https://github.com/luminati-io/html-parsing-libraries
The best HTML parsing libraries for web scraping, comparing features like CSS selector and XPath support across popular tools like jsoup, Nokogiri, and Cheerio.
https://github.com/luminati-io/html-parsing-libraries
beautifulsoup cheerio cplusplus csharp html html-agility-pack java javascript jsoup libxml2 nokogiri parsers php php-html-parser python ruby web-scraping
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The best HTML parsing libraries for web scraping, comparing features like CSS selector and XPath support across popular tools like jsoup, Nokogiri, and Cheerio.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/luminati-io/html-parsing-libraries
- Owner: luminati-io
- Created: 2025-01-20T14:15:43.000Z (about 1 year ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-01-20T14:39:46.000Z (about 1 year ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-03-22T07:02:01.543Z (11 months ago)
- Topics: beautifulsoup, cheerio, cplusplus, csharp, html, html-agility-pack, java, javascript, jsoup, libxml2, nokogiri, parsers, php, php-html-parser, python, ruby, web-scraping
- Homepage: https://brightdata.com/blog/web-data/best-html-parsers
- Size: 5.86 KB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
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README
# Best HTML Parsing Libraries for Web Scraping
[](https://brightdata.com/)
Discover top HTML parsers for [web scraping](https://github.com/luminati-io/Awesome-Web-Scraping) and data extraction, including `httpx`, `AIOHTTP`, and `urllib`.
## What Is an HTML Parser?
An HTML parser processes HTML documents, converting them into a structured data format for easy navigation and manipulation. They analyze HTML code to build a tree-like structure representing the document's DOM. HTML parsers are essential for web scraping, allowing you to extract information like product names and prices from websites.
## Key Considerations for HTML Parsers
- **Pros and Cons**: Benefits and drawbacks of the library.
- **Programming Language**: Language the library is written in.
- **GitHub Stars**: Popularity indicator.
- **CSS Selector Support**: Built-in CSS selector support.
- **XPath Support**: Built-in XPath expression support.
## Top 7 HTML Parsers
### 1. [jsoup](https://jsoup.org/)
- **Pros**: Implements WHATWG HTML specification, includes HTTP client, vast API.
- **Cons**: Not the fastest.
- **Language**: Java
- **GitHub Stars**: 10.5k
- **CSS Selector Support**: Yes
- **XPath Support**: Yes
> 💡 Learn more about [**web scraping with jsoup**](https://brightdata.com/blog/how-tos/web-scraping-with-jsoup).
### 2. [Nokogiri](https://nokogiri.org/index.html)
- **Pros**: Secure by default, CSS3 selectors, full API documentation.
- **Cons**: Not the most used.
- **Language**: Ruby
- **GitHub Stars**: 6.1k
- **CSS Selector Support**: Yes
- **XPath Support**: Yes
> 💡 Learn more about [**web scraping with Ruby**](https://brightdata.com/blog/how-tos/web-scraping-with-ruby).
### 3. [Beautiful Soup](https://pypi.org/project/beautifulsoup4/)
- **Pros**: Multiple parsers, widely used, code formatting.
- **Cons**: No API documentation, no native XPath support.
- **Language**: Python
- **GitHub Stars**: —
- **CSS Selector Support**: Yes
- **XPath Support**: Possible with `lxml`
> 💡 Learn more about [**web scraping with Beautiful Soup**](https://brightdata.com/blog/how-tos/beautiful-soup-web-scraping).
### 4. [Cheerio](https://cheerio.js.org/)
- **Pros**: jQuery-like syntax, high performance.
- **Cons**: Still in beta, no XPath support.
- **Language**: JavaScript (Node.js)
- **GitHub Stars**: 27.6k
- **CSS Selector Support**: Yes
- **XPath Support**: No
> 💡 Learn more about [**web scraping with Cheerio**](https://brightdata.com/blog/how-tos/cheerio-npm-web-scraping).
### 5. [Html Agility Pack](https://html-agility-pack.net/)
- **Pros**: Works with .NET languages, XSLT support.
- **Cons**: Little documentation, no native CSS selector support.
- **Language**: C#
- **GitHub Stars**: 2.5k
- **CSS Selector Support**: Possible via extension
- **XPath Support**: Yes
> 💡 Learn more about [**web scraping with Html Agility Pack**](https://brightdata.com/blog/how-tos/web-scraping-with-c-sharp).
### 6. [libxml2](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libxml2)
- **Pros**: Used by many libraries, extreme performance.
- **Cons**: Complex API, limited to XPath.
- **Language**: C
- **GitHub Stars**: —
- **CSS Selector Support**: No
- **XPath Support**: Yes
> 💡 Learn more about [**web scraping with libxml2**](https://brightdata.com/blog/how-tos/web-scraping-in-c-plus-plus).
### 7. [PHPHtmlParser](https://github.com/paquettg/php-html-parser)
- **Pros**: Parses broken HTML, complete API.
- **Cons**: Not actively maintained, no documentation.
- **Language**: PHP
- **GitHub Stars**: 2.3k
- **CSS Selector Support**: Yes
- **XPath Support**: No
> 💡 Learn more about [**web scraping with PHP**](https://brightdata.com/blog/how-tos/web-scraping-php).
## Summary Table
| HTML Parser | Language | GitHub Stars | CSS Selector | XPath |
|-------------------|----------|--------------|--------------|-------|
| jsoup | Java | 10.5k | ✅ | ✅ |
| Nokogiri | Ruby | 6.1k | ✅ | ✅ |
| Beautiful Soup | Python | — | ✅ | Possible via `lxml` |
| Cheerio | JavaScript | 27.6k | ✅ | ❌ |
| Html Agility Pack | C# | 2.5k | Possible via extension | ✅ |
| libxml2 | C | — | ❌ | ✅ |
| PHPHtmlParser | PHP | 2.3k | ✅ | ❌ |
## Conclusion
This guide explored the best HTML parsing libraries. Your choice depends on your programming language and project needs. Remember, websites may use anti-bot technologies, but tools like [Bright Data's proxy services](https://brightdata.com/proxy-types) or [Web Scrapers](https://brightdata.com/products/web-scraper) can help you retrieve HTML for parsing.
Learn how to scrape specific websites:
- [**Amazon**](https://github.com/luminati-io/LinkedIn-Scraper)
- [**LinkedIn**](https://github.com/luminati-io/LinkedIn-Scraper)
- [**Google Maps**](https://github.com/luminati-io/Google-Maps-Scraper)
- [**Google News**](https://github.com/luminati-io/Google-News-Scraper)