# SerpApi review (2026): is the free plan enough?

> Real-time search results API for Google and dozens of other engines

Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA.

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.

- **Category:** SERP & SEO Data APIs
- **Made by:** SerpApi, LLC (since 2017)
- **Website:** https://serpapi.com
- **Runs on:** Web
- **Who should skip it:** Pricey if you search in volume, at $25 per 1,000 on Starter where Serper charges $1.
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 23, 2026

## 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.

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **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 | $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. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom volume and throughput, ZeroTrace mode, which stores no search data, and priority support. Sold through sales. |

Read from https://serpapi.com/pricing on Oct 23, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with SerpApi before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Special pricing for students and educators** (Education): SerpApi's FAQ says universities, students and educators can email about their project and budget to arrange special pricing. Source: https://serpapi.com/faq

## 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.

## Good for

- Developers who need Google results, AI Overviews and AI Mode answers as JSON
- Projects that query many engines and sites through one API key
- Trying a SERP API on a free allowance before paying

## 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.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Oct 23, 2026. 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.

- **Value for money: C.** Starter 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.
- **Free plan and trial: C.** A free plan for good: 250 searches a month, at most 50 an hour. Enough to build against, not to run anything on.
- **Features: B.** Google 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.
- **Ease of use: C.** Judged 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.
- **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web, 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.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. 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.

## Where it 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.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/seo-data-apis

## Keep it, 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.

- You could not: Search results fetched at scale from many countries without being blocked.
- You could not: It plugs into other products, Python, JavaScript and Ruby among them, and has an API.
- You could not: The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

## Works with

Python, JavaScript, Ruby, Go, PHP, Java, .NET, MCP

**Tags:** SERP API, Public API

## Alternatives

- [Serper](https://toolgpa.com/tools/serper): Google search results API sold in prepaid credit packs. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/serpapi-vs-serper)
- [SearchApi](https://toolgpa.com/tools/searchapi): Real-time SERP API for Google, AI answers and dozens of other sites. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/searchapi-vs-serpapi)
- [DataForSEO](https://toolgpa.com/tools/dataforseo): Pay-as-you-go APIs for SERP, keyword, backlink and AI mention data. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dataforseo-vs-serpapi)
- [Bright Data SERP API](https://toolgpa.com/tools/bright-data-serp-api): Search results API on Bright Data's proxy network, with AI engines. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bright-data-serp-api-vs-serpapi)
- [Scrapingdog](https://toolgpa.com/tools/scrapingdog): Web scraping and Google SERP APIs on one shared credit plan. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/scrapingdog-vs-serpapi)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 23, 2026:

- https://serpapi.com/pricing
- https://serpapi.com/
- https://serpapi.com/faq
- https://serpapi.com/integrations
- https://serpapi.com/legal

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/serpapi
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).