Bright Data SERP API vs DataForSEO (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick DataForSEO: it is first in our ranking of SERP and SEO data APIs, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 2.6.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Bright Data SERP API grades higher on the free plan. DataForSEO grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bright Data SERP API
Search results API on Bright Data's proxy network, with AI engines
DataForSEO
Pay-as-you-go APIs for SERP, keyword, backlink and AI mention data
Which one is for you
Pick Bright Data SERP API if
- Fits if you already buy Bright Data proxies or scrapers and want search data on the same account
- Works for rank checks across many countries and cities that can wait for async batches
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want a plan, as the cheapest is $499 a month for 380,000 requests
- Skip it if you need SSO, volume discounts or a premium SLA without a sales call, as all three are Enterprise only
- Watch out: proxies, scrapers, datasets and the Unlocker API are separate products with their own prices
- Watch out: the Ultra Fast endpoint, with results in about a second, is sold only through sales
Pick DataForSEO if
- Fits if you're building your own rank tracker, keyword tool or backlink checker and want one bill for the data
- Works for batch jobs that can wait minutes for a queued result at $0.60 per 1,000
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want reports to look at, since it returns JSON with no SEO dashboard
- Tight if you're only testing, as the $1 trial credit goes fast and the next step is a $50 top-up
- Watch out: search operators multiply the price of a Google query by five
- Pricey if you pull backlinks or AI mentions in bulk, at $0.024 a task plus $0.000036 a row, and $0.1 a task plus $0.001 a row
How we grade them
| 2.6GPABright Data SERP APIGood | 2.8GPADataForSEOGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPlans start at $499 a month for 380,000 requests, in this category's dearest tenth, but you don't need one: pay as you go is $1.50 per 1,000 with a monthly spending limit, near the middle of what rivals here charge. | B$50 is the smallest top-up and the balance never expires, a first spend at the dear end of this category's usual $25 to $50. The rate lifts it: Google results are $0.60 per 1,000 in the standard queue and $2 live, where most rivals here charge $1 to $4. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free tier of 5,000 requests a month with no card, which a small project could run on. Its pricing page also matches a first deposit dollar for dollar, up to $500. | CNo free plan. New accounts get $1 of trial credit and a Sandbox that returns sample responses, enough to wire up your code, and then it's a $50 top-up. |
| Features | BGoogle on every country domain plus Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Baidu, Yahoo and Naver, with city targeting, desktop or mobile, async batches and answer engines in the playground. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job. | ASearch results from Google, Bing, YouTube, Yahoo, Baidu, Naver and Seznam, plus keyword volumes, its own backlink index back to 2019, site crawls and brand mentions in ChatGPT and AI Overviews. No other API in this category covers that much of the SEO job from one key. |
| Ease of use | CJudged on how fast a developer gets a first result: a playground, and JSON, HTML or Markdown back. No rating on record, and the SERP API is one of many Bright Data products, each priced on its own. | CJudged on how fast a developer gets a first result: a Sandbox, spending limits per API and connectors for Sheets, n8n and Make. No rating on record, and each API is billed per SERP, task, row or page, which takes reading before you start. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with an API and LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI, n8n, Dify, Postman and AWS Marketplace. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. | BWeb, with an API and connectors for Google Sheets, n8n, Make, Zapier, Airtable, Postman and Pabbly. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | search results across many countries and engines | SEO data for building your own tools |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bright Data SERP API and DataForSEO. How we grade
Where they differ
- DataForSEO also covers keyword research, site audit, backlink analysis and AI search visibility.
At a glance
| Bright Data SERP API | DataForSEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $499 per month for 380,000 requests | $50 minimum top-up, used as you go |
| Free plan | 5,000 requests a month, no credit card required. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | $1 of trial credit for new accounts, plus a free Sandbox that returns sample responses |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Bright Data Ltd. | DataForSEO OU |
| Price read from | brightdata.com | dataforseo.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bright Data SERP API
- Pay as you go is $1.50 per 1,000 requests with monthly spend limits; Scale plans lower the rate to $1.30, $1.10 or $1 per 1,000.
