Question: Is there a web scraping platform that provides cloud hosting and elastic pricing for scalable data extraction?

If you're in the market for a web scraping platform with cloud hosting and elastic pricing for data extraction that scales, Zyte is a top option. It's got AI-powered web scraping with auto-crawling and auto-extraction abilities, smart proxies for handling IP issues, and cloud hosting with a variety of pricing plans. That means it can handle a range of data types and project sizes, from data with a standardized schema to custom projects.

Another top contender is Apify, a cloud-based service that offers a variety of tools and templates for web scraping and browser automation. Apify supports libraries like Playwright and Selenium, and it offers flexible cloud deployment options, with several pricing levels, including a free tier. It's geared for businesses and developers that need a data extraction service that's scalable and customizable.

Simplescraper is another option worth considering, particularly if you want a tool that's easy to use and doesn't require programming skills. The tool offers automated cloud scraping, API generation and support for many websites. Its flexible pricing plans mean it's good for individuals and enterprises, so it's a good option for market research and automation jobs.