Best SERP and Keyword APIs for Developers: Ten Options Compared
best-of hub, checked 11 Nov 2026Alright, let’s sort this out. The best SERP and keyword APIs for developers return search results as structured data, so your code can read rankings without scraping by hand. I read ten vendors’ own pages and compared prices, limits and free starts.
// disclosure: I sell SEO services. No vendor pays for a place on this list.
- vendor pages read on 11 Nov 2026
- not hands-on tests
- unread facts marked “not verified”
| position | type | title | domain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | organic | Emergency Plumber Austin | example-plumber.com |
| 2 | organic | 24/7 Plumbing Repair | example-pipes.com |
| 3 | people also ask | How much is a plumber call-out? | – |
| 4 | organic | Plumber Prices Explained | example-guide.com |
// example data, not a real response. A SERP API returns fields like these as JSON, and the vendor bills you per request.
SERP and Keyword APIs in One Glance
A SERP API takes a search phrase, a place and a device, and returns the results page as JSON. You pay per request, so the cost per 1,000 searches is the number to compare.
Google runs its own option, the Custom Search JSON API, with 100 free queries a day and $5 per 1,000 queries after that, up to 10,000 a day. But Google’s page also says it is closed to new customers and that existing customers have until 1 January 2027 to move. That gap is why third-party SERP APIs exist. If you need budget SEO tools without code, see my list of affordable SEO software.
The Short Answer: My Top Three
SerpApi, Zenserp and SearchApi are my top three, because their pages print clear plans, limits and a free start. Cheaper per-request options exist, but their pages told me less.
SerpApi
A plain six-row plan table with searches per month and hourly throughput, plus 250 free searches. Best for clarity and a low-risk start.
Zenserp
Plans from $49.99 for 25,000 searches, a 50-search free plan and charges only for successful requests. Best for volume per dollar among the clear pages.
SearchApi
Prints the price per 1,000 searches on every plan, with 100 free requests. Best when you want to budget fast.
// opinion from published information, not from using the APIs. Prices change; check the vendor before you pay.
The Ranking, Scored Out of 20
Here are all ten APIs in order. The bars show the total score out of 20; the last two could not be scored because their pages did not load.
// my scores, from vendor pages read on 11 Nov 2026.
How I Scored Them
Each API gets 1 to 5 on four criteria, so the maximum is 20. These scores are editorial opinion based on published information. They are not hands-on tests, and I did not call any of these APIs.
Price Clarity
Can you work out the cost per 1,000 searches from the page? Missing tables or math that does not add up lose points.
Fit for Developers
Is search data the main product, with structured results? General scraping tools that do not state a search cost score lower.
Limits Stated
Are volume, throughput, credits and what counts as a search written down? Hidden rules cost points.
Ease of Starting
Is there a free plan or free credits, and does it need a card? Easier to test means a higher score.
A fact I could not read is marked “not verified”, and that API never enters the top three. Prices are shown as “from $X per month, vendor-stated, checked 11 Nov 2026”. Where I divide a price by a volume, I say it is my arithmetic.
The Ten APIs, One by One
Each card says what the API is, who it fits, when to skip it, the vendor-stated starting price and one flag.
SerpApi
SerpApi sells search results from many engines as JSON. Its pricing page prints a clean table: Free gives 250 searches a month at 50 per hour, Starter costs $25 for 1,000 searches, Developer $75 for 5,000, Production $150 for 15,000 and Big Data $275 for 30,000, with Enterprise on request. Plans are billed month to month. The Free plan also lists a U.S. Legal Shield, ZeroTrace mode and priority support. My arithmetic puts the cost at $25 per 1,000 searches on Starter and about $9.17 on Big Data.
Fits: a developer building a rank tracker or a research script who wants predictable bills. Skip if: you need millions of cheap searches; the per-search price is higher than most here. Price: free, then from $25 per month, vendor-stated, checked 11 Nov 2026. Flag: throughput per hour is capped by plan.
Zenserp
Zenserp lists six plans in monthly billing. Free gives 50 searches. Small costs $49.99 for 25,000 searches, Medium $149.99 for 100,000, Large $299.99 for 250,000, Premium $499.99 for 500,000 and Enterprise $899 for 1,000,000, with a custom quote above that. The page says only successful requests count, and that each AI Overview request uses 3 searches. Annual plans get 20% off, though yearly prices are not printed. My arithmetic: about $2.00 per 1,000 searches on Small and $0.90 on Enterprise.
Fits: an app that runs tens of thousands of checks a month. Skip if: you only need a few hundred searches, where SerpApi’s lower tier is simpler. Price: free, then from $49.99 per month, vendor-stated, checked 11 Nov 2026. Flag: AI Overview requests cost three searches each.
