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# Scrapingdog alternatives in 2026: answers and sources at $5 per 1,000

Compared on Nov 10, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/alternatives/scrapingdog

Scrapingdog sells monthly credits shared by all its APIs, from $40 for 200,000 to $10,000 for 295,000,000. A Google search costs 5 credits, or 10 for the advanced search, and returns the results page as JSON.

SpecStream is the live web data engine. Its Search API returns the answer with the page it was read on and every source, at $5 per 1,000 searches from top-ups that never expire. It scores 97.9 on [SimpleQA Verified](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=scrapingdog).

[Get an API key](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-scrapingdog&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=scrapingdog&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fsearch%3Froute%3Dgoogle) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It covers 2,000 searches.

## SpecStream and Scrapingdog side by side

| | SpecStream | Scrapingdog |
|---|---|---|
| What a call returns | `GET /v1/web-search` returns an `answer` with the value, the page it was read on and the time it was read, `rows` with the facts the request asks for, and `sources` in rank order with `url`, `title`, `snippet` and the `published` date when the result gives one | Google's results page as JSON from `GET https://api.scrapingdog.com/google`: `organic_results`, `local_results`, `ai_overview` and `peopleAlsoAskedFor` |
| Price | $5 for up to 10 results, the same rate on every plan. `num=100` costs $0.059 a call | Monthly credits shared by every API: LITE $40 for 200,000, STANDARD $90 for 1,000,000, BUSINESS PLUS $1,000 for 19,000,000, GLOBAL ELITE $10,000 for 295,000,000 |
| What one search costs | $0.005 for up to 10 results, and $0.006 for each started block of 10 more | 5 credits for a standard Google search, 10 credits for the advanced search |
| Volume | The fast search takes up to 8,800 searches a minute on one account. A call over that gets a `429` with `Retry-After` and is not charged | 5 concurrent requests on LITE, 50 on STANDARD, 250 on BUSINESS PLUS, 900 on GLOBAL ELITE |
| When the balance runs out | Calls spend from your balance, inside the spending limit you set on the key. A top-up never expires | Plans renew monthly. Annual billing adds 2 months |
| Failed calls | A `429` with `Retry-After` charges nothing. With an `Idempotency-Key`, a retried call is charged once | Failed requests are never charged |
| Free to start | $10 of credit, no card. That is 2,000 searches, or up to 200 rows at 5¢ | 100 free credits, no credit card. That is 20 standard Google searches |
| What answers the call | The whole live web, read at the moment of the call. 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct) and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 WideSearch tasks | Google's results page, read at each call |
| The text of the pages | Add `passages=true` and each source carries an excerpt of its page, up to about 3,500 characters. The Extract API returns the main text of up to 20 pages or documents (PDF, Word, Excel) a call, at $0.80 per 1,000 pages | The snippet Google shows for each organic result. Pages are read with Scrapingdog's other APIs, on the same credits |
| Data already held | Public databases read every morning at [specstream.ai/data](https://specstream.ai/data?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=scrapingdog): every company that filed a Form D since 2023 with its filing history, nearly 2 million US nonprofits, every US bank failure since 1934, federal rules, open federal contracts and grants, and local businesses. Signals such as funding rounds, new executives and layoffs at [specstream.ai/signals](https://specstream.ai/signals?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=scrapingdog) | Results pages fetched one query at a time |
| Every match as structured rows | Deep Search: a request in plain words returns every match on the live web as rows that meet each condition you wrote, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, plus 5¢ for an email and 15¢ for a phone. The most a run can cost is quoted before it starts, and nothing runs until you approve it | One results page per call, set with `page` |
| Reruns and change labels | Hourly to yearly. Each row comes back labeled changed, unchanged or no longer matching. A changed row costs half its rate, an unchanged row 1¢ | Each call is a new request, charged in credits |
| Where the data goes | Google Sheets, Excel, Airtable, Notion, monday.com, HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Attio, Slack, Teams, Zapier, Make, n8n and signed webhooks. Agents use the MCP server, the REST API, the Python and TypeScript SDKs, a CLI and A2A | A JSON response to the code that called the API |

