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Comparison · Analytics

Apify vs OpenHouse

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Apify and OpenHouse — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Apify vs OpenHouse: at a glance

FeatureApifyOpenHouse
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesai-agents, mcp, actor-marketplace, breaking-changesdata lakehouse, iceberg, data retention, governance
Last editorial update11d ago12h ago
Website—Visit →

What is Apify?

Apify reshapes its Store API for agents, and it will break some integrations on Nov 15.

Apify's October work treats AI agents as the main Store client. On November 15, GET /v2/store moves to a relevance-ranked search backend: search returns a single page of at most 100 results, offset and sortBy are ignored, total and count change meaning, and noisy fields are dropped to save agent context. Earlier in October, the MCP server gained tools to build Actors, read build and run logs and read source files, and the Store was regrouped into use-case categories.

Read the full Apify trajectory →

What is OpenHouse?

OpenHouse adds time-zone-aware retention and per-database table caps.

OpenHouse ships small versioned releases straight from merged pull requests. On November 13 it shipped five: retention policies on string date columns can now take a time zone, operators can cap live tables per database with metrics on usage and rejections, view requests and operations are now audited in full, and two fixes make view property SET/UNSET and REPLACE behave. Earlier in November failed Spark maintenance jobs began exiting as failed.

Read the full OpenHouse trajectory →

Apify vs OpenHouse: editorial side-by-side

A
Apify
ANALYTICS
5.0

Apify reshapes its Store API for agents, and it will break some integrations on Nov 15.

◆ Current state

Apify's October work treats AI agents as the main Store client. On November 15, GET /v2/store moves to a relevance-ranked search backend: search returns a single page of at most 100 results, offset and sortBy are ignored, total and count change meaning, and noisy fields are dropped to save agent context. Earlier in October, the MCP server gained tools to build Actors, read build and run logs and read source files, and the Store was regrouped into use-case categories.

◆ Where it's heading

The arc from June to now is consistent: MCP connectors, x402 payments for agents without accounts, Apify AI for plain-English runs, and now a Store API and MCP toolset tuned for agents over human paging. Apify is accepting breakage for existing integrations in exchange for better agent results.

◆ Prediction

Expect migration guidance and possibly a grace period around the November 15 cutover, followed by more MCP tools moving into the default set.

O
OpenHouse
ANALYTICS
5.0

OpenHouse adds time-zone-aware retention and per-database table caps.

◆ Current state

OpenHouse ships small versioned releases straight from merged pull requests. On November 13 it shipped five: retention policies on string date columns can now take a time zone, operators can cap live tables per database with metrics on usage and rejections, view requests and operations are now audited in full, and two fixes make view property SET/UNSET and REPLACE behave. Earlier in November failed Spark maintenance jobs began exiting as failed.

◆ Where it's heading

OpenHouse is adding the controls a shared lakehouse needs at scale: quotas, audit trails and retention that matches business calendars. Views are getting the same governance tables already had.

◆ Prediction

Expect more views milestones after audit (the release is labeled Views M1), and further operator controls for quotas and maintenance.

Alternatives to Apify and OpenHouse

Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Apify or OpenHouse.

See all Apify alternatives → · See all OpenHouse alternatives →

Recent activity from Apify and OpenHouse

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 14h agoOpenHouseRetention policies on string date columns accept a time zone
  2. 16h agoOpenHouseOpenHouse adds an optional per-database table count limit
  3. 18h agoOpenHouseFix: ALTER VIEW UNSET now removes view properties
  4. 1d agoOpenHouseFix view REPLACE property validation
  5. 1d agoOpenHouseOpenHouse audits view requests and operations in full
  6. 4d agoOpenHouseFailed Spark maintenance jobs now exit as failed
  7. 15d agoApifyApify Store API: new search backend and breaking changes
  8. 29d agoApifyBuild and debug Actors with new Apify MCP tools
  9. 1mo agoApifyFind Actors by use case with new Store categories
  10. 2mo agoApifyCreate an Actor with a Git repo in a few clicks
  11. 3mo agoApifyApify AI (beta) is live. Describe what you need and get results ⚡
  12. 4mo agoApifyPay for Apify Actors with x402 ⚡

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Apify and OpenHouse?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Apify and OpenHouse are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Apify better than OpenHouse?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Apify and OpenHouse are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Apify?

Top Apify alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Apify alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/apify for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to OpenHouse?

Top OpenHouse alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "OpenHouse alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/openhouse for the full list with editorial commentary on each.