SerpApi vs Zenserp (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, SerpApi grades higher than Zenserp: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
SerpApi grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
SerpApi
Real-time search results API for Google and dozens of other engines
Zenserp
SERP API for Google, Bing, Yandex and DuckDuckGo with monthly plans
Which one is for you
Pick SerpApi if
- Fits if you need Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and other engines in one response format
- Works for low volumes that fit in 250 free searches or 1,000 paid ones a month
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you search in volume, at $25 per 1,000 on Starter where Serper charges $1
- Tight if you're on Free, with 250 searches a month and at most 50 an hour
- Skip it if you want the U.S. Legal Shield on a small plan, as it starts on Production at $150 a month
- Watch out: plans are month to month, and yearly billing is only set up by request
- Watch out: Ludicrous Speed costs twice the price, and refunds stop after 7 days or 20% of a plan's searches
Pick Zenserp if
- Fits if you need Google, Bing and DuckDuckGo results from one key on a fixed monthly quota
- Works for small tests that fit in 50 free Google searches a month
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're on Free, with 50 searches a month and Google Search only
- Pricey if you need batches, keyword volume or AI answer engines, which start at $149.99 a month
- Watch out: each AI Overview request uses 3 searches from your allowance
- Skip it if you need over 1 million searches a month without a sales quote
How we grade them
| 2.4GPASerpApiFair | 2.0GPAZenserpFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $25 a month, on the line of this category's cheaper quarter, but it buys 1,000 searches: $25 per 1,000, where most rivals here charge $1 to $4. Developer is $75 for 5,000, still $15 per 1,000. | CSmall is $49.99 a month for 25,000 searches, $2 per 1,000, at the dear end of this category's usual range. AI answer engines, keyword volume and the batch endpoint wait for Medium at $149.99. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan for good: 250 searches a month, at most 50 an hour. Enough to build against, not to run anything on. | CA free plan for good, but 50 searches a month, Google Search only. Other engines, result types and AI Overviews all need a paid plan. |
| Features | BGoogle Search, AI Mode, AI Overviews, Maps, Shopping, Scholar and Trends, plus Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, Baidu, YouTube, Amazon and Walmart, each run in a full browser near the location you set. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job. | CGoogle with images, maps, news, shopping and trends, plus Bing, Yandex, DuckDuckGo and AI Overviews on paid plans. The gaps are in the listing: no batch endpoint, AI answer engines or keyword volume below $149.99 a month. |
| Ease of use | CJudged on how fast a developer gets a first result: client libraries in eight languages, and cached or failed searches don't count against you. No rating on record. | CJudged on how fast a developer gets a first result: JSON or Markdown back, and usage emails at 90% and 100%. No rating on record, and no client libraries named. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with an API, libraries for Python, JavaScript, Ruby, Go, PHP, Java, Rust and .NET, and an MCP server. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. | CWeb only, with a REST API and no client libraries or integrations named in the listing. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | Google plus many other engines from one key | Google plus Bing and DuckDuckGo on a monthly plan |
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: SerpApi and Zenserp. How we grade
Price against what you get
SerpApi starts at $25 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zenserp starts at $49.99 a month and scores 2.0.
SerpApi scores higher and starts $24.99 a month lower. Of the other SERP and SEO data APIs on the chart, none scores higher than SerpApi for less, and 16 score higher than Zenserp for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| SerpApi | Zenserp | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $25 per month for 1,000 searches, billed monthly | $49.99 per month for 25,000 searches, billed monthly |
| Free plan | 250 searches a month, up to 50 successful searches an hour. No U.S. Legal Shield. | 50 searches a month of Google Search only, with email support. Other engines, result types and AI Overviews need a paid plan. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | SerpApi, LLC | Apilayer Data Products GmbH |
| Price read from | serpapi.com | zenserp.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
SerpApi
- Plans are month to month; the FAQ says yearly billing can only be set up by request while an official yearly plan is in the works.
- The U.S. Legal Shield is not included on the Free, Starter or Developer plans.
- Bigger self-serve plans run from Searcher at $725 for 100,000 searches a month to Cloud plans of 1 million searches and up from $3,750.
- Refunds are offered within 7 days of subscribing, unless more than 20% of the plan's searches have been used.
Zenserp
- The free plan's 50 searches cover Google Search only.
