ScrapingBee vs ZenRows

by Gralio Feb 08, 2025

ScrapingBee and ZenRows are both web scraping tools, but they cater to different needs. ScrapingBee prioritizes ease of use and offers a broader range of features, while ZenRows excels at handling complex anti-scraping measures. Choose ScrapingBee for simplicity and diverse functionalities, and ZenRows for tackling challenging websites and advanced scraping needs.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 198 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 hour, 36 minutes of reading.

ScrapingBee

Website LinkedIn

ZenRows

Website LinkedIn

About

ScrapingBee is a web scraping tool that helps businesses extract data from websites without getting blocked. It acts as a middleman, sending requests to websites on your behalf using a pool of proxies and handling any challenges like CAPTCHAs. ScrapingBee can extract data from websites built with Javascript, take screenshots, and even scrape search engine results. It's suitable for businesses of all sizes who need reliable data for price monitoring, market research, or lead generation.

ZenRows is a tool that helps you extract data from websites, even those with complex anti-scraping measures. It uses rotating proxies, headless browsers, and CAPTCHA solving to bypass these obstacles, allowing you to collect the data you need through a simple API. This makes it easier to gather information from the web for use in your business.

Summary

Main difference

ScrapingBee is better for its ease of use and comprehensive documentation, making it ideal for users who prioritize a smooth user experience. ZenRows excels in handling complex anti-scraping measures and offers more advanced features like custom JS scripts, making it suitable for tackling challenging websites.

Relative strengths of ScrapingBee (compared to ZenRows)

Easier setup and use with clear documentation and a user-friendly API.
Wider range of features like Javascript rendering, screenshots, and search engine scraping.
Reliable customer support known for responsiveness and helpfulness.

Relative weaknesses of ScrapingBee (compared to ZenRows)

Pricing can be less flexible compared to ZenRows, particularly for premium proxies and specific parameters.
Concurrency limits may restrict throughput on basic plans.
Less effective at bypassing sophisticated anti-bot measures compared to ZenRows.

Who should use ScrapingBee VS. ZenRows

ScrapingBee is a user-friendly web scraping API that handles proxies and CAPTCHAs, making it easy to extract data without getting blocked. It's praised for its ease of use, helpful documentation, and responsive customer support. While some users mention higher pricing for certain features, many appreciate its reliability and features like JavaScript rendering and geolocation.

ZenRows is a robust web scraping API designed for developers and businesses seeking to extract data from websites, especially those with anti-scraping measures. Its easy-to-use API, reliable performance, and excellent customer support make it a favorite among users. While the pricing may be a concern for some, the effectiveness in bypassing anti-bot protections and comprehensive documentation are highly praised. ZenRows is a valuable tool for streamlining data collection.

Ideal for startups and small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Best fit for E-commerce, Retail, Software, IT, and Marketing.

Best for medium to large businesses.
Ideal for Finance, Banking, Insurance, and Software companies.

ScrapingBee and ZenRows features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Webhooks support

Partially supported

ScrapingBee supports webhooks via integration with other tools like Integrately and Make.

Partially supported

ZenRows does not natively support webhooks, but it can be integrated with tools like n8n for automation.
API connectors

Supported

ScrapingBee supports connecting to other services via REST APIs.

Not supported

ZenRows' primary focus is its own API for web scraping, it doesn't offer native support for connecting to external REST APIs, but it can be achieved indirectly through platforms like Pipedream.
API connections

Supported

ScrapingBee supports connecting to external systems through its API, as evidenced by its API endpoints, integration capabilities, custom data extraction features, and support for multiple programming languages.

Supported

ZenRows supports API connections for connecting to external systems and applications through its Scraper API.
Pre-built connectors

Partially supported

ScrapingBee offers pre-built connectors for specific tools and platforms, including Microsoft Power Automate. However, it does not have a wide array of connectors for all popular applications.

Not supported

ZenRows does not seem to offer pre-built connectors for popular applications based on the provided context.
AWS Integration

Partially supported

ScrapingBee can be integrated with AWS through serverless architectures and platforms like Pipedream.

Partially supported

ZenRows can integrate with AWS indirectly through third-party workflow automation tools like n8n and Pipedream, enabling custom connections.
CRM integration

Partially supported

ScrapingBee, as a web scraping service, can likely extract data and potentially integrate with CRMs via API for automating workflows. However, specific CRM integration details would require consulting ScrapingBee\'s documentation or support.

Partially supported

ZenRows does not directly integrate with CRM systems, but it can be integrated via Zapier or similar tools.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

-0.18

Neutral sentiment

+0.14

Neutral sentiment
Customer Service

+1

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.9

Strongly positive sentiment
Ease of Use

+0.94

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.88

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.86

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.82

Strongly positive sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+1

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.87

Strongly positive sentiment
Scalability

No data

+1

Strongly positive sentiment

ScrapingBee and ZenRows Pricing

No data

User sentiment

Neutral

-0.18

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Neutral

+0.14

We couldn't find a pricing page for ZenRows.

ScrapingBee and ZenRows review insights

192 reviews analysed from and

Users love

Easy to set up and use, with simple API and good documentation.
Excellent and responsive customer support.
Reliable service that bypasses bot detection and CAPTCHAs effectively.
Offers features like Javascript rendering, proxy rotation, and geolocation.
Request builder in the dashboard is convenient for testing.

