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Scraper API Alternatives in 2026: 8 Tools Compared

Shihab MiaShihab Mia · Founder, Rankite •Last verified Nov 11, 2026•How we test•13 min read
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How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.

Scraper API Alternatives in 2026: 8 Tools Compared

What is the best Scraper API alternative in 2026?

Bright Data is the best Scraper API alternative for most teams because its Web Scraper API charges a flat 1.50 dollars per 1,000 records, includes JavaScript rendering and proxy rotation in that rate, and only bills for successful requests. ScrapingBee is the best budget pick at 19 dollars a month for simple jobs.

Key takeaways

  • Bright Data leads for most teams, with a flat 1.50 dollars per 1,000 records and no charge for failed requests.
  • Oxylabs now sells one subscription from 15 dollars a month covering its Web API, proxies, and unblocker, from 0.50 dollars per 1,000 results.
  • ScrapingBee, ZenRows, Apify, and Decodo all start at 19 dollars a month, but their credit systems price the same job very differently once JavaScript rendering is on.
  • Zyte is cheapest per request on easy sites, from 0.13 dollars per 1,000 HTTP responses, and most expensive on hard rendered sites.
  • Scrapingdog is the structured-data pick, with dedicated endpoints for Google, Amazon, LinkedIn, and YouTube, from 40 dollars a month.

What does a web scraping API actually do?

A web scraping API takes a URL, fetches the page through rotating proxies, renders JavaScript when needed, gets past common anti-bot checks, and returns HTML or structured JSON. The buyer does not manage proxy pools, browser farms, or CAPTCHA solvers. That is the whole point of replacing ScraperAPI: one API call replaces a stack of proxies, headless browsers, and retry logic.

ScraperAPI itself charges by credits, with 1 credit for a standard page and more for hard domains, and its entry plan is 49 dollars a month for 100,000 credits. The tools in this guide differ in how they count a request. Bright Data and Zyte charge per successful request. ScrapingBee and ZenRows sell monthly credits and multiply the cost when JavaScript rendering or premium proxies are switched on. Apify charges for compute time, while Oxylabs and Decodo mix a monthly subscription with per-result rates. Before you compare headline prices, work out what one of your pages costs on each meter. Check the target site terms of use and collect only public data.

How much do Scraper API alternatives cost?

Take a workload of 100,000 standard requests a month, with no JavaScript rendering. Bright Data charges 1.50 dollars per 1,000 records, so the bill is 150 dollars a month. Oxylabs charges from 0.50 dollars per 1,000 results, so usage is 50 dollars, plus the 15 dollar Starter subscription, for 65 dollars a month. ScrapingBee charges 1 credit per plain request, so the 49 dollar Freelance plan with 250,000 credits covers it, while the 19 dollar Hobby plan only holds 75,000 credits. ZenRows charges 1 credit per basic request, so the 69 dollar Launch plan with 250,000 credits covers it. Zyte charges 0.44 dollars per 1,000 HTTP responses on a moderate tier-3 site, so the bill is 44 dollars a month. Decodo charges 0.50 dollars per 1,000 standard requests, so usage is 50 dollars, covered by the 49 dollar plan. Apify prices by compute units, so there is no per-request figure; start from the 19 dollar Starter plan. Scrapingdog charges 1 credit per plain request, so the 40 dollar Lite plan with 200,000 credits covers it.

Switch JavaScript rendering on and the ranking changes. ScrapingBee charges 5 credits per rendered request, so the same 100,000 requests need 500,000 credits and the 99 dollar Startup plan. ZenRows also charges 5 credits per rendered request, so the same job needs the 199 dollar Growth plan with 1,200,000 credits. Scrapingdog also charges 5 credits per rendered request, so the same job needs its 90 dollar Standard plan. Zyte browser rendering on a moderate tier-3 site costs 4.02 dollars per 1,000 responses, or 402 dollars for 100,000 pages. Bright Data stays at 150 dollars because its flat rate already includes rendering. Rendering is where the cheap plans get expensive.

What should you check before you buy?

Check five things before you sign. First, the billing unit: confirm whether you pay per request, per credit, per gigabyte, or per compute unit, and what one page costs once JavaScript rendering is on. Second, the success rule: confirm which responses count as billable. ScrapingBee and ZenRows count 404 and 410 responses as successful, while Bright Data and Zyte bill only for successful responses. Third, concurrency and rate limits: ScrapingBee allows 25 concurrent requests on its 19 dollar plan, ZenRows allows 20, and Apify caps the free plan at 5 concurrent runs. Fourth, output format: confirm whether the API returns raw HTML or structured JSON, and whether extraction costs extra. Zyte charges 0.27 to 1.07 dollars per 1,000 extractions per data type on top. Fifth, the vendor itself: confirm the company is still operating and check the pricing page before you pay.

