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# Best web scraping APIs in 2026: the price of 1,000 pages, compared

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

The best web scraping API in 2026 tells you what a page costs before you send it. SpecStream charges $0.80 per 1,000 pages, with no plan. ZenRows, ScrapingBee, ScraperAPI, Scrapfly and Scrape.do sell monthly credits, and one page takes 1 to 75 of them.

SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. Its Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB, answers the ZenRows, ScrapingBee, ScraperAPI, Scrapfly, Scrape.do and ScrapingAnt calls at their own paths, and does not charge a page that gives no text.

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

## Seven web scraping APIs on Nov 12, 2026, at each entry plan

| | SpecStream | Zyte API | ZenRows | ScrapingBee | ScraperAPI | Scrapfly | Scrape.do |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | No plan. A balance you top up, and credit you buy never expires | Pay as you go, with a $100 monthly spending limit | Build B1: $19 a month for 45,000 credits | Hobby: $19 a month for 75,000 credits | Hobby: $49 a month for 100,000 credits | Discovery: $30 a month for 200,000 credits | Hobby: $29 a month for 250,000 credits |
| A plain page, per 1,000 | $0.80 | $0.13 to $1.27, by the tier Zyte gives the site | 1 credit: $0.42 | 1 credit, with rendering off: $0.25 | 1 credit: $0.49 | 1 credit on datacenter proxies: $0.15 | 1 credit: $0.12 |
| A page in a browser, per 1,000 | $0.80. A real browser is one of the steps a refused page goes through, at the same price | $1.01 to $16.08, by tier | 5 credits: $2.11 | 5 credits, the default: $1.27 | 10 credits with `render=true`: $4.90 | 6 credits with `render_js`: $0.90 | 5 credits with `render=true`: $0.58 |
| A protected page, per 1,000 | $0.80. There is no proxy tier to choose | Up to $16.08 on the top browser tier | 25 credits with a browser and premium proxies: $10.56 | 25 credits with premium proxies and a browser, 75 with the stealth proxy: $6.33 to $19.00 | 25 credits with premium proxies and rendering, 75 with ultra premium: $12.25 to $36.75 | 30 credits with residential proxies and a browser: $4.50 | 25 credits with `super` and `render`: $2.90 |
| A failed or blocked page | Not charged. A refused page or a bot check comes back as `blocked`, and a 404 costs nothing | Free: rate-limited and unsuccessful responses are not charged | Not charged, but a 404 or 410 counts as successful | A 500 from ScrapingBee is not billed. A 404 from the site is | Charged for 200 and 404 replies, and for a request cancelled before 70 seconds | Not billed, until 30% of a day's scrapes are blocked without the Unblocker | Not charged, but 400, 404 and 410 count as successful |
| Free start | $10 of credit, no card, which covers 12,500 pages | $5 of free credit on signup | Free plan: 5,000 credits a month | 1,000 free credits | A 7 day trial with 5,000 credits, no card | 1,000 credits on signup, no card | Free plan: 1,000 credits |
| Your code on SpecStream | `POST /v1/extract`, up to 20 URLs a call | Send the URL to `POST /v1/extract` | `https://api.specstream.ai/zenrows/v1/` in place of `https://api.zenrows.com/v1/` | `https://api.specstream.ai/scrapingbee/api/v1` in place of `https://app.scrapingbee.com/api/v1` | `https://api.specstream.ai/scraperapi` in place of `https://api.scraperapi.com` | `https://api.specstream.ai/scrapfly/scrape` in place of `https://api.scrapfly.io/scrape` | `https://api.specstream.ai/scrapedo` in place of `https://api.scrape.do` |

## Why teams read pages with SpecStream

### One price for every page

On a credit plan, the page decides the price. A page in a browser takes 5 credits on ZenRows, ScrapingBee and Scrape.do and 10 on ScraperAPI. A protected page, with premium proxies and a browser, takes 25. ScrapingBee's stealth proxy and ScraperAPI's ultra premium with rendering take 75.

So 10,000 protected pages take 250,000 ZenRows credits, the whole of its $69 Launch L1 plan. With ScrapingBee's stealth proxy they take 750,000 credits. On SpecStream, 10,000 pages read cost $8, and a page that gives no text costs nothing.

