Do unused scraping API credits roll over?
Usually not. On 15 of the 16 subscriptions whose rules say what happens, a month's unused credits are lost when the billing period ends (Gumloop, Firecrawl and ScrapeBadger let some plans keep them), and ScrapingDog's own page gives both answers. Credit bought on its own follows its own rule: it never expires on ScrapeBadger, ScrapeGraphAI, Browser Use Cloud and Scraping Robot, and lasts a stated period, from one month to a year, on Hyperbrowser, ZenRows, WebScraping.AI, Scrappa, Serper.dev and ScrapingFish. The pages we read for 12 more APIs do not say what happens to a subscription's unused credits.
Each rule is taken from the vendor's own pricing or billing pages as recorded on its page here, with the date it was read.| API | A subscription's unused credits | Credit bought on its own | The vendor's rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| ScraperAPI | Lost at the end of the billing period | Not sold or not stated | Unused credits reset each billing period and do not roll over. |
| ScrapingAnt | Lost at the end of the billing period | Not sold or not stated | Monthly credits do not roll over, but a plan can be restarted mid-month to refresh credits immediately. |
| HasData | Lost at the end of the billing period | Not sold or not stated | Unused credits expire at the end of the billing period and do not roll over. |
| Browse AI | Lost at the end of the billing period | Not sold or not stated | Unused credits reset at the end of the monthly or annual billing cycle and do not roll over. |
| cloro | Lost at the end of the billing period | Not sold or not stated | Unused credits expire; they do not roll over. |
| Crawlbase | Lost at the end of the billing period | Not sold or not stated | A subscription's credit block resets monthly. |
| Nimble | Lost at the end of the billing period | Not sold or not stated | Monthly page credits expire rather than roll over. |
| Scavio | Lost at the end of the billing period | Not sold or not stated | Unused monthly credits do not roll over. |
| Hyperbrowser | Lost at the end of the billing period | Lasts 12 months | Plan credits reset when the plan renews and unused ones do not carry over; credits bought separately expire after 12 months. |
| ZenRows | Lost at the end of the billing period | Lasts until the end of the next billing period | Plan credits don't roll over: unused plan credits expire at every renewal. Unused top-up credits roll into the next billing period once, then expire. |
| ScrapingBee | Lost at the end of the billing period | Not sold or not stated | When your subscription expires or is renewed, any unused credits will not roll over. |
| Diffbot | Lost at the end of the billing period | Not sold or not stated | Credit allotment for non-enterprise plans are refreshed monthly and do not rollover. |
| Gumloop | Lost, except where the plan allows rollover | Not sold or not stated | Credits do not roll over month to month, except on Enterprise plans. |
| Firecrawl | Lost, except where the plan allows rollover | Not sold or not stated | Scale carries unused credits for one month and Enterprise a custom amount; Hobby, Standard and Growth credits do not roll over. |
| ScrapeBadger | Lost, except where the plan allows rollover | Never expires | PAYG credits never expire; subscription credits refresh at the start of each billing period and unused ones do not carry over unless rollover is enabled on the plan. |
| ScrapingDog | Its page gives both answers | Not sold or not stated | One section of the pricing page says unused credits carry over from the Standard plan upward; its FAQ says the monthly credits reset on the billing date. |
| Tavily | Not stated | Not sold or not stated | The public pricing guide does not state whether unused monthly credits roll over. |
| SearchApi.io | Not stated | Not sold or not stated | The pricing page does not state whether unused monthly requests roll over. |
| Bright Data SERP API | Not stated | Not sold or not stated | The pricing page does not state whether unused Scale-plan requests roll over. |
| Context.dev | Not stated | Not sold or not stated | The pricing page does not say whether unused monthly credits roll over. |
| serpstack | Not stated | Not sold or not stated | The reviewed pricing pages do not state whether unused searches roll over. |
| ScrapeOwl | Not stated | Not sold or not stated | Credit rollover and purchased-credit expiration are not published. |
| SERPHouse | Not stated | Not sold or not stated | The pricing page does not say whether paid-plan credits roll over. |
| FlyByAPIs AI Web Scraper | Not stated | Not sold or not stated | The pricing page does not say whether unused requests roll over. |
| Browsable | Not stated | Not sold or not stated | The pricing page does not publish a credit rollover rule. |
| Desearch | Not stated | Not sold or not stated | The pricing and credit-plan pages do not state whether unused credits roll over. |
| ScrapeGraphAI | Not stated | Never expires | Top-up packs never expire and stack on a subscription; the pricing page does not say whether a month's unused subscription credits carry over. |
| WebScraping.AI | Not stated | Lasts 12 months, renewed by each top-up | Pay-as-you-go credits stay valid for 12 months, and each top-up extends the whole balance; the page does not say whether a month's unused plan credits carry over. |
| Browser Use Cloud | No subscription credits | Never expires | Credits start at $5 and do not expire. |
| Scraping Robot | No subscription credits | Never expires | Purchased credits do not expire. |
| Scrappa | No subscription credits | Lasts 12 months | Purchased pack credits are valid for 12 months and packs do not auto-renew. |
| Serper.dev | No subscription credits | Lasts 6 months | Purchased credits expire six months after purchase. |
| ScrapingFish | No subscription credits | Lasts 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, by pack | Prepaid requests expire after one, three, six or twelve months by pack. |
Size a subscription to the month you expect, not the busiest one: a plan bought for a peak loses what a quiet month leaves. For uneven work, credit bought on its own and kept for months, or pay as you go, wastes less; the pay-as-you-go answer lists every API that sells it.
Why most monthly credits do not carry over
A scraping subscription sells a month of capacity: a block of credits for one billing period, often at a lower rate per credit than the same vendor’s pay as you go. When the billing period ends, the block resets to the plan’s size, and what was left is gone. A few vendors keep rollover for their largest or custom plans; the table names them.
Credit you buy on its own lasts longer
Prepaid packs and pay-as-you-go balances are a different purchase. They are bought for a job rather than a month, so they last until you spend them or for a stated period, from one month to a year. Compare them on what you actually use: a prepaid credit at a higher list rate can still cost less than a subscription credit that expires unused.
What it means for your budget
Work out what your quiet months leave unused before you pick a plan size. A subscription sized for your busiest month pays for credits you will not use the rest of the time; the smaller plan plus a top-up, or a prepaid balance, can cost less over a year. The overage answer shows what each API does when a month needs more than its plan.