The short answer
ScraperAPI's base call returns a retrieved body, while Zyte's extract response wraps the selected outputs. Normalize body decoding, browser mode and retry policy before a like-for-like quality or price test.
| Provider | A good reason to choose it | Important caveat |
|---|---|---|
| ScraperAPI | An existing HTTP collection pipeline that wants managed page retrieval while retaining its own parsing and validation. | The base retrieval endpoint, structured endpoints and asynchronous jobs return different shapes. Rendering and premium settings can consume additional credits. |
| Zyte API | A collector that needs to choose between raw HTTP retrieval, rendered content and structured extraction while retaining request-level controls. | httpResponseBody is Base64-encoded. Browser and extraction options change work performed and pricing; they are not equivalent to a plain HTTP request. |
Side-by-side differences
| Requirement | ScraperAPI | Zyte API |
|---|---|---|
| Primary workflow | Page retrieval, async jobs and structured endpoints | HTTP/browser retrieval and extraction in one request schema |
| Returned content | HTML/body on the base endpoint; structured outputs elsewhere | Base64 HTTP body, browser HTML or structured fields |
| Rendering/control | Rendering and premium options | Explicit HTTP/browser options and browser actions |
| Job model | Synchronous base API; separate asynchronous API | Synchronous extract requests |
| Integration boundary | Keep retrieval and downstream parsing explicit | Decode and validate the selected output field |
| Cost driver | Credits, domain and render/proxy options | Request tier, HTTP/browser mode and extraction |
Pricing: make the units comparable
| Provider | Billing model | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| ScraperAPI | Credit-based plans with feature multipliers | Measure credits for your target domain and configuration. Structured endpoints and rendered page retrieval should not share an assumed per-call price. |
| Zyte API | Usage pricing by request tier and selected capabilities | Keep HTTP, browser and automatic extraction costs separate. Use the target workload and current pricing rules rather than one headline cost per thousand requests. |
For 1,000 accepted pages, record attempted URLs, render mode, retries and schema failures. A low HTML-request price can require separate parsing; an extraction credit can include work that another vendor bills separately. Do not rank cost until the output passes the same acceptance check.
For a buying decision, calculate total spend divided by accepted outputs at your expected volume. Keep free evaluation access, paid production access, annual commitments and overages separate. We have not measured a cost or speed winner for this pair.
What changes in the integration?
| ScraperAPI | Zyte API | |
|---|---|---|
| Method and URL | GET https://api.scraperapi.com | POST https://api.zyte.com/v1/extract |
| Authentication | API key in api_key | HTTP Basic auth with API key as username and an empty password |
| Inputs | api_key and url; optional render, premium and country_code | JSON url plus httpResponseBody, browserHtml or extraction fields |
| Output | Retrieved page body; use separate structured or async endpoints for those workflows. | Requested response fields; httpResponseBody requires Base64 decoding. |
ScraperAPI: migration check
Set a timeout appropriate for managed retrieval, then normalize retry policy. A submitted async job is not a completed scrape; wait for the result before recording success.
Zyte API: migration check
Decode httpResponseBody before parsing. Do not label a missing browserHtml field as an empty page when the request asked only for an HTTP body.
How to test them fairly
- Build an authorized test set spanning static HTML, JavaScript-rendered pages, tables and long articles. Save expected fields and the permitted access conditions.
- Use the same URLs, country, device settings and freshness window. Keep cache hits separate from fresh fetches.
- Mark challenge pages, empty main content and invalid structured fields as failures even if the HTTP status is 200.
- Measure time to a usable document or completed dataset, not only time to job creation. Include polling, retries and client-side parsing.
- Report total billed credits, browser time, proxy charges and actor fees per accepted document. Respect site terms, privacy, robots guidance and access controls; do not test bypassing protected accounts.
Record the plan, request settings, time window and acceptance rules with every run. That makes a later result interpretable when a vendor changes a model, source set or pricing tier.
Prefer a common request format?
POST /api/v1/web-scraping/extractReview the request contract and tell us the coverage you need. Access requires enablement; this endpoint does not execute or bill requests yet.
View endpoint and request accessSources and review dates
Documentation reviewed October 28, 2026. These are integration and plan comparisons, not measured speed or accuracy rankings. Availability, licensing and prices should be confirmed for the chosen plan.
Corrections: email faizank@docsalot.dev with an official source.