### 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 is not charged either.

### Your client stays

SpecStream answers six scraping APIs at their own paths, in their own reply form: [ZenRows](https://specstream.ai/migrate/zenrows?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis), [ScrapingBee](https://specstream.ai/migrate/scrapingbee?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis), [ScraperAPI](https://specstream.ai/migrate/scraperapi?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis), [Scrapfly](https://specstream.ai/migrate/scrapfly?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis), [Scrape.do](https://specstream.ai/migrate/scrape-do?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis) and [ScrapingAnt](https://specstream.ai/migrate/scrapingant?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis). Each call is one Extract API page at $0.0008. Options such as `js_render` or `premium_proxy` are accepted and do not change the read or the price.

### Test it on your own URLs

Every ranking tests the sites its author chose: the benchmark on Proxyway's 2026 list used 10 popular websites such as Google, Amazon, Shein and Instagram. The result that counts is your own URL list. This script reads `urls.txt` through the Extract API, 20 URLs a call, and prints how many pages came back, how many were blocked and what the run cost.

```
import collections
import os

import requests

KEY = os.environ["SPECSTREAM_API_KEY"]
urls = [line.strip() for line in open("urls.txt") if line.strip()]
status, cost = collections.Counter(), 0.0

for start in range(0, len(urls), 20):
    data = requests.post(
        "https://api.specstream.ai/v1/extract",
        headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}"},
        json={"urls": urls[start:start + 20], "format": "markdown"},
        timeout=120,
    ).json()["data"]
    status.update(page["status"] for page in data["results"])
    cost += data.get("price_usd", 0)

print(dict(status), f"${cost:.4f} for {len(urls)} URLs")
```

Run the same list through your current API and set the two counts side by side. On SpecStream the URLs that come back `blocked`, `empty` or `not_found` are not in the cost line.

### 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), 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 ([benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis)). A search costs $5 per 1,000, or $1 per 1,000 on the fast tier. When you need records, not pages, [Deep Search](https://specstream.ai/deep-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis) returns structured rows that meet every condition you wrote, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a delivered row.

## The web scraping APIs, one by one

### 1. SpecStream

The live web data engine for teams and agents. Its [Extract API](https://specstream.ai/extract-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis) reads up to 20 URLs a call at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, with no plan, and scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. A page that gives no text is not charged, and credit you buy never expires. New accounts get $10 of credit, no card.

### 2. Zyte API

Zyte puts each website in one of five tiers: $0.13 to $1.27 per 1,000 plain HTTP responses and $1.01 to $16.08 per 1,000 browser-rendered ones, pay as you go, with a $100 monthly spending limit. The benchmark on Proxyway's 2026 list gave it a 93.14% success rate. On SpecStream every page is $0.80 per 1,000, whatever the site ([Zyte alternatives](https://specstream.ai/alternatives/zyte?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-scraping-apis)).

### 3. ZenRows

Build B1 costs $19 a month for 45,000 credits. A browser page takes 5 credits and a protected page 25, and unused plan credits expire at every renewal. Proxyway measured 70.39%. SpecStream answers ZenRows' `GET /v1/` at one price per page.

### 4. ScrapingBee

Hobby costs $19 a month for 75,000 credits, valid for one month. JavaScript rendering is the default at 5 credits, premium proxies take 10 or 25 and the stealth proxy 75. Proxyway measured 84.47%. SpecStream answers its HTML API at `/scrapingbee/api/v1` for $0.80 per 1,000 pages.

### 5. ScraperAPI

Hobby costs $49 a month for 100,000 credits. `render=true` takes 10 credits, premium proxies with rendering 25, ultra premium with rendering 75. Proxyway measured 68.95%. SpecStream answers its endpoint at `/scraperapi`, and a 404 there costs nothing.

### 6. Scrapfly

Discovery costs $30 a month for 200,000 credits, $0.15 per 1,000 credits. Residential proxies take 25 credits and a browser 5 more, and its Unblocker may upgrade the proxy pool, which can change the final cost. SpecStream answers its `/scrape` at `/scrapfly/scrape` and never bills a blocked page.

