SerpApi alternatives split into two groups: simple SERP APIs such as Serper, SearchApi, and DataForSEO, and broader scraping APIs such as Bright Data, Oxylabs, ZenRows, ScraperAPI, and ScrapingBee. The cheapest entry point depends on the billing unit, because one search, one result, one SERP page, and one credit are not the same thing across vendors. DataForSEO starts at $0.0006 per SERP in its Standard queue, Serper starts at $50 for 50,000 queries, and Bright Data starts at $1.50 per 1,000 successful requests on pay as you go.
We compared 8 options for serpapi alternatives. Each profile below lists the price, free plan, pros and cons as published by the company.
On this page
Serpapi alternatives: comparison table
Swipe the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
| # | Name | Best for | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bright Data | High volume multi-engine SERP data | $1.50 per 1,000 requests | Yes, 5,000 requests per month | Visit |
| 2 | Oxylabs | Unified web and SERP scraping at scale | $15 per month | Free trial (welcome credits) | Visit |
| 3 | ScrapingBee | Simple scraping API for developers | $19 per month | Free trial (1,000 credits) | Visit |
| 4 | ZenRows | Credit based scraping with a free tier | $19 per month | Yes, 5,000 credits per month | Visit |
| 5 | ScraperAPI | One endpoint scraping with proxy handling | $49 per month | Free trial (7 days, 5,000 credits) | Visit |
| 6 | DataForSEO | Low cost bulk SERP data for SEO tools | $0.0006 per SERP | Free trial ($1 credit) | Visit |
| 7 | SearchApi | Multi-engine SERP data with legal cover | $40 per month | Free trial (100 requests) | Visit |
| 8 | Serper | Low cost Google SERP data for AI tools | $50 for 50,000 queries | Free trial (2,500 queries) | Visit |
The 8 best serpapi alternatives, in detail
Bright Data
Best for: High volume multi-engine SERP data
Bright Data is a strong SerpApi alternative when you need search results from several engines and you expect volume to grow. Its SERP API returns results as JSON or HTML, supports city level geotargeting, and handles proxy rotation, retries, and CAPTCHA solving behind the API. The free tier gives 5,000 requests a month with no card, which is enough to test response shape and fields on real queries.
- Pricing is pay as you go at $1.50 per 1,000 successful requests, with a Scale plan at $499 per month that includes 380,000 requests and charges $1.30
- The main trade off is complexity, because Bright Data also sells proxies, browsers, and datasets as separate products.
Pros
- Covers Google, Bing, Yandex, Baidu, and other engines in one API
- charges only for successful requests
Cons
- The product catalog is large and takes time to learn
- the Scale plan jumps to $499 per month
Oxylabs
Best for: Unified web and SERP scraping at scale
Oxylabs is a good fit when SERP data is one part of a larger data collection plan. Its Web API covers Google Search and other Google verticals, plus custom domain scraping, with structured JSON output and geotargeting. The vendor pricing page lists a Starter plan at $15 per month, a Basic plan at $100 per month, and a Flexible plan at $500 per month, with welcome credits to test products.
- Google non-JavaScript results start at $1.00 per 1,000 results, while Google JavaScript results start at $1.35 per 1,000 results.
- That per result pricing rewards careful request design, because a plain top 10 Google check costs far less than a rendered page.
- Oxylabs also publishes separate rates for Amazon, other sites, media downloads, and AI parsing, so the headline rate is only the start of the cost mod
Pros
- One subscription covers Web API scraping and SERP sources
- Google results start from $1.00 per 1,000 non-JavaScript results on the entry plan
Cons
- Plan names and pricing have changed, so older comparisons may not match the current page
- JavaScript rendering costs more than a plain request
ScrapingBee
Best for: Simple scraping API for developers
ScrapingBee is a direct SerpApi alternative for developers who want to send a URL and get a page back without managing proxies or browsers. Its Google Search API returns SERP data, and the main scraping API handles JavaScript rendering, proxy rotation, and CAPTCHA solving. The Hobby plan costs $19 per month for 75,000 credits, and the Freelance plan costs $49 per month for 250,000 credits.
- A free trial gives 1,000 credits with no card.
- Credit math is the key detail.
- A plain request costs 1 credit when rendering is turned off, a rendered request costs 5 credits, a premium proxy request with rendering costs 25 credi
- A Google Search API call costs 15 credits, so the Hobby plan covers 75,000 plain requests or 1,000 stealth requests.
Pros
- One clear API for HTML, rendering, and Google Search
- Hobby plan includes 75,000 credits and 25 concurrent requests
Cons
- JavaScript rendering costs 5 credits per request by default
- stealth proxy requests cost 75 credits each
ZenRows
Best for: Credit based scraping with a free tier
ZenRows is a developer focused scraping API that works as a SerpApi alternative when you need SERP pages and general web pages from the same credit balance. Every plan includes Fetch, Extract, Crawl, Batch, and Browser. The Free plan gives 5,000 credits a month, the Build plan starts at $19 per month for 45,000 credits, and the Launch plan costs $69 per month for 250,000 credits.
