From 0 to 500 Free Pages Scraped with Firecrawl MCP Server and Claude Code
Source: Dev.to
0 lines of code. That’s what I wrote to scrape 500 pages. With Firecrawl’s MCP server integrated into Claude Code, I just describe what I need in plain English, and the AI handles the rest. When I discovered this workflow combined with Firecrawl’s free tier, my entire approach to web scraping changed forever.
Firecrawl Pricing
| Plan | Price | Credits (monthly) | Credit Card Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| FREE | $0 | 500 (one‑time) | No |
| Hobby | $16/mo | 3,000/mo | Yes |
| Standard | $83/mo | 100,000/mo | Yes |
| Growth | $333/mo | 500,000/mo | Yes |
The free tier gives you 500 credits to start, completely free, no strings attached. That’s enough to scrape an entire e‑commerce category, extract data from dozens of documentation sites, or test your scraping workflow before upgrading.
Components
| Component | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Firecrawl Free Tier | 500 credits to start, $0, full API access |
| Firecrawl MCP Server | Exposes Firecrawl API to AI assistants |
| Claude Code | AI that calls MCP tools autonomously |
The result? You talk to Claude, Claude talks to Firecrawl, and you get structured data back—no Postman, no curl commands, no boilerplate code.
Setup with Claude Code
- Sign up at and obtain your API key (no credit card required).
- Add the MCP server configuration to your Claude Code settings:
{
"mcpServers": {
"firecrawl": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "firecrawl-mcp"],
"env": {
"FIRECRAWL_API_KEY": "fc-your-key-here"
}
}
}
}Using Claude
Ask Claude in plain English and it will invoke the appropriate Firecrawl tool:
- “Scrape this URL and extract the main content.”
- “Map all links on this website.”
- “Extract product names and prices from this page.”
- “Crawl this documentation and summarize each section.”
Claude automatically uses the Firecrawl MCP tools to fulfill your request.
Firecrawl Power App
A sleek UI that complements the MCP workflow, offering visual feedback, persistent history, and easy sharing with non‑technical teammates.
- Live demo:
- GitHub repo:
Features
| Feature | Description | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| 📄 Scrape | Extract content from any webpage (Markdown, HTML, Screenshots) | Free |
| 🗺️ Map | Discover all URLs on a website | Free |
| 🕷️ Crawl | Crawl entire websites with depth control | Free |
| 🔍 Search | Search the web with advanced operators | PRO |
| 📊 Extract | AI‑powered structured data extraction using JSON schemas | PRO |
| 🤖 Agent | Autonomous AI agent for complex data gathering | 5 /day free |
| 🌙 Dark Mode | Light/dark theme toggle | Free |
| 🔑 BYOK | Bring Your Own Key – use your personal Firecrawl API key | Free |
Note: PRO features require a paid Firecrawl plan. The free tier includes 500 credits (one‑time).
Design System
The app uses the official Firecrawl design system:
--primary: #FF4C00; /* Firecrawl Orange */
--background: #ffffff;Architecture Overview
- Frontend: React, Vite, custom design system
- Backend: Express, Vercel Serverless Functions
- AI Integration: Firecrawl API (extraction, agent)
Metrics (Before vs. After)
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first scrape | 30 + minutes | 30 seconds |
| Lines of code written | 100 + per project | 0 |
| Monthly pages scraped | ~200 | 480 + |
| Cost | $0 (but many hours) | $0 (and minutes) |
Tips & Best Practices
- Complex pipelines: Use Claude Code for “scrape → transform → analyze” chains. Example: “Scrape this page, extract the data, and create a CSV file.”
- Combine Map + targeted Scrape: First map a site, then selectively scrape only the pages you need to maximize free credits.
- Leverage JSON Schemas: Define a schema when using the Extract feature to obtain perfectly structured, machine‑readable data without manual parsing.