SearchApi alternatives
What else returns Google results, what each one gives you, and when to stay put.
When to stay with SearchApi
SearchApi documents an AI Overview field and twenty verticals, which is more surface than we cover. The response uses snake_case, so a Serper-shaped parser needs a mapping layer either way.
We sell a competing product, so read that paragraph with the appropriate suspicion — and then check it against their own documentation, which is where it came from on 2026-08-26.
The alternatives
| Provider | Per 1,000 | Verticals | AI Overview | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERPens | $1.16 | 2 | Yes | Serper-compatible body, free tier, public measurement record |
| Serper | $0.30 | 13 | No | The contract we are compatible with. |
| SerpApi | $25.00 | 20 | No | The incumbent, with twenty verticals and snake_case. |
| DataForSEO | $0.60 | — | No | Priced for agencies, shaped for pipelines. |
| Scrapingdog | $0.40 | 18 | No | Credits that do not expire. |
| Zenserp | — | 9 | No | Organic results, nine verticals. |
| ScaleSERP | $6.60 | 11 | No | Eleven verticals, volume pricing. |
All figures checked 2026-08-26 against vendor documentation. Prices move; none of these is a quote.
How to actually choose
Three questions settle it faster than a feature table.
Which verticals do you call? If your code touches images, news, places, scholar or shopping, most of this table is irrelevant and you want the broadest provider you can afford.
Do you need the AI Overview? It is the block that decides whether anyone reaches page one, and most providers here do not return it at all.
What does a failed call cost you? Metering policies differ more than prices do. SerpApi does not bill errors or cached searches; we bill every request to a billed path. At small volume that is noise, at large volume it is the whole invoice.
Try the free tier before you migrate anything
100 calls a month, no card. Enough to diff the response bodies against what you have.