2026 Comparison

ScrapeUp vs ScraperAPI

An honest look at pricing, AI extraction, reliability, and who each tool is actually built for.

Updated March 2026 · Independent Review

TL;DR

ScraperAPI is a mature, well-documented tool with a large IP pool — solid for teams that need predictable scale and don’t care about AI extraction. ScrapeUp is the better choice if you need structured data out of pages without writing custom parsers, want residential proxies without enterprise pricing, or are building AI/LLM pipelines that need clean JSON from the web. ScrapeUp starts at $14/month with a 30-day free trial (25,000 credits, no card required). ScraperAPI starts at $49/month with a limited 7-day trial.

Feature by Feature

Side-by-Side Comparison

FeatureScrapeUpScraperAPI
Entry price $14/month CHEAPER $49/month
Free trial 30 days · 25,000 credits · no card BETTER 7 days · 5,000 credits · no card
AI/LLM extraction 4 tiers (Gemini Flash → Claude Opus) UNIQUE Not available
Structured JSON output Any page — clean JSON via AI Auto-parse on select domains only
Proxy types Datacenter + residential + mobile Datacenter + residential
JS rendering Real Chrome, stealth mode Headless Chromium
CAPTCHA bypass Automatic, built-in Automatic
IP pool size Smart rotation, high success rate 40M+ IPs
Geo-targeting 11+ countries (all major markets) 50+ geolocations
Credit billing Successful requests only Successful requests only
API simplicity Single endpoint, drop-in URL Single endpoint, drop-in URL
Pricing

What You Actually Pay

ScrapeUp

Lite Basic Plan

$14
/month · billed monthly
Credits25K
Concurrent requests5
AI extractionAll tiers available
Residential IPsIncluded
JS renderingIncluded
Free trial30 days · 25K credits
ScraperAPI

Hobby Plan

$49
/month · billed monthly
Credits100K
AI extractionNot available
Residential IPsExtra cost
JS renderingIncluded
Free trial7 days · 5K credits

Both platforms charge only for successful requests. Residential proxies on ScraperAPI cost more per credit. ScrapeUp’s Lite Plus ($29/mo) and Lite Premium ($49/mo) plans offer higher volumes.

Developer Experience

The API in Practice

Both use a drop-in URL pattern. ScrapeUp adds an extract parameter that returns structured JSON instead of raw HTML.

SCRAPEUP — AI EXTRACTIONreturns JSON
# Get structured data, no parser needed
import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://api.scrapeup.com",
    params={
        "api_key": "YOUR_KEY",
        "url": "https://example.com/product",
        "extract_prompt": "product name, price, rating"
    }
)

# Returns structured JSON automatically
data = response.json()
SCRAPERAPI — RAW HTMLreturns HTML
# Get HTML, then parse it yourself
import requests
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup

response = requests.get(
    "http://api.scraperapi.com",
    params={
        "api_key": "YOUR_KEY",
        "url": "https://example.com/product",
    }
)

# Must write your own parser
soup = BeautifulSoup(response.text, "html.parser")
What Users Say

Real ScraperAPI Complaints

Recurring themes from verified reviews on G2, Capterra, and Reddit — not cherry-picked edge cases.

“Credit costs can add up significantly, especially if using the premium parameters, which can make it difficult to budget usage vs. cost accordingly.”
— G2 Verified Review
“For a day you’ll have no issue running links through the platform. The next day, a large portion of your scrape requests will timeout with no explanation.”
— Capterra Verified Review
“Residential proxy is a little bit pricey relative to its value — even with residential proxy activated, I still got blocked sometimes.”
— G2 Verified Review
Honest Assessment

ScrapeUp Pros & Cons

Pros

+AI extraction returns clean JSON — skip writing parsers entirely
+Cheaper entry point ($14 vs $49) with a 30-day free trial
+Residential + mobile proxies included without upsell pricing
+Real Chrome browsers with advanced fingerprint evasion
+Built for LLM/AI pipelines — structured output from any page

Cons

−Newer platform, but shipping fast — major features added monthly
−Fewer geo-targeting options (11 vs 50+), though covers all major markets
−Documentation is concise and growing — core API is simple enough that most developers are productive in minutes
−Smaller IP pool, but smart rotation and residential quality mean higher success rates per request

Try ScrapeUp Free — No Card Required

25,000 credits included. AI extraction, residential proxies, and JS rendering on day one.

GET STARTED FREEVIEW PRICING