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# Best web scraping APIs for AI in 2026: six compared by price per page

Compared on Nov 12, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/best-web-scraping-apis-for-ai

The best web scraping API for an AI pipeline returns a page's main text as markdown, at a price you know before the call. SpecStream reads any page for $0.80 per 1,000 and scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB, the main text benchmark.

Firecrawl, Spider, Jina Reader, Crawl4AI and AlterLab price a page by credit, gigabyte, token or tier. The table puts each on the same line, from each vendor's own page on Nov 12, 2026.

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

## Six web scraping APIs for AI on Nov 12, 2026

| | SpecStream | Firecrawl | Spider | Jina Reader | Crawl4AI | AlterLab |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price of 1,000 pages | $0.80, the same for every page | 1 credit a page. Hobby is $19 a month for 5,000 credits: $3.80 per 1,000 | $1 per GB of content plus $0.0001 per CPU minute. Spider puts its average at about $0.48 per 1,000 | Billed in tokens by the length of each page, so a long page costs more than a short one | Cloud: 0.1 credit a plain page, 0.5 in a browser, 2 for a hard site. Starter is $10 a month for 10,000 credits: $0.10 to $2 per 1,000 | $0.20 to $20 by the tier that returned the page. A full browser is $4, or $0.50 from AlterLab's own servers |
| Plan and unused credit | No plan. Credit you buy never expires | Monthly plan. Hobby, Standard and Growth credits do not roll over | Pay as you go. Nothing resets monthly | Tokens you top up as you go | Monthly plan. The month's credits do not carry over | No subscription, a $10 minimum deposit, and the balance never expires |
| A failed page | Not charged, and neither is a 404 or a page with no text. A bot check comes back as `blocked`, never as text | 0 credits when no document comes back | Failed requests cost $0 | Tokens are not deducted for failed requests | Failed calls are free | Failed requests cost nothing. A cache hit bills at half the tier price |
| Free start | $10 of credit, no card: 12,500 pages | 1,000 free credits every month, about 1,000 pages, no card | Top ups start at $5 | 10M free tokens with every new API key | 1,000 credits a month, up to 10,000 pages | Up to 5,000 free requests on a new account |
| Search on the same key | $1 per 1,000 on the fast tier, $5 per 1,000 by default. 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions | 2 credits per 10 results | Searches the web and crawls the results | `s.jina.ai`, from 10,000 tokens a request | 1 credit a search | $0.001 a query, $0.004 on Google or Bing |
| A whole site | Firecrawl's map and crawl calls at `https://api.specstream.ai/firecrawl`: a map is one page read, and each crawled page with text is one page read | Crawl at 1 credit a page, map at 1 credit a call | Crawls a whole site recursively and collects every page | One URL a request, converted to LLM friendly text | The open source crawler, Apache 2.0, runs on your own server with an `/md` endpoint | Map at $0.001 a call. A crawl bills each page like a scrape |
| Your code on SpecStream | `POST /v1/extract`, up to 20 URLs a call, or `read_pages` over MCP at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` | `https://api.specstream.ai/firecrawl` in place of `https://api.firecrawl.dev` | `https://api.specstream.ai/spider` in place of `https://api.spider.cloud` | `https://api.specstream.ai/jina` in place of `https://r.jina.ai/` | `https://api.specstream.ai/crawl4ai` in place of your server's address | The `url` you post to `/api/v1/scrape` goes to `POST /v1/extract` as `urls` |

## Why AI teams read pages with SpecStream

### The main text, without the menus

A model pays for every token it reads. The Extract API returns a page's main text without its menus, footers and ads, as markdown with headings, lists and links kept, or as plain text. It reads web pages and documents: PDF, Word and Excel.

On WCXB, which scores how well an extractor keeps a page's main text and drops the rest, the Extract API scores highest, at 0.908 F1 on the 511 page test set. The score and its method are on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis-for-ai) page.

### One price, whatever the page needs

Firecrawl's Hobby plan reads 5,000 pages a month for $19, and unused credits do not roll over. Crawl4AI's cloud charges 0.1 to 2 credits a page and AlterLab $0.0002 to $0.02, by what the site needs. Spider bills gigabytes and CPU minutes, and Jina Reader bills tokens by the length of the page.

SpecStream bills $0.0008 for each page that gives text. 1,000 pages cost $0.80 whatever they hold, and the reply carries the price of the call in `price_usd`.

### Blocked pages are tried again, and never billed

The Extract API tries a page that refuses a plain read again as a browser would ask, then in a real browser, then from the site's own feed, then from its newest public archive capture. Each result says where it was read: `read_from` is `live`, `site` or `archive`, with `captured_at` for an archive copy.

A site that still refuses, or answers with a bot check, comes back as `blocked` and is not charged. A bot check's page is never returned as text, so a challenge page never lands in your data as content. A 404 and a page with no text are not charged either.

### Your client stays

SpecStream answers four of these APIs at their own paths, in their own reply form: [Firecrawl](https://specstream.ai/migrate/firecrawl?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis-for-ai), [Spider](https://specstream.ai/migrate/spider?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis-for-ai), [Jina Reader](https://specstream.ai/migrate/jina?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis-for-ai) and the [Crawl4AI server](https://specstream.ai/migrate/crawl4ai?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis-for-ai). The address changes, and the key. Each page is one Extract API page at $0.0008.

