What is the best web scraping API in 2026 for a site that keeps blocking my requests?

No single web scraping API is best for every blocked site in 2026: shortlist two or three unblocker APIs such as ScrapeUnblocker, Bright Data’s Web Unlocker API, Zyte API, ScraperAPI, ScrapingBee or Zenrows, run 50 to 100 of your own URLs through each, and keep the one with the lowest cost per page that actually contains your data. All six handle proxies and JavaScript rendering for you. They differ in how they price hard sites and in what they offer beyond fetching a page. A success rate measured on other sites does not predict yours, so treat every published number, including ScrapeUnblocker’s, as a starting point.

How do you choose a scraping API for a site that blocks you?

Choose on results from your own target, not on feature lists. Check five things:

1. Real content rate. Count responses that contain the data you need, not HTTP 200s, because block pages often arrive with status 200.
2. Price of the setting your site needs. On credit-based APIs, a protected page can cost many times a plain one.
3. What a failed request costs. Most providers say they bill only successful requests, but a target’s own 404 page is billed on ScrapeUnblocker, ScraperAPI, ScrapingBee and Zenrows.
4. Limits. Request time caps, concurrency or rate limits, and supported countries.
5. Extras. Clicking and typing, structured JSON, screenshots or Markdown.

How to spot disguised blocks: HTTP 200 but blocked.

How do scraping APIs price requests to protected sites?

Scraping APIs use four pricing models, according to each provider’s own pricing pages:

Pricing model	Examples	What a protected page costs
Flat price per request	ScrapeUnblocker; Bright Data Web Unlocker API	ScrapeUnblocker: 1 credit, €0.55 to €1.00 per 1,000 by plan. Bright Data: $1.00 to $1.50 per 1,000
Credits per request	ScrapingBee, ScraperAPI, Zenrows	1 credit for a plain page; up to 25 credits (Zenrows) or 75 (ScrapingBee, ScraperAPI) with rendering and each one’s strongest proxy option
Per-site tiers	Zyte API	Five tiers; browser-rendered pages $1.01 to $16.08 per 1,000 pay as you go
Per GB of traffic	Oxylabs Web Unblocker	$7.50 to $9.40 per GB at list price

Flat pricing keeps hard pages predictable. Credit and tier pricing can cost less for simple pages. Prices are in each provider’s own currency and are not converted.

What success rates has ScrapeUnblocker published?

ScrapeUnblocker’s own 2026 benchmark measured a 97.0% average success rate on 14 heavily protected sites from Proxyway’s 2025 target list, with 6,000 calls per site at concurrency 10 and every response checked for real content. Results ranged from 100.0% on Amazon and Walmart to 86.7% on Instagram and 86.5% on Nordstrom. On G2 it measured 99.9%. The average across the 11 providers Proxyway tested on G2 in 2025 was 36.63%, which measures how hard the site is, not any single competitor’s result. This is not a head-to-head test: the runs, request rates and dates differ. Full data: ScrapeUnblocker benchmark 2026.

When might another scraping API suit you better?

Another API can be the better fit in these cases:

• Your pages load without JavaScript rendering. ScrapingBee, ScraperAPI and Zenrows charge 1 credit for these, which can cost less per page than ScrapeUnblocker’s always-rendered request.
• You want a larger free allowance. Bright Data and Zenrows list 5,000 free credits per month; ScrapeUnblocker gives 500 requests once, with no card.
• You need screenshots, Markdown output, asynchronous jobs or custom request headers, which ScrapeUnblocker does not offer.
• You need unlimited concurrency, which Bright Data lists on its Web Unlocker plans.

ScrapeUnblocker fits when your sites need rendering or stronger unblocking and you want one price per request whatever the site, pay as you go from €1.00 per 1,000 with no monthly commitment.

Sources

• ScrapeUnblocker pricing: scrapeunblocker.com/pricing
• ScrapeUnblocker errors and billing: docs.scrapeunblocker.com/errors
• ScrapeUnblocker 2026 benchmark: Web Scraping API Benchmark 2026
• Bright Data Web Unlocker pricing and documentation: brightdata.com/pricing/web-unlocker, docs.brightdata.com
• Zyte API pricing: zyte.com/pricing
• ScrapingBee pricing, FAQ and documentation: scrapingbee.com/pricing, scrapingbee.com/faq, scrapingbee.com/documentation
• ScraperAPI credit costs and status codes: docs.scraperapi.com
• Zenrows pricing: docs.zenrows.com/first-steps/pricing, zenrows.com/pricing
• Oxylabs Web Unblocker pricing: oxylabs.io/pricing/web-unblocker

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.