The Best Web Scraping APIs for 2026

Web scraping APIs make data extraction dead simple. You send a request with your target URL, and the API handles everything else—scraping, proxy rotation, bypassing anti-bot systems. No need to build scrapers from scratch or worry about getting blocked.

The real time-saver? Most scraping APIs parse your data into clean JSON or CSV formats. That means less time wrestling with messy HTML and more time actually using the data you extract.

We've tested over 15 web scraping APIs and boiled it down to the top 7. Whether you're running large-scale operations or just need occasional data pulls, this guide breaks down which APIs deliver the best results for different scenarios.

What Makes a Web Scraping API Worth Using

Before diving into specific tools, let's talk about what separates the good from the mediocre:

Scraping Success Rate – Can it actually get the data you need? High success rates mean the API can handle tricky sites with anti-bot protection. This is where infrastructure quality really shows.

Speed – When you're extracting thousands of pages, every second counts. APIs built for high concurrency and throughput will save you hours of waiting time.

Proxy Network – A large pool of residential proxies spread across different countries helps you avoid blocks and scrape location-specific data accurately.

Parsing & Data Formats – Built-in parsers for common sites like Google and Amazon save massive amounts of development time. Getting structured JSON or CSV output means you can skip straight to analyzing data.

When you're dealing with complex web scraping challenges at scale, 👉 reliable proxy infrastructure becomes absolutely critical for maintaining consistent data extraction. The difference between a 60% success rate and 95% success rate can make or break your entire data pipeline.

Pricing – Cost structures vary wildly. Some charge per request, others use monthly credits. Pick what fits your budget and scraping volume.

Ease of Use – Developer-friendly documentation, SDKs for popular languages, and straightforward API calls make integration painless.

The Top 7 Web Scraping APIs Reviewed

1. Oxylabs

What stands out:

• Exceptional reliability even on protected sites

• AI-powered parser works on any website

• 100M+ residential IPs across 195 locations

• Comprehensive target site support

Oxylabs delivers battle-tested scraping through multiple specialized APIs—Web Scraper, SERP Scraper, Ecommerce Scraper, and Real Estate API. During testing, they consistently achieved the highest success rates, even on notoriously difficult targets like Google and major ecommerce platforms.

Their massive proxy network spans 195 countries, making geo-targeted scraping straightforward. The AI-powered parser is genuinely impressive—it extracts structured data from any site without manual configuration.

Integration is smooth with comprehensive libraries, webhooks, and excellent customer support. You can schedule jobs and export results in JSON or CSV.

The catch? Pricing starts at $49 for 17,500 scrapes, which is higher than budget options. But for mission-critical scraping where failures cost money, Oxylabs delivers strong ROI through reliability and time savings.

Locations: 195 countries
Pricing: Starts at $49 for 17,500 scrapes
Proxy Network: 100M+ residential IPs
Parsing: Built-in AI parser for any site
Free Trial: 7 days, 5K requests

2. Bright Data

What stands out:

• Blazing fast scraping speed

• 98%+ success rates at scale

• 72M residential proxies

• Proxy-like integration feels familiar

Bright Data runs one of the internet's largest proxy networks and leverages it through their Web Unlocker and SERP API products. During our tests, they scraped Google and ecommerce sites incredibly fast while maintaining 98%+ success rates.

The setup feels similar to configuring a proxy manager, which developers appreciate. The SERP API includes built-in parsers for Google, Bing, and Yandex. Web Unlocker handles broader scraping needs beyond search engines.

For serious scraping operations, Bright Data delivers impressive speed and reliability. Pricing starts at $500/month for 500K scrapes ($2.25-$3 per 1K), which is very cost-efficient at scale. Pay-as-you-go plans are also available.

Locations: Global targeted scraping
Pricing: Starts at $500/month - $2.25 to $3 per 1K scrapes
Proxy Network: 72M+ residential IPs
Parsing: Search engines (SERP API)
Free Trial: 7 days with $50 credit

3. Smartproxy

What stands out:

• Consistently reliable results

• Fast 4-6 second response times

• Very affordable at $0.10 per 1K scrapes

• 40M+ residential proxies

Smartproxy combines solid scraping performance with budget-friendly pricing. Their API handles general web pages, search engines (SERP API), and ecommerce sites.

In testing, Smartproxy consistently hit 100% success rates on challenging ecommerce product pages. Response times averaged 4-6 seconds across different target sites—fast enough for most use cases.

The web scraping API works on any site, while specialized SERP and ecommerce APIs include built-in parsers for cleaner data. Their 40M+ residential IP pool covers 195 locations worldwide, and setup is straightforward—just specify your target URL, location, and parameters.

At $50/month for 500K successful scrapes, Smartproxy offers excellent value by balancing performance, reliability, and low cost.

Locations: 195 countries
Pricing: Starts at $50/month - $0.10 per 1K scrapes
Proxy Network: 40M+ residential IPs
Parsing: Google, Amazon sites
Free Trial: 3 days, 3K requests

4. ScraperAPI

What stands out:

• Budget-friendly starting at $49/month

• Easy integration with multiple language libraries

• Works well for basic websites

• Generous 5K requests/month free tier

ScraperAPI targets developers with limited scraping budgets. It scrapes any site and includes built-in parsers for Google and Amazon.

The main draw is affordable pricing with a generous free tier up to 5K requests monthly. ScraperAPI uses proxy rotation and randomization to avoid blocks, though our tests showed 85-90% success rates on advanced sites with bot protection—lower than premium competitors hitting 95%+.

