search api

SerpApi

Extract real-time, structured data from Google and other major search engines with high accuracy for developers building SEO tools and AI-driven applications.

Freemiumsearch api Owner claimedHiring
Free plan available

$25/mo

SerpApi screenshot

About SerpApi

SerpApi is a robust scraping platform designed to provide developers with a fast and reliable way to access search engine results pages (SERPs) in structured JSON format. Unlike simple HTML scrapers, it handles the complexities of modern web browsing by running requests through a full browser cluster and automatically solving CAPTCHAs. This approach ensures that the data returned is an exact mirror of what a human user would see, covering various engines including Google, Bing, Baidu, and DuckDuckGo. By offloading the infrastructure challenges of proxy management and bot detection, teams can focus on data analysis rather than data acquisition. The tool excels in providing high-granularity data beyond just organic links. It parses Maps, Local results, Shopping, Knowledge Graphs, and even the "People Also Ask" sections. One of its standout technical features is the ability to specify exact geolocations via geolocated, encrypted parameters and proxy servers, allowing users to see results as if they were physically in a specific city or country. Integration is streamlined through official libraries for popular languages such as Python, Ruby, JavaScript, and PHP, as well as a dedicated Google Sheets integration for non-technical users. SerpApi is primarily built for data scientists, SEO professionals, and software engineers who need to feed real-time search data into their applications or internal dashboards. It is particularly useful for building competitive intelligence tools, monitoring brand mentions, or training large language models (LLMs) on current search trends. Large enterprises benefit from its SOC 2 certification and a unique "U.S. Legal Shield" that assumes scraping and parsing liabilities, providing a layer of compliance safety that is rare in the web scraping industry. What sets SerpApi apart from competitors is its focus on transparency and completeness. It offers a "ZeroTrace" mode for enhanced privacy and a 99.95% SLA guarantee across all plans. By providing both the parsed JSON and the raw HTML files, which are stored for 31 days, it allows for easy debugging and historical verification. The platform’s ability to handle highly specific search types, such as Google Patents, Google Lens, and AI Overviews, makes it one of the most comprehensive search scraping solutions available on the market today.

SerpApi pros & cons

Pros

  • Converts complex SERP elements like Knowledge Graphs and Maps into easy-to-use JSON.
  • Routes requests through local proxy servers to ensure 100% geolocation accuracy.
  • Provides a 99.95% SLA guarantee with a 100% penalty credit for downtime.
  • Includes legal protection that assumes parsing liabilities for its users.
  • Supports niche search types including Google Patents, Google Lens, and Google Flights.

Cons

  • Monthly search credits do not rollover if they remain unused at the end of the cycle.
  • Hourly throughput is capped at 20% of the monthly plan volume for most tiers.
  • Raw HTML and JSON search records are automatically deleted after 31 days.
  • Free plan is limited to only 250 successful searches per month.

SerpApi use cases

  • SEO tool developers can automate the collection of ranking data and 'People Also Ask' snippets to power their analytics dashboards.
  • Data scientists can scrape Google Shopping or Amazon prices to conduct large-scale market research and price comparison studies.
  • AI researchers can use the Google AI Overview API to gather training data or verify current facts through real-time search results.
  • Marketing teams can monitor local brand visibility across different cities by using the specific geolocation parameter.
  • Software engineers can use the provided Python or JavaScript libraries to implement search data without managing their own proxy infrastructure.

SerpApi features

  • structured json output
  • automatic captcha solving
  • official libraries for 10+ languages
  • support for 50+ search engine apis
  • 31-day search history storage
  • u.s. legal shield liability protection
  • global geolocation parameters
  • full browser cluster execution

SerpApi pricing

Is SerpApi free? Yes, SerpApi has a free plan, and paid plans start at $25 / month.

Free

Free

  • 250 searches per month
  • 50 throughput per hour
  • U.S. Legal Shield
  • ZeroTrace Mode
  • Priority support

Starter

$25 / month

  • 1,000 searches per month
  • 200 throughput per hour
  • U.S. Legal Shield

Developer

$75 / month

  • 5,000 searches per month
  • 1,000 throughput per hour
  • U.S. Legal Shield

Production

$150 / month

  • 15,000 searches per month
  • 3,000 throughput per hour
  • U.S. Legal Shield

SerpApi FAQs

How are searches counted against my limit?

Only successful searches are counted toward your monthly limit. Cached, errored, and failed searches are free of charge, and the number of results per response does not affect the credit cost.

Do unused searches rollover to the next month?

No, unused searches do not rollover. Your allowance restarts with your monthly credit limit on the first day of your new billing cycle.

What is the guaranteed throughput for my plan?

For plans under 1 million searches, the hourly throughput limit is 20% of your monthly volume. For example, the Developer Plan (5,000/mo) allows up to 1,000 successful searches per hour.

How long does SerpApi store my search data?

SerpApi stores all JSON and raw HTML files for your searches for a period of 31 days. You can access these historical records through your account dashboard.

What legal protections do you offer for scraping?

SerpApi provides a U.S. Legal Shield, assuming scraping and parsing liabilities for domestic and foreign companies, provided the usage is not otherwise illegal under U.S. law.

Open roles

All AI jobs

Junior Fullstack Engineer

Benefits:

  • Profit shares

  • High compensation

  • Flexible schedule

  • Career growth training

  • Toolings reimbursement

Experience Requirements:

  • Ruby

  • JavaScript

  • Proxies

  • Scraping

  • CAPTCHA solving

Other Requirements:

  • Neurodivergent-friendly mindset

  • Willingness to work in a remote-first environment

Responsibilities:

  • Design APIs, solutions, and features

  • Conduct PR code reviews

  • Troubleshoot customer issues

  • Prioritize public and private roadmaps

  • Write technical blog posts

Show more details

Senior Fullstack Engineer

Benefits:

  • Profit shares

  • High compensation

  • Flexible schedule

  • Career growth training

  • Toolings reimbursement

Experience Requirements:

  • Ruby

  • JavaScript

  • Proxies

  • Scraping

  • CAPTCHA solving

Other Requirements:

  • Willingness to work in a high-trust environment

  • Comfort with async communication

Responsibilities:

  • Design APIs and features

  • Conduct PR code reviews

  • Troubleshoot customer issues

  • Prioritize roadmaps

  • Write blog posts

Show more details

Ratings & reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share how SerpApi worked for you.