SearchApi review (2026): is it worth $40 a month?
Real-time SERP API for Google, AI answers and dozens of other sites
SearchApi report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 23, 2026
Best for Google and AI answer engines from one API
SearchApi covers Google and its AI features, answer engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity, and sites from Bing to the TikTok ad library, charging only for successful searches. The cheapest plan is $40 a month, any one hour can use only 20% of it, and the legal guarantee and team tools wait for the $100 plan.
Who SearchApi is for
- Fits if you need Google results and ChatGPT or Perplexity answers in the same format
- Works for teams watching ads in the Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Reddit and TikTok libraries
Who SearchApi is not for
- Tight if your jobs come in bursts, since any one hour can use only 20% of the month's searches
- Pricey if you need answers faster, as enhanced speed doubles the price of every plan
- Skip it if you need team management or the legal guarantee for $40, as both start at $100
- Not for you if you want a free plan that renews, since the 100 requests come once
Why SearchApi gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyDeveloper is $40 a month for 10,000 searches, $4 per 1,000, right at this category's middle. Enhanced speed doubles any plan, and the Legal Protection Guarantee needs Production at $100.
- CFree plan and trialNo free plan: 100 free requests on sign-up with no card, and then you're paying.
- BFeaturesGoogle with AI Overview, AI Mode, Maps, Shopping, Lens and Scholar, answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot, plus Bing, Baidu, YouTube, Amazon and ad libraries, targeted down to coordinates. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job.
- CEase of useJudged on how fast a developer gets a first result: plain GET requests, with examples in Python, Node, Ruby, Java, Go, PHP and C#. No rating on record.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, with an API, code samples in many languages and an MCP server for AI assistants. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from SearchApi's own pages on 23 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/searchapi#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/searchapi.svg" alt="SearchApi: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where SearchApi stands among SERP and SEO data APIs
SearchApi's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 16 of the 38 other SERP and SEO data APIs we grade, and level with 14.
It stands best on features (B, above 26 of 38) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $40 a month, against a middle price of $29.49 for the category: 16 of the 25 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 39 SERP and SEO data APIs we grade, cut by the letter each got. SearchApi’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 1 of 38, level with 19
- CFree plan and trialAbove 2 of 38, level with 32
- BFeaturesAbove 26 of 38, level with 11
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 38, level with 36
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 9 of 38, level with 29
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 26 SERP and SEO data APIs. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep SearchApi, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace SearchApi you would be making search results fetched at scale from many countries without being blocked. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $480 a year.
What you could not
- Search results fetched at scale from many countries without being blocked.
- It plugs into other products, MCP among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. SearchApi’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is SearchApi?
SearchApi is a real-time scraping API that returns search results as JSON. It covers Google Search and its AI Overview, AI Mode, Maps, Shopping, Flights and other verticals, AI answer engines such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Bing Copilot, and sites from Bing and YouTube to Amazon, TikTok and ad libraries. Monthly plans include a set number of searches, and only successful ones are charged.
Worth knowing
- Each plan can use only 20% of its monthly searches in any one hour.
- The Legal Protection Guarantee and team management are not on the Developer plan.
- Enhanced speed doubles the price of any plan; larger plans run to Octo 2M at $2,800 and Octo 5M at $5,000 a month, with custom plans on request.
- The 100 free requests are a sign-up allowance; the pages do not describe an ongoing free plan.
Key features
- Google and its verticals
- Google Search, Light, AI Overview, AI Mode, Maps and reviews, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, News, Images, Lens, Jobs, Scholar, Trends and a rank tracking endpoint.
- AI answer engines
- Endpoints for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Bing Copilot answers alongside the Google AI features.
- Other engines and sites
- Bing, Baidu, Yandex, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, Naver, YouTube, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, TikTok, app stores, and Meta, LinkedIn, Reddit and TikTok ad libraries.
- Pay per success
- Only searches that return a 200 status code are charged, and requests run through premium proxies with location targeting down to coordinates.
- Legal Protection Guarantee
- From the Production plan up, SearchApi says it takes legal responsibility for how it collects and parses public results, with up to $2 million in coverage.
- Code samples and MCP
- Plain GET requests with examples in Python, Node, Ruby, Java, Go, PHP, C# and other languages, and an MCP server for AI assistants.
SearchApi pricing
As of Oct 23, 2026, SearchApi is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $40 per month for 10,000 searches, billed monthly.
- Starts at
- $40 per month for 10,000 searches, billed monthly
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- 100 free requests on sign-up, no credit card required
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Developer Plan | $40per month for 10,000 searches, billed monthly | $4 per 1,000 searches and a 99.9% SLA. Enhanced speed, with parallel threads, doubles the price to $80. |
| Production Plan | $100per month for 35,000 searches, billed monthly | $3 per 1,000 searches, team management and the Legal Protection Guarantee. $200 with enhanced speed. |
| BigData Plan | $250per month for 100,000 searches, billed monthly | $2.50 per 1,000 searches, with medium throughput. $500 with enhanced speed. |
| Scale Plan | $500per month for 250,000 searches, billed monthly | $2 per 1,000 searches, high throughput and search analytics. $1,000 with enhanced speed. |
| Octo 500K | $900per month for 500,000 searches, billed monthly | $1.80 per 1,000 searches, dedicated throughput and priority support. $1,800 with enhanced speed. |
| Octo 1M | $1,500per month for 1 million searches, billed monthly | $1.50 per 1,000 searches, dedicated throughput and priority support. $3,000 with enhanced speed. |
Read from searchapi.io on Oct 23, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with SearchApi before you buy.
Works with
SearchApi alternatives
- SearchApi vs SerpApi
Free plan · from $25/mo
- SearchApi vs Serper
Free trial · from $50 one-time
- SearchApi vs DataForSEO
Free trial · from $50
- SearchApi vs Scrapingdog
Free trial · from $40/mo
- SearchApi vs Brave Search API
Free plan
Common questions
Does SearchApi have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. SearchApi is listed for Web.
Does SearchApi have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. SearchApi is listed for Web.
Is SearchApi open source?
SearchApi is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 23, 2026.
Does SearchApi have an API?
Yes. SearchApi offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 23, 2026.