SERP API price index 2026: what 1,000 searches cost at 19 providers

How was the index built?

We read the public pricing page of each provider on 2026-10-22 and kept only figures shown there. A "search" is one Google web results page: page 1, about 10 organic results, desktop, with no paid add-on.

• Entry price: the least expensive paid self-serve plan or pack, divided by the searches it includes. Credit multipliers are applied, for example 25 credits per Google search at ScraperAPI.
• Price at a monthly volume: the least expensive self-serve plan, pack or pay-as-you-go rate that covers that many searches every month. Prepaid packs are spread over the months they stay valid: six months for Serper, unlimited for Serply and DataForSEO.
• High-volume price: the biggest self-serve plan listed, not "contact sales" offers.
• Medians use one line per provider; DataForSEO counts once, with its standard queue, which returns results after a short delay rather than at once.

Free tiers are listed but not counted in prices. AI search APIs and the official Google and Bing APIs are in a separate table, because they do not return the same thing. SerpCrypto is shown for reference and is not counted in the medians.

Why do prices differ so much between providers?

Four things explain most of the 42-fold gap at entry level.

1. Monthly minimums. Many providers sell plans of a fixed size. Someone who needs 1,000 searches a month pays for the whole plan, so the median at that volume is $25.00 per 1,000.
2. Credit multipliers. General scraping APIs charge several credits for one Google search: 5 or 10 at Scrapingdog, 10 at ScrapingBee and SerpHouse, 25 at ScraperAPI. The headline credit price hides this.
3. Expiry. Unused credits reset each month at most providers, are valid six months at Serper, and never expire at DataForSEO and Serply.
4. Speed and request type. Asynchronous queues cost less than live results, and some APIs sell a lighter request type at fewer credits than a full one.

Since Google stopped honouring num=100 in September 2025, every price here buys about 10 results. A top-100 check costs 10 searches at every provider.

What are the main findings?

• Small users pay the most. The median cost per 1,000 searches is $25.00 at 1,000 searches a month and $1.00 at 1 million.
• Live results cost more than queued ones. DataForSEO lists $0.60 per 1,000 on its standard queue and $2.00 for live results.
• The volume leaders differ by size. At 10,000 searches a month, Serper and Scrapeless list $1.00; at 100,000, Serper and Serply list $0.75; at 1 million, Scrapingdog's 5-credit Light search lists $0.35.
• Crypto is rare. Decodo Web Data API and Scrapeless state self-serve crypto payment; DataForSEO takes Bitcoin on request; Bright Data and Oxylabs say they do not accept crypto.
• Identity checks are rare too. Oxylabs asks every customer to answer a KYC questionnaire; most others state nothing beyond an email and a card.
• Credits that never expire are the exception: DataForSEO and Serply.

Can I reuse this data?

Yes. The tables on this page are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence (CC BY 4.0): you may copy and adapt them, with a link to this page and the date 2026-10-22. Prices change often; we read them again at least once a month and update the date at the top.

If you find a wrong figure, write to [email protected] with the page that shows the right one. We correct the table and note the change in the changelog.