Key takeaways
The TL;DR. 4 headline facts about Scraper API pulled from our test rig + their public documentation.
- ▸100M+ requests across 100+ countries.
- ▸Pricing starts at $49.00/mo.
- ▸99.0% rig-tested success rate, 1.2s average response.
- ▸Headquartered in Austin, Texas, USA, founded 2018.
The verdict
Independent nightly benchmarks since March 2024 — here's where Scraper API lands.
- 5,000 free API credits with no credit card required to start testing
- Single endpoint auto-handles proxy rotation, retries, and CAPTCHA solving
- Millions of proxies sourced from over a dozen ISPs
- Geotargeting across 100+ countries on Business and Enterprise plans
- Async Scraper handles batch jobs up to 50,000 URLs with webhook callbacks
- Structured Data Endpoints return parsed JSON for Amazon and Google
- SDKs, proxy-port mode, and MCP server integration for easy adoption
- JavaScript rendering and ultra-premium proxies consume credits quickly (10-75 each)
- Individual country geotargeting locked behind Business and higher tiers
- Recommended 70-second timeout makes it weak for latency-sensitive realtime use
- Abstracted design offers limited low-level proxy and session control
- Credit-based pricing requires careful cost modeling before scaling up
Pricing C+ · Performance A+ · Pool quality A+ · Support B+ · Ethics B
Each axis is graded A+ to D using our standard rubric: how we score →
Who should not use Scraper API?+
What we think after testing Scraper API
Editorial review by Maya Cortez · last tested May 31, 2026
ScraperAPI sells a simple promise: send a URL, get HTML back, and never think about proxies or CAPTCHAs again. From its 5,000 free API credits trial to its single-endpoint design, the product is built for engineers who want data, not infrastructure. The credit model is the spine of the whole thing — a plain request costs one credit, `render=true` for JavaScript pages costs 10 credits, and `ultra_premium=true` for the nastiest anti-bot targets runs 30 credits (75 with rendering). It is transparent, if you do the arithmetic.
The proxy layer is the real engine. ScraperAPI advertises millions of proxies sourced from over a dozen ISPs, with `country_code` geotargeting spanning 100+ countries on Business and Enterprise tiers (Hobby is limited to US/EU regions). Rotation, retries, and ban handling are fully automated — you do not pick IPs, you pick outcomes. For most users that is the point; for proxy purists who want session stickiness and granular control, it can feel like a black box.
Where ScraperAPI pulls ahead of generic proxy vendors is its Async Scraper Service, which queues batches up to 50,000 URLs with 24-hour retry windows and webhook callbacks, plus Structured Data Endpoints that return parsed JSON for Amazon and Google instead of raw HTML. The company also acquired Traject Data, broadening its SERP and e-commerce footprint. Add SDKs, a proxy-port mode, and an MCP server integration, and it slots cleanly into modern pipelines and LLM agents alike.
The trade-offs are honest ones. Heavy JavaScript and ultra-premium scraping burn credits fast, so cost modeling matters before you commit. Documentation recommends a 70-second client timeout for best success rates — fine for batch jobs, less ideal for latency-sensitive realtime calls. And the abstraction that makes it easy also limits low-level tuning. Bottom line: ScraperAPI is one of the most frictionless ways to scrape at scale — if you value automated reliability and structured endpoints over granular proxy control, and you budget credits deliberately, it earns its place in the stack.
Want EASY Access to Web Data? Watch This Now - Full Guide [ScraperAPI]
Watch our hands-on walkthrough of Scraper API — dashboard, API, real workload, the bits the marketing pages skip.
Live performance
Numbers from our continuous test rig — same workloads, every month.
Targets tested: Google SERP US/UK/IN, Amazon US/UK/DE, Walmart, eBay, Cloudflare-fronted retailers. Concurrency: 200. Run nightly since Mar 2024. Full data in our methodology page →
Performance vs the market
How Scraper API compares to the directory-wide average across our four standard target panels. = market average, bar fill = Scraper API.
Sample size: 120+ providers with published benchmark data. Bars show this provider's measured rate; the vertical tick is the directory-wide average.
IP pool size — ranked
Where Scraper API ranks against the largest networks in the directory. Bars are scaled to 226M.
Bars rank total advertised IP pool size. Scraper API publishes 100M+ requests — see the full breakdown in the specs above.
Pricing
From $49.00/GB. Detailed plan breakdown not yet published.
View plans on Scraper API →Features & integrations
What's included out of the box.
SDK, API & integrations
Languages, endpoints and tooling shipped out of the box.
Code examples
Drop-in snippets to start using Scraper API from your stack. Replace USER, PASS and the gateway with what you get from your dashboard.
# pip install requests
import requests
proxy = "http://USER:[email protected]:7777"
resp = requests.get(
"https://httpbin.org/ip",
proxies={"http": proxy, "https": proxy},
timeout=10,
)
print(resp.json())// npm install undici
import { fetch, ProxyAgent } from "undici";
const dispatcher = new ProxyAgent("http://USER:[email protected]:7777");
const resp = await fetch("https://httpbin.org/ip", { dispatcher });
console.log(await resp.json());curl -x http://USER:[email protected]:7777 \
https://httpbin.org/ip \
--max-time 10# scrapy-rotating-proxies works with any provider gateway
# settings.py:
DOWNLOADER_MIDDLEWARES = {
"scrapy.downloadermiddlewares.httpproxy.HttpProxyMiddleware": 400,
}
HTTP_PROXY = "http://USER:[email protected]:7777"
HTTPS_PROXY = "http://USER:[email protected]:7777"// npm install playwright
import { chromium } from "playwright";
const browser = await chromium.launch({
proxy: {
server: "http://gate.scraperapi.com:7777",
username: "USER",
password: "PASS",
},
});
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto("https://httpbin.org/ip");
console.log(await page.locator("body").innerText());
await browser.close();Independent benchmarks
Last run 2026-05-16
Compliance & privacy
Auditable certifications, sourcing and data-handling posture.
Support & account
How they pick up the phone — and who answers.
Company & resources
Who builds and operates this product.
Key markets covered
100+ countries served.
Scraper API vs alternatives
How Scraper API stacks up against the closest providers in our directory. Tap any column header to read that review.
| Metric | Scraper API | NetNut | Proxy-Seller | WebScrapingAPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price (per GB) | $49.00 | $3.45 | $1.77 | $19.00 |
| Pool size | 100M+ requests | 85M+ IPs | ~10M residential + 1M+ ISP/DC/IPv6 across 220+ countries | Millions of residential IPs |
| Locations | 100+ countries | — | — | — |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Read review | YOU ARE HERE | View → | View → | View → |
How to get started with Scraper API
A 5-minute walkthrough from sign-up to your first successful request. Total setup time: ~10 minutes.
-
1
Sign up for a free account
Create your Scraper API account at https://www.scraperapi.com/?fp_ref=affinco54. You may need to add a payment method.
-
2
Grab your API key
From the dashboard, copy your API key into your environment variables (e.g. SCRAPER_API_KEY) so it never lands in source control.
-
3
Run your first request
Hit the documented endpoint with a single GET request. Most teams finish their hello-world call in under 5 minutes.
-
4
Wire up retries + monitoring
Configure retries on the client side and route Scraper API responses into your APM (Datadog, New Relic, OpenTelemetry) so you catch ban-rate spikes early.
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5
Scale up gradually
Start with 1k requests/hour, monitor success rate, then increase concurrency. At ~$49.00/GB, most teams hit volume targets within a sprint.
Stuck? Check Scraper API's documentation or email us.
User reviews
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FAQ
The questions buyers actually ask.