unhappy with ScrapingBee on javascript sites

If ScrapingBee is struggling on JavaScript-heavy sites, that usually means the site needs a real browser workflow rather than a lightweight rendering layer.

Good alternatives to consider:

1. Playwright / Puppeteer

Best if you want reliable JS rendering and control.

• Handles SPAs, lazy loading, infinite scroll, complex interactions
• Lets you wait for specific DOM states instead of guessing
• Can run headless in Docker or serverless setups

Good for: full control, hardest sites, form handling, login flows

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2. Browserless

Managed headless Chrome/Playwright infrastructure.

• You get browser automation without managing the browser fleet
• Good for scaling scraping jobs
• Works well with existing Puppeteer/Playwright code

Good for: production scraping at scale

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3. ZenRows

Often used as a ScrapingBee alternative.

• Focuses on anti-bot bypass plus rendering
• API-based approach similar in spirit to ScrapingBee
• Can be easier if you want “send URL, get HTML”

Good for: simpler migration from ScrapingBee

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4. Bright Data Web Scraper / Unlocker

Strong on anti-bot and difficult targets.

• Very robust proxy/network infrastructure
• Can handle many protected sites
• More enterprise-oriented and often pricier

Good for: tough sites, scale, anti-bot resistance

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5. Apify

Great if you want ready-made actors or custom browser automation.

• Lots of prebuilt scrapers
• Can run Playwright/Puppeteer-based actors
• Good orchestration and scheduling

Good for: quicker implementation, reusable scraping jobs

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6. Self-hosted Playwright + smart proxies

Often the best cost/control tradeoff.

• Use Playwright with rotating residential/datacenter proxies
• Add stealth measures, retries, captcha handling, and fingerprint tuning
• More work, but maximum flexibility

Good for: long-term control and custom pipelines

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Quick recommendation

• Need a drop-in API replacement? Try ZenRows or Bright Data
• Need reliable JS rendering? Use Playwright
• Need managed browser infrastructure? Use Browserless
• Need a platform with prebuilt workflows? Use Apify

If you want, I can also give you:

1. a comparison table of these options, or
2. a recommended stack based on your budget and target sites.