Short answer
Pick ScraperAPI when ScrapingBee's credit multipliers (especially JS at 5 credits per request on their Hobby plan) make monthly cost hard to predict, or when you want a scrapers' API with a clear SERP path. Hobby is $49/mo for 100,000 credits with a 7-day / 5,000-credit trial on the ScraperAPI pricing lead (checked 9 November 2026; FAQ also lists a 1,000-credit free plan — confirm at signup). Stay on ScrapingBee when $19 / 75,000 credits Hobby covers your HTML-heavy workload.
Top picks
Prices checked November 2026
- Best for volume
ScraperAPI Hobby
Volume scraping + Google SERP API
Starts at $49/mo · 100K credits · 5K trial (lead)
Start free trial
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Who this page is for
You are still choosing a scraping API. Typical cases:
- ScrapingBee Hobby looked cheap, then JS-rendered pages burned five credits each.
- You need Google search result JSON without maintaining your own headless fleet.
- You want a second quote for the same monthly volume.
If ScrapingBee already works and the bill is stable, keep it. An alternatives page should also tell you when not to switch.
Decision matrix
| Job | Stay on ScrapingBee | Consider ScraperAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Mostly static HTML pages, low volume | Strong fit at $19 Hobby | Only if you need another feature |
| Heavy JS rendering | Credit burn rises fast (5× on Hobby) | Often clearer volume math at $49 / 100K |
| Google SERP structured results | ScrapingBee Google Search API | Strong fit; see our SERP guides |
| Free trial to validate parsers | Check current ScrapingBee free credits | 5,000-credit trial on pricing lead (FAQ: 1,000 free-plan) |
| MCP / agent-facing scrape tooling | Check vendor docs | Covered in our ScraperAPI review |
ScrapingBee vs ScraperAPI (verified 9 Nov 2026)
| Item | ScrapingBee Hobby | ScraperAPI Hobby |
|---|---|---|
| List price | $19 | $49 |
| Credits / month | 75,000 | 100,000 |
| JS rendering | 5 credits per request (pricing page) | Render options with credit multipliers — confirm live calculator |
| Trial | Free credits for new accounts (confirm live) | Pricing lead: 7-day / 5,000 credits; FAQ free plan: 1,000 |
| Google Search | Google Search API product | Google SERP endpoints |
| Our CTA | Plain link | Affiliate |
Sources: ScrapingBee pricing, ScraperAPI pricing.
ScraperAPI: best ScrapingBee alternative for volume and SERP
Hobby gives 100,000 credits for $49/mo. Startup and Business tiers scale from there. The pricing-page 5,000-credit trial (or the FAQ's 1,000-credit free plan, if that is what signup gives you) is enough to validate selectors on a real sample before you pay.
Check higher tiers on the pricing page when you outgrow Hobby.
Pros
- 100K credits at Hobby vs 75K on ScrapingBee Hobby
- Documented Google SERP usage path
- Trial/free credits for a bake-off (confirm grant at signup)
- MCP / agent notes in our review for tool builders
Cons
- Higher sticker than ScrapingBee's $19 entry
- Render and geo options still multiply credits — read the calculator
- Not a no-code scraper UI
Stay with ScrapingBee (honest non-affiliate option):
If most requests are plain HTML and 75K credits last the month, ScrapingBee Hobby at $19 is hard to beat on sticker. Use their Google Search API when that packaging matches your code. Switch only after a side-by-side credit spreadsheet, not after one viral tweet.
Pros
- Low Hobby sticker
- Familiar HTML API for many stacks
- Google Search product for SERP-shaped work
Cons
- JS at 5 credits per request eats the pool quickly
- Volume above Hobby jumps to higher plans
- No ToolVerdict affiliate button
- Other names people search (plain links)
Bright Data, Oxylabs and ZenRows show up in the same shortlists. Bright Data is enterprise-proxy oriented (see our Bright Data alternatives article). Oxylabs and ZenRows fit different proxy/API tastes. None get a ToolVerdict button on this page.
Trial checklist
- Log your last 7 days of ScrapingBee usage: HTML vs JS vs Google.
- Reprice that mix on ScraperAPI's calculator with the same URLs.
- Spend the ScraperAPI trial/free credits you actually receive on the same parsers.
- Compare success rate, latency and projected monthly cost.
- Keep ScrapingBee if the $19 plan still wins on total cost of ownership.
How we evaluated
Pricing rows above come from official ScrapingBee and ScraperAPI pricing pages opened 9 November 2026. We did not run a full anti-bot bake-off across domains. Notes on ScraperAPI SERP and MCP come from our ScraperAPI review.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best ScrapingBee alternative?
For volume Google SERP and general web scraping where credit math matters, we pick ScraperAPI. Hobby is $49/mo for 100,000 API credits with a 7-day / 5,000-credit trial on the pricing-page lead (FAQ also lists a 1,000-credit free plan; checked 9 November 2026). Stay on ScrapingBee if their Hobby plan ($19 for 75,000 credits) covers your month and you like their Google Search API packaging.
Is ScraperAPI cheaper than ScrapingBee?
It depends on JS rendering. ScrapingBee Hobby is $19 for 75K credits, but JS-rendered requests cost 5 credits each on their pricing page. ScraperAPI Hobby is $49 for 100K credits with different render/geo multipliers. Run your real mix of HTML vs JS vs Google endpoints on both calculators before you switch.
Does ScrapingBee have a free trial?
ScrapingBee lists free credits for new accounts on its pricing page. ScraperAPI's pricing-page lead offers a 7-day trial with 5,000 API credits and no card; the FAQ also lists a free plan with 1,000 credits. Confirm which grant you get at signup.
When should I stay with ScrapingBee?
Stay if the simple API and Google Search product fit your stack, monthly volume fits Hobby or Freelance without surprise multipliers, and you already instrumented retries. Switching for a logo change alone is waste.
Can ScraperAPI scrape Google search results?
Yes. ScraperAPI exposes Google SERP endpoints alongside generic URL scraping. See our best SERP API and how to scrape Google search results guides for patterns.
Is there a free ScrapingBee alternative?
Self-hosted proxies and headless browsers are free of SaaS fees but cost engineering time and ban risk. For a managed API, free tiers are trial-sized, not production replacements.
The bottom line
ScrapingBee is fine when Hobby credits last. ScraperAPI is the alternative we pick when volume, SERP endpoints and predictable credits matter more than the $19 sticker.
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