Serper vs SerpApi: Google results as JSON, cheaply or many search engines, parsed
Serper is a low-cost API that returns Google search results as JSON. SerpApi is an API that scrapes and parses Google and other search engines into structured JSON.
The short answer
- Serper: The cheapest way on this list to get raw Google results in JSON.
- SerpApi: Structured results from many search engines and verticals, including Google Maps and Shopping, through one API.
Side by side
| Serper | SerpApi | |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | Google results: web, images, news, maps, places, videos, shopping, scholar, patents, autocomplete. | Google (many verticals) plus Bing, Baidu, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, Yandex, Naver, Brave, and sites like Amazon, eBay, YouTube, Walmart, Tripadvisor. |
| Returns | 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. | Structured JSON (or Markdown): organic results, maps and local results, shopping, direct answers, knowledge graph, with links, addresses, prices, ratings and reviews. |
| Before the first call | An account and an API key; no credit card for the free queries. | An account and an API key. |
| Free | 2,500 free queries, no credit card (the page does not say they renew monthly). | 250 searches a month. |
| Paid | $50 for 50,000 credits ($1.00 per 1,000), credits valid 6 months; down to $0.30 per 1,000 at volume. | $25/month for 1,000 searches (Starter); only successful searches count. |
| Acting on a result | Through the web page each result links to | Through the web page each result links to |
| MCP server | No official server listed | Official MCP server: https://mcp.serpapi.com/mcp (code: https://github.com/serpapi/serpapi-mcp) |
Questions people ask
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).
What do I need before I can use SerpApi?
An account and an API key.
Is SerpApi free?
250 searches a month.
Sources
Every line about another company comes from its own pages. Prices and terms change, so check the source before you rely on one.
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”
SerpApi, read on October 15, 2026:
- serpapi.com/pricing: “Only successful searches are counted toward your monthly searches. Cached, errored, and failed searches are not.”
- serpapi.com: “Regular organic results are available as well as Maps, Local, Stories, Shopping, Direct Answer, and Knowledge Graph.”
- github.com/serpapi/serpapi-mcp: “A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation that integrates with SerpApi”
- serpapi.com/pricing: “Free $ 0 / month Get Started 250 searches per month”
- serpapi.com/pricing: “Starter $ 25 / month Get Started 1,000 searches per month”