How to calculate ScraperAPI credits
The basic formula is successful monthly requests × credits per request = monthly API credits. A normal page request costs 1 credit, but the multiplier rises for harder domains and resource-intensive parameters. That means request count alone does not tell you which plan fits.
| Example workload | Calculation | Monthly credits | Smallest published plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80,000 normal requests | 80,000 × 1 | 80,000 | Hobby |
| 100,000 Amazon requests | 100,000 × 5 | 500,000 | Startup |
| 100,000 rendered requests | 100,000 × 10 | 1,000,000 | Startup |
| 100,000 SERP requests | 100,000 × 25 | 2,500,000 | Business |
| 100,000 LinkedIn requests | 100,000 × 30 | 3,000,000 | Business |
Examples use the current published monthly plan allowances and documented credit multipliers. They assume one request profile for the entire workload and exclude retries, mixed traffic, and custom account terms.
ScraperAPI credit multipliers
ScraperAPI documents 1 credit for a normal request, 5 for Amazon or e-commerce, 25 for Google or Bing SERPs, and 30 for LinkedIn. Parameters can also change the cost: rendering, premium routing, screenshots, or bot-bypass requests cost 10 credits; premium plus rendering costs 25; ultra-premium costs 30, or 75 with rendering. Domain-specific logic can override a general estimate, so production budgets should use the vendor's URL Cost API.
Published monthly plans used by this calculator
| Plan | Monthly price | API credits | Concurrent threads | Geotargeting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby | $49 | 100,000 | 20 | US & EU only |
| Startup | $149 | 1,000,000 | 50 | US & EU only |
| Business | $299 | 3,000,000 | 100 | Global |
| Scaling | $475 | 5,000,000 | 200 | Global |
| Professional | $975 | 10,500,000 | 300 | Global |
| Advanced | $1,975 | 21,500,000 | 500 | Global |
| Enterprise | Custom | 22,000,000+ | 500+ | Confirm with sales |
Source: ScraperAPI pricing, verified 14 Aug 2026. Monthly list prices are used; annual discounts are deliberately excluded.
What the estimate can and cannot tell you
The estimator multiplies successful requests by credits per request and selects the first published plan whose included credits cover that total. It does not model failed-request rates, retries, concurrency limits, annual discounts, negotiated pricing, pay-as-you-go overages, or combinations not explicitly priced in the documentation.
Frequently asked questions
How many ScraperAPI credits does one request use?
A standard request uses 1 credit. Amazon requests use 5, Google or Bing SERP requests use 25, and LinkedIn requests use 30. Rendering, premium routing, screenshots, bot bypass, and ultra-premium routing can raise the multiplier.
Do failed requests consume ScraperAPI credits?
ScraperAPI says it charges successful responses with HTTP status 200 or 404. It also charges requests that the customer cancels before the service has had enough time to finish. Other failed requests are not included in this calculator.
Which plan covers one million normal requests per month?
The Startup plan includes 1,000,000 credits, so it covers one million normal 1-credit requests with no headroom. The same plan covers only 100,000 requests when each request costs 10 credits.
Why can the same request volume require different plans?
ScraperAPI uses feature-weighted credits rather than a flat one-request-equals-one-credit model. A workload with rendering or protected domains can therefore consume 5 to 75 times as many credits as the same number of normal requests.