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Head-to-head · Internet Archiving Software

ArchiveBox vs Heritrix

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 2 checks side by side
Higher score ArchiveBox #5 in Internet Archiving Software 8.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 2 features Visit ArchiveBox
Heritrix #6 in Internet Archiving Software 8.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 2 features Visit Heritrix

ArchiveBox leads on 0 checks, Heritrix on 0, and 2 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 2 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreArchiveBox · 8.2/10
  • Free planboth
  • Most featuresHeritrix · 1 of 2

ArchiveBox scores higher on our rubric for internet archiving software: 8.2 against 8.0 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #6.

ArchiveBox is the better fit for teams wanting free, self-hosted web archiving. Heritrix is the better fit for technical teams building configurable crawl workflows.

  • ArchiveBox fits best

    Teams wanting free, self-hosted web archiving

  • Heritrix fits best

    Technical teams building configurable crawl workflows

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature ArchiveBox 8.2/10 Visit ↗ Heritrix 8.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.2 8.0
Ranking #5 in Internet Archiving Software #6 in Internet Archiving Software
Best for Teams wanting free, self-hosted web archiving Technical teams building configurable crawl workflows
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free plan Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted Self-hosted
Platforms Web, Linux, macOS Linux, Windows
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market Mid-market, Enterprise
Features ArchiveBox 0/2 · Heritrix 1/2
Scheduled crawls Not checked yet Not checked yet
API access Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Specs
Capture scope Not checked yet Website
Capture frequency Not checked yet Not checked yet
Archive export Not checked yet Warc
Retention period Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Captures pages as HTML, PDFs, screenshots, and WARC files
  • Imports URLs from command-line and batch sources
  • Keeps archived data on user-controlled infrastructure
  • Set crawl scope, inclusion and exclusion rules, and resource limits
  • Manage jobs through a web interface or REST API
  • Write crawled content with WARC writer components
Cons
  • Requires users to manage their own installation and hosting
  • Browsing archives depends on its self-managed web interface
  • Support is through community resources and documentation
  • Requires teams to operate their own infrastructure
  • Job configuration and crawl policies require technical oversight
  • Recurring schedules and retention depend on deployment and configuration
Our verdict

ArchiveBox saves URLs and web pages into a local archive, making it a fit for individuals, researchers, and organizations that want to preserve online material on infrastructure they control. Its open-source model and self-hosted…

Read the review →

Heritrix is an open-source web crawler developed by the Internet Archive for archival-quality crawling. It is aimed at technical teams and organizations that operate their own web-archiving infrastructure, rather than buyers seeking a…

Read the review →
  1. ArchiveBoxInternet Archiving Software 8.2Free plan
  2. HeritrixInternet Archiving Software 8.0Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • ArchiveBox — where it wins

    • Captures pages as HTML, PDFs, screenshots, and WARC files
    • Imports URLs from command-line and batch sources
    • Keeps archived data on user-controlled infrastructure

    Where it doesn't

    • Requires users to manage their own installation and hosting
    • Browsing archives depends on its self-managed web interface
    • Support is through community resources and documentation
  • Heritrix — where it wins

    • Set crawl scope, inclusion and exclusion rules, and resource limits
    • Manage jobs through a web interface or REST API
    • Write crawled content with WARC writer components

    Where it doesn't

    • Requires teams to operate their own infrastructure
    • Job configuration and crawl policies require technical oversight
    • Recurring schedules and retention depend on deployment and configuration

More comparisons

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update