Archive-It vs Library of Congress Web Archive

Archive-It9.2Visit LOLibrary of Congress Web Archive7.9Visit

Higher score Archive-It #1 in Web Archiving Software 9.2/10 Pricing on request · 15-day trial Free trial✓ 0 of 2 features Visit Archive-It

vs

LO Library of Congress Web Archive #7 in Web Archiving Software 7.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 2 features Visit loc.gov

• Archive-It fits best

  Organizations preserving curated web collections

• Library of Congress Web Archive fits best

  Readers accessing Library of Congress collections

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Side by side

Feature	Archive-It 9.2/10 Visit ↗	LOLibrary of Congress Web Archive 7.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	7.9
Ranking	#1 in Web Archiving Software	#7 in Web Archiving Software
Best for	Organizations preserving curated web collections	Readers accessing Library of Congress collections
Pricing model	Paid	Free
Starting price	Pricing on request · 15-day trial	Free plan
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	15 days	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Tickets, Docs	Email
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Enterprise
Features Archive-It 0/2 · Library of Congress Web Archive 2/2
Snapshot capture	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Archive search	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Capture methods	Not checked yet	Selected and crawled by Library of Congress subject experts; not user-submitted capture
Preservation controls	Not checked yet	Access may be restricted to on-site use; permissions affect off-site display
Supported content	Not checked yet	HTML, images, PDF documents, audio, and video files; capture of some content may be incomplete
Browser or API access	Not checked yet	loc.gov APIs; web archive browsing through loc.gov
Our review
Pros	Configurable one-time and recurring crawls with scope controls WARC storage with replicated copies and downloadable files Metadata search, APIs, crawl reports, and quality-assurance tools	Browse thematic and event-based collections selected by Library subject experts Search descriptive records, including by URL Access WARC and older ARC archives through loc.gov and its APIs
Cons	Quote-based pricing requires contacting sales No perpetual free plan; the trial lasts 15 days Social-platform capture and replay vary by platform	Does not offer user-submitted website capture Some archived material is restricted to on-site use Crawlers may capture content or functionality incompletely
Our verdict	Archive-It is a web-based service from the Internet Archive for organizations that collect, preserve, search, and provide access to curated web archives. Libraries, archives, museums, universities, public institutions, and nonprofits can… Read the review →	For researchers exploring preserved websites, the Library of Congress Web Archive offers curated collections organized around subjects and events, including government, elections, news, organizations, and culture. Visitors can browse… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Archive-It — where it wins

  • Configurable one-time and recurring crawls with scope controls
  • WARC storage with replicated copies and downloadable files
  • Metadata search, APIs, crawl reports, and quality-assurance tools

  Where it doesn't

  • Quote-based pricing requires contacting sales
  • No perpetual free plan; the trial lasts 15 days
  • Social-platform capture and replay vary by platform

• Library of Congress Web Archive — where it wins

  • Browse thematic and event-based collections selected by Library subject experts
  • Search descriptive records, including by URL
  • Access WARC and older ARC archives through loc.gov and its APIs

  Where it doesn't

  • Does not offer user-submitted website capture
  • Some archived material is restricted to on-site use
  • Crawlers may capture content or functionality incompletely

• Archive-It9.2/10 · Pricing on request · 15-day trial

  A preservation service for organizations that need scheduled capture and managed access to web collections.

  Visit Archive-ItFull verdict →
• LOLibrary of Congress Web Archive7.9/10 · Free plan

  A free, searchable archive for research—not a tool for submitting your own captures.

  Visit loc.govFull verdict →