## Why teams move from Scrapingdog to SpecStream

### One call returns the answer and its sources

A Scrapingdog call returns the blocks of Google's results page, and your code works out the answer. A SpecStream call takes the question in everyday words and returns the value with the page it was read on, the rows the question asks for, and every source in rank order.

```
curl "https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search?q=Who+is+the+CEO+of+Mistral+AI&num=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY"
```

When your product reads a results list, `POST https://api.specstream.ai/serper/search` returns `organic[]` with `position`, `title`, `link` and `snippet`, at the same $0.005 a search.

### The most accurate web search API in the world

The SpecStream Search API scores a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions, with 978 correct. On WideSearch it scores 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official tasks, and the Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. The scores and the method are at [specstream.ai/benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=scrapingdog).

### $5 per 1,000 searches from top-ups that do not expire

Scrapingdog's credits come with a monthly plan, and one credit pool pays for every API on it. SpecStream charges one price for a search on every plan: $0.005 for up to 10 results, from top-ups that never expire. A call stopped by a `429` charges nothing, and the most a key can spend is the limit you set on it.

### About one second a search, at up to 8,800 a minute

Every results list route runs the fast search unless the call asks for page text, the answer or results past the first ten. On November 9, 2026 production took 1 to 20 fast searches a second and answered 718 of 720: the median was 0.82 s at 1 search a second and 1.07 s at 20 a second, and the 95th percentile stayed between 1.09 and 1.73 s. One account takes up to 8,800 searches a minute, and a call over that gets a `429` with `Retry-After` and is not charged.

### Zero retention on any key

Set `zero_retention` when you create a key, or later. A search made with that key keeps no request text and no answer after the reply: it is not in the history, its answer is not reused for another call, and its log lines carry neither. The charge keeps the account, the key, the request ID, the price and the time.

```
curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/account/keys \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "production", "scopes": ["account:read", "finds:spend"], "spend_cap_cents": 500000, "zero_retention": true}'
```

### Search, pages and rows on one key

A product that calls Scrapingdog still has to read the pages and build its own records. On SpecStream the same key reads up to 20 pages or documents a call with the [Extract API](https://specstream.ai/extract-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=scrapingdog) at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and runs [Deep Search](https://specstream.ai/deep-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=scrapingdog), which returns every match on the live web as structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row. 10,000 rows with 5 facts each cost $500, and the most a run can cost is approved before it starts. Save a request and it reruns hourly to yearly, with each row labeled changed, unchanged or no longer matching.

## Other Scrapingdog alternatives

### SpecStream

The live web data engine for teams and agents. Its Search API costs $5 per 1,000 searches, returns the answer with its page and every source, and scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions. The Extract API costs $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and Deep Search returns every match as structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row.

### SerpApi

A results page API for Google and other engines, sold by monthly plan: Starter at $25 for 1,000 searches with 200 an hour, Developer at $75 for 5,000. Cached, errored and failed searches are not counted. On SpecStream $25 pays for 5,000 searches, and a top-up never expires.

### ScrapingBee

A scraping API billed in monthly credits: Freelance costs $49 a month for 250,000 credits and Startup $99 for 1,000,000, with 1,000 free credits to try it. SpecStream reads pages with the Extract API at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and does not charge a page with no text.

### Serper

Google results sold as prepaid credits with no monthly subscription, from $1.00 per 1,000 on the 50k pack. The first 2,500 queries are free, no credit card. SpecStream answers Serper's own call at `https://api.specstream.ai/serper/search`, in Serper's JSON, for $5 per 1,000 searches.

## How to switch from Scrapingdog

1. Create a key under Agents & API in the workspace. A new account gets $10 of credit, no card, which covers 2,000 searches.

