Proxyway’s Scraping API research reveals which API providers excel in navigating CAPTCHAs, JavaScript challenges, and other security measures.

As websites tighten anti-bot defenses, companies invest more time and resources in creating tools that can help to access the most wanted websites. It’s expected that web scraping will increasingly be used to gather product information from e-commerce sites like Amazon, eBay, Google Shopping, and others.

Proxyway’s Scraping API research reveals key insights into how top web scraping and proxy APIs handle the toughest sites, like e-commerce. The study highlights the standout providers that excel at solving CAPTCHAs, JavaScript challenges, and overcoming other advanced anti-bot systems, while also addressing the overlap between two similar yet different technologies.

Top Providers and Targets

The study revealed differences in how well APIs can handle the challenges posed by some of the most scraped websites. As expected, top-performing tools were able to access well-protected sites due to features like advanced JavaScript rendering, headless browsing, and asynchronous data retrieval.

Proxyway tested 11 notable API providers, and discovered that they tend to use different approaches for handling the same targets. Some prioritized stability over speed, performing slightly slower but achieving near-perfect success rates. In contrast, others leaned into speed, unblocking most sites almost instantaneously but occasionally failing to unblock tougher sites.

Out of the 11 tested participants, five emerged as exceptionally reliable in maintaining a high success rate across targets, including top-performing APIs from Oxylabs, Zyte, Smartproxy, and Bright Data.

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Proxyway’s tests were run across 10 protected websites, ranging from e-commerce to product review sites. The researchers looked at how well each provider managed to maintain access under the strain of CAPTCHAs, JavaScript hurdles, and other anti-bot defenses.

Some targets posed consistent challenges. Websites like G2 (protected by Cloudflare), Allegro (DataDome), and Safeway (Imperva) repeatedly thwarted attempts by several providers, with some APIs struggling to maintain a 60% success rate on these platforms. Allegro proved particularly tough, with five providers failing to access it most of the time.

By contrast, Google and Amazon emerged as some of the easier targets, with nearly all APIs unblocking them effortlessly. The consistency on these platforms showcases their role as a baseline for commercially viable scraping solutions.

Proxy APIs vs Web Scraping APIs: The Best of Both Worlds

Web scraping APIs usually have more capabilities compared to proxy-based APIs. They come with features like asynchronous data delivery, parsing, and support for browser-based controls such as scrolling, clicking, and waiting for elements to load.

Proxy APIs, otherwise called unblockers, can access any website and collect real-time data. However, they lack the ability to get structured results from complex data formats or handle human-like interactions, like clicking buttons.

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Nevertheless, providers improve web scraping tools every year, so the lines are beginning to blur – both types of APIs have overlapping features. Some proxy-based APIs now come with basic data parsing and some JavaScript execution capabilities. This means that businesses can find more flexible options that meet a variety of needs in a single API.

Costs for Individual Users and Enterprises

The pricing structures across APIs reveal two main models: request-based and credit-based. While request-based models are typically used by enterprise-oriented providers, credit-based pricing appeals to smaller customers, making scraping accessible for more budget-conscious clientele.

However, credit-based models can quickly become costly with well-protected sites. Often, necessary features, like JavaScript rendering or premium proxies, multiply the final price . Key insights on pricing:

Request-Based Pricing: Works well for enterprise clients needing high volume with scalable costs. Oxylabs and Bright Data fall into this category, with strong performance on hard targets and high scalability.
Credit-Based Pricing: Affordable for simpler tasks but can get costly for complex targets. Providers like ScraperAPI and Scrapingdog offer competitive pricing on basic sites but become pricey with high-multiplier settings for more secure websites.

Undoubtedly, the demand for scraping APIs is going to continue to grow as organizations rely on real-time data for making the right business decisions. As the market continues to evolve, having a clear understanding of the tools’ performance will be essential for making informed choices and staying ahead in the competition.