- Output can be HTML, Markdown, or JSON.
- The credit weights are fixed: 1 credit for a standard request, 5 credits with JavaScript rendering, 10 credits with premium proxies, and 25 credits wi
- Residential proxy bandwidth costs 25,000 credits per GB.
- ZenRows charges only for successful requests, and 404 and 410 responses count as successful, so a missing page still uses credits.
Pros
- Free plan gives 5,000 credits a month with no card
- one credit balance covers Fetch, Extract, Crawl, Batch, and Browser
Cons
- JavaScript plus premium proxies costs 25 credits per request
- 404 and 410 responses count as successful requests
ScraperAPI
Best for: One endpoint scraping with proxy handling
ScraperAPI is one of the simplest SerpApi alternatives to integrate, because you send a URL to one endpoint and get HTML, Markdown, or text back. The service handles proxy rotation, headless rendering, retries, and anti-bot handling, and it supports geotargeting and structured data endpoints. The Hobby plan costs $49 per month for 100,000 credits, the Startup plan costs $149 per month for 1,000,000 credits, and the Business plan costs $299 per month for 3,000,000 credits.
- A 7 day trial gives 5,000 credits with no card.
- Credit costs vary by target and setting.
- A normal request costs 1 credit, e-commerce pages cost 5 credits, Google and Bing cost 25 credits, LinkedIn costs 30 credits, and rendering costs 10 c
- A page behind Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX, or Akamai adds 10 credits, so 100,000 credits cover 4,000 Google requests.
Pros
- Single endpoint with proxy rotation, rendering, and retries
- response headers show the credit cost of each request
Cons
- Google and Bing requests cost 25 credits each
- Hobby and Startup plans limit geotargeting to the US and EU
DataForSEO
Best for: Low cost bulk SERP data for SEO tools
DataForSEO is the lowest cost SerpApi alternative in this list for bulk rank tracking, and it is built for SEO platforms rather than casual users. Its SERP API returns organic results, ads, People Also Ask, local packs, and AI Overviews, with rank group and rank absolute fields. Pricing is pay as you go with no subscription: $0.0006 per SERP in the Standard queue, $0.0012 in the Priority queue, and $0.002 in Live mode.
- The minimum top-up is $50, the balance never expires, and new accounts get a $1 trial credit.
- The trade off is speed and complexity.
- Standard requests take about 5 minutes on average, Priority takes under a minute, and Live takes about 6 seconds.
- Each extra 10 results adds the base price, and loading an AI Overview adds the base price again, so a top 100 check costs ten times a top 10 check.
Pros
- No monthly subscription, balance never expires
- covers Google, Bing, YouTube, Yahoo, Baidu, Naver, and Seznam
Cons
- Standard queue takes about 5 minutes on average
- depth and extra parameters add to the base price
SearchApi
Best for: Multi-engine SERP data with legal cover
SearchApi is a real time SERP API that returns parsed JSON from Google and dozens of other engines through one GET endpoint. It covers Google Search and its verticals, plus maps, flights, and trends. The Developer plan costs $40 per month for 10,000 searches at $4 per 1,000, and larger plans scale to 5,000,000 searches.
- A free trial gives 100 requests with no card, and only successful searches with a 200 status code are charged.
- Two limits deserve attention.
- You can use only up to 20 percent of your monthly allowance in any hour, which is 2,000 searches per hour on the Developer plan, so burst workloads ne
- Enhanced Speed doubles the monthly price, so the standard speed rate is the starting point for most budgets.
Pros
- Covers Google, Bing, Baidu, Yandex, DuckDuckGo, YouTube, and more in one API
- charges only for successful searches with a 200 status code
Cons
- Hourly use is capped at 20 percent of the monthly allowance
- Enhanced Speed doubles the plan price
Serper
Best for: Low cost Google SERP data for AI tools
Serper is the simplest SerpApi alternative when you only need Google results and you want low cost per search. You send a query by POST, and you get organic results, knowledge graph data, People Also Ask, and related searches back as JSON, usually in 1 to 2 seconds. A free trial gives 2,500 queries with no card, which is enough to test real queries and check field coverage.
- Pricing uses credit packs rather than a monthly subscription.
- The Starter pack costs $50 for 50,000 queries at $1.00 per 1,000, the Standard pack costs $375 for 500,000 queries at $0.75 per 1,000, and the Ultimat
- Credits are valid for 6 months.
- One credit covers up to 10 results, while requesting 11 to 100 results costs 2 credits.
