Quick answer
ScraperAPI - ScraperAPI wins for most builders because its free tier is clearer and much easier to grow into, while Abstract API only makes sense if you specifically want its 1 rps free limit and a simpler single paid step.
How the free tiers compare
These are both free-credit web scraping APIs, but they are shaped differently. ScraperAPI gives you a small but concrete free account with 1,000 API credits, 5 concurrent connections, and a separate 7-day trial with 5,000 credits and no credit card required. That makes it easier to test real scraping workflows and see where concurrency becomes the bottleneck. Its paid ladder is also more granular, with several flat plans that scale credits and threads in a predictable way. Abstract API’s Web Scraping API has a straightforward free tier with 1,000 requests and a 1 request/second limit, then jumps to a $99/month Standard plan. It is simpler, but the public pricing details are thinner, and the free tier is more rate-limited than ScraperAPI’s free account.
ScraperAPI vs Web Scraping API free tier, side by side
| ScraperAPIFTV 32 | Web Scraping APIFTV 42 | |
|---|---|---|
| Free requests / creditsScraperAPI also lists a separate 7-day trial with 5,000 API credits. | 1,000 free API credits on a free account | 1,000 requests included per free account |
| Free rate / concurrencyThese are different constraints, so the better free tier depends on whether you need parallelism or steady throughput. | Maximum of 5 concurrent connections | 1 request per second rate limit |
| First paid tierBoth are flat-priced plans. | Hobby - $49 / month | Standard - $99 / month |
| First paid quotaScraperAPI scales in credits and threads, while Abstract API exposes annual request volume and request-per-second limits. | 100,000 API Credits; 20 Concurrent Threads | 60,000 requests / year; 3 requests per second |
| Enterprise triggerBoth products move to sales-led pricing above the public tiers. | Contact Sales for more than 5,000,000 API Credits | Custom / Contact sales |
After you outgrow the free tier
ScraperAPI uses flat monthly tiers with published credit and concurrency steps, starting at $49/month. Abstract API also starts with a flat tier, but its public pricing is thinner: Standard is $99/month, and the Enterprise tier is custom. For a small team that wants to scale up from free, ScraperAPI is cheaper at the first paid step and offers more intermediate options. Abstract API is pricier up front, but its pricing is simpler if you only care about one visible tier before sales.
Cost at real usage
| Usage | ScraperAPI | Web Scraping API |
|---|---|---|
| small project moving beyond freeUses the first paid tier for each product. | $49/mo | $99/mo |
| roughly 100,000 API credits or requests/monthAbstract API does not provide enough public detail to price this usage monthly. | $49/mo on Hobby, if 100,000 credits fits the tier | $99/mo on Standard, but the plan lists 60,000 requests/year so this exact usage is not supported by the published quota |
| need 20 concurrent threads / 3 requests per secondScraperAPI publishes 20 concurrent threads on Hobby; Abstract API publishes 3 requests per second on Standard. | $49/mo | $99/mo |
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 need to test scraping against real sites without putting in a card first.
- Your bottleneck is concurrency and you want more parallel requests, not just a request count.
- You expect to move from hobby use to a larger flat plan with clearer credit and thread steps.
- You want a service with structured-data endpoints and SDK support across multiple languages.
Pick Web Scraping API when…
- You only need a very small volume of requests and can live with 1 request per second on free.
- You want the simplest paid path after free, with one visible $99/month Standard plan.
- Your workflow is okay with annual request framing on the paid tier.
- You care more about a straightforward developer API than about comparing several intermediate tiers.
Bottom line
For most builders comparing free tiers, ScraperAPI is the better pick because the free account is more practical for real scraping work and the paid ladder is clearer and cheaper to enter. Abstract API is the better choice if you want a simpler public pricing path and can work within a strict 1 rps free limit. If you expect to outgrow free usage, ScraperAPI gives you more room before sales involvement starts.
Read the full listings: ScraperAPI and Web Scraping API. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.