# Google Custom Search JSON API alternative: what to use before 1 January 2027

> Google's Custom Search JSON API is closed to new users and ends on 1 January 2027. Migrate to full-web JSON results from $0.30/1K searches, no KYC, crypto.

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

Google closed its Custom Search JSON API to new customers and ends it for everyone on 1 January 2027. This page sets out what changes, what Google offers instead, and how to move your code to a SERP API in an afternoon.

**Quick answer — What replaces the Google Custom Search JSON API?**

Google's Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers, and existing customers must move by **1 January 2027**. Google points to Vertex AI Search for up to 50 domains; for whole-web results, a SERP API is the usual replacement. **SerpCrypto** returns the full Google results page as JSON from $0.30/1K searches, against $5 per 1,000 queries for Custom Search (October 2026). No KYC; pay in crypto.

## Google Custom Search JSON API: status on 22 October 2026

| Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- |
| New customers | Closed: "The Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers" |
| End of service | 1 January 2027 for existing customers |
| Price | 100 queries a day free, then $5 per 1,000 queries, up to 10,000 queries a day |
| Results per request | Up to 10 |
| "Search the entire web" | Unavailable to new Programmable Search Engines since 20 January 2026; existing engines keep it until 1 January 2027 |
| Google's suggested alternative | Vertex AI Search, for searching up to 50 domains |
| Full-web API from Google | Web Search Service API: partner-only, no public price |

## What exactly is Google changing, and when?

Google is narrowing its developer search products to site search and enterprise search. The changes were announced on 20 January 2026 on the Programmable Search Engine blog.

- **20 January 2026:** new Programmable Search Engines can only search a list of sites, up to 50 domains. The "Search the entire web" option is no longer offered to new engines.
- **Now:** the Custom Search JSON API accepts no new customers. Existing customers keep 100 free queries a day and pay $5 per 1,000 after that, up to 10,000 a day.
- **1 January 2027:** the Custom Search JSON API stops for everyone, and existing engines lose "Search the entire web". Google's help page adds that once the option is switched off, it cannot be switched back on.

If your product sends Custom Search requests today, it has about ten weeks left from the date of this page.

## Which replacement fits which need?

The right choice depends on one question: do you search a few sites you control, or the whole web as Google shows it?

| Option | Who can use it | Searches the whole web | Public price | Status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SerpCrypto SERP API | Anyone with crypto, no KYC | Yes: Google's results page as JSON | $7.50 for 10,000; from $0.30/1K searches | Available |
| Custom Search JSON API | Existing customers only | Only for existing "entire web" engines | $5 per 1,000 after 100 free a day | Ends 1 January 2027 |
| Programmable Search Engine, new engines | Anyone | No: up to 50 domains | — | Sites to search only |
| Vertex AI Search | Google Cloud customers | No: Google suggests it for up to 50 domains | Google Cloud pricing | Available |
| Web Search Service API | Google partners with a partner client ID | Yes | Not published | Partner-only |

*Prices checked on October 22, 2026.*

Sources at the bottom of the page. "—" = not applicable or not published.

## How do Custom Search parameters map to the SerpCrypto API?

Most parameters have a direct equivalent, and two disappear. You no longer need `cx`, because there is no engine to configure: every request searches the whole of Google. The API key moves from the `key` parameter to the `Authorization` header, or to `api_key` if you prefer a query string.

| Custom Search JSON API | SerpCrypto | Note |
|---|---|---|
| `q` | `q` | Same query syntax, including operators such as `site:` |
| `key` | `Authorization: Bearer …` or `api_key` | |
| `cx` | — | Not needed: whole-web results |
| `num` (1–10) | — | Google returns about 10 organic results per page |
| `start` (1, 11, 21…) | `page` (1, 2, 3…) | `page = (start - 1) / 10 + 1`; Custom Search stops at result 100, as does `page=10` |
| `gl` | `gl` | Two-letter country code |
| `hl`, `lr` | `hl` | Interface language |
| `safe` | `safe` | `active` or `off` |
| `siteSearch` | `site:example.com` inside `q` | |
| `dateRestrict` (`d7`, `m1`…) | `period` (`h`, `d`, `w`, `m`, `y`) | Coarser steps |

On the response side, `items[]` becomes `organic_results[]`, and `title`, `link` and `snippet` keep their names. `displayLink` becomes `displayed_link`. You also gain the blocks Custom Search never returned: ads, People Also Ask, the AI Overview, the local pack and top stories.