### Test it on your own URLs

Every list of the best APIs tests the sites its author chose. The test that counts runs your own URLs. This script sends the same Firecrawl call to Firecrawl and to SpecStream, and prints how many pages came back as markdown and how many characters each sent your model.

```
import os

import requests

urls = [line.strip() for line in open("urls.txt") if line.strip()]
hosts = {
    "Firecrawl": ("https://api.firecrawl.dev", os.environ["FIRECRAWL_API_KEY"]),
    "SpecStream": ("https://api.specstream.ai/firecrawl", os.environ["SPECSTREAM_API_KEY"]),
}

for name, (base, key) in hosts.items():
    pages = chars = 0
    for url in urls:
        reply = requests.post(
            f"{base}/v2/scrape",
            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {key}"},
            json={"url": url},
            timeout=120,
        )
        markdown = reply.json().get("data", {}).get("markdown") if reply.ok else None
        pages += bool(markdown)
        chars += len(markdown or "")
    print(f"{name}: {pages} of {len(urls)} pages as markdown, {chars:,} characters for your model to read")
```

Run it with the URLs your agent reads. Fewer characters for the same page means fewer tokens in your prompt, as long as the main text is there.

### Search and rows on the same key

The same key runs the [Search API](https://specstream.ai/search-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis-for-ai), the most accurate web search API in the world: 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 WideSearch tasks. An agent gets `search_web` and `read_pages` over MCP. When it needs records, not pages, [Deep Search](https://specstream.ai/deep-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis-for-ai) returns structured rows that meet every condition it sent, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a delivered row.

## Other web scraping APIs AI teams price

### Context.dev

Developer is $20 a month for 10,000 pages, with overage at $3.00 per 1,000 credits, and JSON extraction against your schema takes 5 credits a page. The free tier scrapes 1,000 pages a month. SpecStream reads any page at $0.80 per 1,000 with no plan.

### ScrapingBee

Hobby is $19 a month for 75,000 credits, valid for one month, and a call takes 1 to 75 credits. SpecStream answers its HTML API at `https://api.specstream.ai/scrapingbee/api/v1` for $0.80 per 1,000 pages.

### Scrapfly

Discovery is $30 a month for 200,000 credits. SpecStream answers Scrapfly's `/scrape` at `https://api.specstream.ai/scrapfly/scrape` ([Scrapfly guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/scrapfly?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis-for-ai)).

## How to start reading pages with SpecStream

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

2. Read up to 20 URLs a call with the Extract API. Each result has `status`, `title`, `text` as markdown, `published` when the page states it, and `read_from`:

```
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"], "format": "markdown"}'
```

3. Or keep the client you have: set Firecrawl's base address to `https://api.specstream.ai/firecrawl`, Spider's to `https://api.specstream.ai/spider`, Jina Reader's to `https://api.specstream.ai/jina`, or your Crawl4AI server's to `https://api.specstream.ai/crawl4ai`, and send the SpecStream key.

4. For an agent, add the MCP server at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp`. It gets `read_pages` and `search_web` on the same balance, inside the limit you set on its key.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the best web scraping API for AI in 2026?

SpecStream, for a team that wants the main text of any page at a known price: $0.80 per 1,000 pages, 0.908 F1 on WCXB, and a page that gives no text is not charged. It answers Firecrawl, Spider, Jina Reader and Crawl4AI server calls at their own paths.

### How much does a web scraping API for AI cost per 1,000 pages?

$0.80 on SpecStream for every page. Firecrawl's Hobby plan works out at $3.80, Crawl4AI's Starter at $0.10 to $2 by the page, and AlterLab at $0.20 to $20 by tier. Spider puts its own average at about $0.48, and Jina Reader bills tokens by page length.

### Which is cheapest for plain pages?

Crawl4AI's cloud on Starter, at $0.10 per 1,000 plain pages, then AlterLab's direct fetch at $0.20. Both rise with what the page needs, to $2 and $20 per 1,000. SpecStream stays at $0.80 for every page, so the bill does not move with the site.

### Do failed scrapes cost money?

None of the six charges a failed request. SpecStream also does not charge a 404, a page with no text or a bot check, which comes back as `blocked`. AlterLab bills a cache hit at half the tier price.

### Can I keep my Firecrawl, Spider or Jina Reader code?

Yes. Set the base address to `https://api.specstream.ai/firecrawl`, `https://api.specstream.ai/spider` or `https://api.specstream.ai/jina` and send a SpecStream key. Each page costs $0.0008.

### Do unused credits expire?

On SpecStream, credit you buy never expires. Firecrawl's Hobby, Standard and Growth credits do not roll over, and Crawl4AI's monthly credits do not carry over. Spider's and AlterLab's balances do not reset.

### Does SpecStream have an MCP server?

Yes, at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` over Streamable HTTP, with OAuth or an API key. An agent gets `read_pages` and `search_web` on the same balance, inside the limits you set on its key.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each figure about another company comes from that company's own page, read on the date shown. A price per 1,000 pages on a plan is the plan's price divided by its credits, times the credits a page takes.

- [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
- [Firecrawl pricing](https://www.firecrawl.dev/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Firecrawl billing](https://docs.firecrawl.dev/billing.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Spider pricing](https://spider.cloud/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Spider API docs](https://spider.cloud/docs/api), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Spider, best web scraping APIs for AI](https://spider.cloud/blog/best-web-scraping-apis-for-ai-2026/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Jina Reader](https://jina.ai/reader), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Crawl4AI pricing](https://www.crawl4ai.com/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Crawl4AI terms](https://www.crawl4ai.com/terms), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Crawl4AI on GitHub](https://github.com/unclecode/crawl4ai), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Crawl4AI self hosting](https://docs.crawl4ai.com/core/self-hosting/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [AlterLab pricing](https://alterlab.io/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Context.dev pricing](https://www.context.dev/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [ScrapingBee pricing](https://www.scrapingbee.com/pricing/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [ScrapingBee documentation](https://www.scrapingbee.com/documentation/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Scrapfly pricing](https://scrapfly.io/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026