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# WebScrapingAPI alternatives in 2026: any page for $0.80 per 1,000

Compared on Nov 12, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/alternatives/webscrapingapi

WebScrapingAPI sells its Scraper API as a monthly request allowance: Starter is $19 a month for 7,000 requests and Pro is $599 for 450,000, or $2.71 to $1.33 per 1,000 pages. Google search plans start at $28 a month for 10,000 searches.

SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. Its Extract API reads any page for $0.80 per 1,000, JavaScript pages and documents included. The same key searches the web and returns finished rows from a request in plain words.

[Get an API key](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-webscrapingapi&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=webscrapingapi&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fagents%3Ftab%3Dkeys) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It reads 12,500 pages.

## SpecStream and WebScrapingAPI side by side

| | SpecStream | WebScrapingAPI |
|---|---|---|
| The call your code sends | `POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/extract` with up to 20 URLs a call and the key as a Bearer token. Rendered pages use the same call | `GET https://api.webscrapingapi.com/v2` with `api_key` and `url` for one page, or `/v1` when the page needs browser rendering |
| Price of a page | $0.80 per 1,000 pages on every site, JavaScript pages and PDF, Word and Excel documents included. A page that gives no text is not charged | Starter is $19 a month for 7,000 requests, $2.71 per 1,000. Basic is $49 for 20,000 and Pro is $599 for 450,000, $1.33 per 1,000 |
| How you buy | A top-up from $10, and credit you buy never expires. Or a plan at $19, $99 or $499 a month that turns its whole price into credit | A monthly request allowance on one of six paid plans, from Starter at $19 to Pro at $599 |
| Free to start | $10 of credit, no card: 12,500 pages, or 10,000 searches with `speed=fast` | A trial of 5,000 Scraper API requests, and 100 Google searches on the SERP API |
| Web search | Search API: $1 per 1,000 searches with `speed=fast`, or $5 per 1,000 for the full search with an answer. 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions | SERP API Google plans from $28 a month for 10,000 searches, $2.80 per 1,000, to $1,600 for 1,000,000 |
| Requests at once | Up to 20 pages in one call, with no plan setting the monthly volume | 5 concurrent requests on the trial, 20 on Starter and Basic, 500 on Pro |
| Structured data | Deep Search: a request in plain words returns every match on the live web as rows that meet each condition, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, with the most a run can cost quoted first | Auto parsing is included in every Scraper API plan. Managed Data programs start at $299 a month |
| Reruns and change labels | A saved request reruns hourly to yearly. Each row comes back labeled changed, unchanged or no longer matching, and an unchanged row costs 1¢ | Data Feeds deliver records on a refresh schedule, priced by quote |

## Why WebScrapingAPI users move to SpecStream

### $0.80 per 1,000 pages, with no monthly allowance

A WebScrapingAPI plan buys a number of requests for the month: $49 buys 20,000 on Basic. On SpecStream $49 reads 61,250 pages, and $599 reads 748,750, against 450,000 requests on Pro. A page that refuses a plain read is tried again as a browser would ask for it, then in a real browser, then from the site's own feed, then from its newest public archive capture, all at the same price. A page that gives no text is not charged.

### Your scraper changes in one call

Send the URLs you pass as `url` today to the [Extract API](https://specstream.ai/extract-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=webscrapingapi), 20 at a time. The reply holds each page's main text as markdown or plain text, its title, its published date when the page states one, and a `status` for each URL.

```
# Was: GET https://api.webscrapingapi.com/v2?api_key=...&url=... once per page
curl https://api.specstream.ai/v1/extract \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"urls": ["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_scraping", "https://example.com"], "format": "markdown"}'
```

### Search on the same key, from $1 per 1,000

WebScrapingAPI's Google plans start at $28 a month for 10,000 searches. The SpecStream [Search API](https://specstream.ai/search-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=webscrapingapi) costs $1 per 1,000 searches with `speed=fast`, and $5 per 1,000 for the full search, which returns an answer with the page it was read on when the pages agree on one value. It takes `site:`, `filetype:` and date operators, and a result that breaks one is left out.

### Ask for the rows, and skip the scraper

Most scrapers exist to fill a table. With [Deep Search](https://specstream.ai/deep-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=webscrapingapi) you write the table you want in plain words, for example online stores, companies, places or filings with the facts each row needs. SpecStream reads it back as the conditions every row must meet, quotes the most the run can cost, and after you approve it returns structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row. Source URL and read time on every value. The searches and pages behind a row are not billed.

### Scores published on official benchmarks

The SpecStream Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. The Search API scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 WideSearch tasks. Every score and its method is on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=webscrapingapi) page.

### The rows stay up to date in your tools and your agent

Save a request and it reruns hourly to yearly. A changed or new row costs half its rate and an unchanged row 1¢, so rechecking 1,000 rows that did not change costs $10. New matches arrive in Slack, email, a sheet, a CRM or a signed webhook, and agents connect to `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` with OAuth or an API key, inside the spending limit you set on the key.

## Other WebScrapingAPI alternatives

### SpecStream

The live web data engine for teams and agents. The Extract API reads any page for $0.80 per 1,000, the Search API costs from $1 per 1,000 searches, and Deep Search returns every match on the live web as structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row. A new account starts with $10 of credit, no card.

### ScrapingBee

A scraping API by monthly credits: Hobby is $19 a month for 75,000 credits, and API credits are valid for one month. SpecStream answers ScrapingBee's own call at `https://api.specstream.ai/scrapingbee/api/v1/`, at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, as the [ScrapingBee migration guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/scrapingbee?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=webscrapingapi) shows.

