choice:
LinkdAPI.
The LinkdAPI Difference in Numbers:
- 99.9% uptime SLA (industry-leading)
- 40+ endpoints (most comprehensive)
- 300-900ms response time (fastest in class)
- 0 LinkedIn accounts used (impossible to shut down)
- 5 minutes to first data (fastest integration)
- <4 hour support response (best in industry)
- $0 maintenance cost (fully managed)
Real Customer Stories:
"After Proxycurl shut down, we had 72 hours to find an alternative or our business would collapse. LinkdAPI was live in 2 hours. They saved our company."
— SaaS Founder, $5M ARR
"We tried 3 other Proxycurl alternatives. All had issues—compliance risks, poor data quality, or bad support. LinkdAPI was flawless from day 1."
— VP Engineering, Enterprise
"The difference between LinkdAPI and competitors is like comparing a Tesla to a golf cart. Both technically move you forward, but one is clearly premium."
— Lead Data Scientist, Unicorn Startup
Complete Comparison: LinkdAPI vs. All Alternatives
Now let's compare LinkdAPI against every major Proxycurl alternative. We'll be fair and honest about what each offers.
Quick Comparison Table
| Feature | LinkdAPI | Bright Data | ScrapIn | PDL | Scrapingdog |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance Risk | ✅ Zero | ⚠️ Low | ⚠️ Medium | ⚠️ Low | ⚠️ Medium |
| Account Required | ❌ No | ❌ No | ⚠️ Sometimes | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Data Freshness | ✅ Real-time |
Alternative #1: Bright Data
Overview: Enterprise data collection platform with LinkedIn scrapers.
✅ Pros:
- Established reputation
- Large proxy network
- Enterprise-grade infrastructure
- Legal team and compliance focus
❌ Cons:
- ❌ Expensive: $500-2,000+/month minimum
- ❌ Complex: Steep learning curve
- ❌ Overkill: Too much for most businesses
- ❌ Slow: 2-5 second response times
- ❌ Limited LinkedIn: General scraper, not LinkedIn specialist
💰 Pricing:
- Custom enterprise pricing
- Typically $6,000-24,000/year
- Volume-based tiers
- Additional costs for features
🎯 Best For:
- Fortune 500 companies
- Users with $500K+ budgets
- Multi-platform scraping needs
Verdict:
Good for enterprises, overkill for most. Bright Data is a solid choice if you're scraping multiple platforms and have a large budget. For LinkedIn specifically, it's expensive and slow compared to LinkdAPI.
Why LinkdAPI is Better:
- 10-20x faster response times
- 5-10x more affordable
- LinkedIn specialist (not generalist)
- Easier to use
- Better support
Alternative #2: ScrapIn
Overview: Real-time LinkedIn scraping API.
✅ Pros:
- GDPR compliant
- Real-time data
- Unlimited usage (certain plans)
- No login required
❌ Cons:
- ❌ Limited endpoints: Basic profiles only
- ❌ No track record: Newer service
- ❌ Unknown reliability: No published SLA
- ❌ Basic features: Missing advanced endpoints
- ❌ Uncertain compliance: No detailed legal framework
💰 Pricing:
- Starting at $49/month
- Unlimited claims on some plans
- Not publicly detailed
🎯 Best For:
- Basic profile scraping
- Budget-conscious startups
- Simple use cases
Verdict:
Affordable but limited. ScrapIn works for basic profile scraping but lacks the depth, reliability, and proven track record needed for serious applications.
Why LinkdAPI is Better:
- 40+ endpoints vs. basic profiles
- Proven reliability (99.9% SLA)
- Comprehensive documentation
- Enterprise-grade infrastructure
- Long-term stability guarantee
Alternative #3: People Data Labs (PDL)
Overview: B2B data provider with person and company databases.
✅ Pros:
- Large database (3+ billion profiles)
- Multiple data sources
- Good for enrichment
- Established company
❌ Cons:
- ❌ Stale data: Pre-scraped database (not real-time)
- ❌ Expensive: $500+/month minimum
- ❌ Match rates: Not 100% coverage
- ❌ Not LinkedIn-focused: General B2B data
- ❌ Limited endpoints: Database queries only
💰 Pricing:
- Starting at $500+/month
- Enterprise custom pricing
- Match-based pricing
- API + database access
🎯 Best For:
- Bulk data enrichment
- CRM enrichment
- Data append services
Verdict:
Good for enrichment, wrong for LinkedIn scraping. PDL is excellent if you need to enrich existing contacts with additional data. But if you need fresh, real-time LinkedIn data, it's not the right tool.
Why LinkdAPI is Better:
- Real-time data (not months old)
- LinkedIn specialist
- More LinkedIn-specific endpoints
- Fresher, more accurate data
- Better for building products (not just enrichment)
Alternative #4: Scrapingdog
Overview: Public data extraction API with LinkedIn support.
✅ Pros:
- Affordable pricing
- Simple API
- No cookies/accounts needed
- Good documentation
❌ Cons:
- ❌ Slow: 3-8 second response times
- ❌ Limited endpoints: Basic scraping only
- ❌ No SLA: Reliability unknown
- ❌ Basic features: Missing advanced data points
- ❌ Support: Limited customer service
💰 Pricing:
- Starting at $49/month
- Pay-as-you-go available
- 1,000 free credits
🎯 Best For:
- Budget projects
- Simple scraping needs
- Testing and prototypes
Verdict:
Budget-friendly but basic. Scrapingdog is fine for simple projects but lacks the speed, reliability, and features needed for production applications.
Why LinkdAPI is Better:
- 5-10x faster response times
- 99.9% uptime SLA
- 10x more endpoints
- Enterprise-grade support
- Production-ready from day 1
Alternative #5: PhantomBuster
Overview: No-code automation platform with LinkedIn scrapers.
✅ Pros:
- No coding required
- Chrome extension
- Multiple platforms
- User-friendly interface
❌ Cons:
- ❌ Uses your LinkedIn account: High ban risk
- ❌ Slow: Browser-based scraping
- ❌ Unreliable: Breaks when LinkedIn updates
- ❌ Execution limits: Time-based pricing
- ❌ Not scalable: Limited to browser speed
💰 Pricing:
- $56+/month
- Execution time limits
- Additional costs for proxies
🎯 Best For:
- Non-technical users
- Small-scale automation
- Multi-platform needs
Verdict:
Easy but risky. PhantomBuster is simple to use but puts your LinkedIn account at risk and can't scale.
Why LinkdAPI is Better:
- Zero account risk
- 20-40x faster
- Built for scale
- Never breaks with LinkedIn updates
- API-first (not browser automation)
Start building with 100 free credits
Access profiles, companies, jobs, and more through our reliable, high-performance API. No credit card required.
Alternative #6: Evaboot
Overview: Chrome extension for Sales Navigator data extraction.
✅ Pros:
- Affordable ($29-49/month)
- Simple Chrome extension
- Data cleaning included
- Good for Sales Nav users
❌ Cons:
- ❌ Sales Navigator only: Can't scrape regular LinkedIn
- ❌ Uses your account: Ban risk
- ❌ 2,000 leads/month
