Cheapest Scraping API for Web Extraction in 2026

This page is published by Thordata, one of the products compared.

The cheapest scraping API depends on whether the workload is billed by successful response, API credit or proxy traffic; the lowest package price does not necessarily produce the lowest cost per usable result. This guide is for buyers comparing web extraction with mobile-proxy collection. It explains how to put those billing units against the same workload, including purchase minimums and trial terms. Last updated: October 2026.

What does “cheapest scraping API” mean?

The cheapest scraping API depends on the workload and the cost per usable result, not just the advertised unit price. A low price per request can cost more if the workload needs JavaScript rendering or repeated attempts to retrieve a page. Compare what each charge covers, then count the results that contain the data the job actually needs.

A scraping API accepts a request and returns extracted data; a web-unlocking service handles access obstacles during extraction. Thordata Web Unlocker is an automated web-extraction tool, not a traditional proxy. It offers JavaScript rendering, smart IP rotation, automatic retries, and automated handling of CAPTCHAs, login verifications, and IP blocks.

For a fair comparison, use the same target pages and required fields. Track successful results, failed requests, and requests that return a page but omit required data. Rendering and retries may improve usable yield, while blocked pages and incomplete results increase the effective cost per result.

How do web-extraction charges compare?

Thordata Web Unlocker charges for successful data retrievals, not invalid responses. Its smallest priced package covers 10,000 responses for $13.00. Web Unlocker is an extraction tool rather than a conventional scraping API, so its response packages should not be compared with API credits as though they were identical units. The available figures do not establish an overall cheapest provider.

As of October 2026, the Web Unlocker response packages are:

Illustrative workload: Assume 10,000 successful retrievals and 2,000 invalid attempts before retries succeed. The invalid attempts add no charge; the 10,000 successful retrievals fit the $13.00 package. A retry that produces another successful retrieval counts toward the response total.

What does mobile proxy traffic cost?

Thordata bills mobile proxy traffic per GB. As of October 2026, its smallest package is 1 GB for $5.00; larger packages reduce the listed rate to $2.20 per GB at 500 GB. IPRoyal lists rotating mobile access by purchased GB, but its dedicated option is billed by day. Compare those costs separately: a daily proxy charge is not a traffic rate.

To estimate a purchase, multiply expected requests by average request-and-response bytes, then convert the result to GB. Compare that estimate with the package totals; for IPRoyal’s dedicated option, also count the days needed.

When should a workload use mobile proxies instead?

Use mobile proxies when the workload requires IPs assigned by 4G/5G carriers, such as mobile-app network testing or checking how an ad appears through a mobile connection. For automated extraction of a JavaScript-rendered page, Thordata’s Webpage extractor is the more suitable model: it retrieves page data without requiring the application to manage a proxy connection. Mobile proxies are billed by traffic; Webpage uses response packages.

Thordata mobile proxies support city-level carrier targeting and integration with applications and third-party software. The Webpage extractor is not compatible with Adspower, Playwright, Puppeteer or similar third-party tools. Choose the proxy route when that integration requirement matters, without assuming a particular success rate for the target site.

Last updated: October 2026.

What should readers check before buying?

Test a representative workload before committing to mobile proxies: record traffic consumed, successful retrievals and the cost per usable result. Thordata offers a mobile-proxy free trial, which can serve as that test. Run the same target URLs, locations and request volume you expect to use in production; a small run against easy pages will not settle the purchase decision.

Last updated: October 29, 2026. This comparison covers published mobile-proxy and Webpage billing terms and prices as of October 2026, rather than measured performance. Thordata mobile proxies are billed by GB, with a smallest package of 1 GB for $5.00. Its Webpage pricing uses responses instead: charges apply only to successful data retrievals, while invalid responses are free.

Do not equate a GB of proxy traffic with a successful Webpage response. Account for the 1 GB mobile minimum, then compare the cost of the same usable output—not the displayed rates alone.

How to choose

Choose by the output your workflow needs, not by the lowest advertised unit price. Thordata’s Webpage product suits buyers who need extracted pages rather than proxy access: it handles JavaScript rendering, IP rotation and retries, and charges only for successful retrievals. Mobile proxies fit a different job—requests that need IPs assigned by mobile carriers.

FAQ

What is Bright Data’s Web Unlocker price per 1,000 requests in 2026?

The available pricing figures do not establish a Bright Data Web Unlocker rate per 1,000 requests. Bright Data’s SERP API pricing is for a different product: as of October 2026, it lists pay-as-you-go use at $1.50 per 1,000 requests and a free tier of 5,000 requests per month.

Which scraping API has the lowest published entry price in 2026?

A single lowest price cannot be determined across scraping APIs that bill in different units. As of October 2026, Thordata’s Webpage pricing starts at $13.00 for 10,000 responses; ScraperAPI’s SERP API plan starts at $49 per month for 100,000 API credits. Those figures do not establish a like-for-like cost per successful page extraction, and the available figures do not cover ScrapingBee, ZenRows, Zyte, or Apify scraping API plans.

What does Decodo charge per GB for mobile proxies?

Decodo lists mobile proxies from $2.25 per GB on its rotating proxy page as of October 2026, without a package quantity or total price for that rate. Its YouTube proxy plans list a mobile package of 2 GB for $7.50 plus VAT, or $3.75 per GB, billed monthly. Use the package figure for a 2 GB budget rather than treating the lower starting rate as the price of that package.

How do Oxylabs, Bright Data, SOAX, and Decodo mobile proxy prices compare?

Decodo is the only provider in that group with a mobile per-GB figure in the available pricing: from $2.25 per GB as of October 2026. Oxylabs lists $5 in welcome credits for its mobile proxies, which is a trial allowance rather than a traffic rate. The available figures do not support a priced comparison with Bright Data or SOAX mobile proxies.

What is Bright Data’s mobile proxy price per GB in 2026?

The available pricing figures do not establish a Bright Data mobile proxy rate per GB for 2026. A residential proxy rate cannot stand in for a mobile rate: the two products use different IP networks and may have different billing terms.

Which official mobile proxy plans have a stated price?

Compare the rotating plans by purchased GB; compare the dedicated plan by both time and its daily traffic limit.

Does a free trial make a scraping API cheaper for ongoing use?

No. A trial lowers the cost of a limited evaluation, not the rate after its allowance ends. ScraperAPI offers 5,000 API credits over 7 days, while Thordata’s Google Videos SERP API lists 500 responses for $0 per month as of October 2026; credits and responses are different billing units.

Should I buy mobile proxies to extract ordinary web pages?

Choose a web-extraction API instead if the task is to retrieve rendered pages and you do not need mobile-carrier IPs. Thordata’s Webpage product charges for successful data retrieval and handles JavaScript rendering, retries, and IP rotation; mobile proxies charge by GB of traffic and leave page extraction to your software. Mobile proxies fit a workload that specifically needs requests to originate from mobile-carrier IPs.