Web Scraping Legality & Compliance: Global Statistics

Quick Facts

49.6% of all global web traffic in 2023 was generated by bots, with a significant portion attributed to web scrapers.
32.0% of internet traffic in 2023 came from “bad” bots, up from 30.2% in 2022.
Only 17.4% of web data professionals believe web scraping is “legal and unrestricted.”
73.0% of companies use web scraping to gain market insights and track competitors.
The web scraping software market was valued at $1.01 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $2.49 billion by 2032.

Global Internet Traffic Insights

Bot Traffic: In 2023, 49.6% of all internet traffic was non-human, driven by bots. (Source)
Malicious Bots: “Bad” bots accounted for 32.0% of internet traffic in 2023, a rise from 30.2% in 2022. (Source)
Daily Scraping Activity: Tens of millions of pages are scraped daily across the web, with one platform (Apify) handling 6.8 billion API calls in October 2024 alone. (Source)

Legal and Ethical Concerns

Confusion About Legality:
- 17.4% of web data professionals believe scraping is “legal and unrestricted.”
- 43.5% view it as legal but with restrictions.
- 21.7% are unsure about its legality. (Source)
Business Concerns:
- 44.0% of retail and e-commerce firms worry about legal risks.
- 59.0% of companies in these sectors have hired compliance teams to mitigate risks. (Source)

Industry Adoption and Impact

Competitive Strategy:
- 73.0% of companies use web scraping for market insights and competitor tracking. (Source)
- 85.0% leverage scraped data to improve customer experience. (Source)
Revenue Impact:
- 26.0% of financial services organizations report that web scraping has the greatest impact on revenue among external data sources. (Source)

Market Growth and Projections

Metric	Value
Global internet traffic from bots (2023)	49.6%
Web scraping software market size (2024)	$1.01 billion
Projected scraping software market (2032)	$2.49 billion
Alternative data market annual growth (2023–2032)	28.0% CAGR
Companies using web scraping for market insights	73.0%

Cost of Web Scraping

Typical Costs by Service Type

Service Type	Typical Cost
Outsourced Scraping Agency	~$600–$1,000 per project
Freelance Web Scraper (hourly)	~$30–$100 per hour
In-House Development & Maintenance	~$200–$1,000 per month
Web Scraping API Service (Cloud)	~$50 to $1,000+ per month
No-Code Scraping Tool Subscription	Free plan; ~$89–$249 per month

Costs vary based on data volume, frequency, and complexity. (Source)

E-Commerce Applications

Price Intelligence:
- 25–30% of UK and European retailers use dynamic pricing strategies supported by competitor price data scraping. (Source)
- John Lewis achieved a 4% sales uplift by using scraped pricing data. (Source)
Marketing and Analytics:
- ASOS doubled its international sales through geo-targeted web scraping. (Source)
- 28.7% of web scrapers target e-commerce websites for data. (Source)

Regulatory and Ethical Considerations

High-Profile Incidents:
- In 2021, data from 533 million Facebook users and 500 million LinkedIn profiles was scraped and leaked online. (Source)
Regulatory Actions:
- In 2023, 12 global data privacy regulators issued a joint statement urging safeguards against mass data scraping. (Source)

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q: How much web data is scraped daily?
A: Tens of millions of pages are scraped daily, with bots accounting for 49.6% of global internet traffic. (Source)

Q: What is the weekly cost of web scraping for a business?
A: Weekly costs range from $150–$250 for moderate usage, scaling up for larger projects. (Source)

Q: How much do companies spend on web scraping per year?
A: Annual costs range from $3,000–$12,000 for small businesses to $100,000+ for enterprise-level operations. (Source)

Q: What industries benefit most from web scraping?
A: E-commerce, finance, and market research are among the top industries leveraging web scraping for competitive insights and customer analytics. (Source)

Understanding Web Scraping Legality: Global Insights & Stats