Scraping API PricesScraperAPI vs ScrapingBee
The current volume and workload boundaries between ScraperAPI and ScrapingBee.
ScraperAPI
ScrapingBee
The difference
Both paths, one ruler
ScraperAPI
Successes you want
100,000 pages
Your stated workload. Every vendor on this site is priced against this same number.
- × 1
Attempts you are billed for
100,000 requests
ScraperAPI does not bill failed fetches, so failures cost nothing here.
- × 10
What the meter counts
1,000,000 credits
One attempt is not one billed unit here: this workload multiplies by 10 before any money is involved.
- =
Cash per month
$149.00 /mo
Startup. Cheapest of every eligible purchase option, not the first plan that fits.
Bars share one linear scale across the 3 counted stages, so a multiplier shows as length. Units differ by stage and are labelled. Cash is not on that scale.
ScrapingBee
Successes you want
100,000 pages
Your stated workload. Every vendor on this site is priced against this same number.
- × 1
Attempts you are billed for
100,000 requests
ScrapingBee does not bill failed fetches, so failures cost nothing here.
- × 5
What the meter counts
500,000 credits
One attempt is not one billed unit here: this workload multiplies by 5 before any money is involved.
- =
Cash per month
$99.00 /mo
Startup. Cheapest of every eligible purchase option, not the first plan that fits.
Bars share one linear scale across the 3 counted stages, so a multiplier shows as length. Units differ by stage and are labelled. Cash is not on that scale.
Both ladders share one linear scale, topping out at 1,000,000 counted units, so a longer bar means more billed work rather than a different drawing.
These figures are for one stated workload: 100,000 JavaScript-rendered pages a month at a 95% success rate. This site has not computed a crossover volume for this pair, and does not claim one. Move the volume on either product page to see where the answer moves.
Decision boundary: for basic requests, the current monthly plan ladders tie through 100,000 requests. ScrapingBee has the lower computed bill from 100,001 through 3,000,000, ScraperAPI has it from 3,000,001 through 5,000,000, and ScrapingBee has it again from 5,000,001 through the last shared published allowance of 8,000,000. Those changes are plan-step effects, not evidence that either service handles a page better. (ScraperAPI pricing, ScrapingBee pricing, retrieved July 26, 2026)
The workload can move the boundary before volume does. A basic request consumes one credit at either vendor, but JavaScript rendering consumes ten credits at ScraperAPI and five at ScrapingBee. ScrapingBee therefore reaches twice as many rendered requests from the same nominal credit allowance. Its documentation also says JavaScript is enabled by default, so a buyer must explicitly disable rendering to obtain the one-credit classic request. (ScraperAPI credit costs, ScrapingBee credit costs, ScrapingBee FAQ, retrieved July 26, 2026)
Billing models side by side
ScraperAPI sells monthly credits across a longer published plan ladder. A standard request costs one credit, while JavaScript, premium proxy, screenshot, protected-site, target-specific, and stealth modes can replace that base with larger credit costs. The published self-serve table does not give a unit rate for pay-as-you-go usage, and the lower plans stop when their credits are exhausted. Unused credits reset each billing period. (ScraperAPI pricing, ScraperAPI credit costs, retrieved July 26, 2026)
ScrapingBee also sells monthly credits, but its published ladder ends at 8,000,000 credits before custom pricing. Classic requests cost one credit, JavaScript costs five, premium proxy costs ten, and stealth costs seventy-five. An AI query adds five credits to the selected proxy mode. The documentation describes several proxy and rendering combinations as replacement bundles rather than simple additive meters, and unused credits do not roll over. (ScrapingBee pricing, ScrapingBee credit costs, retrieved July 26, 2026)
Failure billing is similar but not identical. ScraperAPI charges HTTP 200 and 404 responses, plus some client-cancelled work, while ScrapingBee charges HTTP 200, 404, and 410 responses. Those rules matter more than nominal credits when a workload contains many missing pages, but neither rule is a success-rate claim. (ScraperAPI credit costs, ScrapingBee FAQ, retrieved July 26, 2026)
What each provides that the other does not
ScraperAPI is the only one of this pair whose reviewed billing table explicitly lists screenshot requests, Bing and LinkedIn target meters, named Cloudflare, Turnstile, DataDome, and PerimeterX bypass meters, and sticky sessions at no extra credit cost. It also publishes self-serve allowances beyond ScrapingBee’s last public tier. (ScraperAPI credit costs, ScraperAPI pricing, retrieved July 26, 2026)
ScrapingBee is the only one of this pair whose reviewed billing table exposes an additive AI-query meter and a specialized Walmart API. It also publishes a five-credit JavaScript bundle, while ScraperAPI’s corresponding published JavaScript meter is ten credits. (ScrapingBee credit costs, ScraperAPI credit costs, retrieved July 26, 2026)
Who should pick which
Pick ScrapingBee when most calls need JavaScript, when the workload fits inside its public ladder, or when AI-query and Walmart-specific endpoints remove application work. Pick ScraperAPI when the basic-request forecast sits in the 3,000,001 to 5,000,000 band, when its named target or screenshot meters match the job, or when a public higher-volume tier matters more than the lower rendered-request multiplier. Recalculate if the mix of classic, rendered, premium, stealth, or target-specific calls changes, because a single blended request count hides the billing rule that creates the boundary. (ScraperAPI pricing, ScrapingBee pricing, ScraperAPI credit costs, ScrapingBee credit costs, retrieved July 26, 2026)
The unverified edge is combination billing. ScraperAPI does not fully define how target, bypass, and parameter costs combine, while ScrapingBee’s examples do not fully reconcile with its stated additive AI rule. Model each real request shape separately and confirm the observed credit debit before committing to a plan. (ScraperAPI credit costs, ScrapingBee credit costs, retrieved July 26, 2026)