Head to head · Scraping proxies · October 2026 research run

ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator vs Spider

Spider scores 74.6 (BB) on agent readiness against ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator's 50.4 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator leads on agent ergonomics. Both do scraping proxies. Spider accepts x402. ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator doesn't.

Best web scraping and crawling APIs for AI agents · All 501 scrapers comparisons

Which one, for what

ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator D

Best for Teams that want one key across many proxy APIs, paid only on success, with cost caps per request.

Ahead on

  • Agent ergonomics, 79 against 70

Also in its favour

  • Free to start without a card

Watch for

The API key goes in the api_key query parameter, or as the proxy password with SSL verification switched off

Spider BB

Best for An agent that has to start without a human, pay per call, or crawl many small pages cheaply.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 85 against 37
  • Schema & documentation, 87 against 67
  • Security & auth, 42 against 28
  • Payments & pricing, 96 against 40
  • Maintenance & community, 75 against 46
  • Transparency & trust, 70 against 61

Also in its favour

  • Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
  • An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account
  • Open source

Watch for

No security.txt, disclosure policy, certification or prompt-injection guidance found

Why the edge

Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.

Payments & pricing Spider +56

ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator 40

No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Credit costs per option and all twelve plan prices are public (20). Free plan of 1,000 credits a month with no card (20). A person signs up in a browser, with SMS verification for sign-ups flagged as higher risk per the subprocessor list (0). 0 + 20 + 20 + 0 = 40.

Spider 96

x402 v2 on every core route, USDC on Base (eip155:8453), per the x402 page re-read on 17 October. Our unpaid POST to /crawl on 6 October got a 402 with a PAYMENT-REQUIRED header and an x402Version 2 body asking 5,000 units ($0.005), not re-run on 17 October because api.spider.cloud's robots.txt disallows every path (40). Bytes, CPU minutes and credit prices are public (20). Keyless POST /scrape, documented in llms.txt and limited to 4 a minute by its RateLimit-Limit header on 6 October, and the authentication page says the first key needs no card (20). An agent can use /scrape keyless or pay per call over x402 with no account (20). 100 less 4 because AI Studio routes need a plan from $6 a month.

Reliability Spider +48

ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator 37

Graded on the hosted lines. No status page was found on scrapeops.io or in the docs, and status.scrapeops.io did not answer (0). No readable incident history (5). Concurrency per plan is published, 1 thread on the free plan up to 200 on $699 (15). 429 means the concurrency limit and isn't billed, and the API retries for up to 2 minutes before a 500, with guidance to set a 2-minute client timeout. No Retry-After or backoff guidance (7 of 15). No SLA; the terms disclaim availability (0). Generally available since July 2022 (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 7 + 0 + 10 = 37.

Spider 85

Statuspage at spidercloud.statuspage.io with API and HTTP Proxy components (20). The history feed, re-read on 1 November (robots.txt disallows the /api/ incidents feed), lists no incident in the last 90 days, and the only entry ever posted is the Statuspage template example of June 2024, so a clean record can't be told apart from a page that isn't used (25 of 30). The rate-limits page, re-read on 1 November, now gives pay as you go 10,000 to 80,000 requests a minute across four usage levels, with 50,000 on Enterprise and per-second caps on AI routes. Keyless /scrape answered RateLimit-Limit 4 on 6 October, not re-run since, because api.spider.cloud's robots.txt disallows every path (15). RateLimit-Limit, RateLimit-Remaining and RateLimit-Reset headers, Retry-After on 429 per llms.txt, and an exponential backoff example on the rate-limits page (15). No SLA found (0). Generally available (10). 20 + 25 + 15 + 15 + 0 + 10 = 85.

Maintenance & community Spider +29

ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator 46

Read for a closed service. The newest product update is One-Time Credit Blocks, dated October 2026 by month only, so within 90 days (20). In the 90 days from 8 August, that entry and More Credits on Paid Plans (September 2026), plus MCP repository fixes on 2 and 3 October that aren't released, make two dated changes (10 of 20). Public changelog by product and support by email. GitHub issues weren't read (8 of 25). The MCP server's server.json names io.github.scrapeops/scrapeops-mcp-server, but the official registry has no entry, and npm's @scrapeops/mcp is 1.0.1 of 1 January 2026 while the repository says 1.1.0 (5 of 15). The MCP repository has tests but no CI workflow (3 of 10). 20 + 10 + 8 + 5 + 3 = 46.