SearchApi
SearchApi prints the unit price on every plan. Developer costs $40 for 10,000 searches at $4 per 1,000, Production $100 for 35,000 at $3, BigData $250 for 100,000 at $2.5 and Scale $500 for 250,000 at $2, with larger Octo plans down to $1 per 1,000 at 5,000,000 searches. New accounts get 100 free requests with no card. It is easy to budget from the page.
Fits: a developer who wants the per-1,000 price in plain sight. Skip if: you need a bigger free tier to prototype. Price: from $40 per month for 10,000 searches, vendor-stated, checked 11 Nov 2026. Flag: the Production plan lists $3 per 1,000 but 35,000 searches at that rate would be $105, not $100, and the page does not explain the difference, so confirm before budgeting around it.
Scrapingdog
Scrapingdog sells scraping and search endpoints on a credit system. Lite costs $40 for 200,000 credits at 5 concurrent requests, Standard $90 for 1,000,000, Pro $200 for 3,000,000, and the table runs up to $30,000 a month. For Google it lists a SERP Advance API at 10 credits per request and a SERP Light API at 5 credits. On Pro that works out to 300,000 or 600,000 requests, about $0.667 or $0.333 per 1,000. Failed requests are not charged.
Fits: a developer who wants cheap search plus general scraping on one key. Skip if: you want a single clear search price. Price: free with 100 credits, then from $40 per month, vendor-stated, checked 11 Nov 2026. Flag: the page does not say which Google endpoint is the standard one, and paid trial length is not stated.
Serper
Serper is a lightweight Google search API. The page says you get 2,500 free queries with no card, and its description says prices start at $0.30 per 1,000 queries. That is the lowest per-search figure on this list, with a free tier larger than most. The page I could read was long and truncated, so I could not confirm the paid tiers or whether the $0.30 applies to every volume.
Fits: a hobby project or prototype that needs lots of cheap Google queries. Skip if: you need written limits and tier prices before committing. Price: from $0.30 per 1,000 queries, vendor-stated, checked 11 Nov 2026. Flag: tier prices and credit rules were not readable, so price clarity and limits score lower.
ScrapingBee
ScrapingBee is a general web scraping API with credits. Its pricing page lists Hobby at $19 for 75,000 credits, Freelance at $49 for 250,000, Startup at $99 for 1,000,000, Business at $249 for 3,000,000 and Business+ at $599 for 8,000,000, plus Enterprise plans up to $5,799. Requests start at 1 credit, JavaScript rendering costs 5 and premium proxies 10 or 25. New accounts get 1,000 free credits with no card. Credits expire after one month, and prices exclude VAT.
Fits: a developer who scrapes many kinds of pages and sometimes search results. Skip if: you want a stated cost per Google search; the page I read lists none. Price: from $19 per month, vendor-stated, checked 11 Nov 2026. Flag: the credit cost of a Google search request is not printed on the pricing page, so you must confirm it in the docs.
Value SERP
Value SERP’s pricing now sits on its parent company’s site. The plan table, shown with annual billing, lists Starter at $50 a month for 25,000 credits at $1.60 per 1,000, Mid at $240 for 200,000 at $1.20 and High at $1,000 for 1,000,000 at $1.00, with real-time rate limits of 250, 1,000 and 1,500 per minute. A monthly billing option exists, annual billing is described as 10% cheaper, and you can start without a card.
Fits: a developer who needs batches of up to 10,000 searches. Skip if: you need the free trial size; the page does not state how many credits it includes. Price: from $50 per month on annual billing, vendor-stated, checked 11 Nov 2026. Flag: other sections of the page quote $2.50 per 1,000 searches and “as low as $0.50”, which do not match the table.
DataForSEO
DataForSEO is a large API provider for SEO data. On the SERP API pricing page I read, every listed SERP API starts at $0.0006 per SERP. YouTube is priced per task of 20 results, and the other engines per SERP with a stated result count, such as 10 for Bing and Baidu. My arithmetic: $0.0006 per SERP is about $0.60 per 1,000. The page links to separate rate pages for each engine and processing mode.
Fits: a developer who wants pay-as-you-go search data at very low volume cost and is comfortable reading rate tables. Skip if: you want one price and one limit on a single page. Price: from $0.0006 per SERP, vendor-stated, checked 11 Nov 2026. Flag: exact rates by mode and the minimum deposit are not on that page, so I could not verify them. I did not read its keyword data pages.
Bright Data
Bright Data sells proxies and scraping tools, including a SERP API. On 11 Nov 2026 its SERP API pricing page failed to load for my fetch tool, so I cannot give you a price per 1,000 requests, a plan, a limit or a trial. I will not fill the gap from memory, and by my own rule it cannot enter the top three. It stays on the list so you can check it. Open the page in a normal browser and write down the cost per 1,000 successful requests, any minimum commitment, the trial terms and whether failed requests are billed. Then score it with the four criteria above.
