Browser platforms / Scraping Bee alternative

A ScrapingBee alternative for agent workflows

ScrapingBee is a managed web-data API with JavaScript rendering, proxy choices and browser-action scenarios. An alternative depends on whether you want a completed web request or a persistent Linux computer that runs the agent and its tools over time.

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Reviewed 2026-10-18 · Published by the Sandbox0 team

When Scraping Bee fits

ScrapingBee fits teams that want the service to fetch and render pages without operating the browser/proxy fleet. Its request-oriented API can be kept as a tool in an agent application rather than replaced with raw compute.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 when the workflow also installs dependencies, changes system configuration, keeps growing datasets and returns to the same durable RootFS across tasks. You operate or integrate the web-fetch/browser layer appropriate for the target sites.

Capabilities

Scraping Bee and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeScraping BeeNot established in this reviewSandbox0ttl and hard_ttl default to 0 (disabled). Configure idle pause and deletion policies for the same persistent sandbox identity; an idle running sandbox still accrues compute charges.Read documentation →
Persistent filesScraping BeeThe request API and session IP routing do not establish an independent durable Linux disk.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSScraping BeeA whole writable Linux filesystem retention contract is not established.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Persistence extends beyond /workspace to paths such as /usr/local, /etc, and /home. Runtime tmpfs and virtual filesystems are excluded.Read documentation →
Release compute, keep stateScraping BeeRequest rendering and same-IP routing are not machine pause/checkpoint semantics.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateScraping BeeArbitrary process-memory restoration is not established.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Experimental memory checkpoints can preserve compatible process state. Use memory: true on both pause and resume on a compatible deployment. A filesystem checkpoint alone does not preserve running processes.Read documentation →

Online RootFS growth

On growth-enabled images, Sandbox0 automatically expands the writable RootFS as free space runs low, within a configured sparse logical ceiling up to 64 TiB. Agent processes keep running. Growth is enabled in the qualified Cloud region; confirm activation for other regions. Existing images and snapshots retain their captured storage geometry. The ceiling is logical capacity, not preallocated host disk.

ScrapingBee’s shared request-credit balance is a usage allowance, not growing Linux disk capacity. The reviewed API does not establish whole-RootFS persistence or online filesystem growth. Sandbox0 can retain system tools, dependencies and accumulated outputs around the API.

Files while compute is paused

Sandbox0's Files API reads persistent files without resuming compute. Filesystem-only pauses also permit edits; retained-memory pauses are read-only and reject mutations with 409. SSH, SFTP, file watching, and runtime-only mounts require running compute.

ScrapingBee returns web-request results; the reviewed docs do not establish an API for editing an agent’s paused Linux RootFS. Keep durable artifacts in the runtime or another explicit storage system.

See paused file operations →

Auto-Mode charges for the successful configuration

Auto-Mode tries progressively more expensive render/proxy configurations and charges only for the first successful one, or zero credits if all configurations fail. Its documented possibilities are 1, 5, 10, 25 or 75 credits. max_cost can cap eligible configurations in Auto-Mode; it does not make every target succeed at that cap.

Source 1 ↗

A session identifier selects an IP route

The session_id parameter routes multiple requests through the same IP address. Cookies and page-specific settings are separate request parameters. Do not treat a same-IP session as proof that a browser heap, Linux process or installed toolchain survives between calls.

Source 1 ↗

Browser scenarios still need application-level orchestration

JavaScript scenarios express actions inside the rendered request. Auto-Mode does not invent those actions, wait conditions, cookies or other page-specific inputs. Keep extraction validation, retries, credentials and durable task progress in the surrounding application. A request timeout is not a promise about a long-lived machine.

Source 1 ↗

Pricing

Compare billing models, then price your workload

CPU allocation, memory, billing minimums, disk, plan fees, and supported workload differ. These meters are not equal-performance machine quotes. Confirm region, resource units, and included allowances before estimating a total.

Scraping Bee

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-18

Hobby
$19/month including 75,000 API credits
25 concurrent requests.
Rate source ↗
Freelance
$49/month including 250,000 API credits
50 concurrent requests.
Rate source ↗
Startup
$99/month including 1,000,000 API credits
100 concurrent requests.
Rate source ↗
Auto-Mode request cost
1, 5, 10, 25 or 75 credits
Depends on the successful configuration; all configurations failing costs zero. max_cost applies in Auto-Mode.
Rate source ↗

Credit allowances are not guaranteed counts of successful tasks. Rendering, proxy configuration and enabled features affect request cost. A concurrency limit is separate from the monthly balance. Preserve the public plan’s credit unit instead of converting it into an equal-resource Linux compute quote.

Check current Scraping Bee pricing ↗

Sandbox0

$0.015/GiB-hour compute (billed by the second at approximately $0.000004167/GiB-second), plus $0.02/GiB-month of retained incremental RootFS and memory checkpoint data. Shared base images and platform recovery retention are excluded; paused sandboxes accrue storage charges only.

Compute / GiB-hour
$0.015
Retained data / GiB-month
$0.02
Paused compute
$0.00

A 4 GiB agent, 100 running hours

$6.00 compute

4 GiB × 100 hours, billed by the second. Keeping 20 GiB of billable incremental data for a full billing month adds $0.40. CPU is derived from memory by the platform; choose a tier that fits your workload.

Understand storage billing →

Before migrating from Scraping Bee

  1. Inventory rendering/proxy settings, cookies, JavaScript scenarios, Auto-Mode caps and the actual credits consumed per useful result.
  2. Run compatible orchestration and data processing on Sandbox0 while retaining ScrapingBee or implementing the required browser/data-fetch service.
  3. Test extraction fidelity, failure handling, retained system packages, RootFS growth, paused files and total request plus runtime costs.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Scraping Bee replacement?

Evaluate API compatibility and product scope. These products serve different core workflows, so a change may require a different architecture.

Does keeping files also keep a running agent?

Filesystem state and volatile process state are separate. Sandbox0 requires explicit compatible memory checkpoints to preserve running processes; its default filesystem resume starts fresh processes.

Sources and review scope

The Boat team's Battleships directory is the discovery source. References below describe the product and plan discussed on this page. Check current availability, regional terms and billing units before migrating. Where the cited material does not establish a capability or price, the comparison identifies that uncertainty.

Battleships research record ↗www.scrapingbee.com/documentation/ ↗www.scrapingbee.com/pricing/ ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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