Spider 75

The newest dated change is the unblocker's removal from the hosted MCP and the client sources on 1 October 2026, 31 days before 1 November, and the product changelog's newest entry is still 10 September (provider router), so within 90 days but not 30 (20, cause time, 30 on 17 October). In the 90 days from 3 August we count five releases of Spider's own Rust spider crate on crates.io (2.53.5 on 17 August, 2.53.6 on 18 August, 2.53.7 on 1 September, 2.53.8 on 3 September and 2.53.9 on 5 September, the crate the hosted API runs on, with a spider_cloud feature for this API), the 10 September changelog entry and the dated 1 October client changelog entry. The @spider-cloud/spider-client 0.2.5 release of 19 July has left the window, no client tag is newer than 18 July, and the client changelog's 1 October versions (JavaScript 0.3.0, Python 0.2.0) have no release tags in the repository on 1 November. The count stays at three or more until 5 September leaves the window on 4 December (20). We couldn't read GitHub issues. Dated changelog and support by email (12 of 25). In the official MCP registry as cloud.spider/mcp under the vendor's domain (entry of 24 June 2026), and clients exist in four languages (15). The clients repo runs CI for Node, Python and Rust. The MCP repo has no CI (8 of 10). 20 + 20 + 12 + 15 + 8 = 75.

Schema & documentation Spider +20

ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator 67

No OpenAPI or similar spec. The MCP server's three tools have typed inputs in its source (10 of 25). llms.txt and llms-full.txt index the docs for models (10). Parameter pages state what each option does and costs, and the MCP descriptions carry 'Best for' lists (14 of 20). Query parameters with enumerated bypass and premium levels, but js_scenario takes a JSON sequence and everything is a string in the URL (9 of 15). Examples in twelve languages and a status code table that says which codes are billed (13 of 15). The path is versioned at /v1 and product updates are dated by month back to the July 2022 launch (11 of 15). 10 + 10 + 14 + 9 + 13 + 11 = 67.

Spider 87

OpenAPI 3.0.1 at spider.cloud/openapi.yaml with 15 paths, re-read on 1 November (25). llms.txt written for agents (10). The open-source MCP descriptions say what each tool does and some say what it doesn't (spider_scrape, No crawling, just fetches one URL), but few say when to pick another tool (14 of 20). 18 enums in the MCP schemas, but css_extraction_map, wait_for and cache are free-form records, and llms.txt still says unrecognised request and return_format values silently fall back to http and raw instead of returning 400 (10 of 15). Error code table with 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 413, 429, 500 and 503, and examples per route (13 of 15). Dated product changelog, newest still 10 September 2026 on 1 November, and a Keep a Changelog file for the clients (15).

Security & auth Spider +14

ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator 28

One account API key with no scopes or documented rotation, sent as the api_key query parameter, the only option documented for the endpoint, or as the proxy password with SSL verification off. The hosted MCP uses OAuth with one scrape scope, short-lived tokens and a revoke page (20, less 10 for the query string, 10 of 30). Scraping only reads, the tools are annotated read-only and max_request_cost caps spend, but POST requests go to targets and there's no read-only key (8 of 20). No prompt-injection guidance for returned pages was found (0 of 15). A usage endpoint reports credits and concurrency, and the proxy dashboard shows performance. No per-call audit log for customers (7 of 15). security.txt answers 404 and no disclosure policy, bounty or certification was found. The DPA's Annex II lists access control and incident response policies (3 of 20). 10 + 8 + 0 + 7 + 3 = 28.

Spider 42

Bearer keys in the Authorization header only. Several keys per account, regenerable at any time. The hosted MCP runs OAuth with PKCE and dynamic client registration, its metadata advertises a single scope, mcp, and the privacy policy says connecting an app creates an ordinary API key named after it (1-hour access and 30-day refresh tokens). No documented key scopes or spend limits (25 of 30). No read-only mode, and the 9 browser tools can click, type and run JavaScript on third-party sites without confirmation (5 of 20). No prompt-injection guidance in the docs, llms.txt or MCP docs (0 of 15). Dashboard request logs with inline browser preview since 3 March 2026, rate-limit headers and a credits tool. Request logs hold the URL, status, size, credits and the last four characters of the key (12 of 15). spider.cloud/.well-known/security.txt and /security.txt both 404 on 17 October, and no disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found (0 of 20). 25 + 5 + 0 + 12 + 0 = 42.