- Every API call counts as a request; in async mode only sending the request is counted.
- Volume discounts, SSO and the premium SLA come only with the custom-priced Enterprise plan.
- Proxies, web scrapers, datasets and the Unlocker API are separate Bright Data products, each with its own prices.
DataForSEO
- Google organic results cost $0.0006 per SERP in the standard queue, $0.0012 in the priority queue and $0.002 live; search operators multiply the price by five.
- Backlinks API calls cost $0.024 per task plus $0.000036 per row, and LLM Mentions $0.1 per task plus $0.001 per row.
- There is no free plan: after the $1 trial credit, the account needs a top-up of at least $50.
- It is a data API with no ready-made SEO dashboard; results come back as JSON for your own code or a connector.
Key features
Bright Data SERP API
- Seven search engines
- Google on all its country domains, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Baidu, Yahoo and Naver, with search, shopping, maps, hotels, images, trends, reviews, news, flights, ads, videos and jobs.
- Answer engines
- The playground queries ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok and Microsoft Copilot, and a parameter makes Google AI Overviews more likely to appear in results.
- Location and device targeting
- Results from any of 195 countries with city-level targeting, desktop or mobile user agents and a choice of browser.
- Async batch mode
- For large batches only sending the request is billed; responses are kept for 48 hours, usually ready in 5 minutes, and can be downloaded again at no charge.
- Output formats
- Parsed JSON for applications, Markdown for AI models and agents, or raw HTML for your own parsing.
- Fast SERP
- A Fast Parser returns only Google's top 10 results with lower latency, and an Ultra Fast endpoint, sold through sales, returns Google and Bing results in about a second.
DataForSEO
- SERP API
- Search results from Google (organic, Maps, AI Mode, News, Images, Jobs and more), Bing, YouTube, Yahoo, Baidu, Naver and Seznam, in queued or live modes.
- Keyword data
- Search volume and keyword metrics from Google Ads, Bing Ads, Google Trends and clickstream sources, plus the Labs API for keyword and competitor research.
- Backlinks API
- Backlink profiles, referring domains, anchors and link history back to 2019 from DataForSEO's own continuously crawled index, with bulk endpoints for up to 1,000 targets.
- On-Page and Lighthouse
- Crawls websites, audits pages, parses content and takes screenshots, priced from $0.00015 a page.
- AI Optimization API
- LLM Mentions draws on a database of over 280 million prompts and answers from ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews; other endpoints return LLM responses and AI search volume.
- Spending controls
- The dashboard tracks usage and cost, sets daily spending limits per account, API or endpoint, and can top up the balance automatically.
Plans
Bright Data SERP API
Free Tier$0
5,000 requests a month with expert support.
Scale 380K$499
per month for 380,000 requests
Extra requests at $1.30 per 1,000, unlimited concurrency, cancel anytime.
Scale 900K$999
per month for 900,000 requests
Extra requests at $1.10 per 1,000, unlimited concurrency.
Scale 2M$1,999
per month for 2 million requests
Extra requests at $1 per 1,000, unlimited concurrency.
EnterpriseCustom
Volume discounts, an account manager, a premium SLA, priority support and SSO. Sold through sales.
DataForSEO
Pay as you go$50
one-time top-up, used as you go
No subscription: the balance never expires and each API is billed at its own rate per SERP, task, row or page.
Ways to pay less
Bright Data SERP API
- Other savings
First deposit matched up to $500
Bright Data's SERP API pricing says it matches a new account's first deposit dollar for dollar, up to $500.
- Startups
Up to $20,000 in credits for AI startups
The AI Startup Program offers up to $20,000 in platform credits to AI startups from pre-seed to Series A, after an application and a call.
DataForSEO
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bright Data SERP API or DataForSEO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Bright Data SERP API starts at $499 per month for 380,000 requests, and DataForSEO starts at $50 minimum top-up, used as you go.
Which has a free plan, Bright Data SERP API or DataForSEO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Bright Data SERP API has a free plan. DataForSEO does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.