SerpApi review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Real-time search results API for Google and dozens of other engines
SerpApi report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 23, 2026
Best for Google plus many other engines from one key
SerpApi returns Google, with AI Mode and AI Overviews, and dozens of other engines and sites as JSON from one key. Per search it's among the dearest in this category: $25 buys 1,000 a month, and the U.S. Legal Shield waits for Production at $150.
Who SerpApi is for
- 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
Who SerpApi is not for
- 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
Why SerpApi 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 moneyStarter 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.
- CFree plan and trialA free plan for good: 250 searches a month, at most 50 an hour. Enough to build against, not to run anything on.
- BFeaturesGoogle 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.
- CEase of useJudged 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.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, 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.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from SerpApi'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/serpapi#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/serpapi.svg" alt="SerpApi: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where SerpApi stands among SERP and SEO data APIs
SerpApi'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 $25 a month, against a middle price of $29.49 for the category: 9 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. SerpApi’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 SerpApi, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace SerpApi 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 $300 a year.
What you could not
- Search results fetched at scale from many countries without being blocked.
- It plugs into other products, Python, JavaScript and Ruby among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. SerpApi’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 SerpApi?
SerpApi returns search engine results as structured JSON, running each request in a full browser with CAPTCHA solving and a location parameter. Besides Google Search it covers Google AI Mode, AI Overviews, Maps, Shopping, Scholar and Trends, and engines and sites such as Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, Baidu, YouTube, Amazon and Walmart. Plans are monthly allowances of successful searches.
Worth knowing
- 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.
Key features
- 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.
SerpApi pricing
As of Oct 23, 2026, SerpApi has a free plan, and paid plans start at $25 per month for 1,000 searches, billed monthly.
- Starts at
- $25 per month for 1,000 searches, billed monthly
- Free plan
- 250 searches a month, up to 50 successful searches an hour. No U.S. Legal Shield.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 250 searches a month with a throughput of 50 an hour. |
| Starter | $25per month for 1,000 searches, billed monthly | Throughput of 200 successful searches an hour. No U.S. Legal Shield. |
| Developer | $75per month for 5,000 searches, billed monthly | Throughput of 1,000 successful searches an hour. No U.S. Legal Shield. |
| Production | $150per 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 | $275per month for 30,000 searches, billed monthly | Throughput of 6,000 an hour, with the U.S. Legal Shield. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom volume and throughput, ZeroTrace mode, which stores no search data, and priority support. Sold through sales. |
Read from serpapi.com on Oct 23, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with SerpApi before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- EducationSpecial pricing for students and educators
SerpApi's FAQ says universities, students and educators can email about their project and budget to arrange special pricing.
Stated on serpapi.com
Works with
- Python
- JavaScript
- Ruby
- Go
- PHP
- Java
- .NET
- MCP
SerpApi alternatives
- SerpApi vs Serper
Free trial · from $50 one-time
- SerpApi vs SearchApi
Free trial · from $40/mo
- SerpApi vs DataForSEO
Free trial · from $50
- SerpApi vs Bright Data SERP API
Free plan · from $499/mo
- SerpApi vs Scrapingdog
Free trial · from $40/mo
Common questions
Does SerpApi have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. SerpApi is listed for Web.
Does SerpApi have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. SerpApi is listed for Web.
Is SerpApi open source?
SerpApi is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 23, 2026.
Does SerpApi have an API?
Yes. SerpApi 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.