URLpipe vs Microlink
URLpipe vs Microlink
Both take one URL and return several things about it — metadata, screenshots, Markdown, Lighthouse. They differ in how you call them, what they cost and what happens at the quota.
By Roger Campos · Last updated: September 2026
TL;DR
Choose Microlink for cheap, CDN-cached link previews through a GET you can call from a browser, with a quota that pauses rather than bills. Choose URLpipe when you also want summaries, keywords, console errors and async webhooks, an agent reading pages over a hosted MCP server, and a paid plan that keeps going past its allowance.
Free plan, no credit card. 1,000 credits a month.
At a glance
Feature by feature
| Capability | URLpipe | Microlink |
|---|---|---|
| Clean Markdown from a URL | Yes | Yes |
| Renders JavaScript (real browser) | Yes | Yes |
| Rendered HTML | Yes | Yes |
| Screenshots | Yes | Yes |
| Full-page screenshots | Yes | Yes |
| Element, dark-mode and hidden-selector screenshots | Yes | — |
| Metadata / Open Graph | Yes | Yes |
| AI summary | Yes | — |
| Keyword extraction endpoint | Yes | — |
| Lighthouse audits | Yes | Yes |
| JavaScript console capture | Yes | Partial |
| Several outputs from one page visit | /scrape | Yes |
| Whole-site crawling | No | — |
| Schema-based structured extraction | No | CSS selector rules |
| PDF input or output | No | Output |
| MCP server | Hosted | Local (npx), archived |
| Async + webhook for a single URL | Yes | — |
| Idempotency key on retries | Yes | — |
| Your own labels on requests, usage by label | Yes | — |
| Cached results cost nothing | Yes | Yes |
| Residential-IP fetching | One exit, +25 credits/visit | — |
| Official SDKs | No | JavaScript |
| Self-hostable | No | metascraper (MIT) |
| Free tier | 1,000 credits/mo | 25 requests/day |
| EU processing, AI included | Yes | — |
Microlink: checked against microlink.io/pricing, microlink.io/docs/api/parameters/meta, microlink.io/docs/api/parameters/insights, microlink.io/docs/guides/content-conversion/url-to-markdown, microlink.io/integrations/mcp on September 24, 2026. Products change — confirm on each vendor's site before you decide.
Shape
Two ways to ask about a URL
Microlink is a GET: api.microlink.io?url=… with flags for screenshot, pdf, insights (Lighthouse) and data rules. Responses are served from a CDN, so the same URL can be shared by many visitors, and cache hits don't count.
URLpipe is a POST per kind of data — /meta, /screenshot, /markdown, /lighthouse and five more — or /scrape for several from one visit. It is async by default, delivering to a signed webhook or a token you can collect for 30 days, and its MCP server is hosted.
curl -X POST https://urlpipe.dev/scrape \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $URLPIPE_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"url": "https://example.com",
"operations": ["markdown", "meta", "screenshot"],
"report_to": "https://your-app.com/webhooks/urlpipe"
}'Metadata
Metadata: rules vs a model
Microlink's metadata is cheap: one request. Microlink also publishes metascraper, an open-source rule set for exactly this job. URLpipe's /meta reads meta tags, JSON-LD and microdata with a model and reconciles them into one record, which costs 5 credits. Microlink returns publisher, url and image dimensions that URLpipe doesn't; URLpipe returns a feed URL and extra author details.
At the limit
Quotas: pause vs overage
Microlink never bills overage: at the ceiling, requests pause until the next cycle or an upgrade. URLpipe's paid plans are never cut off: past the allowance it's $1.50 per 1,000 credits, invoiced after the month closes. The free plans differ too — 25 requests a day on Microlink, 1,000 credits a month on URLpipe, which answers 429 when it's spent.
Differences
What only one of them does
- Only Microlink: a GET usable from the browser, PDF output, Wappalyzer tech detection, data rules with CSS selectors, conversion of PDF and Office documents to Markdown.
- Only URLpipe: AI summaries, keyword extraction, console errors and uncaught exceptions, async delivery to signed webhooks, idempotency keys, labels, a hosted MCP server, EU processing with AI included.
Pricing
What each one costs
| URLpipe | Microlink | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | $0 — 1,000 credits/mo, no card | $0 — 25 requests/day, no card |
| Entry paid plan | Starter $19/mo — 20,000 credits | Pro $49/mo — 46,000 requests |
| Mid plan | Pro $49/mo — 55,000 credits | — |
| Billing unit | Credits per call: Markdown, HTML, screenshot or console 1, Lighthouse 2, metadata 5 | Requests |
| Overage | Paid plans never cut off — $1.50 per 1,000 credits | Paused until the next cycle; no overage fees |
| Cache hits | Free, up to 30 days old | Free |
Microlink Pro is $49 for 46,000 requests. URLpipe Pro at $49 is 11,000 metadata calls or 55,000 screenshots — cheaper per screenshot, dearer per metadata call.
Who it's for
An honest recommendation
Choose URLpipe if…
- You want summaries, keywords or console errors as well as previews
- A paid plan should never pause
- You want async delivery and results you can collect later
- Your agent should use it over a hosted MCP server
- You need AI processing kept in the EU
Choose Microlink if…
- You want the cheapest link previews at volume
- You want a GET you can call from the browser or cache on a CDN
- You want the publisher field and image dimensions
- You'd rather pause at the quota than pay overage
- You convert PDFs or Office files to Markdown
Moving off Microlink?
What switching involves
The Microlink alternatives page covers why people leave, what to look for instead and how the requests map.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between URLpipe and Microlink?
Which is cheaper?
Does Microlink have an MCP server?
Try URLpipe on the free plan.
1,000 credits a month, no card. Confirm your email and your key is live — most people make their first request inside five minutes.