How we picked

We compared eight tools that replace ScraperAPI, checking each vendor pricing page where it could be opened, and independent pricing trackers where it could not. Oxylabs and Zyte pricing pages were opened on 11 November 2026, and the Decodo residential proxy pricing page was opened the same day. Bright Data, ScrapingBee, Apify, and ZenRows prices are search-verified from sources dated October and November 2026. Scrapingdog prices were confirmed on its vendor pricing page opened on 11 November 2026.

Last verified: 11 November 2026

Comparison table

Tool Best for Starting price Free plan
Bright Data Most teams, flat pricing 1.50 dollars per 1,000 records 5,000 records a month
Oxylabs Enterprise scale and compliance 15 dollars per month 5 dollars welcome credit
ScrapingBee Simple API-first scraping 19 dollars per month 1,000-credit trial
Apify Ready-made scrapers and automation 19 dollars per month 5 dollars usage a month
ZenRows Developer-first API with a free tier 19 dollars per month 5,000 credits a month
Zyte Cheapest on easy sites 0.13 dollars per 1,000 requests 5 dollars credit, 30 days
Decodo Budget proxies and scraping API 19 dollars per month 10,000 pages a month
Scrapingdog Structured data from popular sites 40 dollars per month 100 free credits

Quick comparison

ToolBest forStarting priceFree plan
Bright DataMost teams wanting flat per-request pricing1.50 dollars per 1,000 recordsYes, 5,000 records a month, no card required
OxylabsEnterprise scale and compliance15 dollars per month5 dollars welcome credit, no subscription required
ScrapingBeeSimple API-first scraping on a budget19 dollars per monthFree trial, 1,000 credits, no card required
ApifyReady-made scrapers and automation19 dollars per monthYes, 5 dollars of usage a month, no card required
ZenRowsDeveloper-first API with a generous free tier19 dollars per monthYes, 5,000 credits a month, no card required
ZyteCheapest per request on easy sites0.13 dollars per 1,000 requests5 dollars credit, valid 30 days
DecodoBudget proxies plus a scraping API19 dollars per monthYes, up to 10,000 pages scraped a month
ScrapingdogStructured data from popular sites without parsing HTML40 dollars per monthYes, 100 free credits, no card required

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The 8 best Scraper API alternatives

#1

Bright Data

Best for: Most teams wanting flat per-request pricing
4.6/5 on G2 (272 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit brightdata.com
Starting price1.50 dollars per 1,000 records
Free planYes, 5,000 records a month, no card required
Bright Data homepage

Bright Data runs the largest web data platform in this guide. Its Web Scraper API charges 1.50 dollars per 1,000 records on pay as you go, and the Scale plan is 499 dollars a month including 384,000 records, then 1.30 dollars per 1,000. Because the rate is flat, a rendered page on a protected site costs the same as a plain page, which makes budgeting simple but overcharges simple pages. This price is search-verified from October and November 2026 sources, as the vendor page could not be opened directly.

What we like
  • Flat rate includes rendering, proxies, and unblocking
  • Only successful requests billed
  • Largest network here, over 400 million IPs
Watch out for
  • Flat rate overcharges on simple pages
  • Pricing catalog is hard to compare
  • Larger volumes push you toward enterprise sales
#2

Oxylabs

Best for: Enterprise scale and compliance
4.5/5 on G2 (420 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit oxylabs.io
Starting price15 dollars per month
Free plan5 dollars welcome credit, no subscription required
Oxylabs homepage

Oxylabs moved all of its products to one subscription in October 2026. The pricing page opened on 11 November 2026 confirms the structure: Starter at 15 dollars a month, Basic at 100 dollars, Flexible at 500 dollars, and Enterprise from 2,500 dollars. The Web API starts from 0.50 dollars per 1,000 results, with Google JavaScript rendering at 1.35 dollars per 1,000 and custom-domain JavaScript scraping at 1.50 dollars per 1,000 on Starter, falling to 1.22 dollars at volume. Starter caps Web API results, so check which tier your volume needs first.

What we like
  • Single subscription covers Web API, proxies, and unblocker
  • 175 million residential IPs
  • Strong compliance story for enterprise buyers
Watch out for
  • Cheapest plan caps Web API volume at 10,000 results
  • Per-gigabyte unblocker billing can spike costs
  • Self-service purchases are non-refundable
#3

ScrapingBee

Best for: Simple API-first scraping on a budget
4.8/5 on G2 (25 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit scrapingbee.com
Starting price19 dollars per month
Free planFree trial, 1,000 credits, no card required
ScrapingBee homepage

ScrapingBee is the simplest tool here: one API endpoint takes a URL and returns the page, with rendering and proxy options as parameters. The Hobby plan is 19 dollars a month for 75,000 credits, Freelance is 49 dollars for 250,000, Startup is 99 dollars for 1,000,000, and Business is 249 dollars for 3,000,000. A plain request costs 1 credit, rendering costs 5, premium proxies cost 25 with rendering, and stealth proxies cost 75. So the 19 dollar plan holds 75,000 plain requests but only 15,000 rendered ones. Oxylabs acquired ScrapingBee in January 2026; prices exclude VAT. This price is search-verified from October and November 2026 sources.

