Introduction
When developers start scraping, they often grab Puppeteer or Selenium. After all, these tools spin up a real browser, mimic human clicks, and “just work.”
But here’s the truth: headless browsers are almost always the wrong place to start. They’re heavy, slow, costly, and break at scale. You should only reach for them as a last resort when simpler, faster methods don’t cut it.
Let’s dig into why.
Why Puppeteer and Selenium Shouldn’t Be Your First Choice
1. They’re Painfully Slow
Spinning up a Chromium instance for every scrape means high CPU, high memory, and way fewer pages scraped per second. A simple HTTP client can chew through hundreds of pages in the time a browser handles just a handful.
2. They’re Expensive at Scale
Running dozens, or hundreds, of browser sessions is server-intensive and eats proxy bandwidth fast. That makes large-scale scraping financially unsustainable.
3. They’re Easier to Detect
Headless browsers leak signals. Anti-bot scripts look for subtle mismatches in navigator objects, missing fonts, or other quirks of “fake” Chrome. Unless you’re constantly patching with stealth plugins, you’re painting a target on yourself.
4. They Break Often
Every Chrome update risks breaking your setup. Browser automation means dependency hell; version mismatches, patches, and maintenance headaches.
When Puppeteer or Selenium Actually Make Sense
The key isn’t “this site uses JavaScript → use Puppeteer.”
The real question is:
👉 Is reverse-engineering the API more expensive than just running a headless browser?
1. When Reverse Engineering Costs Too Much
Some sites intentionally make it painful to scrape their APIs.
- Endpoints are hidden behind obfuscated scripts.
- Request signatures are encrypted or constantly changing.
- Authentication flows are intentionally brittle.
Take TikTok’s desktop site as a prime example. Reverse-engineering their signatures and crypto tokens is a rabbit hole. In this case, Puppeteer is often cheaper in developer time, even if slower and heavier in runtime.
2. Short-Term or Proof of Concept Work
If you just need to grab a dataset quickly, or test feasibility before investing in a full reverse-engineered scraper, Puppeteer can be a pragmatic shortcut.
What to Use Instead (in Most Cases)
1. Direct HTTP Requests
Start with lightweight HTTP libraries (axios, got-scraping, Python’s requests).
- Fast
- Easy to scale
- Works with rotating proxies
2. Leverage Hidden APIs
Most “JavaScript-heavy” sites still fetch data in the background via JSON/XHR. Use DevTools once to find these calls, then scrape the API directly.
3. Headless Request Libraries
Tools like got-scraping give you realistic headers and fingerprints without the overhead of spinning up a browser.
Ready to Skip the Headaches?
If you don’t want to waste time fighting headless browsers, proxies, and broken scrapers, we built Scrape Creators for you.
- Fast, scalable APIs for TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, Truth Social, and more
- Simple pay-as-you-go credits (no bloated subscriptions)
- Built for developers; raw JSON responses, easy integrations, and personalized support
Stop struggling with Puppeteer. Start building with clean data.
Try Scrape Creators today and focus on shipping your product, not fixing scrapers.