Fits: unknown. Skip if: you need confirmed numbers today. Price: not verified. Flag: everything about it is unverified here.
Oxylabs
Oxylabs is another large proxy and scraping vendor with a SERP scraper API. On 11 Nov 2026 its pricing page also failed to load for my tool, so the same rule applies. I cannot state a plan, a price per 1,000 results, a result limit or a trial, and I will not guess from memory. It stays out of the top three. To evaluate it yourself, read the pricing page and note the monthly commitment, the included results, the price per 1,000 results, the free trial terms and what counts as a successful request. Then compare those numbers with SerpApi and Zenserp, whose pages were readable.
Fits: unknown. Skip if: you need confirmed numbers today. Price: not verified. Flag: everything about it is unverified here.
What to Check Before You Integrate
Check what counts as a request, how fast you can send them, and what happens when one fails. Those three rules decide your real cost more than the headline price.
This section is my opinion from building small tools, not a vendor rule. Start with the unit. SerpApi counts searches, ScrapingBee counts credits that change with options, and Scrapingdog uses 5 or 10 credits per Google request depending on the endpoint. Zenserp counts each AI Overview request as 3 searches. So a plan that looks cheap can cost more once you turn features on.
Next, look at speed. SerpApi prints throughput per hour for each plan, from 50 on Free to 6,000 on Big Data, and Value SERP prints real-time limits per minute. A rank tracker that checks 5,000 keywords in the morning needs a plan that can send them in a reasonable window. Then check failure billing. Zenserp says only successful requests count, and Scrapingdog says failed requests are not charged. If a page does not say, ask the vendor before you scale.
Finally, design for the bill. Cache results, since a ranking that is one hour old is usually fine for a report. Batch your keywords and run them on a schedule, not on every page view. And keep the vendor behind a small wrapper in your code, so you can switch if prices change. If you want help building a tool like this around your site, I take web development work as well as SEO. For API pricing from another angle, see my notes on Surfer SEO API pricing.
Quick Picks by Situation
If you do not want to read every card, match your situation below. These picks are my opinion from the published pages.
- A weekend prototype: Serper lists 2,500 free queries with no card, which is the largest free start I could read.
- A small rank tracker for a few clients: SerpApi’s Starter lists 1,000 searches for $25 and prints an hourly throughput cap, so you can plan batches.
- A tool that runs tens of thousands of checks a month: Zenserp lists 25,000 searches for $49.99 and only counts successful requests.
- A developer who wants the unit price in plain sight: SearchApi prints dollars per 1,000 searches on every plan.
- A project that also scrapes other pages: ScrapingBee and Scrapingdog sell general scraping with credits, but check the credit cost of a Google request first.
- A very large, cost-driven workload: read DataForSEO’s per-engine rate pages, since its starting rate is the lowest I could verify.
In every case, run your real keyword list through the free tier first and compare the cost per 1,000 searches you actually pay, not the one on the banner.
My Top Three Side by Side
The top three all print their plans. They differ in how small you can start and how the unit price falls with volume.
| SerpApi | Zenserp | SearchApi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free start | 250 searches a month | 50 searches | 100 free requests |
| First paid plan | $25 for 1,000 searches | $49.99 for 25,000 searches | $40 for 10,000 searches |
| Cost per 1,000 at entry | $25 (my arithmetic) | $2.00 (my arithmetic) | $4 (printed) |
| Biggest listed plan | 30,000 searches, $275 | 1,000,000 searches, $899 | 5,000,000 searches, $5,000 |
| Best for | Small, predictable use | Mid volume at low unit cost | Fast budgeting |
// all values vendor-stated or marked as my arithmetic, checked 11 Nov 2026. My top pick is the highlighted column.
The Price Ladder, Cost per 1,000 Searches
The cost per 1,000 searches at the entry level runs from $0.30 to $25. The spread is large, so volume is what you should decide first.
// SearchApi, Value SERP and Serper are printed by the vendor. SerpApi, Zenserp, Scrapingdog and DataForSEO are my arithmetic from printed prices. ScrapingBee prints no Google search cost; Bright Data and Oxylabs are not verified. Checked 11 Nov 2026.
Six Head-to-Head Duels
These are the pairings developers ask me about most. Each answer is a call between the two, based on their own pages.
SerpApi vs Zenserp
SerpApi starts smaller and costs more per search. Zenserp starts at 25,000 searches and costs far less per search. Choose SerpApi for a small tool, Zenserp for volume.
Zenserp vs SearchApi
Zenserp is cheaper at mid volume by my arithmetic. SearchApi prints the unit price and scales to 5,000,000 searches. Check SearchApi’s Production price mismatch first.