2. Send the question to `GET https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search` with the key as a Bearer token, where your code calls `https://api.scrapingdog.com/google` with `query` today. `num` sets the results from 1 to 100.

```
import requests

reply = requests.get(
    "https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search",
    params={"q": "Who is the CEO of Mistral AI", "num": 10},
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {SPECSTREAM_KEY}"},
).json()["data"]

print(reply["answer"])
for source in reply["sources"]:
    print(source["url"], source["title"], source["snippet"])
```

3. Where your code reads `organic_results`, read `sources` (each with `url`, `title` and `snippet`), or call `POST https://api.specstream.ai/serper/search` and read `organic[]`, whose items carry `position`, `title`, `link` and `snippet`.

```
import requests

reply = requests.post(
    "https://api.specstream.ai/serper/search",
    headers={"X-API-KEY": SPECSTREAM_KEY},
    json={"q": "Who is the CEO of Mistral AI", "num": 10, "page": 1},
).json()

for result in reply["organic"]:
    print(result["position"], result["title"], result["link"], result["snippet"])
```

4. Set a spending limit on the key. A call of up to 10 results costs $0.005, and `num=100` costs $0.059.

When your product needs the whole dataset in place of a results page, write the request in plain words. SpecStream reads it back as the conditions every row must meet and the facts to bring back, quotes the most it can cost, and delivers the rows after you approve.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does the Scrapingdog Google Search API cost?

5 credits a search, or 10 for the advanced search, from a monthly plan. LITE is $40 for 200,000 credits, STANDARD $90 for 1,000,000 and BUSINESS PLUS $1,000 for 19,000,000. The free plan has 100 credits.

### What is the best Scrapingdog alternative?

SpecStream, at $5 per 1,000 searches. One call returns the answer with the page it was read on and every source, and it scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions, shown on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=scrapingdog) page. New accounts get $10 of credit, no card.

### Does Scrapingdog charge for failed requests?

No: Scrapingdog never charges a failed request. On SpecStream a call stopped by a `429` charges nothing, and an `Idempotency-Key` makes a retried call count once.

### Is there a free Scrapingdog alternative?

SpecStream gives $10 of credit on sign up, no card, which covers 2,000 searches. Scrapingdog's free plan has 100 credits, 20 standard Google searches.

### Can SpecStream read the pages too?

Yes, at $0.80 per 1,000 pages. The Extract API returns the main text of up to 20 pages or documents a call, and `passages=true` on a search adds the text of each source, up to about 3,500 characters.

### Does SpecStream have an API?

Yes, three. The Search API is `GET /v1/web-search` at $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results. The Extract API is `POST /v1/extract` at $0.80 per 1,000 pages. Deep Search takes a request in plain words and returns structured rows. Python and TypeScript SDKs, a CLI and A2A cover the same calls.

### Does SpecStream have an MCP server?

Yes, at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` over Streamable HTTP, with OAuth or an API key. The `search_web` tool runs a search for $0.005, and the agent spends from the same balance as your team, inside the limits you set on its key.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each rival figure comes from that company's own page.

- [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing), read Nov 9, 2026
- [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md), read Nov 9, 2026
- [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 9, 2026
- [SpecStream data](https://specstream.ai/data), read Nov 9, 2026
- [SpecStream signals](https://specstream.ai/signals), read Nov 9, 2026
- [Scrapingdog pricing](https://www.scrapingdog.com/pricing), read Nov 9, 2026
- [Scrapingdog Google Search API docs](https://docs.scrapingdog.com/google-search-api), read Nov 9, 2026
- [Scrapingdog Google Search API](https://www.scrapingdog.com/google-search-api), read Nov 9, 2026
- [SerpApi pricing](https://serpapi.com/pricing), read Nov 9, 2026
- [ScrapingBee pricing](https://www.scrapingbee.com/pricing/), read Nov 9, 2026
- [Serper homepage and pricing](https://serper.dev/), read Nov 9, 2026