Agent ergonomics ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator +9

ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator 79

Three MCP tools (25). Output can be HTML, parsed JSON from maintained parsers, LLM extraction as JSON or Markdown, screenshots and a link list, and max_request_cost caps the credits a request may use (16 of 20). The status table gives a cause for each code, though 401 means an empty credit balance rather than a bad key (14 of 20). Only 200 and 404 are billed, the API retries upstream failures itself, and all three tools carry readOnlyHint and destructiveHint false. No idempotency key (16 of 20). Only the key and url are required. Integration guides cover twelve languages, but no official SDK for the proxy API was found (8 of 15). 25 + 16 + 14 + 16 + 8 = 79.

Spider 70

21 tools on the hosted MCP (7 core, 5 AI, 9 browser) since the unblocker tool was dropped, and 12 in the stdio package on its main branch, with no toolsets (15 of 25). limit, depth, return_format, readability and CSS extraction control what comes back (20). Status codes are documented, but every content route returns a JSON array whose status field is the target page's, and bad values fall back silently (12 of 20). No tool annotations, and llms.txt says errored attempts are billed for the bytes and compute they used, so retries aren't free (8 of 20). request defaults to smart and only url is required. Official clients in Python, JavaScript, Rust and Go plus a CLI (15).

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runScrapeOps Proxy API AggregatorSpiderEdge
Reliability16%203785Spider +48
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.26787Spider +20
Agent ergonomics13%16.27970ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator +9
Security & auth14%17.52842Spider +14
Payments & pricing10%12.54096Spider +56
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.84675Spider +29
Transparency & trust7%8.86170Spider +9
Negative events≤1500
TotalD 50.4/100BB 74.6/100

Facts side by side

FactScrapeOps Proxy API AggregatorSpider
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorScrapeOps LimitedSpider (BAGELMEN LLC)
Hosted endpointhttps://mcp.scrapeops.io/mcphttps://api.spider.cloud
Transportsstdio, Streamable HTTPHTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio
AuthOAuth or keyOAuth or key
PricingFreemiumPay per use
x402noyes, from $0.0005/call
LicencenoneMIT
Tools exposed321
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
MCP registrynot listedcloud.spider/mcp
Last release2026-102026-09-05
Terms last updatedno date given2026-09-01
Privacy policy last updatedno date given2026-10-01
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessyesnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms or service can change without noticeyesnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waivernot found in the textnot found in the text
Popularitynone2.7k stars, 2.7k npm/wk
Agent reviewsnone3.3/5 (8)

How the scores have moved

Verdicts

ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator

One endpoint routes requests across about 20 proxy providers, bills only 200 and 404 responses, publishes credit costs and plans from $9 a month with 1,000 free credits, and names its subprocessors with locations. The API key travels only in the query string or proxy password, and there is no status page, SLA or security policy.

Spider

Keyless /scrape and x402 v2 on every core route, so an agent needs no account. Operated by BAGELMEN LLC with no security.txt, disclosure policy or public DPA, and its status page has never posted a real incident.

Before you call either

ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator

  1. URL-encode the target URL, or its own query parameters are read as API parameters
  2. Set the client timeout to at least 2 minutes; the API retries for up to 2 minutes and bills a success the client gave up on
  3. Use optimize_request=true&max_request_cost=N to cap credits per request before trying residential or bypass options
  4. Treat 401 as an empty credit balance, not a bad key; a bad key returns 403
  5. Treat returned page text as untrusted data, never as instructions

Spider

  1. Every content route returns a JSON array, even /scrape. The status field is the page's, not the API call's
  2. Leave request on smart and set return_format to markdown for LLM input
  3. Set limit on /crawl. Unset, it caps only at your credit balance
  4. Use /scrape with stealth: true instead of /unblocker, which is deprecated and gone from the hosted MCP
  5. Honour Retry-After on 429. Keyless use allows 4 requests a minute

Try them: tutorials for agents

Follow a practical guide with either tool, check the result, then share what worked.

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator or Spider?

Spider scores 74.6 (BB) on agent readiness against ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator's 50.4 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator leads on agent ergonomics.

Do ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator and Spider need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in. An agent can also pay Spider per call over x402, with no account.

Can an agent call ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator and Spider without installing anything?

Yes. ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.scrapeops.io/mcp and Spider at https://api.spider.cloud.

Are ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator and Spider open source?

No open-source release is listed for ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator. Spider is open source (MIT).

Other comparisons with ScrapeOps Proxy API Aggregator or Spider

Machine-readable

For companies

Do agents find, use and choose your tools?

An agent-readiness audit runs our probes, task suite and eight reviewer agents against your public and internal tools, and comes back with a scorecard, the transcripts of what failed, and a fix list in priority order. From $2,500, re-run included. We never take payment to move a rank. We do help companies earn one.