Excellent customer support, responsive and helpful.
Easy-to-use API and comprehensive documentation.
Effective at bypassing anti-bot protections, including Cloudflare.
Reliable and fast data extraction with a high success rate.
Flexible API with options for custom JS scripts, waiting for elements, and more.

Users dislike

Pricing can be high, especially for specific parameters or premium proxies.
Concurrency limits on lower-priced plans can restrict throughput.
Some websites still manage to block crawling attempts.
The C# SDK is missing.
400 and 500 error responses could be more descriptive.

Pricing can be expensive, especially for high-volume requests or advanced features like JS rendering.
Occasional temporary issues accessing specific websites due to evolving anti-bot measures.
Limited control over proxy locations and types.
Some users desire more advanced analytics and user management features.

ScrapingBee and ZenRows Ratings

Capterra

4.9/5

(107)

G2

5.0/5

(18)
Capterra

4.8/5

(67)
TrustPilot

4.2/5

(6)

Company health

Employee growth

20% increase in the last year

117% increase in the last year

Web traffic

No data

30% increase in the last quarter

Financing

No data

March 2022 - $1M

How do ScrapingBee and ZenRows compare in handling complex Javascript-heavy websites?

Both ScrapingBee and ZenRows are designed to handle Javascript-heavy websites. They both utilize headless browsers and rotating proxies to render Javascript and bypass anti-scraping measures. User reviews for both products highlight their effectiveness in overcoming these challenges. While specific performance can vary depending on the target website's complexity, both tools are generally well-equipped for this task.

Which product offers more granular control over proxy selection and location?

ScrapingBee offers more granular control over proxy selection and location. While both tools offer proxy rotation, ScrapingBee allows users to select specific geographic locations for their proxies, enabling more precise data gathering based on region. ZenRows, on the other hand, has "limited control over proxy locations," as noted in user reviews.

What are the advantages of ScrapingBee?

ScrapingBee offers a simpler, more user-friendly setup and usage experience, especially for those new to web scraping, as highlighted by user reviews. Its documentation is highly praised for clarity and comprehensiveness. ScrapingBee provides specific features like Javascript rendering, proxy rotation, and geolocation, which are valuable for handling dynamic websites and avoiding blocks. The convenient request builder in the dashboard facilitates testing and experimentation.

What are the disadvantages of ScrapingBee?

ScrapingBee's pricing can be a deterrent, especially for users with high-volume scraping needs or requiring premium proxies. Some users have reported occasional blocking issues despite the service's anti-blocking measures. Concurrency limitations on lower-tier plans might also restrict throughput for some users. Finally, the absence of a C# SDK could be a drawback for developers working in that environment, and more descriptive error messages would be beneficial for troubleshooting.

Alternatives to ScrapingBee and ZenRows

Tableau

Tableau is a popular data analytics platform that helps businesses make sense of their data. It offers powerful, user-friendly tools for visualizing data, creating interactive dashboards, and sharing insights across your organization. Tableau is suitable for companies of all sizes and is known for its intuitive drag-and-drop interface, even for non-technical users. It allows you to connect to various data sources, analyze information visually, and discover trends to make better business decisions.

Databricks Data Intelligence Platform

Databricks Data Intelligence Platform is a cloud-based platform designed to help mid-size to large businesses manage and analyze data. It offers a range of tools for data warehousing, data engineering, data science, and machine learning, all in one place. Databricks aims to simplify data processes, reduce costs, and enable companies to build and deploy AI solutions. They are well-known for their work with open-source technologies, making them a popular choice for businesses invested in those ecosystems.

Scraping Dog

Scraping Dog is a web scraping tool that helps businesses of all sizes extract data from websites. It offers a simple interface and a variety of features, including rotating proxies, JavaScript rendering, and CAPTCHA solving. This makes it easy to collect data from even the most complex websites. Scraping Dog is particularly useful for data scientists and analysts who need to collect data for their work, offering parsed data in JSON format. It also offers dedicated APIs for scraping data from specific platforms like Google Maps, Amazon, and LinkedIn. You can try Scraping Dog for free with 1,000 free credits.

Hevo Data

Hevo Data is a cloud-based data integration platform designed to simplify how businesses gather and use data. It allows you to pull data from over 150 different sources, like your company's sales software, marketing tools, or databases. Hevo automatically combines this data in a central location for easy analysis, freeing your team from manually managing data and ensuring it's always accurate and up-to-date. Hevo prides itself on its ease of use, reliability, and security, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes.

zenscrape

Zenscrape is a tool that helps businesses extract data from websites. It offers a simple way to collect and organize web data without needing to code. Zenscrape focuses on providing a reliable service that can handle large-scale data extraction, even from websites with complex structures. It promises accurate data extraction and is designed to bypass common anti-scraping measures employed by websites.

Explo

Explo is a software tool that helps you create interactive dashboards and reports that you can embed directly into your own software product. This allows you to provide your customers with valuable insights into their own data without forcing them to leave your platform. Explo is designed to be user-friendly and customizable, so you can create a seamless experience for your customers that matches your brand. Explo promises fast implementation and offers strong customer support to help you throughout the process.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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