What we like
  • Simplest API here, one endpoint with parameters
  • Only successful requests billed
  • Cheapest entry plan at 19 dollars a month
Watch out for
  • JavaScript rendering is on by default at 5 credits per request
  • Credits do not roll over
  • No overage, so you must upgrade mid-cycle when credits run out
#4

Apify

Best for: Ready-made scrapers and automation
4.7/5 on G2 (669 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit apify.com
Starting price19 dollars per month
Free planYes, 5 dollars of usage a month, no card required

Apify is a platform rather than a single-request API, and that is its strength for teams replacing ScraperAPI with something more capable. The Store lists more than 66,000 ready-made Actors, including scrapers for popular sites, so a common job may need no code at all. Plans are Free at 0 dollars with 5 dollars of prepaid usage, Starter at 19 dollars a month, Scale at 199 dollars, and Business at 999 dollars. Compute units cost 0.20 dollars on Free and Starter, 0.16 dollars on Scale, and 0.13 dollars on Business. This price is search-verified from October and November 2026 sources.

What we like
  • Store holds over 66,000 ready-made Actors
  • Platform runs scheduled crawls, storage, and integrations
  • Free plan includes real usage with no card
Watch out for
  • Monthly fee is prepaid usage that expires each cycle
  • Cost depends on compute units, so per-request cost is hard to predict
  • Free plan caps at 5 concurrent runs
#5

ZenRows

Best for: Developer-first API with a generous free tier
Visit zenrows.com
Starting price19 dollars per month
Free planYes, 5,000 credits a month, no card required

ZenRows is a developer-first scraping API built around one shared credit balance, with four primitives: Fetch, Extract, Batch, and Browser Sessions. Paid plans are Build at 19 dollars a month for 45,000 credits, Launch at 69 dollars for 250,000, Growth at 199 dollars for 1,200,000, and Scale at 549 dollars for 5,000,000. A standard request costs 1 credit, JavaScript rendering costs 5, premium proxies cost 10, and both together cost 25. That means the 69 dollar Launch plan holds 250,000 plain requests but only 10,000 protected ones. This price is search-verified from October and November 2026 sources.

What we like
  • Largest recurring free tier among the generic scraping APIs here
  • Simple credit model with four multipliers
  • Proxy traffic and browser sessions share the same balance
Watch out for
  • JavaScript rendering plus premium proxies costs 25 credits per request
  • The automatic unblocker can escalate a request to the 25-credit tier unasked
  • 404 and 410 responses count as successful
#6

Zyte

Best for: Cheapest per request on easy sites
4.4/5 on G2 (122 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit zyte.com
Starting price0.13 dollars per 1,000 requests
Free plan5 dollars credit, valid 30 days

Zyte, formerly Scrapinghub, prices every request by how hard the target site is, using five tiers from simple to advanced. Pay-as-you-go rates confirmed on 11 November 2026: HTTP responses run from 0.13 dollars per 1,000 on tier 1 to 1.27 dollars on tier 5, and browser-rendered responses run from 1.01 dollars to 16.08 dollars per 1,000. Monthly commitments of 100, 200, or 500 dollars cut those rates, with the 500 dollar plan starting at 0.06 dollars per 1,000 HTTP responses. New accounts get 5 dollars of free credit for 30 days. The tier spread is the widest here, so price your actual target sites in the cost calculator before you commit.

What we like
  • Cheapest per-request rates here on simple sites
  • Only successful responses billed, no overage penalty
  • Maintains the open-source Scrapy framework
Watch out for
  • Price depends on Zyte tier assignment per site, which you cannot choose
  • Browser rendering at the top tier costs 16.08 dollars per 1,000
  • Pay as you go has no spending cap
#7

Decodo

Best for: Budget proxies plus a scraping API
4.6/5 on G2 (763 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit decodo.com
Starting price19 dollars per month
Free planYes, up to 10,000 pages scraped a month

Decodo, formerly Smartproxy, rebranded on 22 April 2025. Its Web Data API covers scrape, search, map, and crawl endpoints under one key. Paid plans run 19, 49, 99, and 249 dollars a month, with the 249 dollar plan covering up to 1.2 million pages. Standard requests cost 0.50 dollars per 1,000, rising to 1.50 dollars per 1,000 with premium proxies and JavaScript rendering. Residential proxies are 4 dollars per gigabyte on pay as you go, or from 11.25 dollars a month for 3 gigabytes on a subscription, per the vendor pricing page opened on 11 November 2026. Web Data API prices are search-verified from October 2026 sources.

