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

> SERP API price index 2026: list prices of 19 providers per 1,000 searches at 4 volumes, free tiers, credit expiry, crypto and KYC. Checked 2026-10-22.

- URL: https://serpcrypto.com/data/serp-api-price-index-2026/
- Last updated: 2026-10-22
- Publisher: SerpCrypto (https://serpcrypto.com)

The public list prices of 19 Google SERP APIs, normalised to the cost of 1,000 searches at four monthly volumes, with free tiers, credit expiry, crypto payment and identity checks. Published by SerpCrypto, which is one of the APIs in the table.

**Quick answer — How much does a SERP API cost per 1,000 searches in 2026?**

Across 19 Google SERP APIs whose list prices we read on 2026-10-22, the median entry price is $2.00 per 1,000 searches, from $0.60 to $25.00. Buying 10,000 searches a month costs a median $4.00 per 1,000; at 1 million a month the median falls to $1.00. **SerpCrypto**, which publishes this index, charges $0.75/1K searches on its smallest pack.

## The index in five numbers

- **$2.00** median entry price per 1,000 searches (19 providers)
- **$4.00** median per 1,000 at 10,000 searches a month
- **$1.25** median per 1,000 at 100,000 searches a month (18 providers with a self-serve option)
- **$1.00** median per 1,000 at 1 million searches a month (15 providers with a self-serve option)
- **42×** gap between the highest and lowest entry price

## 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.

## Price per 1,000 Google searches, by monthly volume

Each cell is the effective price per 1,000 searches when you buy that many searches every month. "—" means no self-serve option at that volume.

| Provider | Entry price | 1K a month | 10K a month | 100K a month | 1M a month | Largest plan |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SerpCrypto (prepaid, never expires) | $0.75/1K searches | $0.75/1K searches | $0.75/1K searches | $0.56/1K searches | $0.38/1K searches | $0.30/1K searches |
| SerpApi | $25.00 | $25.00 | $15.00 | $7.25 | $3.75 | $1.96 |
| Serper | $1.00 | $8.33 | $1.00 | $0.75 | $0.50 | $0.30 |
| SearchApi | $4.00 | $40.00 | $4.00 | $2.50 | $1.50 | $1.00 |
| DataForSEO (Standard queue) | $0.60 | $0.60 | $0.60 | $0.60 | $0.60 | $0.60 |
| DataForSEO (Live) | $2.00 | $2.00 | $2.00 | $2.00 | $2.00 | $2.00 |
| Scrapingdog | $1.00 | $40.00 | $4.00 | $0.90 | $0.35 | $0.136 |
| Zenserp | $2.00 | $49.99 | $5.00 | $1.50 | $0.90 | $0.90 |
| ValueSERP | $2.50 | $2.50 | $2.50 | $2.40 | $1.00 | $1.00 |
| Scale SERP | $23.00 | $23.00 | $6.60 | $5.97 | $1.70 | $1.00 |
| SerpWow | $12.50 | $125.00 | $12.50 | $9.60 | $2.40 | $1.44 |
| Bright Data SERP API | $1.50 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $1.31 | $1.31 |
| Oxylabs Web Scraper API | $1.00 | $30.00 | $3.00 | $1.00 | — | $0.70 |
| Decodo Web Data API | $0.75 | $19.00 | $1.90 | $0.99 | $0.50 | $0.40 |
| ScraperAPI | $12.25 | $49.00 | $14.90 | $2.99 | — | $2.30 |
| ScrapingBee | $2.53 | $19.00 | $4.90 | $0.99 | $1.00 | $0.48 |
| HasData | $2.45 | $49.00 | $4.90 | $0.99 | — | $0.69 |
| Scrapeless | $1.00 | $1.00 | $1.00 | $1.00 | $1.00 | $0.80 |
| serpstack | $6.00 | $29.99 | $10.00 | $10.00 | $15.40 | $4.00 |
| SerpHouse | $0.75 | $29.99 | $3.00 | — | — | $0.62 |
| Serply | $2.00 | $2.00 | $1.50 | $0.75 | $0.75 | $0.75 |

*Prices checked on October 22, 2026.*

List prices in USD, read on 2026-10-22. Sources: each provider's pricing page, listed at the bottom. Our own prices are those of the SerpCrypto pricing page on the same date.

