Serper vs serpstack (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Serper grades higher than serpstack: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Serper grades higher on value for money and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Serper
Google search results API sold in prepaid credit packs
serpstack
Google search results API from apilayer, with monthly search quotas
Which one is for you
Pick Serper if
- Fits if you only need Google and would rather pay per query than per month
- Works for AI agents on LangChain or CrewAI that need current Google results
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need Bing, Yahoo or any engine other than Google
- Watch out: credits expire 6 months after purchase, so a big pack you don't use up is money lost
- Tight if you're testing, as the 2,500 free queries come once and there's no monthly free plan
- Watch out: refunds run 7 days from the first payment, and only with under 20% of the credits used
Pick serpstack if
- Fits if you already use other apilayer APIs and want Google results on the same account
- Works for non-commercial projects that fit in 100 free searches a month
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need Bing or any engine other than Google
- Watch out: checkout pre-selects Platinum Support, which the FAQ prices from $479.88 a year
- Watch out: going over the quota bills each extra search, from $0.023992 on Basic, rather than stopping
- Not for you if your free project is commercial, since the free plan rules that out
- Tight if you want yearly billing later, as switching from monthly needs a request to sales
How we grade them
| 2.4GPASerperFair | 2.0GPAserpstackFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$50 buys 50,000 Google queries, $1 per 1,000, one of the lowest rates in this category, and bigger packs fall to $0.30. The first spend is at the dear end of the usual $25 to $50, though, and the credits lapse after 6 months. | CBasic is $26.99 a month on yearly billing ($29.99 monthly) for 5,000 searches, about $5.40 per 1,000, so the low entry buys fewer searches than most rivals give. Each search past the quota is about $0.024. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but 2,500 free queries with no card. They're a one-off, not a monthly allowance. | CA free plan for good, but 100 searches a month, non-commercial use only, JSON only and no support. |
| Features | CTen Google result types, from web and maps to Scholar, patents and autocomplete, fetched live with country and language set. Google only, though: no Bing, Yahoo or other engine, which the listing itself points out. | CGoogle web, image, video, news and shopping results with ads and related questions, by device and down to the city. It covers Google only: the plans list just the Google Search API. |
| Ease of use | CJudged on how fast a developer gets a first result: most results in 1 to 2 seconds and 2,500 free queries to test with. No rating on record, and no client libraries named. | CJudged on how fast a developer gets a first result: plain HTTP GET calls returning JSON or CSV, with alerts at 75%, 90% and 100% of the quota. No rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with an API and listed integrations with LangChain, CrewAI, Haystack and Jan AI. 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 | live Google results on prepaid credits | Google results on a fixed monthly quota |
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: Serper and serpstack. How we grade
Where they differ
At a glance
| Serper | serpstack | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $50 one-time for 50,000 credits ($1.00 per 1,000 queries) | $26.99 per month for 5,000 searches, billed yearly ($29.99 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | 100 searches a month for non-commercial use, JSON output only and no support. |
| Free trial | 2,500 free queries, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Serper.dev | apilayer |
| Price read from | serper.dev | serpstack.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Serper
- Its site lists Google endpoints only, with no Bing, Yahoo or other search engines.
- Credits expire 6 months after purchase, so a large pack bought for a lower rate can go unused.
- Refunds are given within 7 days of the first payment only if less than 20% of the credits are used.
- The 2,500 free queries are a one-time allowance, not a monthly free plan.
serpstack
- The free plan is for non-commercial use only, with JSON output and no support.
- Going over the quota is billed per extra search, from $0.023992 each on Basic, rather than cut off.
- Checkout pre-selects an optional Platinum Support add-on billed yearly, which the FAQ prices from $479.88 a year.
- The plans list only the Google Search API; switching from monthly to yearly billing needs a request to sales.
Key features
Serper
- Ten Google result types
- Endpoints for Google web search, images, news, maps, places, videos, shopping, Scholar, patents and autocomplete.
- Live results
- Each call queries Google directly and nothing is cached; most results return in 1 to 2 seconds, sometimes 2 to 4 when a request is retried.
- Location and language
- Every pack lets you set the country and language a search is run from.
- Rate limits by pack
- From 50 queries a second on Starter to 300 on Ultimate, which Serper says is roughly 15,000 to 18,000 searches a minute.
- Charged on success
- Credits are deducted only for successful responses, and the API stops taking queries when the balance reaches zero.
- AI framework integrations
- Listed integrations with LangChain, CrewAI, Haystack and Jan AI for feeding search results to AI agents and chatbots.
serpstack
- Google result types
- Web, image, video, news and shopping results, sponsored ads, related questions, maps and answers from a full Google results page.
- Devices and locations
- Results as seen on mobile, tablet or desktop, from any city, region or country.
- JSON or CSV
- Requests are plain HTTP GET calls; paid plans can return CSV as well as JSON.
- Errors not counted
- Each lookup uses one request from the quota, and API errors do not count toward it.
- Usage alerts and overages
- Email and dashboard alerts at 75%, 90% and 100% of the monthly quota; after that, extra searches are billed per call instead of being blocked.
Plans
Serper
Starter$50
one-time for 50,000 credits, valid for 6 months
50,000 queries at $1.00 per 1,000, up to 50 queries a second. Prices exclude sales tax or VAT.
Standard$375
one-time for 500,000 credits, valid for 6 months
500,000 queries at $0.75 per 1,000, up to 100 queries a second.
Scale$1,250
one-time for 2.5 million credits, valid for 6 months
2.5 million queries at $0.50 per 1,000, up to 200 queries a second.
Ultimate$3,750
one-time for 12.5 million credits, valid for 6 months
12.5 million queries at $0.30 per 1,000, up to 300 queries a second; a higher limit can be arranged.
serpstack
Free$0
100 searches a month, non-commercial use only, JSON only, no support.
Basic$26.99
per month for 5,000 searches, billed yearly ($29.99 billed monthly)
Commercial use, JSON and CSV, no rate limit and standard support. Extra searches cost $0.023992 each.
Business$87.99
per month for 20,000 searches, billed yearly ($99.99 billed monthly)
The same features as Basic with a larger quota. Extra searches cost $0.019998 each.
Business Pro$169.99
per month for 50,000 searches, billed yearly ($199.99 billed monthly)
The same features with 50,000 searches. Extra searches cost $0.0159992 each.
EnterpriseCustom
Volume searches, a custom SLA and custom solutions, quoted on request.
Ways to pay less
Serper
No public discounts listed.
serpstack
- Annual discount
Up to 15% off with yearly billing
serpstack's FAQ says annual billing costs up to 15% less; Business Pro is $169.99 a month billed yearly against $199.99 billed monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Serper or serpstack?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Serper starts at $50 one-time for 50,000 credits ($1.00 per 1,000 queries), and serpstack starts at $26.99 per month for 5,000 searches, billed yearly ($29.99 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Serper or serpstack?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only serpstack has a free plan. Serper 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.