### ScraperAPI

Hobby is $49 a month for 100,000 credits, and the credit balance resets when the subscription renews. SpecStream answers ScraperAPI's call at `https://api.specstream.ai/scraperapi` with the key in `api_key`, from credit that never expires ([ScraperAPI migration guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/scraperapi?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=webscrapingapi)).

### ZenRows

A scraping API by monthly credits, from $19 for 45,000, where a JavaScript-rendered request always costs 5 credits. SpecStream answers ZenRows' call at `https://api.specstream.ai/zenrows/v1`, at one price for every page ([ZenRows migration guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/zenrows?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=webscrapingapi)).

### AlterLab

A pay-as-you-go scraping API with a $10 minimum deposit, where each request costs $0.0002 to $0.02 by the tier that returned the page. SpecStream charges $0.0008 for every page, rendered or not, and the same balance pays for search and finished rows.

### Oxylabs

Proxies and a Web Scraper API on plans from $15 a month, with /Scrape from $0.50 per 1,000 results and Enterprise from $2,500 a month. The [Oxylabs alternatives](https://specstream.ai/alternatives/oxylabs?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=webscrapingapi) page compares it with SpecStream row by row.

## How to switch from WebScrapingAPI

1. Create a key under Agents & API in the workspace. A new account gets $10 of credit, no card, which reads 12,500 pages.

2. Point your page calls at the Extract API. One call takes up to 20 URLs, rendered pages included, so the `/v1` and `/v2` endpoints become one. In Python:

```
import os
import requests

URLS = ["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_scraping", "https://example.com"]

# Was: requests.get("https://api.webscrapingapi.com/v2", params={"api_key": KEY, "url": url}) for each URL
reply = requests.post(
    "https://api.specstream.ai/v1/extract",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['SPECSTREAM_API_KEY']}"},
    json={"urls": URLS, "format": "markdown"},
    timeout=90,
)
reply.raise_for_status()
data = reply.json()["data"]
for page in data["results"]:
    print(page["url"], page["status"], len(page.get("text") or ""))
print("price of the call in USD:", data["price_usd"])
```

3. Test it on your own pages before you move. Send the 20 URLs you fetch most, the hard ones included, to both APIs. Count the pages that came back with text: on SpecStream that is every result with `status` `ok`, and `price_usd` is what the call cost.

4. Move your searches to `GET https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search?q=<the query>&speed=fast`, with the same key. The reply lists each result in `data.sources` with its `url`, `title`, `site` and `snippet`.

5. Where the pages were only a way to build a table, write the table in plain words instead. This call spends nothing: the `402` reply shows how SpecStream read the request, the columns and the most it can cost.

```
curl -i https://api.specstream.ai/v1/agent/lists \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"request": "Online stores in the US that sell standing desks, with the store URL, the price of the cheapest desk and the shipping policy page", "count": 25}'
```

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does WebScrapingAPI cost?

WebScrapingAPI's Scraper API costs $19 a month for 7,000 requests on Starter, $49 for 20,000, $99 for 45,000, $149 for 100,000, $249 for 180,000 and $599 for 450,000. Google search plans start at $28 a month for 10,000 searches, and Managed Data programs start at $299 a month.

### What is the best WebScrapingAPI alternative?

SpecStream, at $0.80 per 1,000 pages with no monthly allowance. The same key runs the Search API from $1 per 1,000 searches and Deep Search, which returns finished rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, from one balance.

### Is there a cheaper alternative to WebScrapingAPI?

Yes. SpecStream reads a page for $0.80 per 1,000, against $2.71 per 1,000 on WebScrapingAPI's Starter plan and $1.33 on Pro. $599 on SpecStream reads 748,750 pages, where the Pro plan holds 450,000 requests.

### Does WebScrapingAPI have a free trial?

Yes: 5,000 Scraper API requests and 100 Google searches. SpecStream gives new accounts $10 of credit, no card, which reads 12,500 pages or runs 10,000 searches with `speed=fast`.

### Can I keep my code when I switch?

Yes, one call changes. Send the URLs you pass as `url` today to `POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/extract`, up to 20 a call, with the key as a Bearer token, and read each page from `data.results[].text`.

### Does SpecStream have an API?

Yes, three products on one key: the Search API from $1 per 1,000 searches, the Extract API at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and Deep Search at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a delivered row. There are Python and TypeScript SDKs, a CLI, and an MCP server at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` with OAuth or an API key.

## Sources

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

- [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 12, 2026
- [WebScrapingAPI Scraper API pricing](https://www.webscrapingapi.com/pricing/scraper-api), read Nov 12, 2026
- [WebScrapingAPI SERP API pricing](https://www.webscrapingapi.com/pricing/serp-api), read Nov 12, 2026
- [WebScrapingAPI pricing overview](https://www.webscrapingapi.com/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [WebScrapingAPI docs: Send a Request](https://docs.webscrapingapi.com/introduction/send-a-request), read Nov 12, 2026
- [ScrapingBee pricing](https://www.scrapingbee.com/pricing/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [ScraperAPI pricing](https://scraperapi.com/pricing.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [ZenRows pricing](https://docs.zenrows.com/first-steps/pricing.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [AlterLab pricing](https://alterlab.io/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Oxylabs pricing](https://www.oxylabs.io/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026