Best SERP API Providers in 2026: Engines, Output, Free Tiers

A SERP API fetches search engine results pages for you and returns them as structured data, usually JSON, so your code never has to manage proxies, CAPTCHAs or HTML parsing. The best SERP API for your team depends on three things you can check in each provider's documentation before you sign anything: which engines and result types it covers, what output it returns, and whether it handles Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode. This guide compares six SERP API providers on exactly those points, using each vendor's own docs as the source, and links to their pricing pages rather than quoting prices that change.

Before you choose, it's worth seeing what's included in Indexed's programmatic SEO services.

SERP API Providers Compared

Everything in this table comes from the provider's documentation or product page, checked in November 2026. "Engines" lists what the docs name; several providers also offer a generic URL scraper on top.

Prices are deliberately left out. Every provider above bills differently (per search, per successful request, per credit or from a prepaid balance), so model your own monthly volume on each vendor's pricing page.

Provider Notes, With the Docs We Checked

SerpApi: the widest engine list

SerpApi's homepage lists APIs for Google, Bing, Baidu, Yahoo, Yandex, DuckDuckGo and Naver, plus marketplace and platform searches such as YouTube, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Yelp and Zillow. The Google Search API documentation shows three output options: structured JSON by default, the raw HTML retrieved, or a Markdown version aimed at LLMs and AI agents. It also links a dedicated Google AI Mode API, and notes that cached searches are free and do not count toward your monthly searches.

The SerpApi pricing page lists a free plan with 250 searches a month at up to 50 searches an hour, and its plan table marks the Legal Shield feature as not included on the free tier. Choose SerpApi when one integration has to cover many search surfaces with a consistent schema.

DataForSEO: built for SEO data at volume

DataForSEO's SERP API overview covers Google, Bing, YouTube, Yahoo, Baidu, Naver and Seznam. It offers two ways to request data: a Live method that returns results in real time, and a Standard method where you post a task and collect it later, which the docs describe as more affordable. Results come in three formats: Regular, which returns organic and paid results and works only for organic search types; Advanced, which works across all its SERP engines; and raw HTML. Its Google AI Mode endpoint returns AI Mode answers with a references array listing the cited domain, URL, title and snippet, which is what most AI visibility tracking needs.

The DataForSEO pricing page mentions trial credit for new accounts and a free sandbox that returns sample responses, and it works on a prepaid balance with a minimum top-up rather than a subscription. The queued Standard method suits nightly rank tracking where results can wait.

Bright Data: flexible output and AI Overview capture

Bright Data's SERP API introduction lists Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Baidu, Yahoo and Naver, with parsed JSON via a query parameter, a Markdown option and raw output. The docs say you pay only for successful delivery. Its Google AI Overview API page explains that adding a specific parameter increases the chance of retrieving AI Overview sections when they exist, at the cost of roughly 5 to 10 extra seconds per request because a browser session is launched. The same page advertises a free tier of 5K requests a month with no credit card required.

Oxylabs: dedicated Google endpoints, including AI Mode

Oxylabs' search engine scraper reference documents separate endpoints for Google Search, Ads, AI Mode, Shopping, Maps, Hotels, Lens and Trends, plus Bing. Output can be any mix of parsed JSON, HTML, Markdown or a screenshot, and an option on the Google Search endpoint expands the AI Overview block instead of returning it collapsed. The docs treat AI Mode as separate from the AI Overview returned by the search endpoint, which is the right distinction to make. The SERP Scraper API page offers free welcome credits to start.

Zenserp and Scale SERP: simpler, narrower options

Zenserp covers Google (including images, maps, news, shopping, trends and YouTube), Bing and Yandex, returns JSON, and offers 50 free searches a month. Its AI search endpoints for answer engines are marked as coming soon. Traject Data's Scale SERP documentation lists Google-only endpoints for search, Maps, Shopping, News, Product and Reviews. Neither documents AI Mode support, so test them only if your workload is classic Google results.

