Provider-source comparison
webclaw vs ScrapingBee
ScrapingBee provides a hosted scraping API with JavaScript rendering, screenshots, browser scenarios, extraction rules and AI extraction. It also offers search APIs and an official remote MCP server.
Hosted API + AGPL-3.0 open-source core
Standard page operations cost one credit per successful page. Search is metered per result, and Research has a separate allowance. The local open-source core does not include all managed services.
Hosted extraction API
MIT CLI; SDK terms differ; hosted API separate. CLI/SDKs run locally and call the hosted API.
Looking for a ScrapingBee alternative?
Both vendors offer managed page retrieval and structured extraction. ScrapingBee’s rendering and proxy options change credit consumption; compare the output and total credits for the same request.
Features
webclaw vs ScrapingBee feature comparison
Documented capabilities, with a source for each entry. This is a documentation review, not a comparative performance test. An undocumented capability is not treated as unavailable.
Sources and deployment scope
Reviewed 2026-09-15. Maintained by Webclaw. Open-source licenses apply to the named repository, not automatically to a vendor’s entire hosted service.
Pricing
Compare plans for your workload.
Selected public offers in USD, reviewed 2026-09-15. Monthly billing unless explicitly marked annual. These rows are not equivalent workloads or a complete plan catalog; credit definitions, add-ons and taxes differ.
Provider reference checked 2026-09-15. Check current ScrapingBee pricing and terms. Unverified capabilities are not treated as unavailable.
| Offer | webclaw | ScrapingBee |
|---|---|---|
| Free option | 500 credits/month, no card; plus open source (self-host) | 1,000 trial credits; no card |
| Entry paid offer | Starter: $19/month · 5,000 credits | Hobby: $19/month · 75,000 credits |
| Another paid offer | Growth: $49/month · 25,000 credits | Freelance: $49/month · 250,000 credits |
| Higher-volume offer | Pro: $99/month · 100,000 credits | Startup: $99/month · 1,000,000 credits |
webclaw credit model
Page operations use credits; Research has a separate allowance. A standard scrape or extract uses one credit. Check the pricing page for operation rates and plan limits.
ScrapingBee credit model
A classic HTTP request costs 1 credit; JavaScript rendering costs 5. Premium proxies cost 10 without rendering or 25 with it; stealth costs 75. AI extraction adds 5 credits. These units are not equivalent to Webclaw page credits.
ScrapingBee strengths
- Browser scenarios and AI extraction in the managed API
- Dedicated search and site APIs plus remote MCP
ScrapingBee considerations
- Credit use varies with rendering, proxies and AI extraction
- CLI crawl orchestration and individual HTTP API requests have different execution models
Verdict
Which one should you use?
Use webclaw when
You want the Webclaw API and dashboard with page-credit billing, or its AGPL-3.0 CLI, MCP and self-hosted core. Managed features and local capabilities differ; test the deployment you intend to use.
Use ScrapingBee when
You need its browser scenarios, dedicated site APIs or existing ScrapingBee integration.
Both vendors offer managed page retrieval and structured extraction. ScrapingBee’s rendering and proxy options change credit consumption; compare the output and total credits for the same request.
Get started
See how it stacks up.
Cancel anytime. Run the same job on webclaw and ScrapingBee and compare for yourself.