# Bing Search API replacement: raw results as JSON after the August 2025 retirement

> Bing Search APIs were retired on 11 August 2025. Replace them with raw Bing or Google results as JSON from $0.30/1K searches. No KYC, pay in crypto.

- URL: https://serpcrypto.com/alternatives/bing-search-api/
- Last updated: 2026-10-22
- Publisher: SerpCrypto (https://serpcrypto.com)

Microsoft switched off the Bing Search APIs on 11 August 2025 and pointed customers to an LLM grounding tool. If your code needs a list of results, not a generated answer, this page shows what to use and how to port it.

**Quick answer — What replaced the Bing Search API?**

Microsoft retired the Bing Search APIs on **11 August 2025** and recommends Grounding with Bing Search in Azure AI Agents, which feeds web data into an LLM answer at $14 per 1,000 transactions (October 2026). For a raw list of results, use a SERP API: **SerpCrypto** returns Bing or Google results pages as JSON from $0.30/1K searches, with no KYC and payment in crypto.

## Bing Search APIs: what happened

| Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Announcement | 15 May 2025, on Microsoft Learn's lifecycle page |
| Retirement | 11 August 2025: existing instances decommissioned, no new sign-ups |
| Microsoft's replacement | Grounding with Bing Search, a tool of Azure AI Agents |
| What it returns | Web data used to ground an LLM response, not a raw results list |
| Its price | $14 per 1,000 transactions (Microsoft's grounding pricing page, read 2026-10-22) |
| Old Bing Search API tiers | S1 $25, S2 $15, S3 $6 per 1,000 transactions, as reported by PPC Land |
| SerpCrypto engine | `engine=bing`: `organic_results` and `related_searches` as JSON, 1 credit per search |

## Why is Grounding with Bing Search not a drop-in replacement?

Grounding with Bing Search is built to answer a question through an agent, not to hand you the results list. Microsoft describes it as a way for Azure AI Agents to "incorporate real-time public web data when generating responses with an LLM". It runs inside Azure's agent service, and you get the model's answer with its sources.

That suits a chatbot. It does not suit code that ranked, filtered or stored the old `webPages.value` array: rank trackers, research tools, deduplication jobs, link checkers or a RAG pipeline that chooses its own documents. Those need the results page itself, which is what a SERP API returns.

## Which Bing Search API replacement fits which need?

| Option | Returns | Price per 1,000 | Account requirements |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SerpCrypto (`engine=bing` or `engine=google`) | The results page as JSON | $0.75/1K searches down to $0.30/1K searches | No KYC, crypto top-up from $25 |
| Grounding with Bing Search (Azure AI Agents) | Web data for an LLM answer | $14 per 1,000 transactions | Azure subscription |
| Bing Search APIs v7 | The results page as JSON | $6 to $25 (S3 to S1) | Retired 11 August 2025 |

*Prices checked on October 22, 2026.*

Prices read on 2026-10-22 from the sources below. The Bing v7 tiers are those reported by PPC Land in June 2025.

## How do Bing v7 parameters map to the SerpCrypto API?

Set `engine=bing` and most parameters translate one to one. The main change is paging: Bing v7 let you ask for up to 50 results with `count`, while a results page holds about 10, so you page with `page` instead of `offset`.

| Bing Web Search v7 | SerpCrypto | Note |
|---|---|---|
| `Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key` header | `Authorization: Bearer …` | Or `api_key` in the query string |
| `q` | `q` | Operators such as `site:` work as typed |
| `mkt` (`en-US`) | `gl=us` and `hl=en` | Country and language as two parameters |
| `setLang` | `hl` | |
| `count` (max 50) | — | About 10 results per page |
| `offset` (0, 10, 20…) | `page` (1, 2, 3…) | `page = offset / 10 + 1` |
| `safeSearch` (`Off`, `Moderate`, `Strict`) | `safe` (`off`, `active`) | No middle setting |
| `freshness` (`Day`, `Week`, `Month`) | `period` (`d`, `w`, `m`) | Also `h` and `y` |
| `responseFilter` | — | Every block on the page is returned |

In the response, `webPages.value[]` becomes `organic_results[]`. The v7 fields `name`, `url` and `snippet` become `title`, `link` and `snippet`, and each result gains a `position`.

