Tony Wang

Posted on Jul 10 • Originally published at crawlora.net

Best SERP APIs in 2026 for Rank Tracking and Search Data

#seo #tutorial

Key takeaways

Google has no official SERP API — the Custom Search JSON API closed to new customers in 2025 and shuts down January 1, 2027 — so production rank tracking runs on third-party SERP APIs.
Compare on engine coverage, structured output, SERP-feature parsing (AI Overviews now appear on ~48% of tracked queries), localization, and cost per successful query — not headline price.
For multi-engine rank tracking with the least parsing, a structured search API across Google, Bing, and Brave is the fastest path; pick SerpApi for feature breadth, DataForSEO for bundled SEO datasets, or Serper/Scrapingdog for the lowest cost.
After Google's December 2025 lawsuit against SerpApi, keep a tested second provider and normalize on a schema you control.

A SERP API turns a search engine results page into structured data — positions, URLs, titles, snippets, and SERP features — so you can track rankings, monitor competitors, and feed search data into products. This guide covers why you need one, what to compare in 2026, how the main options differ, and how to turn whichever you pick into a working rank tracker.

Why there's no official Google SERP API

Google deprecated its first Web Search API back in 2011. The closest first-party option, the Programmable Search Engine / Custom Search JSON API, was closed to new customers in 2025 and is scheduled to shut down on January 1, 2027 — and even at its best it was limited to 100 free queries/day and a configured engine rather than open-web parity. Bing's Search API was also retired in August 2025 (see Bing Search API alternatives). That leaves third-party SERP APIs as the practical way to collect search results at production scale — which is why this comparison matters.

What to compare in a SERP API

Headline price is the wrong starting point. Compare on:

Engine coverage — Google only, or also Bing, Brave, and others? Rankings differ by engine, so cross-engine visibility matters.
Structured output — clean, normalized fields (position, URL, snippet, modules) or HTML you parse yourself?
SERP-feature parsing — organic results, related queries, people-also-ask, news, video, local pack — and AI Overviews, which now appear on roughly 48% of tracked queries; an API that can't parse them returns incomplete rankings.
Localization — country and language parameters.
Free tier — to benchmark on your real keywords before committing.
Cost per successful query at your real volume, including retries (see below).

The best SERP APIs in 2026

There is no single winner — pick by whether you want multi-engine breadth, the deepest SERP features, bundled SEO datasets, or the lowest cost. Here is the landscape, then a closer look.

Provider	Engines	Output	Notable	Best for
Crawlora	Google, Bing, Brave (+ Trends)	Normalized JSON, identical shape per engine	2,000 free credits/mo; one schema across engines	Multi-engine rank tracking, minimal parsing
SerpApi	Many engines + deep SERP features	Structured JSON	Broadest feature/engine coverage; priciest	Feature breadth across engines
DataForSEO	Google + others	Structured JSON + datasets	Keyword volume, difficulty, backlinks; cheapest at scale	SEO platforms needing datasets
Serper	Google	Clean JSON	Among the cheapest (~$0.30–$1/1K), fast	Low-cost, high-volume Google
Scrapingdog	Google + more	JSON	Fastest in benchmarks, low cost at scale	Budget high-volume scraping
Bright Data	Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, DuckDuckGo, Baidu	Structured JSON	Flat pricing, enterprise infra	Enterprise scale across engines
ScrapingBee / SearchApi / Decodo	Google	JSON	Mid-tier value, simple integration	General-purpose SERP

1. Crawlora — multi-engine structured JSON

Crawlora exposes a search endpoint per engine — Google Search, Bing, and Brave — returning normalized JSON with an identical shape across engines, so the same code snapshots all three:

curl -s -X POST "https://api.crawlora.net/api/v1/google/search" \
  -H "x-api-key: $CRAWLORA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"keyword": "best serp api", "language": "en", "country": "us", "limit": 10}'

import os
import requests

resp = requests.post(
    "https://api.crawlora.net/api/v1/google/search",
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["CRAWLORA_API_KEY"]},
    json={"keyword": "best serp api", "language": "en", "country": "us", "limit": 10},
)
for row in resp.json()["data"]["result"]:
    print(row["position"], row["title"], row["link"])

Switch the endpoint to /bing/search or /brave/search for the same shape, and pair it with the Google Trends API to connect rankings with demand. When to choose it: multi-engine rank tracking with the least parsing and single-source resilience, on a free tier (2,000 credits/month, no card). See Crawlora vs SerpApi and vs DataForSEO. The trade-off: SerpApi documents more niche Google surfaces.

2. SerpApi — feature-rich, but the priciest

SerpApi is mature and SERP-focused with the broadest engine and SERP-feature coverage (including niche Google surfaces like Flights, Hotels, and Scholar). It is also the most expensive — roughly $9–$15 per 1,000 searches depending on tier, with hard plan caps and no pay-as-you-go.

When to choose it: you need deep SERP-feature breadth and niche Google surfaces, and the cost fits. See SerpApi alternatives for cheaper options.

3. DataForSEO — cheapest at scale, with SEO datasets

DataForSEO pairs a SERP API with keyword volume, difficulty, and backlink datasets, and its queued pricing is among the cheapest at scale (fractions of a cent per SERP). The trade-off is a more involved API and a higher minimum spend.

When to choose it: you are building an SEO platform that needs SERPs and the supporting datasets from one vendor.

4. Serper & Scrapingdog — lowest cost, fast

Serper is among the cheapest Google SERP APIs (around $0.30–$1 per 1,000 at volume) with clean JSON and low latency; Scrapingdog is similarly budget-friendly and fast, with dedicated endpoints. Both trade some feature depth for price and speed.

