E2B vs Scrapfly
Comparing architecture, runtime limits, open-source licenses, and monthly costs for autonomous agent pipelines.
Detailed Specifications & Compatibility Matrix
Extracted directly from GitHub REST API & official developer documentation
| Technical Feature / Metric | E2B | Scrapfly |
|---|---|---|
| Developer / Organization | E2B Labs Inc. (Vasek Mlejnsky & Martin Soucek) | Scrapfly SAS |
| Open-Source Engine | ✓ Open Source (Apache-2.0) | ✕ Proprietary Cloud |
| GitHub Stars (Repo/SDK) | ★ 14,548 GitHub Stars | Proprietary / Closed Core |
| Core Repository Language | Python | Cloud API |
| Supported SDK Clients | ||
| Self-Hosted Deployment | ✓ Supported | Hosted Only |
| Docker / Container Ready | ✓ Official Image | Managed |
| Model Context Protocol (MCP) | ✓ Native MCP | ✓ Native MCP |
| Billing Architecture | usage based | usage based |
| Developer Free Tier | ✓ Yes 100 hours of sandbox microVM runtime / mo | ✓ Yes 1,000 free API credits |
| Entry Paid Tier (Monthly) | Free / Custom | $30 USD / mo |
| Pricing & Cost Architecture | Developer free tier provides $100 in trial compute credits. Standard compute is metered per second, starting at ~$0.05/hour per active vCPU with zero idle sandbox costs. | Free trial provides 1,000 initial API credits. Discovery plan starts at $30/mo for 200,000 API credits (basic request = 1 credit; JS rendering + residential proxy = 5-25 credits). |
| Key Engineering Insight | Built on AWS Firecracker (the microVM technology powering AWS Lambda); boots isolated Linux environments in under 150 milliseconds to safely execute untrusted AI-generated code. | Uses custom-patched Chromium instances to mimic real residential JA3/TLS browser fingerprints, bypassing Cloudflare Turnstile and DataDome automatically. |
Strengths & Trade-Offs
Objective engineering evaluation of both platforms
E2B Evaluation
Key Advantages
- ✓ Hardware-isolated microVMs powered by AWS Firecracker with sub-150ms cold start initialization
- ✓ Custom sandbox templates allowing developers to pre-install specific system packages, Python wheels, and binaries
- ✓ Official SDKs for Python and TypeScript with native stdout/stderr streaming and artifact file downloads
Limitations & Trade-Offs
- ✕ Maximum continuous session execution duration capped at 24 hours per persistent sandbox instance
- ✕ Requires configuring custom egress firewall rules if sandboxes need to access private local enterprise APIs
Scrapfly Evaluation
Key Advantages
- ✓ Advanced Anti-Scraping Protection (ASP) with automated residential proxy rotation and CAPTCHA solving
- ✓ Direct markdown format extraction parameter (&format=markdown) built specifically for LLM ingestion
- ✓ Full JavaScript rendering engine supporting custom pre-scrape evaluate scripts and scroll triggers
Limitations & Trade-Offs
- ✕ Advanced proxy and headless browser features consume between 5 and 25 API credits per request
- ✕ Strictly cloud-hosted API; no on-premise Docker deployment option
Source Quotes
Direct excerpts from official documentation backing our extracted specifications
E2B Documentation Proof
"Billed per second of actual sandbox compute from $0.05 per active vCPU hour."
"Includes 100 hours of free sandbox runtime every month."
"Core SDKs and template definitions open source on GitHub."
Scrapfly Documentation Proof
"Discovery plan starts at $30/mo with 200,000 API credits and unlimited concurrency."
"Free trial includes 1,000 credits to test all features and proxy networks."
"Fully managed cloud infrastructure; integrations available via SDKs and REST."
Frequently Asked Questions: E2B vs Scrapfly
Architectural trade-offs and decision criteria
Is E2B or Scrapfly cheaper for developers?
E2B has a starting price of $0/mo (usage based), while Scrapfly starts at $30/mo (usage based). E2B includes a free tier (100 hours of sandbox microVM runtime / mo). Scrapfly offers a free tier (1,000 free API credits).
Can I self-host E2B and Scrapfly in my own infrastructure?
E2B is self-hostable under the Apache-2.0 license. In comparison, Scrapfly is proprietary cloud infrastructure.
Do E2B and Scrapfly support the Model Context Protocol (MCP)?
E2B has native support for MCP servers. Scrapfly fully supports Model Context Protocol integrations.
Which programming languages have official SDKs for E2B vs Scrapfly?
E2B provides official SDKs in: python, typescript. Meanwhile, Scrapfly supports: python, typescript, go, curl.