As websites increasingly tighten anti-bot measures, businesses are dedicating more time and resources to accessing critical data from protected sites. Web scraping tools have become essential for gathering product information from e-commerce giants like Amazon, eBay, and Google Shopping. This article delves into Proxyway's research on how top web scraping and proxy APIs handle the toughest websites and compares the capabilities of these two essential technologies.

1. Top Providers and Targets

• APIs Tested: Proxyway's study tested 11 leading API providers, focusing on their ability to navigate anti-bot defenses.
• Performance Breakdown:
  • Best-performing providers: Oxylabs, Zyte, Smartproxy, and Bright Data stood out for their high success rates.
  • Speed vs Stability: Some APIs prioritized speed, unlocking sites rapidly but occasionally failing on more challenging websites. Others focused on stability, achieving near-perfect success rates but with slightly slower performance.
• Toughest Sites:
  • Challenging Websites: Sites like G2, Allegro, and Safeway posed consistent challenges, with several providers failing to maintain a success rate above 60%.
  • Easier Targets: Websites like Google and Amazon were more accessible, with APIs unblocking them effortlessly.

2. Proxy APIs vs Web Scraping APIs: The Best of Both Worlds

• Web Scraping APIs: These offer advanced features such as asynchronous data delivery, browser-based controls (scrolling, clicking), and parsing capabilities.
• Proxy APIs (Unblockers): Focused on bypassing website restrictions, proxy APIs provide access to real-time data but lack the ability to parse data or execute human-like interactions like clicking.
• Overlap Between Technologies: The lines between these technologies are blurring, with some proxy APIs now including data parsing and JavaScript execution capabilities.

3. Costs for Individual Users and Enterprises

• Pricing Models:
  • Request-Based Pricing: Ideal for enterprises with high-volume needs, offering scalable costs. Providers like Oxylabs and Bright Data use this model.
  • Credit-Based Pricing: More affordable for small-scale users but can become expensive when scraping well-protected websites. Providers like ScraperAPI and Scrapingdog offer this model.
• Cost Breakdown:
  • Credit-based models are cost-effective for simple tasks but become pricier when dealing with secure sites due to the need for additional features like JavaScript rendering or premium proxies.

The demand for web scraping and proxy APIs will continue to grow as businesses increasingly rely on real-time data. As the market evolves, choosing the right tool will require a thorough understanding of each provider's performance and capabilities. Whether you are a large enterprise or a smaller business, selecting the right API will ensure you stay ahead in the competitive world of e-commerce data extraction.