What we like
  • Cheapest proxy entry point here, residential plans from 11.25 dollars a month
  • Web Data API free plan covers 10,000 pages
  • 115 million IPs in 195 locations
Watch out for
  • Taking the free API plan ends refund eligibility for later purchases
  • Prices exclude VAT
  • Allowances shrink sharply with JavaScript rendering and premium proxies
#8

Scrapingdog

Best for: Structured data from popular sites without parsing HTML
Visit scrapingdog.com
Starting price40 dollars per month
Free planYes, 100 free credits, no card required

Scrapingdog is the structured-data pick here: its dedicated endpoints for Google, Amazon, LinkedIn, and YouTube return structured JSON instead of raw HTML. Plans confirmed on the vendor pricing page on 11 November 2026 are Free at 0 dollars with 100 credits, Lite at 40 dollars a month for 200,000 credits, and Standard at 90 dollars for 1,000,000. A plain request costs 1 credit, JavaScript rendering costs 5, and premium proxies cost 10, per November 2026 pricing sources. Failed, blocked, and timed-out requests are refunded. Buy Scrapingdog when your job is pulling structured data from popular sites and you want to skip HTML parsing.

What we like
  • Dedicated endpoints return structured JSON for popular sites
  • Failed requests are never charged
  • Free plan covers all APIs
Watch out for
  • JavaScript rendering costs 5 credits and premium proxies cost 10, so hard targets burn credits fast
  • No markdown output, so LLM pipelines must convert HTML themselves

Frequently asked questions

How much do Scraper API alternatives cost?

For 100,000 standard requests a month, expect 44 to 150 dollars: Zyte from 44 dollars on a moderate site, Oxylabs about 65 dollars including its subscription, ScrapingBee 49 dollars, ZenRows 69 dollars, and Bright Data 150 dollars. JavaScript rendering changes the ranking, pushing ScrapingBee to 99 dollars and ZenRows to 199 dollars, while Bright Data stays at 150 dollars.

Which Scraper API alternative is cheapest for a small project?

ZenRows is cheapest to start, with a free plan of 5,000 credits a month and no card required, and a paid plan from 19 dollars a month. ScrapingBee offers a 1,000-credit free trial, Apify gives 5 dollars of usage a month free, and Bright Data gives 5,000 records a month free. For plain pages, ScrapingBee at 19 dollars a month is the cheapest paid option.

Do I still need proxies if I use a scraping API?

No, not usually. A scraping API includes proxy rotation, IP management, and anti-bot handling in the request price, so you do not buy proxies separately. You still need proxies if you run your own crawlers or need a specific IP type the API does not offer. Decodo and Oxylabs sell both, so you can start with the API and add raw proxies later.

When does Scrapingdog save time over a generic scraping API?

Scrapingdog saves time when your targets are the popular sites it has dedicated endpoints for, such as Google Search, Google Maps, Amazon, Walmart, LinkedIn, and YouTube. For a custom or less common site, use its generic endpoint instead, which returns HTML like any other scraping API. Test your exact target on the free 100-credit plan before you pay.

How hard is it to switch from ScraperAPI to an alternative?

Switching is usually a small job, not a rewrite. ScrapingBee and ZenRows use a similar single-endpoint design where you pass the target URL as a parameter, so migration is often a change of base URL and parameter names. Bright Data, Oxylabs, and Zyte need more setup around their request formats. Apify needs the most change, since you move from request calls to Actors and scheduled runs.

Sources we checked (20)
  1. https://brightdata.com
  2. https://oxylabs.io
  3. https://www.scrapingbee.com
  4. https://apify.com
  5. https://www.zenrows.com
  6. https://www.zyte.com
  7. https://decodo.com
  8. https://www.scrapingdog.com
  9. https://www.scrapingdog.com/pricing/
  10. https://oxylabs.io/products/scraper-api/web/pricing
  11. https://www.zyte.com/pricing
  12. https://decodo.com/pricing
  13. https://www.fdaytalk.com/best-web-scraping-api/
  14. https://dev.to/minnerfun/what-500000-pages-a-month-costs-on-8-scraping-apis-32m
  15. https://scrapetools.scaleturn.com/scraperapi-vs-scrapingbee.html
  16. https://www.usagepricing.com/blueprint/apify
  17. https://www.polylogin.com/en/blog/zenrows-scraping-api-credits-products-explained
  18. https://www.productauditors.com/en/audits/zyte/
  19. https://proxyfacts.com/blog/decodo-pricing
  20. https://www.scrapeprices.com/provider/scrapingdog

Is your product missing or out of date?

We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.

Request a listing
Shihab Mia
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite

Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.