### 7. Scrape.do

Hobby costs $29 a month for 250,000 credits. A browser takes 5 credits, residential and mobile proxies 10, both together 25, and some domains get them by default. SpecStream answers its API at `/scrapedo`, where the price of a page does not depend on the domain.

## How to move to 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. From a scraping API, change the address and the key. ZenRows in Python:

```
import os

import requests

URL = "https://api.specstream.ai/zenrows/v1/"  # was https://api.zenrows.com/v1/

reply = requests.get(
    URL,
    params={"apikey": os.environ["SPECSTREAM_API_KEY"], "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_scraping", "response_type": "markdown"},
    timeout=60,
)
reply.raise_for_status()
print(reply.text[:500])
```

3. Or call the Extract API itself, up to 20 URLs a call:

```
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"}'
```

4. Read `429` as a call to send again after `Retry-After`. It is not charged. Each reply carries the price of the call, and every call is listed in your workspace.

## Frequently asked questions

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

SpecStream, for a team that wants the price of a page before it sends it: $0.80 per 1,000 pages on any site, with no plan, and a page that gives no text is not charged. Its Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB and answers the ZenRows, ScrapingBee, ScraperAPI, Scrapfly, Scrape.do and ScrapingAnt calls at their own paths.

### Which web scraping API has the highest success rate?

In the benchmark on Proxyway's 2026 list, at 2 requests a second, Zyte led with 93.14%, then Decodo 85.88%, Oxylabs 85.82%, ScrapingBee 84.47%, ZenRows 70.39% and ScraperAPI 68.95%. Those are its 10 sites. The script on this page measures your own, and on SpecStream a page it could not read costs nothing.

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

$0.80 on SpecStream, for every page. On entry plans a page in a browser costs $0.58 on Scrape.do, $0.90 on Scrapfly, $1.27 on ScrapingBee, $2.11 on ZenRows and $4.90 on ScraperAPI, and Zyte charges $1.01 to $16.08 by the tier of the site.

### What is the cheapest web scraping API for protected sites?

SpecStream, at $0.80 per 1,000 pages. With premium or residential proxies and a browser, entry plans cost $2.90 per 1,000 on Scrape.do, $4.50 on Scrapfly, $6.33 on ScrapingBee, $10.56 on ZenRows and $12.25 on ScraperAPI. For plain pages, Scrape.do Hobby costs $0.12 per 1,000 and Scrapfly Discovery $0.15.

### Do failed scraping requests cost money?

Not on SpecStream: a blocked page, a 404 and a page with no text are not charged. ZenRows and Scrape.do count 404 and 410 replies as successful, ScraperAPI charges 200 and 404 replies, and Scrapfly bills failed scrapes once 30% of a day's scrapes are blocked without its Unblocker.

### Can I keep my scraping API's SDK?

Yes, for six APIs. Set the address to `https://api.specstream.ai/zenrows/v1/`, `/scrapingbee/api/v1`, `/scraperapi`, `/scrapfly`, `/scrapedo` or `/scrapingant/v2`, and send a SpecStream key where your client sends its key. Each call is one page at $0.0008.

### 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, and each success rate from Proxyway's benchmark page, read on the date shown. Credit prices per 1,000 pages are the entry 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
- [Zyte pricing](https://www.zyte.com/pricing/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Zyte API pricing docs](https://docs.zyte.com/zyte-api/pricing.html), read Nov 12, 2026
- [ZenRows pricing docs](https://docs.zenrows.com/first-steps/pricing.md), 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
- [ScraperAPI pricing](https://www.scraperapi.com/pricing/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [ScraperAPI credits and request costs](https://docs.scraperapi.com/getting-started/quick-start/credits-and-requests-costs.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Scrapfly pricing](https://scrapfly.io/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Scrapfly billing](https://scrapfly.io/docs/scrape-api/billing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Scrape.do pricing](https://scrape.do/pricing/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Scrape.do request costs](https://scrape.do/documentation/request-costs/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Proxyway, best web scraping APIs](https://proxyway.com/best/best-web-scraping-apis), read Nov 12, 2026