#1 ZenRows Alternative
ZenRows bills a JavaScript-rendered page through premium proxies at 25 credits, so its $99 plan covers 20,000 protected pages a month. Context.dev Pro covers 125,000 for the same $99, with rendering, proxies, and anti-bot handling in every 1-credit scrape: $0.79 per 1,000 pages, not $4.95.
1,000 protected pages, rendered in a browser
$99 plans, October 2026 list prices
ZenRows bills 1 credit for a plain request, 5 with JavaScript rendering, 10 with premium proxies, and 25 with both. Context.dev bills 1 credit with rendering and proxies always on. Plain static HTML is cheaper on ZenRows, at $0.20 per 1,000 pages.
Powering agents and products with the world's data.
Why switch
ZenRows and Context.dev both scrape protected, JavaScript-heavy sites. On ZenRows that costs 25 credits a page; on Context.dev it costs 1, with twice the concurrency from the $99 plan up.
- Key difference
One credit per protected page, not 25
ZenRows charges 1 credit for a plain Fetch request, 5 with JavaScript rendering, 10 with premium proxies, and 25 with both. On Launch at $99 a month for 500,000 credits, that is 20,000 protected pages, or $4.95 per 1,000. Context.dev Pro is $99 a month for 125,000 credits, and every scrape includes rendering, proxies, and anti-bot handling for 1 credit, or $0.79 per 1,000 pages.
- Geotargeting
Country targeting without a premium proxy surcharge
On ZenRows, proxy_country only works with premium_proxy, so every country-targeted request costs at least 10 credits, and 25 with JavaScript. ZenRows also flags some domains as requiring rendering, premium proxies, or both, and rejects cheaper requests to them. On Context.dev, the country parameter is part of the 1-credit scrape on every site.
- Extraction
JSON against your schema, on any site
ZenRows Extract returns fields it detects automatically, and only on domains it has prepared; other domains return a 403 until a preparation request goes through. You cannot pass your own schema. Context.dev takes your JSON Schema on any page and returns a typed object for 5 credits.
- Search
Web search, answers, and site maps in the same API
ZenRows has no search endpoint, and mapping a site runs a crawl billed 1 to 25 credits per page it opens. Context.dev Web Search returns 10 ranked results with the passages that answer your query for 2 credits, or every page as Markdown for 11. Map lists a site’s URLs for 1 credit, and Answers returns a sourced answer for 10.
- Concurrency
Twice the concurrent requests from the $99 plan up
Context.dev Pro runs 100 requests at once for $99 a month; ZenRows Launch runs 50. Growth is 250 against 100, and Scale is 500 against 200. Batches of up to 100,000 URLs keep results for 180 days instead of 14, and failed batch pages are refunded when the batch settles.
- Also included
Documents, monitors, and brand data on one key
Parse PDFs, DOCX, PPT, and XLSX files to Markdown through the same API; ZenRows returns the raw file. Monitor pages for changes with webhooks from 1 credit per run, where ZenRows has you schedule batches and write the diff yourself. Brand lookups (logos, colors, company profiles) cost 10 credits if you need them.
What one request really costs
What 1,000 requests cost on each $99 plan, by how the page has to be fetched. ZenRows’s price changes with the rendering and proxy a site needs; Context.dev’s does not.
| Request | Context.dev | ZenRows | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain HTML, no browserStatic pages that need no rendering or residential IPs | $0.79 | $0.20 (1 credit) | 4x less |
| Rendered in a headless browserJavaScript-built pages that load on datacenter IPs | $0.79 | $0.99 (5 credits) | 1.25x more |
| Premium proxies or a target countryGeotargeted pages, or sites that block datacenter IPs | $0.79 | $1.98 (10 credits) | 2.5x more |
| Rendered on premium proxiesRetailers and sites behind Cloudflare, DataDome, or Akamai | $0.79 | $4.95 (25 credits) | 6.25x more |
| JSON extraction against your schemaA typed object back from any page | $3.96 (5 credits) | Auto fields only | Bring an LLM |
| Web search with page passages10 results with the text that answers your query | $1.58 (2 credits) | Not offered | Not offered |
Derived from Context.dev Pro ($99 for 125,000 credits) and ZenRows Launch L2 ($99 for 500,000 credits) at monthly billing. ZenRows rates are from docs.zenrows.com/first-steps/pricing. Context.dev search with full-page Markdown is 11 credits, $8.71 per 1,000 searches.