- Each AI Overview request uses 3 searches from the allowance.
- AI answer engines, keyword volume, the batch endpoint and the SLA start at Medium for $149.99 a month.
- Above 1 million searches a month is quoted by sales.
Key features
SerpApi
- Google and many other engines
- Endpoints for Google Search, AI Mode, AI Overview, Maps, Shopping, Scholar, Trends, Flights and Hotels, plus Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, Yandex, Baidu, Naver, YouTube, Amazon, eBay and Walmart.
- Full browser and CAPTCHA solving
- Each request runs immediately in a full browser through a proxy near the chosen location, and results come back as JSON or Markdown.
- Only successful searches counted
- Cached, errored and failed searches do not count against the monthly allowance, and a response with 100 results counts as one search.
- Ludicrous Speed
- An option on every paid plan that sends parallel requests for faster responses, at twice the price; Ludicrous Speed Max is four times the price.
- U.S. Legal Shield
- From the Production plan up, SerpApi says it takes on liability for the lawful collection of public search data, with up to $2 million in coverage.
- Teams and client libraries
- Unlimited team members with admin, developer, billing and viewer roles, and libraries for Python, JavaScript, Ruby, Go, PHP, Java, Rust and .NET, plus an MCP server.
Zenserp
- Google result types
- Web results with ads and snippets, plus image, maps, news, shopping, trends, reverse image and YouTube searches, with geolocated results.
- Other search engines
- Bing, Yandex and DuckDuckGo results on every paid plan.
- AI Overviews and answer engines
- Google AI Overviews with citations on paid plans, at 3 searches each, and answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok and Copilot from Medium up.
- Keyword volume and CPC
- Search volume and cost-per-click data come with the Medium plan and above.
- Batch endpoint
- Send many queries in one batch from the Medium plan; Premium and Enterprise add a custom queue.
- Only successful requests billed
- Invalid or failed requests do not count against the monthly limit, and email alerts go out at 90% and 100% of usage.
Plans
SerpApi
Free$0
250 searches a month with a throughput of 50 an hour.
Starter$25
per month for 1,000 searches, billed monthly
Throughput of 200 successful searches an hour. No U.S. Legal Shield.
Developer$75
per month for 5,000 searches, billed monthly
Throughput of 1,000 successful searches an hour. No U.S. Legal Shield.
Production$150
per month for 15,000 searches, billed monthly
Throughput of 3,000 an hour, and the U.S. Legal Shield with up to $2 million in coverage.
Big Data$275
per month for 30,000 searches, billed monthly
Throughput of 6,000 an hour, with the U.S. Legal Shield.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom volume and throughput, ZeroTrace mode, which stores no search data, and priority support. Sold through sales.
Zenserp
Free$0
50 Google searches a month.
Small$49.99
per month for 25,000 searches, billed monthly
$2.00 per 1,000. Bing, Yandex, DuckDuckGo, images, news, maps, shopping, trends, video, hotels, flights, jobs, Markdown and AI Overviews.
Medium$149.99
per month for 100,000 searches, billed monthly
$1.50 per 1,000. Adds the batch endpoint, keyword volume and CPC, AI answer engines, personal support, onboarding and an SLA.
Large$299.99
per month for 250,000 searches, billed monthly
$1.20 per 1,000, with everything in Medium.
Premium$499.99
per month for 500,000 searches, billed monthly
$1.00 per 1,000, plus a custom queue.
Enterprise$899
per month for 1,000,000 searches, billed monthly
$0.90 per 1,000, plus priority support. Above 1 million searches a month is a custom quote.
Ways to pay less
SerpApi
- Education
Special pricing for students and educators
SerpApi's FAQ says universities, students and educators can email about their project and budget to arrange special pricing.
Zenserp
- Annual discount
20% off with yearly billing
Zenserp's pricing page offers a 20% discount on a yearly subscription compared with paying monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, SerpApi or Zenserp?
As of Oct 23, 2026, SerpApi is cheaper to start with: $25 a month, against $49.99 a month for Zenserp. SerpApi starts at $25 per month for 1,000 searches, billed monthly, and Zenserp starts at $49.99 per month for 25,000 searches, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, SerpApi or Zenserp?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both SerpApi and Zenserp have a free plan.
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.