ScrapingBee alternative: Why modern teams switch to cloro

ScrapingBee is beginner-friendly with excellent headless browser rendering for complex JavaScript sites. They handle JavaScript rendering, proxy rotation, and CAPTCHAs automatically, making it easy to scrape dynamic websites.

However, they focus exclusively on traditional web scraping with no support for AI platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Copilot. Their credit-based pricing also becomes complex as usage scales.

The scraping landscape has changed

Modern teams need different tools:

1. AI platform expertise – ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot require specialized infrastructure (99% success vs ~5%)
2. Purpose-built reliability – Headless browsers aren’t enough for AI platform anti-bot systems
3. AI monitoring – Track your brand across AI platforms
4. Clean data – Parsed objects, not rendered HTML

ScrapingBee was built for rendering traditional websites. cloro was built for AI scraping with 99% reliability.

What ScrapingBee does well

ScrapingBee excels at accessibility:

• Headless browsers – Excellent JavaScript rendering
• Beginner-friendly – Simple API, good documentation
• Proxy integration – Residential and datacenter IPs
• CAPTCHA handling – Automated bypass
• Affordable entry – Freelance plan at $49/month (250K credits)

For JavaScript-heavy websites, ScrapingBee is excellent.

Where cloro wins

1. AI Platform Support

ScrapingBee: Traditional websites via headless browsers.

cloro: AI platforms with native support.

• ChatGPT – Scraping with citation extraction
• Perplexity – Source parsing and answer tracking
• Copilot – Microsoft AI result monitoring
• Google Search – With AI Overview parsing
• Gemini & Grok – Multi-platform AI coverage

ScrapingBee renders websites. cloro scrapes AI platforms.

The key difference: ScrapingBee achieves ~5% success rate on AI engines. cloro achieves 99% because we’re purpose-built for AI platforms—not just wrapping headless browsers.

2. AI Engine Reliability

ScrapingBee: General-purpose web scraper with headless browsers.

• ~5% success rate on AI engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot)
• Built for traditional websites, not AI platforms
• JavaScript rendering isn’t enough for AI anti-bot systems

cloro: Purpose-built for AI engines.

• 99% success rate on AI engines
• Specialized infrastructure for each platform
• AI platform expertise, not just headless browsers

At 20x the success rate, you get reliable AI data instead of constant failures.

3. Pricing Model

ScrapingBee: Credit-based pricing by request type.

• JavaScript rendering costs more credits
• Premium proxies cost more credits
• Complex sites consume more credits
• Hard to predict monthly spend

cloro: $1.50 per 1,000 for ChatGPT with 99% success rate

Predictable pricing for reliable AI scraping.

4. Response Format

ScrapingBee: Returns rendered HTML or JSON that needs parsing.

cloro: Returns clean, parsed objects ready to use.

Less post-processing, more using data immediately.

4. AI Platform Monitoring

ScrapingBee: Can’t monitor AI platforms.

cloro: Built-in monitoring across all AI platforms.

• ChatGPT monitoring – Track what GPT says about your brand
• Perplexity tracking – Monitor citations and source appearances
• Copilot watching – Microsoft AI result monitoring
• Change alerts – Get notified when AI responses change

5. Use Case Focus

ScrapingBee: General-purpose web scraping.

cloro: Purpose-built for AI platforms.

We optimize specifically for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot – not trying to be everything for everyone.

When to choose ScrapingBee

Choose ScrapingBee if you need:

• JavaScript rendering – Complex React, Vue, Angular sites
• Traditional web scraping – E-commerce, social media, blogs
• Headless browsers – Full rendering for dynamic content
• Beginner-friendly – Simple API for small projects
• Affordable entry – $29-49/month for light usage

When to choose cloro

Choose cloro if you need:

• AI platform scraping – ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, Gemini, Grok
• Credit-based pricing – Different models cost different amounts, unlimited queries
• Clean parsed data – Ready-to-use objects
• AI visibility tracking – Monitor your brand across AI platforms
• High-volume monitoring – No credit limits

The bottom line

ScrapingBee is excellent for JavaScript-heavy websites with headless browser rendering.

But for AI scraping and monitoring, cloro offers:

• AI platform coverage – 6+ AI engines vs traditional websites only
• 99% success rate – 20x fewer retries needed vs credit-based
• Clean data – Parsed objects vs rendered HTML
• AI visibility – Brand monitoring across AI platforms

Most teams use ScrapingBee for traditional web scraping and add cloro for AI platform monitoring.

Switch from ScrapingBee for AI scraping with credit-based pricing with 99% success rate.