switch402

Scrapfly Credits Explained (2026): Why One Request Costs 1, 6, 25 or 30 API Credits

Scrapfly plans are sold in API credits, and one request is not always one credit. Per Scrapfly's billing docs (as of Nov 1, 2026), a datacenter-proxy request costs 1 credit, residential proxies 25, and JavaScript rendering adds 5, so the same page can cost 1, 6, 25 or 30 credits. The Unblocker can upgrade the proxy pool, and large responses add bandwidth credits. Here is what each request type costs, and how switch402 differs: you pay only for the pages you actually fetch.

  • A datacenter request is 1 credit

    Per the Web Scraping API billing docs, the base cost is the proxy pool: datacenter 1 credit (the default) or residential 25. The X-Scrapfly-Api-Cost response header shows what each request cost, and cost_budget caps a single request.

  • Rendering and anti-bot add more

    render_js=true adds 5 credits. The Unblocker (formerly ASP) may upgrade the proxy pool to get past anti-bot protection, which can raise the final cost. Cached responses cost 1 credit when hit within the cache TTL.

  • Big responses use bandwidth credits

    HTML or data responses over 1MB are billed as bandwidth after the first 1MB, and binary downloads such as PDFs or images are billed per 100KB slice after the first free 1MB: 3 credits per slice on datacenter proxies, 10 on residential. Browser rendering includes 3MB.

  • Past the monthly quota

    Included credits are a monthly quota. Discovery stops at its quota; Pro and higher continue at the plan's pay-as-you-go rate, billed in batches of 10,000 credits and capped by default at 50% of the monthly quota. Failed scrapes are generally not billed, subject to a fairness policy.

Scrapfly Web Scraping API credits per request, as of Nov 1, 2026

Scrapfly request typeAPI credits per request
Datacenter proxy (default)1
Datacenter proxy + render_js=true6
Residential proxy25
Residential proxy + render_js=true30
Cache hit within the TTL1
Unblocker (anti-bot)Varies: may upgrade the proxy pool
Download per 100KB after the first 1MB3 datacenter, 10 residential

Plans include a monthly quota of credits: Discovery $30 for 200,000, Pro $100 for 1,000,000, Startup $250 for 2,500,000 and Enterprise $500 for 5,500,000 (monthly billing). The plan price is the same whatever share you use, so what you pay per request is the plan price divided by the requests you actually make that month. switch402 has no credits or multipliers: $0.008 per successful page on /v1/scrape and $0.003 on /v1/scrape/lite, and a month with no calls costs $0.

Sources, checked Nov 1, 2026: scrapfly.io/pricing, scrapfly.io/docs/scrape-api/billing, scrapfly.io/docs/billing. Prices can change; check the source before you decide.

Example: 1,000 datacenter pages with JavaScript rendering use 6,000 of Discovery's 200,000 credits, and the plan still costs $30. The same 1,000 pages on switch402 cost $8 ($3 on lite), and a month with no calls costs $0.

Code example

Before: Scrapfly, and how to see what a request cost (curl)

curl -s -D - -o page.json "https://api.scrapfly.io/scrape?key=$SCRAPFLY_KEY&url=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com&render_js=true" \
  | grep -i x-scrapfly-api-cost
# datacenter proxy: 1 credit; render_js=true adds 5, so this call costs 6

After: switch402, one flat price per successful page (JavaScript)

// npm i @x402/fetch @x402/evm viem
import { wrapFetchWithPaymentFromConfig } from '@x402/fetch'
import { ExactEvmScheme } from '@x402/evm'
import { privateKeyToAccount } from 'viem/accounts'

const account = privateKeyToAccount(process.env.AGENT_KEY)
const fetchWithPayment = wrapFetchWithPaymentFromConfig(fetch, {
  schemes: [{ network: 'eip155:8453', client: new ExactEvmScheme(account) }],
})

const res = await fetchWithPayment('https://api.switch402.com/v1/scrape', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', 'User-Agent': 'my-agent/1.0' },
  body: JSON.stringify({ url: 'https://example.com' }),
})
const { markdown } = await res.json() // $0.008, charged only on success

FAQ

Is switch402 live?
Yes. POST https://api.switch402.com/v1/scrape with {"url": "..."} returns the page as markdown for $0.008 USDC on Base per call, paid over x402 and charged only on success. A lower-cost endpoint, /v1/scrape/lite, is $0.003 per call.
How much does Scrapfly cost?
As of Nov 1, 2026, per scrapfly.io/pricing with monthly billing: Discovery $30/month (200,000 API credits), Pro $100/month (1,000,000), Startup $250/month (2,500,000) and Enterprise $500/month (5,500,000). Custom plans run from $1,200 a month, and annual billing gives 2 months free.
Why did one Scrapfly request use more than 1 credit?
Because of the proxy pool and features. Per Scrapfly's billing docs, residential proxies cost 25 credits instead of 1, render_js=true adds 5, the Unblocker can upgrade the proxy pool, and responses over 1MB add bandwidth credits. The X-Scrapfly-Api-Cost header shows what each request cost.
What happens when Scrapfly credits run out?
Discovery hard-caps at its quota. Pro, Startup and Enterprise switch to pay-as-you-go at the plan's rate, in batches of 10,000 credits, capped by default at 50% of the monthly quota; past that cap the account is suspended until renewal unless you upgrade or get an exception.
Does Scrapfly bill failed scrapes?
Generally no: its Scrape Failed Protection does not bill failed scrapes, but if 30% or more of your scrapes over 24 hours (on at least 1,000) are blocked without the Unblocker, failed scrapes are billed until the rate improves. switch402 charges only on success, with no plan, account or key.
How is switch402 different?
There are no credits or multipliers: each successful call is paid on its own, $0.008 per page on /v1/scrape and $0.003 on /v1/scrape/lite, in USDC on Base over x402, and a month with no calls costs $0. Optional prepaid packs and a $10 monthly plan are there if you prefer a balance. Scrapfly also offers residential proxies, an anti-bot Unblocker, a cloud browser, extraction and crawler APIs, which switch402 does not.
Where do these numbers come from?
Scrapfly's pricing page (plans, included credits, overflow), its Web Scraping API billing docs (credits per request, bandwidth, failed-scrape policy) and its account billing docs (pay-as-you-go cap), all fetched Nov 1, 2026, plus switch402's live payment terms. Prices can change; check the sources before you decide.

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