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Common Crawl Index

Large-scale public web crawl dataset and index.

slug
common-crawl-index
priority
78
reviewed
Apr 24, 2026
Next wavePhase 2Low riskAPIapproved
01overview

How this source is shaped

Powerful for advanced research and large-scale discovery, but less immediately user-friendly than Wayback. Best used for backend enrichment, not as a first public-facing mini tool.

Source type
Dataset
Access model
Free
Pricing model
Free Public Web Crawl Data
API available
Yes
Requires account
No
Risk level
Low
Sensitivity
Normal
Integration phase
Phase 2
Integration priority
78
02scoring

Review dimensions

Each dimension is graded on a 0–10 scale. The overall score is a weighted aggregate.

overall score
7.63/10

Weighted aggregate across the eight review dimensions.

Authorityreputation and provenance of the source
8.20/10
Data qualityaccuracy, coverage, completeness
7.80/10
Usabilityhow quickly an analyst can extract value
5.60/10
APIshape, stability and cost of programmatic access
7.70/10
Documentationhow well the source is explained and referenced
7.00/10
Freshnesshow up-to-date the data stream is
7.50/10
Ethical fitalignment with our ethical OSINT posture
8.50/10
Commercial valueproduct leverage and monetisable surface
7.80/10
03application

Where this source fits

What analysts use it for, and — just as important — where it does not belong.

Primary use cases
  • large_scale_web_research
  • domain_discovery
  • seo_research
  • dataset_analysis
Suitable for
  • data_scientists
  • seo_researchers
  • developers
  • researchers
Not suitable for
  • simple_user_facing_lookup
  • real_time_checks
data types
web_crawl_indexurlshtmlwarc_recordscrawl_metadata
04opinion

Editorial take

Our qualitative read on the source — tone, framing and trust posture.

Commercially interesting for advanced reports, but not the easiest starting point. Great second-layer enrichment.

05product

Integration stance

Build, buy or defer. What shape the product integration would take, and why.

Use after Wayback: domain footprint, historical URL discovery, content sampling and SEO intelligence.

06governance

Ethics and compliance

What to handle carefully, and what must not ship without sign-off.

Ethical notes

Do not overstate completeness. Common Crawl is sampled and crawl-dependent.

Compliance notes

Large-scale processing requires infrastructure planning and responsible rate usage.

07technical

Metadata

Catalog-side technical footer. Values as recorded in the source row.

source owner
Common Crawl Foundation
report module
large_scale_web_footprint
integration candidate
true