*Python: a Bing v7 call ported to SerpCrypto*

```python
import os

import requests

# Before (retired 11 August 2025):
# requests.get("https://api.bing.microsoft.com/v7.0/search",
#              headers={"Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key": KEY},
#              params={"q": "heat pump subsidy", "mkt": "en-GB", "count": 10, "offset": 10})

resp = requests.get(
    "https://serpcrypto.com/api/v1/search",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer " + os.environ["SERPCRYPTO_API_KEY"]},
    params={"engine": "bing", "q": "heat pump subsidy", "gl": "gb", "hl": "en", "page": 2},
    timeout=60,
)
resp.raise_for_status()
for r in resp.json().get("organic_results", []):
    print(r["position"], r["title"], r["link"])

```

## Should I switch to Google results instead of Bing?

Switch if you chose Bing only because it had an official API. Change `engine=bing` to `engine=google` and keep the rest of the request: the same key, the same credit price and the same `organic_results` shape. Google also returns blocks Bing v7 never had in one response, such as People Also Ask and the AI Overview.

Keep Bing if your product depends on it specifically: some teams compare the two engines, and Bing's index feeds Microsoft Copilot answers. Many teams run both and store the two results lists side by side, at one credit each.

## What does the move cost?

The old S1 tier cost $25 per 1,000 transactions and S3 $6, according to PPC Land. With SerpCrypto the same 1,000 searches cost $0.75/1K searches on the 10,000 searches pack and $0.38/1K searches on 1,000,000 searches, as of October 2026.

The billing model also changes: no Azure subscription and no monthly invoice. You buy prepaid credits from a crypto balance, each successful search uses one, and credits never expire. A request that fails is not charged.

## How many credits does my Bing workload need?

Count one credit per results page. A job that used `count=50` now needs 5 pages per query, so multiply those queries by 5. Credits work on Bing and on every Google engine.

| Plan | Quantity | Price | Price per unit |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Test | 10,000 searches | $7.50 | $0.75/1K searches |
| Build | 100,000 searches | $56.25 | $0.56/1K searches |
| Scale | 500,000 searches | $281.25 | $0.56/1K searches |
| Volume | 1,000,000 searches | $375 | $0.38/1K searches |

In every plan: Every engine at 1 credit per search · Failed requests not charged · Credits never expire · Country, language, city and device targeting

**Before you pay**

- Minimum top-up $25. Top up once in crypto, then buy any plan from your balance.
- Unused balance stays on your account and never expires, and it pays for search credits. When a purchase costs less than the minimum top-up, the part added only to reach the minimum is refundable on request to support within 30 days of the payment, in USDT or USDC, as long as it has not been spent. The rest of the balance is not paid back, except where the law requires it.
- Credited once your payment is checked on the blockchain. Typical network confirmation time: BTC ≈ 20 min · USDT TRC-20 ≈ 1 min · USDT ERC-20 ≈ 5 min · USDC ERC-20 ≈ 5 min · ETH ≈ 5 min · SOL ≈ 1 min · LTC ≈ 15 min

## Bing Search API retirement: common questions

### When was the Bing Search API retired?

On 11 August 2025. Microsoft announced it on 15 May 2025 and said existing instances would be decommissioned completely, with no new sign-ups. The retirement covered the Bing Search APIs product family, including Web Search.

### Is Grounding with Bing Search the same thing?

No. It is a tool for Azure AI Agents that grounds an LLM's response in web data, priced at $14 per 1,000 transactions in October 2026. It does not give you the raw `webPages` list the v7 API returned.

### Can I still get Bing results as JSON?

Yes, through a SERP API. With SerpCrypto, send `engine=bing` and a query to `https://serpcrypto.com/api/v1/search`; the response holds `organic_results` and `related_searches`, for one credit per successful search.

### Do I need an Azure account or a card for SerpCrypto?

No. SerpCrypto sells prepaid credits paid in BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC, with a $25 minimum top-up. It asks for no ID, no selfie, no company documents and no card.

### Will my old count=50 requests work?

Not as one request. A results page holds about 10 results, so 50 results take 5 requests with `page=1` to `page=5`. Each page is one credit.

## Sources

1. [Bing Search APIs retiring on August 11, 2025](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/announcements/bing-search-api-retirement) — Microsoft Learn (2025-05-15, read 2026-10-22)
2. [Grounding with Bing Search: pricing](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/apis/grounding-pricing) — Microsoft (read 2026-10-22)
3. [Microsoft ends Bing Search APIs on August 11](https://ppc.land/microsoft-ends-bing-search-apis-on-august-11-alternative-costs-40-483-more/) — PPC Land (2025-06-09)
4. [Query parameters used by Web Search API (archived)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/bing/search-apis/bing-web-search/reference/query-parameters) — Microsoft Learn (read 2026-10-22)

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SerpCrypto: SerpCrypto is a SERP API for developers and AI agents that returns Google and Bing results as JSON, paid in crypto with no ID upload. Prepaid search credits from $0.30/1K searches never expire. No KYC — no ID, no selfie, no documents. Pay in crypto.