ScrapingBee Credits Explained: Why One Request Costs 1, 5, 10, 25 or 75 Credits
ScrapingBee plans are sold in API credits, but a request is not always one credit. Per ScrapingBee's pricing page and API docs (checked Oct 30, 2026), JavaScript rendering is on by default and costs 5 credits, premium proxies cost 10 or 25, stealth proxies cost 75, and credits are valid for one month and don't roll over. Here is what each request type costs on a plan, and what you pay per page actually used, next to a flat $0.008 per successful page on switch402.
- The default is 5 credits, not 1
render_js defaults to true, and each JavaScript-rendered request costs 5 credits. Only render_js=false requests start at 1 credit.
- Proxies multiply the cost
Premium proxies cost 10 credits without JavaScript and 25 with it. Stealth proxies need JavaScript and cost 75 credits per successful call.
- Credits reset monthly
API credits are valid for one month and do not roll over, so the plan price is the same whether you use 1% or 100% of it.
- Auto-Mode picks the tier
mode=auto tries the cheapest configuration first and charges 1, 5, 10, 25 or 75 credits for the one that worked, or 0 if all fail. max_cost caps it.
How many requests the $19 Hobby plan (75,000 credits) covers, by request type
| ScrapingBee request type | Credits per request | Requests Hobby covers per month |
|---|---|---|
| Basic (render_js=false) | 1 | 75,000 |
| Default (JavaScript rendering on) | 5 | 15,000 |
| Premium proxy, no JavaScript | 10 | 7,500 |
| Premium proxy with JavaScript | 25 | 3,000 |
| Stealth proxy (JavaScript required) | 75 | 1,000 |
Credits reset each month, so what you pay per request is the plan price divided by the requests you actually make: Hobby is $19 whether you make 100 requests or 15,000. On switch402 each successful page is $0.008 whatever the request type, with no credits to go unused. switch402 has no stealth-proxy option.
Sources, checked Oct 30, 2026: scrapingbee.com/pricing, scrapingbee.com/documentation. Prices can change; check the source before you decide.
Example: 1,000 pages a month with default JavaScript rendering use 5,000 of Hobby's 75,000 credits. You still pay $19, about $0.019 per page used. The same 1,000 pages on switch402 cost $8, and a month with no calls costs $0.
Code example
Before: ScrapingBee, 1-credit request returning markdown (curl)
curl "https://app.scrapingbee.com/api/v1?url=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com&render_js=false&return_page_markdown=true" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SCRAPINGBEE_API_KEY"
# leave out render_js=false and the same call costs 5 creditsAfter: 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()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.
- Why did one ScrapingBee request use 5 credits?
- Because JavaScript rendering is on by default. Per ScrapingBee's API docs (checked Oct 30, 2026), render_js defaults to true and costs 5 credits per request. Add render_js=false for pages that don't need a browser and the request starts at 1 credit.
- Do ScrapingBee credits roll over?
- No. Per scrapingbee.com/pricing (checked Oct 30, 2026), API credits are valid for one month and don't roll over.
- What do I pay per request I actually use?
- Divide the plan price by the requests you actually made that month. Credits are valid for one month and don't roll over, so unused credits still cost money. On switch402 each successful page is $0.008 whatever the request type, so your cost per page used never changes. ScrapingBee also offers JavaScript scenarios, extraction rules, geotargeting, premium and stealth proxies and dedicated APIs, which switch402 does not. Both offer screenshots.
- Does switch402 have credit multipliers?
- No. /v1/scrape is $0.008 per successful call whatever the page, and the separate /v1/scrape/lite endpoint is $0.003 per call. With an optional prepaid key, each call debits that same endpoint price from your balance. Failed calls (502) are not charged.
- Where do these numbers come from?
- ScrapingBee's pricing page (plan prices and credits, monthly billing) and its API documentation (credit cost of render_js, premium_proxy, stealth_proxy and Auto-Mode), both checked Oct 30, 2026, plus switch402's live 402 payment terms. Prices can change; check the sources before you decide.