Serper vs DataForSEO
Both advertise very low starting prices. Serper gives 2,500 free queries, while DataForSEO sends you to separate rate pages. Serper is simpler to start with.
Scrapingdog vs ScrapingBee
Scrapingdog prints Google credit costs of 5 or 10 per request. ScrapingBee does not print one on its pricing page. For search work, Scrapingdog is clearer.
Value SERP vs SearchApi
Value SERP starts at $50 for 25,000 credits, and SearchApi at $40 for 10,000 searches. Value SERP is cheaper per search, but its page contradicts itself on rates.
Google’s API vs a Third Party
Google’s Custom Search JSON API charges $5 per 1,000 after 100 free a day, but it is closed to new customers. A third-party API is the practical choice for a new project.
How to Choose in Five Steps
Pick by volume first. Price per search matters only once you know how many searches you run.
- Estimate monthly searches. 500 keywords checked weekly is about 2,000 searches a month.
- Check throughput. Make sure the plan can send your batch within the time you need.
- Test the free tier. SerpApi, Zenserp, SearchApi, Serper, ScrapingBee and Scrapingdog all have a free start.
- Calculate the real unit. Include extra credit costs, such as 3 searches for an AI Overview on Zenserp.
- Wrap the vendor. Keep one small function around the API, so switching later takes an hour.
Six Common Mistakes and Their Fixes
Most surprise bills come from the unit, not the headline price. Here are the six I see most.
Comparing Credits With Searches
A credit is not a search. Fix: convert every plan to cost per 1,000 searches first.
Forgetting Multipliers
Zenserp counts an AI Overview request as 3 searches. Fix: read the multiplier list.
Ignoring Throughput
SerpApi caps searches per hour by plan. Fix: match the cap to your batch size.
Assuming Failed Requests Are Free
Only some vendors say so. Fix: confirm before scaling.
Not Caching
Paying twice for the same result wastes money. Fix: cache results for a sensible window.
Trusting “Unlimited”
I have yet to see “unlimited searches” survive a fair-use clause. Fix: read the limits table, not the banner.
Limits of This Comparison
This is a desk comparison, not a lab test. Please treat it as a shortlist, not a verdict.
- I did not call or test any API. Every fact comes from a vendor page read on 11 Nov 2026.
- Scores are my opinion, using the four criteria above.
- I compared search-results APIs. Keyword volume and difficulty endpoints are separate products at several vendors, and I did not read their pricing pages.
- I did not compare data accuracy, speed or uptime, and I did not check anyone’s terms of use. Read them before you build.
- Two vendors had pages I could not read, so they are marked and kept out of the top three.
Questions People Ask Me First
Short answers to the questions I get most about SERP and keyword APIs.
What is a SERP API?
It is a service that takes a search phrase and returns the search results page as structured data. You send a request, get JSON back and pay per request.
Which SERP API is best for developers?
From the pages I could read, SerpApi and Zenserp tie at 19 of 20, with SearchApi at 18. SerpApi suits small tools, and Zenserp suits higher volume.
Is there a free SERP API?
Several have free starts: SerpApi gives 250 searches a month, Serper 2,500 free queries, ScrapingBee 1,000 credits, Zenserp 50 searches and SearchApi 100 requests.
What about Google’s own API?
Google’s Custom Search JSON API gives 100 free queries a day and charges $5 per 1,000 after that. Its page says it is closed to new customers, and existing customers have until 1 January 2027 to move.
How do I compare the prices?
Convert every plan to cost per 1,000 searches, then add any multipliers. Credit plans and search plans are not the same unit.
Do these APIs also give keyword volume?
Some vendors sell keyword data separately. I only compared the search-results products here, so check each vendor’s keyword pages.
Are the prices final?
No. They are vendor-stated prices checked on 11 Nov 2026, and some pages contradict themselves. Confirm at checkout.
Can you build a rank tracker for me?
Yes. I’m a WordPress and web developer as well as an SEO, and you can see what I build on my web development services page. I’d quote hours before I start.
Want the Data and the Fixes From One Person?
If you would rather hand over both the tooling and the SEO work, my cheap SEO services include technical, on-page, local and link work in every plan, from €475 a month, and I also write code. Message me what you want to build and I will tell you the hours.
// disclosure: I sell SEO services. No vendor pays for a place on this list.
Sources and Last Check
- Google Programmable Search: Custom Search JSON API overview (100 free queries a day; $5 per 1,000; closed to new customers)
- Vendor pages read on 11 Nov 2026, named without links: SerpApi pricing, Zenserp pricing, SearchApi pricing, Scrapingdog pricing, Serper homepage, ScrapingBee pricing, Value SERP pricing, DataForSEO SERP API pricing. Bright Data’s and Oxylabs’s pricing pages could not be read.
// last checked 11 Nov 2026. Prices are vendor-stated and change often. Scores are my opinion.