What About Google's Own Search API?

Teams often ask why they cannot just use Google. Google's Custom Search JSON API overview now says the API is closed to new customers, and existing customers have until January 1, 2027 to move to an alternative. It also returns results from a Programmable Search Engine rather than the full Google results page your customers see. For new projects, a third-party SERP API is the practical route.

Terms of Service and Legal Risk

Google's Terms of Service prohibit using automated means to access content from its services in violation of machine-readable instructions such as robots.txt. SERP API providers carry the scraping work, but the risk is not zero for buyers. In December 2025 Google announced a lawsuit against SerpApi, alleging that it circumvented security measures protecting content in Search results. That case is about one provider and its methods, but it is a reason to ask every vendor how it collects data, what indemnity it offers, and to involve your own counsel before a large contract. Check the current status of the case when you run procurement.

How to Choose a SERP API in Five Steps

• Define the query profile. Monthly volume, engines, result types (organic, Maps, Shopping, AI Overviews, AI Mode), locations and how fresh results must be.
• Check the docs, not the sales page. Confirm each engine and SERP feature you need appears as a documented endpoint or field.
• Test AI features on your own queries. Run queries that reliably trigger AI Overviews in your market and compare the returned fields with what a browser shows. Our explainer on how AI Overviews work covers which queries tend to trigger them.
• Model total cost on the pricing page. Apply your real volume, the live versus queued method you need, and any rendering or AI options that cost extra.
• Monitor result structure in production. Log the shape of every response, not just the HTTP status, so a silent parser break does not corrupt weeks of data.

When You Do Not Need a SERP API

If you need rankings for one website, a rank tracking tool is cheaper and faster to set up than an API integration; our comparison of free and paid rank trackers covers those. If you only need AI Mode visibility reports rather than raw data, the tools in our list of AI Mode rank trackers package it for you. A SERP API earns its place when you are building something: a programmatic SEO pipeline, an internal rank tracker, or a product feature that needs live search data, as in our guide to sourcing data for programmatic SEO.

FAQ

What is a SERP API?

A SERP API is a service that runs a search on an engine such as Google or Bing on your behalf and returns the results page as structured data, typically JSON. The provider handles proxies, rendering and parsing. You send a keyword, location and settings; you get back organic results, ads and SERP features as fields your code can use.

What is the best SERP API?

It depends on the workload. SerpApi documents the widest range of engines and platforms. DataForSEO is built around SEO data and offers a cheaper queued method. Oxylabs and Bright Data document strong Google coverage, including AI Overview handling, and Oxylabs has a dedicated AI Mode endpoint. Shortlist two or three and test them on your own queries.

Which SERP APIs support Google AI Mode?

Among the providers here, SerpApi, DataForSEO and Oxylabs document dedicated Google AI Mode endpoints. Bright Data documents AI Overview retrieval. Zenserp lists AI search as coming soon, and we found no AI Mode support in Scale SERP's docs.

Is there a free SERP API?

Several providers have free allowances: SerpApi's free plan (250 searches a month), Zenserp (50 a month), Bright Data's free tier, Oxylabs' welcome credits and DataForSEO's trial credit. They are fine for prototypes. Google's own Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers.

Is using a SERP API against Google's Terms of Service?

Google's terms prohibit automated access that ignores machine-readable instructions such as robots.txt, and Google has taken legal action against at least one SERP API provider. Using a provider shifts the scraping to them but does not remove all risk. If this matters to your organization, get specific legal advice rather than relying on a vendor's own description.

Related Reading

• How Google's AI Overviews Work (And How to Appear in Them)
• 8 Best AI Mode Rank Tracker Tools for 2026
• Best Rank Trackers in 2026 (Free and Paid Compared)
• Data Sourcing for Programmatic SEO
• SEO vs. GEO vs. AEO: What's the Difference?