## 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.

## Free tiers, credit expiry, crypto and identity checks

What each provider states on the pages we read. "Not mentioned" and "None stated" mean the pages did not say, not that the option does not exist.

| Provider | Free tier | Credit expiry | Crypto payment | Identity checks |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SerpCrypto | None | Never | BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC | None: no ID, no selfie, no documents |
| SerpApi | 250 searches a month | Monthly reset | Not mentioned | None stated |
| Serper | 2,500 queries, no card | 6 months after purchase | Not mentioned | None stated |
| SearchApi | 100 requests | Not stated | Not mentioned | None stated |
| DataForSEO | $1 trial balance | Never | Bitcoin on request via support | None stated |
| Scrapingdog | 100 credits | Lite: end of cycle; Standard and up roll over | Not mentioned | None stated |
| Zenserp | 50 searches a month | Not stated | Not mentioned | None stated |
| ValueSERP | Trial, size not stated | Not stated | Not mentioned | None stated |
| Scale SERP | 125 searches a month | Not stated | Not mentioned | None stated |
| SerpWow | Trial, size not stated | Not stated | Not mentioned | None stated |
| Bright Data SERP API | 5,000 requests a month | Not stated | No | Not stated for the SERP API |
| Oxylabs Web Scraper API | $5 welcome credit | Not stated | No | KYC questionnaire for every customer |
| Decodo Web Data API | $5 credit | Not stated | Yes, self-serve (coins not stated) | Email verification |
| ScraperAPI | 5,000 credits for 7 days | Reset at renewal | Not mentioned | None stated |
| ScrapingBee | 1,000 credits | No rollover | No | None stated |
| HasData | 1,000 credits a month | End of period | Not mentioned | None stated |
| Scrapeless | Trial, size not stated | Unused monthly minimum not kept | Yes (coins not stated) | None for basic packages |
| serpstack | 100 a month, non-commercial | Not stated | Not mentioned | None stated |
| SerpHouse | 400 searches | No carry-over | Not mentioned | No |
| Serply | 2,500 requests in the first 30 days | Purchased credits never expire | Not mentioned | None stated |

*Prices checked on October 22, 2026.*

## 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.

## AI search APIs and official engine APIs (not in the medians)

These return different data: AI search APIs mostly answer from their own index, and the official APIs are closed or limited. Listed for buyers who compare them anyway.

| API | Price per 1,000 | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Brave Search API | $5.00 | Own index; card required "to prevent abuse"; $5 monthly credit |
| Tavily | $7.50 entry, $5.00 at 100,000 | Own retrieval; monthly reset; per-call USDC via x402 |
| Exa | $4.00 lite, $7.00 auto | Own index; per-request USDC via x402 |
| Perplexity Search API | $5.00 | Own index |
| Linkup | $5.00 standard | Per-request USDC via x402, no account |
| You.com Web Search | $5.00 | Per-call USDC via x402 |
| Firecrawl search | $7.60 entry, $1.50 at the largest plan | 2 credits per search |
| Google Custom Search JSON API | $5.00 | Closed to new customers; ends 1 January 2027 |
| Grounding with Bing Search | $14.00 per 1,000 transactions | Returns grounding for an LLM answer, not a results list |

*Prices checked on October 22, 2026.*

## 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 support@serpcrypto.com with the page that shows the right one. We correct the table and note the change in the [changelog](https://serpcrypto.com/changelog/).

## Price index: common questions

### Which SERP API costs least per 1,000 searches?

It depends on volume and speed. On 2026-10-22, DataForSEO's standard queue listed $0.60 for delayed results. For live results, Serper and Scrapeless listed $1.00 at 10,000 searches a month, Serper and Serply $0.75 at 100,000, and Scrapingdog's 5-credit Light search $0.35 at 1 million.