Full comparison
| Feature | Context.dev | ZenRows |
|---|---|---|
| Scraping & Crawling | ||
| Scrape to Markdown or HTML | Yes | Yes |
| JavaScript rendering | Always included | 5x credits |
| Residential proxies and anti-bot handling | Always included | 10x, 25x with render |
| Country geotargeting | Included | Premium proxies only |
| Screenshots | Yes | Needs JS, 5+ credits |
| JSON extraction against your schema | 5 credits | Auto, prepared sites |
| Crawl a site | 1 credit/page | 1 to 25 credits/page |
| Map site URLs | 1 credit | Via Crawl, per page |
| Async batch scraping | Up to 100,000 URLs | 100,000 URLs per job |
| Batch result retention | 180 days | 14 days |
| Change monitoring with webhooks | Yes | DIY with schedules |
| Parse PDFs and office documents | Yes | Raw download only |
| Signed-in scraping with saved logins | Browser profiles | DIY, Browser Sessions |
| Interaction & Search | ||
| Browser actions before capture | Up to 5 actions | Needs JS render |
| Hosted browser over CDP (Browser Sessions) | No | 5 credits/min + GB |
| Web search with page content | 2 or 11 credits | No |
| Research answers with sources | 10 credits | No |
| Google results parsed to JSON | No | Extract, 25 credits |
| Pricing & Billing | ||
| Credits for a rendered page on residential proxies | 1 credit | 25 credits |
| Domains that require the top rate | None | Set per domain |
| Failed requests free | Yes, 404 billed | Yes, 404/410 billed |
| Concurrency at $99 a month | 100 | 50 |
| Past the monthly plan | Per-credit overage | Top-up packs, max 10 |
| Unused credits roll over | No | Top-ups only, once |
| Free plan | 1,000 credits/mo | 5,000 credits/mo |
| Self-serve yearly billing | 2 months free | 2 months free |
| Deployment | ||
| Managed scraping API | Yes | Yes |
| Standalone residential proxies | No | Legacy, per GB |
| Zero data retention | On request | Not documented |
| Developer Experience | ||
| Public OpenAPI spec | Yes | Yes |
| TypeScript, Python, and Go SDKs | Yes | Yes |
| PHP and Ruby SDKs | Yes | No |
| CLI | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes |
| Also Included: Brand & Company Data | ||
| Brand profile by domain, name, email, or ticker | Yes | No |
| Logo CDN for direct embedding (Logo Link) | Yes | No |
Cost per 1,000 pages
Public list prices on both sites, broken down to the cost of 1,000 pages at each tier. ZenRows sells three sizes per tier; the table uses the size closest in price to each Context.dev plan and shows both its cheapest and its protected-page rates.
| Tier | Context.dev | ZenRows |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free $0/mo 1,000 credits 1 concurrent request $0 per 1K pages, any page | Free $0/mo 5,000 credits 5 concurrent requests 200 protected pages a month 5,000 plain HTML pages a month |
| Entry | Developer $19/mo 7,500 credits 10 concurrent requests $2.11–$2.53 per 1K pages, any page | Build B1 $19/mo 45,000 credits 20 concurrent requests $8.89–$10.56 per 1K protected pages $0.36–$0.42 per 1K plain HTML pages |
| Mid | Pro $99/mo 125,000 credits 100 concurrent requests $0.66–$0.79 per 1K pages, any page | Launch L2 $99/mo 500,000 credits 50 concurrent requests $4.15–$4.95 per 1K protected pages $0.17–$0.20 per 1K plain HTML pages |
| Growth | Growth $299/mo 500,000 credits 250 concurrent requests $0.50–$0.60 per 1K pages, any page | Growth G2 $279/mo 2,000,000 credits 100 concurrent requests $2.91–$3.49 per 1K protected pages $0.12–$0.14 per 1K plain HTML pages |
| High volume | Scale $499/mo 1,000,000 credits 500 concurrent requests $0.42–$0.50 per 1K pages, any page | Scale S1 $549/mo 5,000,000 credits 200 concurrent requests $2.29–$2.75 per 1K protected pages $0.09–$0.11 per 1K plain HTML pages |
- Protected pages assume a JavaScript-rendered page through residential proxies on a bot-protected site: 25 credits on ZenRows (js_render plus premium_proxy, which ZenRows calls a protected request) and 1 credit on Context.dev, where rendering and proxies are always included. Each range runs from yearly to monthly billing.
- ZenRows’s cheapest request (1 credit, no JavaScript, datacenter IP) costs $0.17–$0.20 per 1,000 on Launch L2. Geotargeting requires premium proxies (10 credits) and screenshots require JavaScript rendering (5 credits). At the entry tier, a JavaScript-only request on Build B1 costs $1.78–$2.11 per 1,000, below Context.dev Developer.
- ZenRows prices, credits, and concurrency are from zenrows.com/pricing and docs.zenrows.com/first-steps/pricing. Each ZenRows tier has several sizes; the table uses Build B1, Launch L2, Growth G2, and Scale S1. Yearly prices are the per-month figures ZenRows shows for “pay for 10 months, get 12.”
- Both APIs bill a target that returns 404 and do not bill other failed requests. ZenRows Extract currently adds no credits on domains it has prepared; Context.dev JSON extraction against your schema adds 4 credits, for 5 per page.
Prices and plans checked on .
Which one fits
Both get past bot protection. These are the cases where the choice is clear. For formats, pricing, and code, see the Context.dev web scraping API.
Choose Context.dev if
- You scrape JavaScript-heavy or bot-protected sites, where ZenRows bills 5 to 25 credits a page and Context.dev bills 1.
