Quick answer
ScraperAPI - ScraperAPI wins for most builders because its free tier is much more usable for real scraping work, while Scraper's Proxy is better only if you need a tiny monthly test quota and do not mind a much thinner free offering.
How the free tiers compare
These two products sit in the same category, but the free-tier experience is very different. ScraperAPI gives you 1,000 free API credits on a free account, plus a 7-day trial with 5,000 credits and 5 concurrent connections. That makes it workable for small proof-of-concepts and early scraping jobs where concurrency matters. Scraper's Proxy gives 100 free requests per month, which is fine for a quick evaluation but runs out fast if you are testing anything beyond a handful of pages. The paid paths also diverge: ScraperAPI starts at $49/month with a clear credit-based ladder and concurrency limits, while Scraper's Proxy starts at $40/month but the provided data does not show quotas beyond the free tier. For builders choosing a free tier, ScraperAPI is the more practical starting point.
ScraperAPI vs Scraper's Proxy free tier, side by side
| ScraperAPIFTV 32 | Scraper's ProxyFTV 35 | |
|---|---|---|
| Free usageScraperAPI also lists a 7-day trial with 5,000 API credits. | 1,000 free API credits on a free account | 100 free requests per month |
| Free concurrencyOnly ScraperAPI provides a free-tier concurrency cap in the input. | 5 concurrent connections | Not listed |
| First paid planScraperAPI includes 100,000 API credits and 20 concurrent threads on Hobby. | Hobby - $49 / month | PRO - $40.00 / mo |
| Next paid tierScraperAPI lists 1,000,000 API credits and 50 threads on Startup. | Startup - $149 / month | ULTRA - $100.00 / mo |
| Highest listed tierScraperAPI Enterprise is for more than 5,000,000 API credits. | Enterprise - Contact Sales | MEGA - $1,000.00 / mo |
After you outgrow the free tier
Both products use flat monthly pricing after the free tier. ScraperAPI has a clearer, usage-shaped ladder: Hobby at $49/month, then Startup at $149, Business at $299, Scaling at $475, and Enterprise by sales for more than 5,000,000 credits. Scraper's Proxy is cheaper at the low end with PRO at $40/month, then ULTRA at $100 and MEGA at $1,000, but the input does not show the quotas for those paid tiers. For small builders, Scraper's Proxy is cheaper only if the free tier is enough; otherwise ScraperAPI gives more explicit capacity and concurrency per plan.
Cost at real usage
| Usage | ScraperAPI | Scraper's Proxy |
|---|---|---|
| 100 requests/moScraperAPI’s free account includes 1,000 API credits, so 100 requests is within that allowance if requests map to credits one-for-one, but the input does not define that mapping. The free-tier headline is still the larger allowance. | Free (within free account tier) | Free (within BASIC tier) |
| 1,000 requests/moScraperAPI explicitly includes 1,000 free API credits. Scraper's Proxy free tier is 100 requests per month. | Free (within free account tier) | Above free tier, paid plan required |
| 100,000 requests/moScraperAPI’s Hobby plan includes 100,000 API credits. Scraper's Proxy paid quotas are not provided, so a direct like-for-like estimate is not possible from the input. | $49/mo (Hobby) | Not enough data to price exactly |
Estimates, not quotes. Usage-based rates change - verify with the vendor's pricing page before committing.
When to pick each one
Pick ScraperAPI when…
- You want enough free usage to validate a scraping workflow across multiple pages or endpoints.
- You need concurrent scraping even on the free account, since ScraperAPI includes 5 concurrent connections.
- You want a free trial plus a separate always-free account path, which gives you more room to test before paying.
- You expect to grow into a plan with explicit API credit and thread quotas.
- You need browser handling, CAPTCHA handling, or IP rotation exposed through the API, based on the product description.
Pick Scraper's Proxy when…
- You only need a very small monthly request allowance to test a single integration.
- You want the cheapest listed paid entry point, which is $40/month for PRO.
- You are fine with a free tier that is mostly for light evaluation rather than ongoing development.
- You want a proxy-based scraping API and are not relying on free-tier depth.
- You expect to stay under 100 requests per month while you prototype.
Bottom line
For the most common builder case, ScraperAPI is the better free-tier pick because it gives you enough room to actually test a scraping workflow instead of just a tiny demo. Its free account is larger, includes concurrency, and leads into a transparent quota ladder. Scraper's Proxy is the cheaper paid entry point, but the free tier is much smaller and the paid-tier quotas are not shown here, so it is harder to judge before you commit.
Read the full listings: ScraperAPI and Scraper's Proxy. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.