### What is the average price of a SERP API?

The median entry price across 19 providers is $2.00 per 1,000 searches. At 1 million searches a month the median is $1.00 per 1,000. Means are distorted by a few expensive monthly plans, so we publish medians.

### Why is SerpApi so much more expensive in this table?

SerpApi sells monthly plans from $25 for 1,000 searches, and includes engines, legal coverage and hourly throughput guarantees that many cheaper APIs do not. Its price per 1,000 falls to $3.75 at 1 million searches a month.

### Does SerpCrypto count itself in the medians?

No. SerpCrypto publishes this index and appears in the first row for reference only. The medians use the other providers.

### How often is the index updated?

At least once a month, and whenever a listed provider changes its public prices. The date at the top shows the last full check.

## Sources

1. [SerpApi: pricing](https://serpapi.com/pricing) — SerpApi (read 2026-10-22)
2. [Serper: pricing](https://serper.dev/) — Serper (read 2026-10-22)
3. [SearchApi: pricing](https://www.searchapi.io/pricing) — SearchApi (read 2026-10-22)
4. [DataForSEO: pricing](https://dataforseo.com/apis/serp-api/pricing) — DataForSEO (read 2026-10-22)
5. [Scrapingdog: pricing](https://www.scrapingdog.com/pricing/) — Scrapingdog (read 2026-10-22)
6. [Zenserp: pricing](https://zenserp.com/pricing-plans/) — Zenserp (read 2026-10-22)
7. [ValueSERP: pricing](https://trajectdata.com/pricing/value-serp-api) — ValueSERP (read 2026-10-22)
8. [Scale SERP: pricing](https://trajectdata.com/pricing/scaleserp-api) — Scale SERP (read 2026-10-22)
9. [SerpWow: pricing](https://trajectdata.com/pricing/serpwow-api) — SerpWow (read 2026-10-22)
10. [Bright Data SERP API: pricing](https://www.bright.cn/pricing/serp) — Bright Data (read 2026-10-22)
11. [Oxylabs Web Scraper API: pricing](https://oxylabs.io/pricing/web-scraper-api) — Oxylabs (read 2026-10-22)
12. [Decodo Web Data API: pricing](https://decodo.com/pricing) — Decodo (read 2026-10-22)
13. [ScraperAPI: pricing](https://www.scraperapi.com/pricing/) — ScraperAPI (read 2026-10-22)
14. [ScrapingBee: pricing](https://www.scrapingbee.com/documentation/google-api/) — ScrapingBee (read 2026-10-22)
15. [HasData: pricing](https://hasdata.com/prices) — HasData (read 2026-10-22)
16. [Scrapeless: pricing](https://www.scrapeless.com/en/pricing) — Scrapeless (read 2026-10-22)
17. [serpstack: pricing](https://serpstack.com/pricing) — serpstack (read 2026-10-22)
18. [SerpHouse: pricing](https://www.serphouse.com/pricing) — SerpHouse (read 2026-10-22)
19. [Serply: pricing](https://serply.io/pricing) — Serply (read 2026-10-22)
20. [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api/) — Brave (read 2026-10-22)
21. [Tavily API credits](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits) — Tavily (read 2026-10-22)
22. [Exa pricing](https://exa.ai/pricing) — Exa (read 2026-10-22)
23. [Perplexity Search API](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/overview.md) — Perplexity (read 2026-10-22)
24. [Linkup pricing](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/development/pricing) — Linkup (read 2026-10-22)
25. [You.com pricing](https://you.com/pricing) — You.com (read 2026-10-22)
26. [Firecrawl pricing](https://www.firecrawl.dev/pricing) — Firecrawl (read 2026-10-22)
27. [Custom Search JSON API: overview](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview) — Google for Developers (read 2026-10-22)
28. [Grounding with Bing Search: pricing](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/apis/grounding-pricing) — Microsoft (read 2026-10-22)

---

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.