Stream Comparison - Scrapest

Choose the right streaming method for your use case.

Feature Comparison

Feature	WebSocket	Public SSE	Private SSE
Endpoint	`wss://scrape.st/ws`	`GET /stream`	`GET /stream?token=`
Authentication	`x-api-key` header	None	Token (24h, via `/stream/token`)
Direction	Bidirectional	Server → Client	Server → Client
Payload	Full `SourceEvent`	Truncated (100 chars)	Full `SourceEvent`
X enriched	✅	❌ (fast-x only)	✅
Telegram / Discord	✅	✅	✅
Auto-reconnect	❌ (implement yourself)	✅ (built-in `EventSource`)	✅ (built-in `EventSource`)
Buffer on reconnect	❌	✅ Last 5 events	✅ Last 5 events
Keepalive	Ping/Pong (30s interval)	`:` comment (15s interval)	`:` comment (15s interval)
Dead timeout	60s	N/A	N/A
Best for	Production bots, trading	Demos, public dashboards	Production web apps

When to Use What

WebSocket

Use when you need:

Full payload for all sources
Bidirectional communication
Fine-grained connection control
Server-side Node.js / Python apps

→ WebSocket docs

Public SSE

Use when you need:

Quick prototype, zero setup
No API key at hand
Public monitoring dashboard
Browser-only (no backend)

→ Public SSE docs

Private SSE

Use when you need:

Full data in a browser app
Automatic reconnection
Token-based auth (no exposed API key)
Frontend EventSource compatibility

→ Private SSE docs

Latency

All methods deliver data within milliseconds of each other:

Method	Typical Latency (fast-x)	Typical Latency (enriched)
WebSocket	~50ms	~200-500ms
Public SSE	~50ms	N/A (not streamed)
Private SSE	~50ms	~200-500ms

Query Parameters (All Methods)

Parameter	WebSocket	Public SSE	Private SSE	Description
`useFastX`	✅	✅	✅	Receive fast-x push events
`ignoreFullPayload`	✅	N/A	✅	Skip enriched X payloads
`token`	N/A	N/A	✅	Authentication token

Streams WebSocket