For basic websites without heavy anti-bot measures, ScraperAPI delivers decent results, especially considering the price point. They offer convenient libraries for Python, Node.js, PHP, and Ruby to simplify integration.

If you have smaller scraping needs and want to test cheaply, ScraperAPI is a solid starting point. For business-critical operations, enterprise tools provide more robust results.

Locations: 12 countries
Pricing: Starts at $49/month
Proxy Network: Unclear
Parsing: Google, Amazon
Free Tier: 5K requests/month

5. Octoparse

What stands out:

• Visual interface requires no coding

• Built-in browser automation

• Affordable at $99/month

• Completely free trial with no credit card

Octoparse focuses on ease of use for non-developers. You can scrape data through a visual interface by recording browser actions—no code required.

The visual workflow builder automates scraping by mimicking how you'd manually extract data. Octoparse includes built-in parsers for many popular sites and various data export options.

Starting at $99/month for 10K page visits, pricing is accessible. The standout feature is the completely free trial tier with no credit card needed—rare among scraping tools.

For basic scraping needs without coding, Octoparse's visual automation and generous trial make it easy to get started. It lacks some advanced capabilities compared to developer APIs, but for non-technical users wanting automated scraping, the intuitive interface paired with affordable pricing is hard to beat.

Locations: Global
Pricing: Starts at $99/month for 10K page visits
Proxy Network: Unclear
Parsing: Built-in parsers for many sites
Free Trial: Generous free tier, no credit card required

6. ParseHub

What stands out:

• Easy visual scraper builder

• Automatic proxy rotation and retries

• Affordable at $99/month

• Generous free tier

ParseHub is another leading no-code web scraping tool. You visually build scrapers and extract data without writing any code.

The visual interface makes scraping straightforward by configuring selectors or recording browser steps. ParseHub automatically handles proxy rotation, waits, and retries during scraping.

For developers, ParseHub offers API access for integrating scrapers into applications. It includes exports, scheduling, and collaboration features.

Plans start at $99/month for 10K pages scraped. ParseHub's generous free tier makes testing easy. Overall, it strikes a nice balance between ease of use and customization options.

Locations: Global
Pricing: Starts at $99/month for 10K pages
Proxy Network: Unclear
Parsing: Visual extraction
Free Tier: Generous limits, no credit card required

7. ProxyCrawl

What stands out:

• Optimized for web automation

• Powerful JavaScript rendering

• Feature-rich automation capabilities

• 20K free API calls for testing

ProxyCrawl emphasizes web automation through their scraping API. Advanced browser emulation handles JavaScript rendering and dynamic content.

You can build scripts to automate form filling, clicks, scrolls, and other browser actions. This makes scraping JavaScript-dependent sites possible—something basic scrapers struggle with.

ProxyCrawl includes parsing for specific use cases like extracting prices or reviews from Amazon. The API handles proxy rotation, header randomization, and bot mitigation automatically.

The free trial provides 20K API calls—enough to test at meaningful scale. ProxyCrawl combines data extraction with deep web automation abilities at affordable pricing starting at €99/month.

Locations: Global
Pricing: Starts at €99/month for 50K calls
Proxy Network: Unclear
Parsing: Amazon, Shopping, HTML extraction
Free Trial: 20K free API calls

Choosing the Right API for Your Needs

With so many options, here's how to narrow down based on your specific situation:

For large-scale production scraping – Oxylabs and BrightData provide enterprise-level results. Their proxy infrastructure delivers the speed, reliability, and resilience you need when failures cost real money.

For high-frequency scraping – Smartproxy balances performance and value well. When you're extracting data constantly with changing targets, 👉 having a robust API that maintains consistent success rates becomes non-negotiable.

For smaller scale needs – ScraperAPI and Octoparse work well for occasional scraping or testing scenarios.

For heavily protected sites – Oxylabs excels at sites like Google with advanced bot mitigation. Their proxy quality and evasion capabilities are top-tier.

For JavaScript-heavy sites – ProxyCrawl's browser emulation and automation capabilities handle dynamic content better than basic scrapers.

For budget constraints – Octoparse and ParseHub offer generous free tiers for testing. Smartproxy and ScraperAPI provide solid quality at moderate price points. Oxylabs and BrightData deliver premium results for serious budgets.

For non-developers – Octoparse and ParseHub remove coding requirements through visual interfaces.

For developers – Oxylabs, BrightData, and Smartproxy offer advanced customization through comprehensive APIs.

For parsing needs – Oxylabs has the most powerful built-in parser that works on any site. Purpose-built APIs like SERP scrapers include specialized parsers for particular data types.

Getting Started with Web Scraping APIs

Web scraping APIs eliminate the headaches of building and maintaining scrapers yourself. The tools we've covered handle proxy management, bot mitigation, speed optimization, and scalability automatically.

The leaders—Oxylabs, BrightData, Smartproxy, ScraperAPI, and others—scored consistently high across success rates, response time, global coverage, parsing capabilities, and ease of integration.

Match your specific needs against the options. Consider your scraping scale, target site difficulty, technical expertise, and budget. That's how you find the API that delivers the best results for your situation.

Automated scraping unlocks serious potential in web data. Start with one of these APIs, test it on your target sites, and scale from there. The right tool makes extracting valuable data straightforward instead of painful.