ScrapeOwl vs ScraperAPI (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, ScraperAPI grades higher than ScrapeOwl: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
ScraperAPI grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ScrapeOwl
Web scraping API with residential proxies and JS rendering
ScraperAPI
Web scraping API with Google search endpoints, priced in API credits
Which one is for you
Pick ScrapeOwl if
- Fits if you need residential proxies and geo-targeting in a scraper
- Works for people who want to hook scraping to Zapier
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: only the 1,000 sign-up credits
- Watch out: the page does not say how many credits each request costs
- Watch out: Bootstrap has a best-effort SLA, and a guaranteed one starts at Startup, $99
- Skip it if you want site templates, because it is a general scraper
Pick ScraperAPI if
- Fits if you scrape Google alongside Amazon, Walmart or eBay on one key
- Works for large batches that need retries and scheduling, through the async API or DataPipeline
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: a Google or Bing request costs 25 credits, so Hobby's 100,000 credits is about 4,000 searches
- Skip it if you need rankings outside the US and EU below Business at $269.10 a month
- Pricey if you need rendering, premium proxies or screenshots, which add 10 credits each
- Tight if you run out mid-month, as credits don't roll over and pay-as-you-go starts at Scaling, $427.50
- Tight if you're on Free, with 1,000 credits a month, about 40 Google searches
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAScrapeOwlFair | 2.2GPAScraperAPIFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$29 a month for 250,000 credits, in the middle of this category ($19 to $44.10). The credit cost per request is not on the page. | CHobby is $44.10 a month on yearly billing ($49 monthly), at the dear end of this category's usual range. A Google or Bing request is 25 credits, so 100,000 credits is about 4,000 searches, around $11 per 1,000. |
| Free plan and trial | C1,000 credits on sign-up with no card, but it is not stated whether they renew. | CA 7-day trial of 5,000 credits with no card, then a free plan of 1,000 credits a month. At 25 credits a search, that's 40 Google searches. |
| Features | CElement extraction, residential proxies, geo-targeting, rendering and captcha avoidance. Each option is a separate request setting, so the real cost is unclear. | CGoogle Search, Shopping, Maps, News and Jobs endpoints, Bing, rendering, async jobs and a no-code DataPipeline. The gap is in the listing: Hobby and Startup geotarget only the US and EU, and country targeting starts at Business, $269.10. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. An API key and parameters to learn, though Zapier and Parabola help. | CJudged on how fast a developer gets a first result: SDKs, a CLI and ready Google endpoints that need no rendering turned on. No rating on record, and credit costs stack up by site and option. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with Zapier, Parabola, Integromat and Postman as the named connections. | BWeb, with an API, SDKs, a CLI and an MCP server, plus LangChain, LlamaIndex, n8n and Zapier. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | scraping with residential proxies | Google results alongside shop and site scraping |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: ScrapeOwl and ScraperAPI. How we grade
Price against what you get
ScrapeOwl starts at $29 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. ScraperAPI starts at $44.10 a month and scores 2.3.
ScraperAPI scores higher, and starts $15.10 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other SERP and SEO data APIs on the chart, 11 score higher than ScrapeOwl for less, and 10 score higher than ScraperAPI for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| ScrapeOwl | ScraperAPI | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month for 250,000 credits | $44.10 per month for 100K API credits, billed annually ($49 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Free plan after the trial: 1,000 API credits a month and 5 concurrent threads, no credit card needed. A Google or Bing request costs 25 credits. |
| Free trial | 1,000 free credits on sign-up, no credit card required. | 7-day free trial with 5,000 API credits, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | ScrapeOwl | ScraperAPI |
| Price read from | scrapeowl.com | scraperapi.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
ScrapeOwl
- The pricing page does not say how many credits a request costs; options such as JS rendering and residential proxies are separate request parameters.
- Only the 1,000 sign-up credits are free, and the site does not say whether they renew.
- The Bootstrap plan has a best-effort SLA; a guaranteed SLA begins at Startup.
- Pages show a 2025 copyright date, so check that the service is current before committing.