- You need content as seen from a specific country without paying for premium proxies on every request.
- You want JSON against your own schema on any site, plus web search, site maps, monitors, and document parsing on one key.
- You want more parallel requests per dollar: 100 on Pro against 50 on ZenRows Launch at the same $99.
Choose ZenRows if
- Most of your pages are static HTML that loads without JavaScript or residential IPs. At 1 credit on Launch, that is $0.20 per 1,000 pages against $0.79 on Context.dev Pro.
- You drive your own Puppeteer or Playwright code and want a hosted browser over CDP with sessions of up to 15 minutes. Context.dev runs up to five actions before a capture.
- You need raw residential proxy bandwidth for your own HTTP clients, or Google results parsed to JSON. Context.dev offers neither.
- You want a larger free tier or more concurrency at $19. ZenRows Free gives 5,000 credits a month and 5 concurrent requests, and Build allows 20 concurrent requests to Context.dev Developer’s 10.
A few things to know.
More details in the API documentation.
What is the best ZenRows alternative?
Context.dev is a ZenRows alternative for teams that scrape JavaScript-heavy and bot-protected sites. Every scrape includes rendering, proxies, and anti-bot handling for 1 credit, where ZenRows charges 25 credits for the same kind of page. It also covers JSON extraction against your schema, web search, crawl, Map, batches, change monitoring, and document parsing. If you need a hosted browser for your own Puppeteer code or raw proxy bandwidth, ZenRows is the better fit.
Does ZenRows charge extra for JavaScript rendering and premium proxies?
Yes. A standard ZenRows Fetch request costs 1 credit, JavaScript rendering costs 5, premium proxies cost 10, and both together cost 25. Geotargeting requires premium proxies and screenshots require JavaScript rendering, so those requests start at 10 and 5 credits, and some domains reject any request without the parameters ZenRows requires for them. Context.dev charges 1 credit per scrape with rendering, proxies, and country targeting included.
How much do 1,000 protected pages cost on ZenRows vs Context.dev?
On ZenRows Launch ($99 a month for 500,000 credits), 1,000 pages with JavaScript rendering and premium proxies use 25,000 credits, or $4.95. On Context.dev Pro ($99 a month for 125,000 credits) they use 1,000 credits, or $0.79. The $99 plan covers 20,000 protected pages a month on ZenRows and 125,000 on Context.dev.
Do failed requests cost credits?
Neither API charges for failed requests in general, and both still charge for a target that returns 404 (ZenRows also bills 410). On Context.dev, a scrape where every output fails is free, and 429, timeout, and 5xx responses are not charged. Failed batch pages are refunded when the batch settles.
Can Context.dev return structured JSON like ZenRows Extract?
Yes, with your own schema. Enable JSON output on Scrape, pass a JSON Schema of up to 50 KB with optional instructions, and get a typed object back for 5 credits. ZenRows Extract picks the fields itself and works only on domains ZenRows has prepared. For Google Maps, app store, G2, and Instagram pages, Context.dev also has prebuilt parsers.
Can I migrate from ZenRows to Context.dev easily?
Yes. A ZenRows Fetch call maps to one Context.dev Scrape call: drop js_render, premium_proxy, and mode, since rendering and proxies are always on. response_type=markdown becomes the Markdown output, screenshot parameters become the screenshot output, css_extractor becomes parse rules, proxy_country becomes country, and js_instructions become up to five actions. Batch and Crawl jobs move to Batches, Crawl, and Map, with SDKs for TypeScript, Python, Go, PHP, and Ruby.
When is ZenRows the better choice?
When most of your targets are static pages that load without JavaScript or residential IPs, ZenRows’s 1-credit request is cheaper: $0.20 per 1,000 on Launch against $0.79 on Context.dev Pro. At $19, ZenRows Build is also cheaper for JavaScript-only pages. ZenRows sells Browser Sessions for your own Puppeteer or Playwright code, standalone residential proxies billed per GB, and Google results parsed to JSON, which Context.dev does not offer.
Does Context.dev have a proxy network or cloud browser like ZenRows?
No. Context.dev is a managed scraping API: proxies and browsers run behind each request, and you do not get proxy ports, bandwidth plans, or a CDP browser endpoint. If you run your own browser automation and need residential IPs for it, ZenRows Browser Sessions or its residential proxies fit that job.
More comparisons
Other web scraping APIs that teams compare with Context.dev, or see every comparison.
- Context.dev vs ScrapflyRendered, protected pages start at 30 credits on Scrapfly. One credit here, with search, JSON extraction, and monitors.
- Context.dev vs Scrape.do25 credits for a rendered page on residential proxies, plus per-domain surcharges up to 200. One credit per page here.
- Context.dev vs ScrapingdogJavaScript rendering on premium proxies costs 25 credits on Scrapingdog. Protected pages cost less here, with crawl and batches built in.
Ready to switch from ZenRows?
Point your Fetch calls at Context.dev Scrape and drop js_render and premium_proxy: every page costs 1 credit, and the free plan includes 1,000 credits a month.