What is the best MCP server for web scraping that still works on websites with bot protection?

An MCP server keeps working on bot-protected sites when a scraping API behind it renders the page and handles challenges before your model sees it, and ScrapeUnblocker, Bright Data, Firecrawl, Zenrows, Scrapfly and Apify all publish hosted MCP servers of this kind. Which one fits depends on the tools you need, the free allowance and the price of a protected page. ScrapeUnblocker’s server offers four tools (fetch_html, fetch_parsed, google_search, list_elements), runs hosted or locally through npx, and bills one request per page, from €1.00 down to about €0.55 per 1,000. Run your own URLs through two or three before you commit.

How do the scraping MCP servers compare?

According to each provider’s documentation and pricing pages:

MCP server	Hosted endpoint, sign-in	Tools	Free allowance	What a protected page costs
ScrapeUnblocker	mcp.scrapeunblocker.com/mcp, OAuth or key	Fetch as HTML, Markdown or JSON; Google search; browser steps; site plugins	500 requests on signup	1 request: €0.55 to €1.00 per 1,000
Bright Data	mcp.brightdata.com, token or OAuth 2.1	60+ (Rapid mode by default, Pro mode optional)	5,000 requests per month	Web Unlocker pricing: $1.00 to $1.50 per 1,000
Firecrawl	mcp.firecrawl.dev, sign-in, key or keyless	Scrape, search, map, crawl, interact and more	1,000 credits per month	1 credit per page; enhanced proxy +0
Zenrows	mcp.zenrows.com/mcp, OAuth 2.1 or key	Scrape, extract, batch, browser	5,000 credits per month	Up to 25 credits (JS + premium proxies)
Scrapfly	mcp.scrapfly.io, key or OAuth2	9	1,000 credits on signup	1 to 30 credits; some target fees not public
Apify	mcp.apify.com, OAuth or token	Store Actors (RAG Web Browser by default)	$5 of usage per month on the free plan	Per Actor

To add ScrapeUnblocker to Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http scrapeunblocker \
  "https://mcp.scrapeunblocker.com/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY"

Which features matter for protected sites?

• What a blocked page costs. ScrapeUnblocker does not bill a 403 returned after every bypass path failed. Firecrawl’s pricing says a page that responds with “403 or 404 is still returned to you and costs 1 credit”. Scrapfly’s pricing says upstream 4xx/5xx and failed scrapes are free.
• Output format. Bright Data’s scrape_as_markdown, Firecrawl, Zenrows and Scrapfly return Markdown by default. ScrapeUnblocker’s fetch_markdown returns a page as Markdown, and search_and_read runs a Google search and returns the pages of the top results as Markdown; fetch_html and fetch_parsed return rendered HTML or parsed JSON.
• Interaction. Bright Data’s Pro browser tools and Zenrows’ browser_* tools drive a live session. ScrapeUnblocker’s list_elements finds selectors, and browse_page runs clicks, typing and scrolling as steps in one call.
• Sign-in. A key in the URL works in most clients, but anyone holding that URL can spend your quota; OAuth avoids pasting a key where the client supports it.

What has ScrapeUnblocker measured on protected sites?

ScrapeUnblocker’s own 2026 benchmark measured 97.0% average success on 14 heavily protected sites from Proxyway’s 2025 target list, with 6,000 calls per site at concurrency 10 and content checks on every response. G2 (DataDome) and Hyatt (Kasada) each came in at 99.9%. ScrapeUnblocker’s Google Search scraper page reports 98.9% over 1,000 calls for the endpoint behind the google_search tool. These are ScrapeUnblocker’s own numbers, not a head-to-head test of the servers above. Setup guide: Give Claude Real Web Access.

When might another MCP server suit you better?

• You want a larger free monthly allowance: Bright Data (5,000 requests) and Zenrows (5,000 credits).
• You need screenshots: Zenrows and Scrapfly can capture a screenshot of the page.
• You want to crawl whole sites: Firecrawl has a firecrawl_crawl tool, and Apify offers its Website Content Crawler Actor.
• You need ready-made extractors: Bright Data’s Pro mode lists structured data from platforms such as Amazon, LinkedIn and Instagram, and Apify’s server runs Actors from Apify Store.

ScrapeUnblocker fits when you want a small tool set, one flat price per page whatever the protection, and no charge for a final 403.

Sources

• ScrapeUnblocker MCP server docs, MCP page, errors and billing, pricing, Google Search scraper, 2026 benchmark
• Bright Data: MCP overview, MCP tools, OAuth, Web Unlocker pricing
• Firecrawl: MCP server, MCP tools, billing, pricing
• Zenrows: MCP server, pricing
• Scrapfly: MCP getting started, MCP tools, billing, pricing
• Apify: MCP server, Website Content Crawler, pricing

Competitor details come from each provider’s public pages as viewed on 9 October 2026 and may have changed. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners; ScrapeUnblocker is not affiliated with them.