*Python: the same search, before and after*

```python
import os

import requests

# Before: Custom Search JSON API (ends 1 January 2027)
# requests.get("https://www.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1",
#              params={"key": KEY, "cx": CX, "q": "solar inverter", "gl": "de", "start": 11})

# After: SerpCrypto
resp = requests.get(
    "https://serpcrypto.com/api/v1/search",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer " + os.environ["SERPCRYPTO_API_KEY"]},
    params={"q": "solar inverter", "gl": "de", "hl": "de", "page": 2},
    timeout=60,
)
resp.raise_for_status()
for item in resp.json().get("organic_results", []):
    print(item["position"], item["title"], item["link"], item.get("snippet", ""))

```

## What will the move cost compared with Custom Search?

Custom Search charges $5 per 1,000 queries after the first 100 each day, with a ceiling of 10,000 queries a day. SerpCrypto charges one credit per successful search: $0.75/1K searches on the 10,000 searches pack, $0.56/1K searches on 100,000 searches and $0.38/1K searches on 1,000,000 searches, as of October 2026.

Take an app that sends 3,000 queries a day. On Custom Search it pays for 2,900 of them, about $14.50 a day or $435 a month. The same 90,000 searches a month fit in the 100,000 searches pack at $56.25. Searches are limited by how many run at the same time, not by a daily quota, and unused credits do not expire.

## What do I lose, and what do I gain?

You lose the Google brand on the contract and the 100 free queries a day. SerpCrypto has no free tier: the smallest pack is 10,000 searches for $7.50, paid from a $25 top-up.

You gain the page as people actually see it. Google's own help page says a Programmable Search Engine draws on a subset of the Google index and lacks features of Google.com such as Oneboxes and real-time results. Its API never returned the AI Overview or the map pack either. With a SERP API you also get country, language, city and device targeting in every request, and the same key covers Google News, Images, Maps, Shopping and Bing.

## Which pack replaces my Custom Search usage?

Multiply your daily Custom Search queries by 30. Under 300 a day, 10,000 searches lasts more than a month; at 3,000 a day, 100,000 searches covers a month. Credits never expire.

| 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

## Custom Search API shutdown: common questions

### Is the Google Custom Search JSON API shutting down?

Yes. Google's developer page says the API is closed to new customers and that existing customers have until 1 January 2027 to move to another solution. After that date, requests stop working for everyone.

### Can I still create a Programmable Search Engine that searches the whole web?

No. Since 20 January 2026, new engines can only search a list of up to 50 domains. Engines that already had "Search the entire web" keep it until 1 January 2027, unless they switch it off, which cannot be undone.

### Is there an official Google API for full-web results?

Only for partners. Google documented a Web Search Service API in September 2026; it needs a partner client ID and has no public price. For everyone else, SERP APIs such as SerpCrypto are the practical option.

### Will my site-restricted searches still work with SerpCrypto?

Yes. Put the `site:` operator in the query, for example `q=return policy site:example.com`. It searches Google's public results for that site, which is close to what a site-restricted engine did.

### Can I pay without a Google Cloud billing account or a card?

Yes. SerpCrypto works on prepaid credits paid in BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC, from a $25 top-up. It asks for no ID, no selfie and no company documents.

## Sources

1. [Custom Search JSON API: overview](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview) — Google for Developers (read 2026-10-22)
2. [Programmable Search Engine: search the entire web](https://support.google.com/programmable-search/answer/12397162?hl=en) — Google Help (read 2026-10-22)
3. [Programmable Search Engine vs Google.com](https://support.google.com/programmable-search/answer/70392) — Google Help (read 2026-10-22)
4. [Custom Search JSON API: Search response reference](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/reference/rest/v1/Search) — Google for Developers (read 2026-10-22)
5. [Updates to our Web Search Products & Programmable Search Engine Capabilities](https://programmablesearchengine.googleblog.com/2026/01/updates-to-our-web-search-products.html) — Programmable Search Engine blog (2026-01-20)
6. [Custom Search JSON API: cse.list reference](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/reference/rest/v1/cse/list) — Google for Developers (read 2026-10-22)
7. [Google documents partner-only API for full web search results](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-documents-partner-only-api-for-full-web-search-results/) — Search Engine Journal (2026-09-11)

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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.