ScraperAPI
- A Google or Bing request costs 25 credits, so Hobby's 100,000 credits cover about 4,000 Google searches.
- JavaScript rendering, premium proxies and screenshots each add 10 credits, and bypassing bot protection adds 10 more.
- Credits reset each billing cycle with no rollover; pay-as-you-go past the allowance starts at the Scaling plan.
- Hobby and Startup can only geotarget the US and EU; country-level targeting starts at Business.
Key features
ScrapeOwl
- Element extraction
- A request can name the elements to return, so no HTML parsing is needed; leaving the field empty returns the full page.
- Residential proxies and geo-targeting
- A premium_proxies option uses residential IPs, and a country can be set for localized results such as Amazon.fr and Amazon.ae.
- JavaScript rendering
- A render_js option runs Chrome instances, with optional custom JavaScript injected and screenshots for debugging.
- Captcha avoidance
- The homepage says requests avoid triggering captchas from Cloudflare, hCaptcha and Google reCAPTCHA.
- No-code connectors
- Requests can also be sent from Integromat, Parabola, Zapier and Postman as well as from cURL, Python, Ruby and Node.
ScraperAPI
- Google structured data endpoints
- Ready-made endpoints return Google Search, Shopping, Maps, News and Jobs results as JSON, without needing JavaScript rendering turned on.
- Proxy rotation and anti-bot handling
- Rotating proxy pools, premium residential and mobile IPs, CAPTCHA handling and automatic retries, with geotargeting by country on Business and up.
- JavaScript rendering and screenshots
- Load dynamic pages in a headless browser, follow a rendering instruction set, and capture screenshots of the result.
- Asynchronous API and DataPipeline
- Submit up to 50,000 jobs that retry until they succeed, or schedule large scraping jobs in DataPipeline without writing code.
- AI Parser and LLM-ready output
- Train a custom parser to get clean JSON from any source, or ask for pages as text or Markdown for language model pipelines.
- MCP server and integrations
- An MCP server, a CLI and SDKs, with LangChain, LlamaIndex, n8n and Zapier integrations.
Plans
ScrapeOwl
Bootstrap$29
per month for 250,000 credits
10 threads, best-effort SLA and basic support with a response within 24 hours.
Startup$99
per month for 1M credits
25 threads, a guaranteed SLA and priority support with a response within 8 hours.
Business$249
per month for 3M credits
50 threads, a guaranteed SLA and priority support with a response within 8 hours.
ScraperAPI
Free$0
1,000 API credits a month and 5 concurrent threads, to keep scraping after the trial ends.
Hobby$44.10
per month for 100K API credits, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
20 concurrent threads, geotargeting in the US and EU only, and 30 days of analytics history.
Startup$134.10
per month for 1M API credits, billed annually ($149 billed monthly)
50 concurrent threads, with US and EU geotargeting only.
Business$269.10
per month for 3M API credits, billed annually ($299 billed monthly)
100 concurrent threads, country-level geotargeting worldwide and unlimited analytics history.
Scaling$427.50
per month for 5M API credits, billed annually ($475 billed monthly)
200 concurrent threads, and the first plan with pay-as-you-go credits past the monthly allowance.
Professional$877.50
per month for 10.5M API credits, billed annually ($975 billed monthly)
300 threads and priority support. Advanced is $1,777.50 a month billed annually for 21.5M credits; Enterprise is custom above 22M.
Ways to pay less
ScrapeOwl
No public discounts listed.
ScraperAPI
- Annual discount
10% off with yearly billing
ScraperAPI's pricing page lists 10% off every self-serve plan when billed yearly: Hobby is $44.10 a month instead of $49.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, ScrapeOwl or ScraperAPI?
As of Nov 12, 2026, ScrapeOwl is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $44.10 a month for ScraperAPI. ScrapeOwl starts at $29 per month for 250,000 credits, and ScraperAPI starts at $44.10 per month for 100K API credits, billed annually ($49 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, ScrapeOwl or ScraperAPI?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only ScraperAPI has a free plan. ScrapeOwl does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.