Pros
- Cheapest Google SERP rate in this list at $1.00 per 1,000 queries on the entry pack
- answers in 1 to 2 seconds in real time
Cons
- Credits expire after 6 months
- Google only, with no Bing, Yandex, or Baidu coverage
How we chose
We compared SERP APIs and scraping APIs that return Google search results as structured data, and we checked each vendor pricing page or pricing documentation on 2026-11-12. We focused on starting price, free plan or trial, billing unit, engine coverage, result depth, geotargeting, rendering cost, and limits such as hourly caps and credit expiry. We did not run hands-on tests, and we did not rank tools by speed or accuracy.
Which option fits your team size and budget
| Team size and monthly volume | Best fit | Why it fits | Monthly cost to plan for | | Solo developer, under 5,000 searches | Serper free trial, then DataForSEO | Low entry cost and no large monthly plan | $0 to $50 for a top-up or a Starter pack | | Small team, 5,000 to 50,000 searches | Serper Starter, ZenRows Build, or ScrapingBee Hobby | Simple pricing and a free tier or trial | $19 to $50 | | Growing team, 50,000 to 500,000 searches | DataForSEO Live, Bright Data pay as you go, or Oxylabs Starter | Per request pricing scales with real use | $50 to $500, based on result depth and rendering | | Agency or platform, over 500,000 searches | DataForSEO Standard queue, Oxylabs Flexible, or Bright Data Scale | Volume rates and queue options cut cost per 1,000 | $500 to $1,250, based on speed and engine mix | | Mixed scraping plus SERP work | ZenRows, ScrapingBee, or ScraperAPI | One credit balance covers pages and SERP calls | $19 to $149, based on rendering and proxy use |
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest SerpApi alternative?
DataForSEO is the cheapest per SERP in this list at $0.0006 per SERP in its Standard queue, which is $0.60 per 1,000 SERPs, while Serper is the cheapest simple Google API at $1.00 per 1,000 queries on its $50 Starter pack. The cheapest choice depends on speed, because DataForSEO Standard takes about 5 minutes, while Serper answers in 1 to 2 seconds. For bulk overnight rank checks, DataForSEO usually wins on cost.
Which SerpApi alternative is best for rank tracking?
DataForSEO is the best fit for bulk rank tracking, because it returns rank group and rank absolute fields, supports Standard, Priority, and Live modes, and charges per SERP with no monthly subscription. Serper is a strong fit for smaller rank tracking jobs that need fast Google results at low cost. Bright Data and Oxylabs suit rank tracking at larger scale across several engines, while SearchApi suits teams that need many engines.
Do any SerpApi alternatives have a free plan?
Yes. Bright Data gives 5,000 requests a month, ZenRows gives 5,000 credits a month, Serper gives 2,500 queries as a one-time trial, ScraperAPI gives 5,000 credits for 7 days, ScrapingBee gives 1,000 credits, SearchApi gives 100 requests, DataForSEO gives a $1 trial credit, and Oxylabs gives welcome credits. A free tier is not the same as a free trial, so check whether the allowance renews each month and whether credits expire.
How much does a SerpApi alternative cost per 1,000 searches?
The cost ranges from $0.60 per 1,000 SERPs on DataForSEO Standard to $1.00 per 1,000 queries on Serper, $1.50 per 1,000 requests on Bright Data pay as you go, and $4 per 1,000 searches on SearchApi Developer. Scraping APIs use credits, so the cost per 1,000 searches depends on rendering, proxy type, and target site. A Google request can cost 25 credits on ScraperAPI, while a plain page costs 1 credit, so convert credits to searches for your own workload.
Is Serper better than SerpApi for AI tools?
Serper is better for AI tools that only need Google results at low cost, because it costs $1.00 per 1,000 queries on the entry pack, answers in 1 to 2 seconds, and returns clean JSON with organic results, People Also Ask, and related searches. SerpApi covers more engines and more SERP features, so it suits teams that need Bing, Yandex, Baidu, shopping, and other verticals in one API. Choose Serper for Google only AI search.
Should I choose a SERP API or a scraping API?
Choose a SERP API such as Serper, DataForSEO, or SearchApi when you only need search results as structured JSON and you want simple pricing per search. Choose a scraping API such as Bright Data, Oxylabs, ZenRows, ScrapingBee, or ScraperAPI when you also need to fetch product pages, articles, or other web pages, and you want proxy rotation, rendering, and anti-bot handling in one service. If SERP data is most of your work, start with a SERP API.
Sources
- https://brightdata.com/
- https://brightdata.com/pricing
- https://oxylabs.io/
- https://oxylabs.io/products/scraper-api/web/pricing
- https://www.scrapingbee.com/
- https://www.scrapingbee.com/pricing/
- https://www.zenrows.com/
- https://www.zenrows.com/pricing
- https://www.scraperapi.com/
- https://www.scraperapi.com/pricing
- https://dataforseo.com/
- https://dataforseo.com/pricing
- https://www.searchapi.io/
- https://www.searchapi.io/pricing
- https://serper.dev/
Prices and features were read on each company’s own website in November 2026. They change often, so confirm the current offer on the official site before you sign up or buy.