# ScraperAPI vs Scrapingdog

> ScraperAPI scores 52.1 (D) to Scrapingdog's 39.2 (E) for scraping. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scraperapi-vs-scrapingdog
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scraperapi-vs-scrapingdog.md (~2,500 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scraperapi-vs-scrapingdog.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scraperapi-vs-scrapingdog.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 Scrapingdog's 39.2 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Scrapingdog leads on reliability. 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
- Scrapingdog: grade E, 39.2/100, rank #917 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/scrapingdog.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/scrapingdog.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:
- Schema & documentation, 67 against 43
- Agent ergonomics, 74 against 44
- Security & auth, 29 against 5
- Maintenance & community, 61 against 45

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

### Scrapingdog (E)

Good for: A budget agent that wants parsed Google, Amazon or LinkedIn results and can keep the key out of logs.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 62 against 45

Watch for: API key only travels in the URL query string


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | ScraperAPI | Scrapingdog | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 45 | 62 | Scrapingdog +17 |
| 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 | 44 | ScraperAPI +30 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 29 | 5 | ScraperAPI +24 |
| 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 | 45 | ScraperAPI +16 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 54 | 55 | Scrapingdog +1 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -2 | |
| **Total** | | **52.1 · D** | **39.2 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | ScraperAPI | Scrapingdog |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | ScraperAPI (saas.group) | Scrapingdog (OpenData Labs) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.scraperapi.com` | `https://api.scrapingdog.com/scrape` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Tools exposed | 28 | 35 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `io.github.Darshan972/scrapingdog-mcp` |
| Last release | 2026-08-07 | 2026-07-31 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-01-13 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2025-07-17 |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| 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 | 0 stars, 41 npm/wk, 12 PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (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.

**Scrapingdog.** A plain request is 1 credit, about $0.20 per 1,000 on Lite. API key only travels in the URL query string.

## 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

### Scrapingdog

1. Add dynamic=false unless the page needs JavaScript. It cuts the cost from 5 credits to 1, whatever the MCP description says
2. Keep request URLs out of logs, since they carry api_key
3. Set client timeouts above 60 seconds and retry on 429 or timeout. Failures aren't billed
4. Prefer the parsed endpoints (Google, Amazon) over scraping the raw page when one exists

## Questions

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

ScraperAPI scores 52.1 (D) on agent readiness against Scrapingdog's 39.2 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Scrapingdog leads on reliability.

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

Both need an API key.

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

Yes. ScraperAPI has a hosted endpoint at https://api.scraperapi.com and Scrapingdog at https://api.scrapingdog.com/scrape.


## For agents

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

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- [ScrapingBee vs Scrapingdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scrapingbee-vs-scrapingdog.md)
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