DataForSEO vs OpenSerp (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, DataForSEO grades higher than OpenSerp: 2.8 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
DataForSEO grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. OpenSerp grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
DataForSEO
Pay-as-you-go APIs for SERP, keyword, backlink and AI mention data
Free trial · from $50
Which one is for you
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
Pick OpenSerp if
- Fits if you want to pay only for the rank checks you run, with no subscription
- Works for people who need Bing, Yahoo or Brave positions next to Google
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try it first, as there's no free plan, trial or starting credit
- Skip it if local packs or AI Overviews matter to you, as it doesn't track them yet
- Watch out: top-up amounts only show after signing in, and unused balance expires after 12 months without paid usage
- Tight if you might want money back, as refunds cover card top-ups only within 24 hours and with under 10% used
- Watch out: traffic estimates need search volumes you import from Keyword Planner, Ahrefs or Semrush
How we grade them
| 2.8GPADataForSEOGood | 2.0GPAOpenSerpFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | ANo plans, just $0.0005 per results page from a prepaid balance. OpenSerp puts 250 keywords checked daily on Google at about $3.75 a month, under 60% of this category's cheaper quarter ($10). Keywords past page one cost more, as each extra page is billed. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | FNothing free on record: no free plan, trial or sign-up credit. Every check draws on a balance you fund first, and refunds cover card top-ups only within 24 hours with under 10% used. |
| Features | 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. | CChecks every 3 hours, daily or weekly on four engines, up to 4 competitors per keyword, plain-language reports, bulk scraping and a SERP API. The gaps it lists: no local pack or AI Overview tracking yet, and traffic estimates need volumes you import. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo rating on record. Nothing to install, but you fund a balance, set engines, frequency and competitors, and bring your own search volumes for traffic estimates. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | CWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. Its API is a separate product that returns search results, and the only other links on record are search volumes imported from Keyword Planner, Ahrefs or Semrush. |
| Best for | SEO data for building your own tools | pay-per-check tracking on Google, Bing, Yahoo and Brave |
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: DataForSEO and OpenSerp. How we grade
Where they differ
- DataForSEO also covers keyword research, site audit, backlink analysis and AI search visibility.
- OpenSerp also covers rank tracking.
In commonWebSERP API
At a glance
| DataForSEO | OpenSerp | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $50 minimum top-up, used as you go | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | $1 of trial credit for new accounts, plus a free Sandbox that returns sample responses | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | DataForSEO OU | OpenSerp |
| Price read from | dataforseo.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
OpenSerp
- There are no plans: rank checks cost $0.0005 per results page from a prepaid balance; OpenSerp puts 250 keywords checked daily on Google at about $3.75 a month.
- Bulk scraping costs $0.0001 per successful query and the SERP API $0.0005 per call; top-up amounts are only shown after signing in.
- Unused balance expires after 12 months without paid usage, and refunds cover card top-ups only within 24 hours, with under 10% used.
- It does not yet track local packs or AI Overviews, and traffic estimates need search volumes imported from Keyword Planner, Ahrefs or Semrush.
Key features
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.
OpenSerp
- Rank tracking on four engines
- Checks keywords every 3 hours, daily or weekly on Google, Bing, Yahoo and Brave, and stops paging once your domains are found.
- Competitor tracking
- Follows up to 4 competitors per keyword, with head-to-head results, keyword gaps and rivals you had not named.
- Plain-language reports
- Each report opens with what rose, what fell and who overtook you, then lists keywords close to the top 3 and pages stuck on page 2.
- Cloud Scraping
- Upload a TXT or CSV keyword file of up to 50 MB and get deduplicated, filtered URLs, titles and snippets back as TXT, CSV or JSON.
- SERP API
- One request returns one page of results as JSON from any of the four engines, with idempotent retries and no OpenSerp branding.
Plans
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.
OpenSerp
Pricing could not be confirmed. See openserp.dev.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, DataForSEO or OpenSerp?
As of Oct 23, 2026, DataForSEO starts at $50 minimum top-up, used as you go, and OpenSerp has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, DataForSEO or OpenSerp?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither DataForSEO nor OpenSerp has a free plan. DataForSEO 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.