# How.is, free: Web scraping API

> A page as clean markdown, with the pre-flight verdict attached (screenshot on request)

How.is's web scraping API on its Free calls plan. It costs $0.00 per 1,000 pages. How.is's docs list 2 of the 7 fields on our checklist: Screenshot, Markdown.
We haven't run How.is through [our web scraping API benchmark](https://datacircle.dev/best-web-scraping-api.txt) yet.
This plan is free. We rank 2,491 plans for web scraping APIs by price. Half the plans cost $2.00 per 1,000 pages or less. [See how many web scraping API plans are free.](https://datacircle.dev/best-web-scraping-api.txt)
[GuGuData's CNY 83 (about $12) monthly plan](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/gugudata/cny-83-monthly/llms.txt) is the cheapest paid plan per 1,000 pages. GuGuData's CNY 83 (about $12) monthly plan charges nothing per call. You get as many pages as GuGuData's rate limit allows.
[80legs's $29 monthly plan](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/80legs/29-monthly/llms.txt) covers any number of pages. 80legs's $29 monthly plan costs more up front than GuGuData's CNY 83 (about $12) monthly plan.
[WebScraping.AI](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/webscraping-ai/29-monthly-personal-get-html-get-page-html-datacenter-proxy-no-js-rendering/llms.txt), [ScraperAPI](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/scraperapi/299-monthly-business-get-sync-api/llms.txt) and [Scrappey](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/scrappey/top-up-pay-as-you-go-post-api-v1-direct-request/llms.txt) are the best web scraping API providers in the Datacircle benchmark.

- This page: https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/how-is/free
- [Web scraping API: 110+ scraper providers compared](https://datacircle.dev/best-web-scraping-api.txt)
- Get it: https://how.is?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=web-scraping-api-pricing
- Request: `POST https://how.is/v1/read`
- API key: not needed
- Its API docs: https://how.is/docs.md?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=web-scraping-api-pricing#read_url
- Sold by: How.is (https://how.is?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=web-scraping-api-pricing)
- Checked: 2026-11-07

## In the answer

- Completeness: 29%
- Screenshot: ✓
- Markdown: ✓

## Price

- $ per 1,000 pages: $0.00
- Per: call
- Billing: free

## Charges

- Also pays for: from the same budget: URL pre-flight · Company card · DNS records · WHOIS / RDAP · Domain age · Domain availability · Domain change history · TLS certificate · DNSSEC · Email authentication · Security score · Blacklist status · IP intelligence · Site status · Page-change watch · Crawler identity check · Crawler identity check (batch)

## Overage

- Units cap: hard

## Not found

- $ per 1,000: $0.00

## In their words

- Their pitch: A page as clean markdown, with the pre-flight verdict attached (screenshot on request)

## Data

- Freshness: live
- Keep data: no limit
- Use data: Do not use the service to break the law, attack the hosts you look up, or resell it as a bulk mirror.

## Plan

- Pay: $0
- You get: 20 requests a day
- Enough for: 20 calls a day
- Expires: 00:00 UTC each day

## Rate limit

- Per day: 20
- Batch: 1

## Speed

- Answer: in the call

## The call

- You send: url. Optional: ua, screenshot
- Method: POST
- Path: /v1/read

## About the plan

- Plan: Free calls
- Who can get it: anyone

## The 15 fields the plan's answer can hold

page markdown, page title, page description, language, canonical URL, final URL, status code, content type, word count, truncated, untrusted content, pre-flight verdict, pre-flight safe-to verdicts, pre-flight reasons, screenshot

## How.is's plans (4)

- [How.is, free](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/how-is/free/llms.txt): $0.00 per 1,000, 29% complete, live
- [How.is, pay as you go](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/how-is/pay-as-you-go/llms.txt): $5.00 per 1,000, 29% complete, live
- [How.is, top-up from $5](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/how-is/top-up-from-5/llms.txt): $5.00 per 1,000, 29% complete, live
- [How.is, $5 monthly](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/how-is/5-monthly/llms.txt): $5.00 per 1,000, 29% complete, live

## How.is's calls for this API (1)

- `POST /v1/read`: [How.is, free](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/how-is/free/llms.txt)

## How.is's APIs (3)

- [How.is: company enrichment API pricing, 4 plans](https://datacircle.dev/company-enrichment-apis/how-is/free/llms.txt)
- [How.is: domain WHOIS API pricing, 4 plans](https://datacircle.dev/domain-whois-apis/how-is/free/llms.txt)
- [How.is: web scraping API pricing, 4 plans](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/how-is/free/llms.txt)

## How.is: web scraping API alternatives

- [WebScraping.AI, top-up from $20, Pay as you go, GET /text, Get Page Text, residential proxy, JS rendering](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/webscraping-ai/top-up-from-20-pay-as-you-go-get-text-get-page-text-residential-proxy-js-rendering/llms.txt): $5.00 per 1,000, 29% complete, live
- [APIFreaks, $10 monthly, Monthly 80,000 credits, POST /scraping, Web Scraper API, JavaScript rendering](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/apifreaks/10-monthly-monthly-80000-credits-post-scraping-web-scraper-api-javascript-rendering/llms.txt): $5.00 per 1,000, 29% complete, live
- [Linkup, top-up, Pay as you go, POST /v1/fetch, Fetch, pro](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/linkup/top-up-pay-as-you-go-post-v1-fetch-fetch-pro/llms.txt): $5.00 per 1,000, 43% complete, live
- [FlyCrawl, $5 pack](https://datacircle.dev/web-scraping-apis/flycrawl/5-pack/llms.txt): $5.00 per 1,000, 43% complete, live

## Sources

From each provider's own pricing page and docs, and from what providers tell us. We read this row from these pages on 2026-11-07.

- https://how.is?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=web-scraping-api-pricing
- https://how.is/docs?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=web-scraping-api-pricing
- https://how.is/docs.md?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=web-scraping-api-pricing
- https://how.is/openapi.json?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=web-scraping-api-pricing
- https://how.is/prices?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=web-scraping-api-pricing
- https://how.is/terms?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=web-scraping-api-pricing