When to choose it: high-volume Google rank tracking where cost-per-query and speed matter most.

5. Bright Data — enterprise scale across engines

Bright Data ships a SERP API across Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, DuckDuckGo, and Baidu with flat per-request pricing on enterprise-grade infrastructure (SSO, audit logs, support).

When to choose it: rank tracking that spans many engines at scale where reliability and enterprise controls outweigh per-request cost. The trade-off: no ongoing free tier and heavier procurement.

6. ScrapingBee, SearchApi, Decodo — mid-tier general-purpose

ScrapingBee, SearchApi, and Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) are solid mid-tier Google SERP options with simple integration and reasonable pricing — good when you want a dependable general-purpose SERP API without enterprise overhead.

7. Generic scrapers and proxies — DIY SERP parsing

Generic scraping APIs and proxy networks can fetch search pages, but you handle parsing and SERP structure yourself — more flexible, more work for rank tracking specifically. See ScraperAPI alternatives and the category overview in Best Web Scraping APIs in 2026.

Track SERP features, not just positions

Rankings in 2026 are more than ten blue links. AI Overviews now appear on roughly 48% of tracked queries, alongside people-also-ask, local packs, video carousels, and news. A position-only tracker that ignores these undercounts your real visibility — an organic #1 sitting below a large AI Overview is not the same #1 it was a year ago. When you compare SERP APIs, check which features each one actually parses on your queries, not just whether it returns organic positions.

Reliability: the 2025 SerpApi lawsuit

In December 2025, Google filed a lawsuit against SerpApi over scraping Google Search results; SerpApi has moved to dismiss and the case is unresolved. It does not mean any one provider is disappearing, but it is a reminder to treat SERP data like any critical dependency: keep a tested second provider and normalize on a schema you control, so swapping sources is a config change rather than a rewrite. More in SerpApi alternatives.

Cost per successful query, not sticker price

Benchmarked Google SERP rates span a wide range — roughly $0.30 to $15 per 1,000 queries — but the rate alone is misleading. Retries: a query that hits a challenge, returns partial data, or times out still costs you, and you pay again on the retry. Parsing maintenance: even a cheap fetch carries the engineering time to keep selectors alive as layouts shift. A structured API that returns normalized JSON on the first call and absorbs parser upkeep can be cheaper per usable record even at a higher sticker price — and far more predictable. Use the free tiers (Crawlora 2,000 credits/month, plus free credits from most providers) to benchmark on your real keywords first.

From SERP API to rank tracker

Whichever you choose, the rank-tracking pattern is the same:

Define keywords by country and language.
Snapshot the SERP on a schedule.
Store one row per keyword per run — position, URL, snippet, and the SERP features present.
Diff over time to surface movement.

The SERP monitoring use case walks through this, and How SERP Monitoring APIs Work builds the tracker step by step. The SERP tracker API, SERP tracking API, SERP rank checker API, and white-label SERP tracking API pages cover the variants.

Recommendation

For structured, multi-engine SERP data that drops into a rank tracker with minimal parsing, a structured search API across Google, Bing, and Brave is the fastest path. If you need deep SERP-feature coverage choose SerpApi; for bundled SEO datasets, DataForSEO; for the lowest cost at volume, Serper or Scrapingdog; for enterprise multi-engine scale, Bright Data. Compare on coverage, SERP-feature parsing, and cost per successful query — not headline price.

Next steps

Test a search endpoint in the Playground, read the shapes in the API docs, and check pricing. The comparison index has every head-to-head.

Sources

Sources

Frequently asked questions

What is a SERP API?

Is there an official Google SERP API?

No. Google deprecated its Web Search API in 2011, and the closest first-party option — the Custom Search JSON API — was closed to new customers in 2025 and is scheduled to shut down on January 1, 2027. Production rank tracking therefore relies on third-party SERP APIs.

What is the best SERP API for rank tracking?

For multi-engine rank tracking with minimal parsing, a structured search API across Google, Bing, and Brave (such as Crawlora) is the fastest path. For deep SERP-feature breadth choose SerpApi; for bundled keyword and backlink datasets, DataForSEO; for the lowest cost at volume, Serper or Scrapingdog; for enterprise multi-engine scale, Bright Data.

How much does a SERP API cost?

Benchmarked Google SERP rates span roughly $0.30 to $15 per 1,000 queries. SerpApi sits at the high end (about $9–$15/1K), while Serper and Scrapingdog are among the cheapest at scale. Compare cost per successful query — after retries and the SERP features you actually need — not the headline rate.

Do I need to track AI Overviews?

Increasingly, yes. AI Overviews now appear on roughly 48% of tracked queries, and a position-only tracker that ignores them undercounts real visibility. Check which SERP features (AI Overview, PAA, local pack, video) each API parses on your queries, not just whether it returns organic positions.

Is there a free SERP API?

Crawlora includes 2,000 free credits per month (no card) covering Google, Bing, and Brave search endpoints. Most SERP-specific APIs also offer a small free tier or credits (for example SerpApi's 250 searches/month) for evaluation.

Do I need Google, Bing, and Brave?

Rankings differ by engine and Bing and Brave feed some AI answers, so cross-engine tracking catches visibility shifts you would miss on Google alone. Because the response shape is identical across engines, adding them is cheap.

Originally published on crawlora.net. Crawlora is a structured web-data, search, and anti-bot API — dozens of platforms as normalized JSON, plus a hosted MCP server, with a free tier (no card).

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