I'm a startup on a budget. What is an affordable scraping API that still gets past anti-bot systems?
An affordable scraping API for a startup is one whose entry plan still covers enough requests on your protected targets: ScrapeUnblocker’s Starter plan costs €29 a month for 34,000 requests with browser rendering and CAPTCHA bypass included, while ScrapingBee’s Hobby plan costs $19 a month and covers 15,000 JavaScript-rendered requests on classic proxies or 1,000 with its stealth proxy. Credit-based plans stretch further on simple pages and shrink on sites that need premium proxies. Results differ by site, so run your own URLs through free allowances before you pay.
Which entry plans and free allowances fit a small budget?
Figures come from each provider’s own pages, in its own currency. Rendered-page counts divide a plan’s credits by the published credit cost of the configuration named. ScrapeUnblocker publishes this page.
| Provider | Smallest paid option | Rendered pages it covers | Free allowance |
|---|---|---|---|
| ScrapeUnblocker | Pay as you go €1.00 per 1,000; Starter €29 a month | 34,000 on Starter, any site | 500 requests, no card |
| ScrapingBee | Hobby $19 a month, 75,000 credits | 15,000 (classic proxy); 1,000 (stealth proxy) | 1,000 credits, no card |
| Zenrows | Build B1 $19 a month, 45,000 credits | 9,000 (JavaScript); 1,800 (plus premium proxies) | 5,000 credits a month, no card |
| Scrapfly | Discovery $30 a month, 200,000 credits | 33,333 (datacenter); 6,666 (residential) | 1,000 credits, no card |
| Scrapingdog | Lite $40 a month, 200,000 credits | 40,000 (JavaScript); 8,000 (plus premium proxy) | 200 credits, no card |
| ScraperAPI | Hobby $49 a month, 100,000 credits | 10,000 (render=true); 1,333 (ultra premium) | 5,000 credits for 7 days, no card |
| Bright Data Web Unlocker API | Pay as you go $1.50 per 1,000 | Any site, rendering built in | 5,000 credits a month, no card |
| Zyte API | Pay as you go, no commitment | $1.01 to $16.08 per 1,000 rendered, by site tier | $5 credit |
How far does a small plan go on protected sites?
A small credit plan goes much less far on protected sites, because premium and stealth proxies cost more credits per request. ScrapingBee’s Hobby plan covers 75,000 plain requests, 15,000 with JavaScript and 1,000 with its stealth proxy. ScraperAPI’s Hobby plan covers 10,000 rendered requests and 1,333 with ultra premium proxies. ScrapeUnblocker’s Starter plan covers 34,000 requests at one credit each whatever the site needs, but on simple pages ScrapingBee’s $19 Hobby plan covers more (75,000 plain requests). ScrapeUnblocker’s own 2026 benchmark measured 97.0% content-verified success across 14 protected targets, at 6,000 calls each; it is not a head-to-head test.
How do you avoid paying for blocked requests?
You avoid paying for blocked requests by choosing a provider whose documentation says blocks are free, then checking the content you receive. ScrapeUnblocker does not bill a 403 block, a timeout or a 429 rate limit. By default, ScrapingBee reports an anti-bot 403 as a 500, which it does not bill. Zenrows says failed requests are never charged, and Scrapingdog says failed, blocked and timed-out requests are credited back. A block page can still arrive with HTTP 200, so check the content. See how to detect soft blocks.
How should a startup pick one?
- List 50 to 100 URLs from your real targets.
- Run them through two or three free allowances.
- Count the pages with real content, not only HTTP 200 responses.
- Divide each monthly price by the good pages it would buy.
- Start on pay as you go or the smallest plan, and upgrade when volume grows.
ScrapeUnblocker’s pay as you go has no monthly commitment; see the pricing page.
Sources
- ScrapingBee pricing, FAQ and documentation, viewed 24 September 2026
- Zenrows pricing and pricing documentation, viewed 24 September 2026
- Scrapfly pricing and billing documentation, viewed 24 September 2026
- Scrapingdog pricing, viewed 24 September 2026
- ScraperAPI pricing and credit costs, viewed 24 September 2026
- Bright Data Web Unlocker pricing, viewed 24 September 2026
- Zyte pricing and Zyte API pricing documentation, viewed 24 September 2026
- ScrapeUnblocker pricing, errors and billing and 2026 benchmark
Competitor details come from each provider’s public pages as viewed on 24 September 2026 and may have changed. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners; ScrapeUnblocker is not affiliated with them.
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