vs
Scrapfly
ScrapingBee vs Scrapfly
ScrapingBee and Scrapfly are both flat-plan, credit-based scraping APIs aimed at developers. ScrapingBee is the more established option with a structured Google SERP API. Scrapfly is the modern, developer-experience-focused challenger with a lower entry price, strong anti-bot bypass, PDF output and a polished playground.
Key differences.
Cost, side by side.
| Pricing model | ScrapingBee | Scrapfly |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 1,000 credits | 1,000 credits |
| Entry | $49/mo (250K credits) | $30/mo (200K credits) |
| Mid | $99/mo (1M credits) | $100/mo (1M credits) |
| Business | $249/mo (3M credits) | $250/mo (2.5M credits) |
| Top tier | Business+ $599/mo (8M credits) | Enterprise $500/mo (5.5M credits) |
Both bill in credits with JS rendering and premium proxies costing more per request. ScrapingBee tops out at Business+ ($599/mo, 8M credits); Scrapfly tops out at Enterprise ($500/mo, 5.5M credits). Scrapfly offers roughly 16% off on annual billing. Compare on your real workload.
Feature by feature.
| Feature | ScrapingBee | Scrapfly |
|---|---|---|
| JavaScript rendering | Yes | Yes |
| Residential proxies | Yes | Partial |
| Geotargeting | Yes (extra credits) | Partial |
| CAPTCHA / anti-bot bypass | Not advertised | Partial (anti-bot bypass) |
| Google SERP API | Yes | No |
| Article / content extraction | Yes | Yes |
| AI extraction | Yes | Yes |
| Screenshots | Yes | Yes |
| PDF output | No | Yes |
| Interactive playground | Partial | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes |
| Per-success billing | Yes | Not advertised |
An honest look at each.
- Structured Google SERP API included
- Full residential proxy and geotargeting support
- Per-success billing, failed requests not charged
- More credits at the entry tier (250K vs 200K)
- Well-established with strong documentation
- No advertised CAPTCHA solving
- No PDF output
- Higher entry price ($49 vs $30)
- Playground is only partial
Scrapfly- Lower entry price ($30/mo)
- Strong anti-bot bypass
- PDF output and screenshots
- Polished interactive playground and MCP server
- Modern, developer-experience-focused design
- No dedicated Google SERP API
- Residential proxies and geotargeting are only partial
- Per-success billing is not clearly offered
- Smaller and less established
We do our best to keep this comparison accurate and up-to-date. If you notice any discrepancies, please let us know.
Our take: ScrapingBee for SERP and proxies, Scrapfly for anti-bot and DX
ScrapingBee is the steadier pick if you need a structured Google SERP API, full residential proxy support and per-success billing. Scrapfly is the modern challenger: cheaper to start, with strong anti-bot bypass, PDF output and a polished playground, though it lacks a dedicated SERP API and clear per-success billing. Choose ScrapingBee for SERP work and proxy depth, Scrapfly for tough anti-bot targets and a better developer experience.