> **For coding agents and LLMs:** This is one Social Fetch marketing page (markdown export). For API orientation start with [`/llms.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms.txt); for auth and crawl rules use [`/agents.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/agents.txt); for every operation use [`/llms-endpoints.txt`](https://www.socialfetch.dev/llms-endpoints.txt).

## This page

- **On-site (HTML):** <https://www.socialfetch.dev/compare/scrapingbee>
- **Markdown (.mdx) URL:** <https://www.socialfetch.dev/compare/scrapingbee.mdx>

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# Social Fetch vs ScrapingBee

ScrapingBee fetches any URL through rotating proxies and optional headless Chrome, then returns HTML (or extracted snippets). Social Fetch fetches public social entities and returns normalized JSON. If your ticket says "get this creator's follower count," you are comparing a page scraper to a social API.

## At a glance

|  | Social Fetch | ScrapingBee |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Product shape | Social REST API (profiles, posts, comments…) | Web scraping API (HTML, screenshots, Google Search API) |
| Default billing unit | 1 credit ≈ 1 completed standard lookup | API credits (JS rendering alone is 5 credits by default) |
| Entry paid plan | $14 Starter pack (1k credits, never expire) | $49/mo Freelance (250k credits, monthly) |
| Effective cost for JS pages | N/A — structured social routes | ~$0.98/1k pages on Freelance if every call costs 5 credits |
| Social schema | Documented fields across platforms | You parse HTML or write extraction rules |
| Best fit | App features powered by social data | General website scraping with proxy + browser handling |

## Pricing (last verified 2026-07-21)

**Monthly credits vs prepaid social lookups.** ScrapingBee: Freelance $49/mo (250k credits), Startup $99 (1M), Business $249 (3M). JS rendering defaults to 5 credits; premium/stealth can reach 75. Monthly credits reset. Social Fetch Scale: $379/230k non-expiring credits.

|  | Social Fetch | ScrapingBee | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Free start | 100 credits, no card, no expiry | 1,000 API credits trial, no card |  |
| Cheapest paid tier | $1.35/1k (Scale Annual, billed yearly) | $49/mo for 250k credits |  |
| 1,000 JS-rendered page fetches (Freelance math) | N/A | ~$0.98 (5 credits × 1,000 ÷ 250k × $49) |  |
| 1,000 structured social profiles | ~$1.64 | Scrape cost + your parsers + monthly plan floor |  |
| Credits roll over? | Yes — PAYG packs never expire | No — monthly allotment resets |  |
| Stealth / hard anti-bot modes | Handled on our social routes | Available; can cost tens of credits per request |  |

ScrapingBee pricing from scrapingbee.com/pricing and help.scrapingbee.com plan articles (July 2026). Credit multipliers from ScrapingBee docs (JS default 5 credits; premium/stealth higher). Confirm current multipliers before budgeting.

## Feature matrix

| Feature | Social Fetch | ScrapingBee |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Synchronous REST JSON (no actor run polling) | Yes | Yes |
| One API key for all platforms | Yes | Yes |
| Unified schema across platforms | Yes | No |
| Public OpenAPI specification | Yes | Partial |
| Official TypeScript SDK | Yes | Yes |
| Interactive API playground | Yes | Yes |
| TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit, X in one vendor | Yes | No |
| Pay-as-you-go without required monthly subscription | Yes | No |
| PAYG credits never expire | Yes | No |
| Web fetch (markdown/HTML) in same product | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduled account / feed monitors | Yes | No |
| Signed webhooks when watched accounts post | Yes | No |

## ScrapingBee is a browser-and-proxy API for any URL

Send a URL with render JS, selectors, premium proxies, or screenshots — get the page back. Good for blogs, SERPs, and product pages.

Social networks are more URLs in that model. Instagram HTML is not `{ username, followerCount, biography }`. ScrapingBee fetches; you extract fields and handle layout changes.

Social Fetch stops at structured public social data — not a general web scraper.

## Why the credit math surprises people

Plans advertise hundreds of thousands of credits, but JS-on defaults to 5 credits per request; premium/stealth multiplies further. A 250k-credit plan may be 50k rendered pages — or fewer on hard targets. Monthly reset burns unused credits on quiet weeks.

Social Fetch PAYG packs sit until you use them.

## Credits that match product traffic, not scrape modes

When a PM asks for TikTok + Instagram + YouTube cards, JS (5 credits) and premium proxies stack; monthly credits vanish on quiet weeks.

Social Fetch: one credit per standard lookup, Scale $1.64/1k, packs never expire. Keep ScrapingBee for non-social URLs; point social entities at Social Fetch.

## Where they win

ScrapingBee for occasional HTML you already parse, screenshots, Google Search API, or custom JS scenarios. Social Fetch when social enrichment is a product line item with flat credits and no 5×–75× mode table.

## When ScrapingBee is the better choice

- You are scraping arbitrary websites, not primarily social entities
- You need screenshots, Google Search API, or custom JS scenarios in the browser
- Your pipeline already parses HTML and you only need transport + proxies
- Steady monthly scrape volume fits a subscription credit pool
- SOC2-oriented procurement prefers ScrapingBee's compliance packaging for general scraping

## When Social Fetch is the better choice

- You want PAYG credits that never expire instead of a monthly scrape allotment
- Product UX needs JSON in the same HTTP response, not HTML to parse
- JS/premium multipliers make DIY social pages expensive relative to flat lookups
- Finance can budget from lookup count without a credit-mode spreadsheet
- Social enrichment is recurring product traffic, not a one-off crawl

## Verdict: Page scraper vs social data API

ScrapingBee is a solid headless scraping API. Social Fetch is a solid social data API. Comparing them on raw "$/1k credits" misses the product boundary: one returns pages, the other returns social objects. Use ScrapingBee for the open web. Use Social Fetch when the object you need is a creator, post, or comment thread.

## FAQ

### Is ScrapingBee cheaper for Instagram profiles?

A simple JS-rendered fetch on Freelance can land under $1 per 1,000 pages on paper. That number excludes your parser maintenance, retries when markup changes, and higher credit modes for hard pages. Social Fetch at $1.64/1k returns structured profile JSON. For production social features, fully loaded cost usually favors Social Fetch.

### Does Social Fetch render JavaScript like ScrapingBee?

You do not configure rendering. We return structured data from our social extraction layer. If you need raw HTML from an arbitrary URL, use ScrapingBee or our separate web fetch routes where they fit — not as a substitute for social profile endpoints.

### Do ScrapingBee credits expire?

Monthly plan credits are tied to the billing period and do not roll over. Social Fetch pay-as-you-go pack credits never expire. Subscription included credits on Social Fetch monthly plans reset each period like other SaaS allotments; annual plans carry unused credits forward for one month.

### Can I use both?

Yes. Common pattern: ScrapingBee for general websites and SERP-style jobs, Social Fetch for TikTok/Instagram/YouTube/LinkedIn entity lookups inside the product.

### Does ScrapingBee offer a social media API?

ScrapingBee is positioned as a web scraping API with browser and proxy features. Social coverage is "scrape the page," not a catalog of normalized social endpoints.

### What does Social Fetch charge for failed lookups?

Completed lookups that return not_found still consume a credit (we ran the lookup). lookup_failed and 503 temporarily_unavailable are not charged.