Brave Search API vs Serper for AI agents
Programmatic access to Brave Search, which runs its own independent web index. Serper is a low-cost API that returns Google search results as JSON.
The short answer
- Brave Search API: Independent (non-Google, non-Bing) web results at a simple flat price, with fast throughput.
- Serper: The cheapest way on this list to get raw Google results in JSON.
Side by side
| Brave Search API | Serper | |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | Brave's own independent index (Brave says 40+ billion pages); web, news, images, video. | Google results: web, images, news, maps, places, videos, shopping, scholar, patents, autocomplete. |
| Returns | JSON web results (URLs, titles, snippets, up to five extra snippets), news, images and more, plus an LLM-context endpoint; a separate Answers plan returns AI answers. | JSON shaped like a Google results page: organic results with title, link and snippet, knowledge graph, People Also Ask, related searches; places with address, rating and phone. |
| Before the first call | An account, an API key, and a credit card even for the free credit (used for identity, not charged). | An account and an API key; no credit card for the free queries. |
| Free | $5 in free credits every month (about 1,000 searches at $5 per 1,000); card required. | 2,500 free queries, no credit card (the page does not say they renew monthly). |
| Paid | $5 per 1,000 requests (Search plan, 50 queries per second). | $50 for 50,000 credits ($1.00 per 1,000), credits valid 6 months; down to $0.30 per 1,000 at volume. |
| Acting on a result | Through the web page each result links to | Through the web page each result links to |
| Limits on keeping or showing results | No storing, caching or building a database of results beyond transient storage unless you buy a plan that explicitly grants storage rights. | Not stated on its pages |
| AI in its terms | Results may not be used to create, train, fine-tune or benchmark AI models (storage-rights plans are separate). | Not stated on its pages |
| MCP server | Official MCP server from Brave: https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server | No official server listed |
Questions people ask
What do I need before I can use Brave Search API?
An account, an API key, and a credit card even for the free credit (used for identity, not charged).
Is Brave Search API free?
$5 in free credits every month (about 1,000 searches at $5 per 1,000); card required.
What do I need before I can use Serper?
An account and an API key; no credit card for the free queries.
Is Serper free?
2,500 free queries, no credit card (the page does not say they renew monthly).
Sources
Every line about another company comes from its own pages. Prices and terms change, so check the source before you rely on one.
Brave Search API, read on October 15, 2026:
- brave.com/search/api: “$5 per 1,000 requests”
- brave.com/search/api: “Includes $5 in free credits every month”
- brave.com/search/api: “Brave's index includes 40+ billion pages, kept fresh by 100+ million page updates every day.”
- brave.com/search/api: “Get up to five snippets picked in real time to maximize contextual relevance to a search.”
- brave.com/search/api: “For free plans, the card is only used to confirm your identity and will not be charged.”
- brave.com/search/api: “you will need to subscribe to a plan that explicitly grants storage rights.”
- api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation/resources/terms-of-service: “store, cache, or create a database of Search Results, in whole or in part, other than transient storage”
- api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation/resources/terms-of-service: “use the Search Results to create, evaluate, train, re-train, fine-tune, benchmark”
Serper, read on October 15, 2026:
- serper.dev: “Get 2,500 free queries”
- serper.dev: “No credit card required”
- serper.dev: “50k credits ($1.00/1k)”
- serper.dev: “Credits valid for 6 months”
- serper.dev: “The World's Fastest & Cheapest Google Search API”