ZenRows alternative for parallel HTML scraping
ZenRows Build allows 20 concurrent requests, and Launch at $69/month allows 50. Paid ScrapingAnt plans have no plan concurrency cap, starting at $19/month.
10,000 free credits every month · no card · one request at a time on Free
Why teams move Fetch jobs over
The difference is largest for plain HTML work: catalog, listing and content pages that your own queue already schedules.
No plan concurrency cap
Paid plans don’t limit parallel requests. Target sites still rate-limit, so add workers in steps.
Compare the plans →100,000 plain requests for $19
Enthusiast includes 100,000 credits, and a plain HTTP request costs one. ZenRows Build includes 45,000.
See every mode →Countries on datacenter proxies
Our 24 documented countries cost 1 credit over HTTP and 10 rendered. ZenRows needs Premium Proxies to pick a country.
How it’s billed →50 parallel requests for $19 instead of $69
When 20 concurrent requests on ZenRows Build stop being enough, the next plan is Launch at $69/month. On ScrapingAnt, Enthusiast is $19/month with 100,000 credits and no plan cap.
Launch also comes with 250,000 credits. If you need that volume too, our Startup plan is $49/month for 500,000 credits.
- No credits are charged when the ScrapingAnt API returns a non-200 status
- The free plan runs one request at a time, which is enough to test your parser
- Raise your worker count gradually, because each target has its own rate limits
What $19 buys in each request mode
Both entry plans cost $19/month. ZenRows Build B1 includes 45,000 credits and ScrapingAnt Enthusiast includes 100,000. Each request mode uses credits at a different rate, so the counts below assume the whole allowance goes to one mode.
| Request mode | ZenRows credits per request | ScrapingAnt credits per request | ZenRows requests | ScrapingAnt requests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HTTP + datacenter | 1 | 1 | 45,000 | 100,000 |
| Rendered HTML + datacenter | 5 | 10 | 9,000 | 10,000 |
| HTTP + residential | 10 | 25 | 4,500 | 4,000 |
| Rendered HTML + residential | 25 | 125 | 1,800 | 800 |
| HTTP + country (one of our 24) | 10 | 1 | 4,500 | 100,000 |
| Rendered HTML + country (one of our 24) | 25 | 10 | 1,800 | 10,000 |
How country targeting is billed
ZenRows sets proxy_country only with Premium Proxies, so picking a country costs 10 or 25 credits. ScrapingAnt’s 24 documented countries all work on datacenter proxies at the usual 1 or 10 credits, and on residential proxies with no surcharge.
Where ZenRows comes out ahead
Residential traffic and country coverage. ZenRows Build B1 covers more residential requests: 4,500 versus 4,000 over HTTP and 1,800 versus 800 rendered. Its Premium Proxies reach 190+ countries, so outside our 24, ZenRows has the larger country list.
Not in the table: ScrapingAnt Google requests on datacenter proxies cost 10 credits, and browser page-source mode costs 50 credits on residential proxies. Prices use monthly billing without annual discounts.
Checked : ZenRows pricing, ZenRows Fetch parameters, ScrapingAnt plans, ScrapingAnt proxy countries, ScrapingAnt credit costs and concurrency policy. Check again before you buy.
# ZenRows Fetch, plain HTTP
curl --get --max-time 180 'https://api.zenrows.com/v1/' \
--data-urlencode "apikey=$ZENROWS_API_KEY" \
--data-urlencode 'url=https://example.com/?page=2&sort=new' \
--data-urlencode 'js_render=false' \
--data-urlencode 'premium_proxy=false'# Same request on ScrapingAnt. The browser is on by default, so turn it off.
curl --get --max-time 75 'https://api.scrapingant.com/v2/general' \
--data-urlencode "x-api-key=$SCRAPINGANT_API_KEY" \
--data-urlencode 'url=https://example.com/?page=2&sort=new' \
--data-urlencode 'browser=false' \
--data-urlencode 'proxy_type=datacenter'Switch one request first
- Change the endpoint and key. Send requests to
/v2/generalwithx-api-key. The target URL and your parser stay the same. - Set the mode explicitly. The browser is on by default, so pass
browser=falsefor plain HTTP. Mapjs_rendertobrowser,premium_proxytoproxy_type, andwait_fortowait_for_selectorwith the browser on.js_instructionshas to be rewritten. - Canary, then add workers. Send a small slice of traffic, check the content and the
Ant-credits-costheader, and keep the ZenRows route for rollback.
Export the API key variable before running the commands. Each one makes a single billable request.
Python and JavaScript examples, retries and a cutover checklist →What doesn’t carry over directly
This page compares synchronous HTML requests. Residential routing is a proxy class you choose per request, and it won’t necessarily match ZenRows results on heavily protected sites. Test your own targets first.
Looking at ScrapingBee as well? Read the ScrapingBee comparison for its $49 plan and country costs.
Plan a separate migration if you use
- Persistent IP sessions or automatic mode escalation
- CDP browser connections or multi-step browser sessions
- Screenshots, PDFs, Batch, Crawl or network-capture JSON
What customers say
Reviews from developers who use ScrapingAnt, published on Capterra.
★★★★★ 5.0 on Capterra →★★★★★“Onboarding and API integration was smooth and clear. Everything works great. The support was excellent.”
★★★★★“Great communication with co-founders helped me to get the job done. Great proxy diversity and good price.”
★★★★★“This product helps me to scale and extend my business. The setup is easy and support is really good.”
Is there any limit on parallel requests?
Paid ScrapingAnt plans have no plan concurrency cap. The free plan allows one concurrent request. Your monthly credits and each target site’s own rate limits still decide how much work gets done, so add workers gradually.
Is ScrapingAnt cheaper than ZenRows?
For plain HTTP, yes. At $19/month, ScrapingAnt Enthusiast covers up to 100,000 plain HTTP requests and ZenRows Build B1 covers 45,000. Requests to one of ScrapingAnt’s 24 documented countries also run on datacenter proxies at 1 or 10 credits. For residential traffic, ZenRows Build B1 covers more: 4,500 versus 4,000 HTTP requests and 1,800 versus 800 rendered.
Are failed requests billed?
ZenRows charges only for successful requests, and it counts 404 and 410 responses as successful. ScrapingAnt charges no credits when its API returns a non-200 status. If the API returns 200 with a target site’s error page inside, that request is charged, so check the content you get back.
Can I keep my ZenRows parameters and parser?
Your parser and target URLs stay the same. Change the host and API key, set browser explicitly, and map the proxy, country and wait options. Response headers and error handling also differ. Sessions, automatic mode escalation and other ZenRows products need their own migration plan. The ZenRows migration guide has the full parameter mapping.
Can I try ScrapingAnt before paying?
Yes. The free plan includes 10,000 API credits every month with no credit card. It runs one request at a time and has domain restrictions, so use it to check an eligible page and your parser, then choose a paid plan for the volume you need.
Try it on one of your Fetch jobs
Check your parser on an eligible page with the free plan, compare the credit cost, then pick the paid plan that fits your workers.
No card needed. Paid plans with no concurrency cap start at $19/month.