# ScraperAPI vs ScrapingAnt

> ScraperAPI scores 52.1 (D) to ScrapingAnt's 35.5 (F) for scraping. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scraperapi-vs-scrapingant
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scraperapi-vs-scrapingant.md (~2,500 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scraperapi-vs-scrapingant.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scraperapi-vs-scrapingant.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

ScraperAPI scores 52.1 (D) on agent readiness against ScrapingAnt's 35.5 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do scraping.

- ScraperAPI: grade D, 52.1/100, rank #739 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/scraperapi.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/scraperapi.json
- ScrapingAnt: grade F, 35.5/100, rank #934 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/scrapingant.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/scrapingant.json
- Best web scraping and crawling APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/web-scrapers/index.md
- All 167 scrapers comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/web-scrapers/index.md

## Which one, for what

### ScraperAPI (D)

Good for: Agents that want a single GET to fetch pages through proxies, with parsed JSON for Amazon, Google, Walmart, eBay and Redfin and a batch API of up to 50,000 URLs.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 45 against 30
- Schema & documentation, 67 against 43
- Agent ergonomics, 74 against 66
- Security & auth, 29 against 10
- Maintenance & community, 61 against 5

Also in its favour:
- Runs on your own machine

Watch for: No status page is linked from the home, pricing, support or docs pages, although the pricing page lists a 99.9% uptime guarantee

### ScrapingAnt (F)

Good for: A low-volume agent that wants cheap rendered fetches and a tiny tool list, and doesn't need an audit trail.

Watch for: API Basics puts the key in the query string, so it lands in logs


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | ScraperAPI | ScrapingAnt | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 45 | 30 | ScraperAPI +15 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 43 | ScraperAPI +24 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 66 | ScraperAPI +8 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 29 | 10 | ScraperAPI +19 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 40 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 5 | ScraperAPI +56 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 54 | 53 | ScraperAPI +1 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **52.1 · D** | **35.5 · F** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | ScraperAPI | ScrapingAnt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | ScraperAPI (saas.group) | ScrapingAnt (DATAANT) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.scraperapi.com` | `https://api.scrapingant.com/v2/general` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Tools exposed | 28 | 3 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-08-07 | 2024-07-16 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 5 stars | 90 npm/wk, 2k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**ScraperAPI.** One GET request with a key and a URL returns a page, and the MCP server's 28 tools carry read-only and destructive hints. No status page, OpenAPI file, security.txt or certification was found, and the documented default puts the API key in the URL query string.

**ScrapingAnt.** 10,000 free credits a month with no card. API Basics puts the key in the query string, so it lands in logs.

## Before you call either

### ScraperAPI

1. Set the client timeout to 70 seconds. The API retries for that long before it returns 500, and a request cancelled earlier is still charged
2. Send the key as the `x-sapi-api_key` header to keep it out of URLs and logs
3. Pass `max_cost` on each request, or call `/account/urlcost` first, because domain and anti-bot surcharges vary from 1 to 75 credits
4. Use `output_format=markdown` or `text` to cut response size, and `autoparse=true` only on supported domains
5. On 429 reduce concurrency to the plan limit (5 on Free, 20 on Hobby). The request is rejected, not queued

### ScrapingAnt

1. Send the key in the `x-api-key` header rather than the query string
2. Use `/v2/markdown` for LLM input, and set `browser=false` on static pages to pay 1 credit instead of 10
3. Switch to `proxy_type=residential` only after a 423 (anti-bot) response. It raises a browser request from 10 to 125 credits
4. On the free plan a second concurrent request gets 409. Wait for the first to finish
5. Google, Bing and Yandex result pages come back as raw HTML through `/v2/general`, so you parse them yourself

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, ScraperAPI or ScrapingAnt?

ScraperAPI scores 52.1 (D) on agent readiness against ScrapingAnt's 35.5 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

### Do ScraperAPI and ScrapingAnt need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call ScraperAPI and ScrapingAnt without installing anything?

Yes. ScraperAPI has a hosted endpoint at https://api.scraperapi.com and ScrapingAnt at https://api.scrapingant.com/v2/general.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scraperapi-vs-scrapingant.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scraperapi-vs-scrapingant.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "scraperapi", "b": "scrapingant"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare scraperapi scrapingant`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/scraperapi.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/scrapingant.json

## Other comparisons with ScraperAPI or ScrapingAnt

- [Apify MCP Server vs ScrapingAnt](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apify-mcp-vs-scrapingant.md)
- [Bright Data vs ScraperAPI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bright-data-vs-scraperapi.md)
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- [Oxylabs Web Scraper API vs ScraperAPI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/oxylabs-web-scraper-vs-scraperapi.md)
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- [Scrapeless vs ScraperAPI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scrapeless-vs-scraperapi.md)
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- [ScraperAPI vs Spider](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scraperapi-vs-spider-cloud.md)
- [ScraperAPI vs ZenRows](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scraperapi-vs-zenrows.md)
- [ScraperAPI vs Zyte API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scraperapi-vs-zyte.md)
- [Scrapfly vs ScrapingAnt](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scrapfly-vs-scrapingant.md)
- [ScrapingAnt vs ScrapingBee](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scrapingant-vs-scrapingbee.md)
- [ScrapingAnt vs Scrapingdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scrapingant-vs-scrapingdog.md)
- [ScrapingAnt vs Spider](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scrapingant-vs-spider-cloud.md)
- [ScrapingAnt vs ZenRows](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scrapingant-vs-zenrows.md)
- [ScrapingAnt vs Zyte API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scrapingant-vs-zyte.md)
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