SerpApi lists a free plan with 250 searches per month. The selected paid plans below cost $25 to $275 per month for allowances of 1,000 to 30,000 searches; higher-volume plans are also available. At full allowance usage, these four paid plans work out to $25, $15, $10, and about $9.17 per 1,000 searches. These are calculated averages, not pay-as-you-go rates. Prices were checked on September 10, 2026.
This guide separates those questions. It does not label one provider as universally better, and it does not treat a credit as identical to a monthly search allowance. Read the current provider pages before making a production or purchasing decision.
SerpApi pricing snapshot, checked September 10, 2026
The following snapshot comes from the SerpApi pricing page. It covers the free plan and four selected paid monthly tiers, not the entire catalog. Check the selected speed mode and higher-volume options before requesting a quote.
| SerpApi plan | Listed monthly price | Listed searches per month | Listed throughput per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 250 | 50 |
| Starter | $25 | 1,000 | 200 |
| Developer | $75 | 5,000 | 1,000 |
| Production | $150 | 15,000 | 3,000 |
| Big Data | $275 | 30,000 | 6,000 |
SerpApi also states that only successful searches count toward its monthly allowance, while cached, errored, and failed searches do not. Those rules, along with plan availability and throughput, can change. Treat this table as a dated reference and return to the official page before you buy.
Cost per 1,000 searches depends on how much you use
Divide the monthly price by the searches you actually use, then multiply by 1,000. For a full allowance, the arithmetic is:
| Selected plan | Monthly price | Full monthly allowance | Calculated cost per 1,000 at full usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $25 | 1,000 | $25.00 |
| Developer | $75 | 5,000 | $15.00 |
| Production | $150 | 15,000 | $10.00 |
| Big Data | $275 | 30,000 | $9.17 (rounded) |
For example, if you pay $150 for Production and use 10,000 searches, your calculated cost is $15 per 1,000. If you use all 15,000, it is $10 per 1,000. The subscription payment is $150 in both examples. These calculations use the listed plan price only and exclude any applicable tax or separate charges.
Hourly throughput is a separate limit from the monthly allowance. Check the throughput your batch needs as well as its total search count. For a credit pack, make the same calculation using the credits your actual requests consume and the amount you expect to use before expiry.
What to compare before you compare prices
A price row is meaningful only after you define the work it pays for. Start with these questions:
- Which search engine and result type does the product need to query?
- How many successful requests will the workflow make in a typical month?
- Does the workflow also need to capture a selected public page or file after search?
- How many live requests must run at once during normal and peak work?
- Which response fields, error behavior, and account rules must the application preserve?
The answers prevent a misleading comparison between a monthly search allowance, a credit pack, and a request-capacity limit. They also reveal whether a workflow needs a search API only or a search-plus-source-capture path.
SERPpost pricing model at a glance
SERPpost uses paid credit packs rather than a monthly subscription. The current paid packs below come from the SERPpost pricing page and current product configuration reviewed on September 10, 2026.
| SERPpost pack | Price | Credits | Request Slots | Credit validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $18 | 20,000 | 2 | 6 months |
| Starter | $99 | 132,000 | 5 | 6 months |
| Pro | $597 | 995,000 | 37 | 6 months |
| Ultimate | $1,680 | 3,000,000 | 113 | 6 months |
Request Slots describe how many live requests an account can run at once. They are capacity, not a second billable request unit. Standard remains fixed at two slots; the other listed paid packs can add slots when eligible packs are combined. Check the current pricing details before relying on a plan rule.
SERPpost search requests start from one credit, while Reader requests start from two credits. The exact request cost depends on the endpoint and selected operation, so a SERPpost credit should not be presented as the same thing as a provider’s monthly “search” allowance. Use a small test to map your expected request mix to current credits and capacity.
A practical way to estimate a search-data budget
Start with one representative workload instead of a generic monthly-volume table:
- List the queries your application actually sends and the result types it needs.
- Run a small test with the country, language, page, depth, and cache rules that production will use.
- Record the request count, endpoint, returned fields, errors, and any follow-up page or file capture.
- Multiply that request mix by a normal month and a peak month.
- Check whether the plan covers both the expected usage and the number of requests you need to run concurrently.
This method makes the buying discussion concrete. It also avoids comparing one provider’s successful-search rule to another provider’s credit accounting without checking what each workflow actually consumes.
When a Google/Bing plus source-capture workflow matters
Some applications only need a search result. Others need to query Google or Bing, select a public result URL, and bring that source into a research, monitoring, or agent workflow. SERPpost V1 provides Google and Bing result types plus public page and file capture in one API surface.
Use the V1 search endpoint when you need a result set. Use the Reader endpoint after selecting a public URL when the workflow needs page content, file content, or a screenshot. Keeping those steps explicit makes it easier to estimate credits, inspect the source behind a result, and decide whether the response is useful to the application.
Test the workflow before you choose a paid plan
- Use the API Playground to inspect a sample V1 request and response.
- Create a free account to test your own query and public URL.
- Review the V1 documentation for parameters and response fields.
- Return to pricing only after you know the request mix and Request Slot requirement.
The useful outcome is not a generic “cheapest API” label. It is a written estimate that matches the search engine, result type, source-capture step, and concurrent workload your product actually needs.
FAQ
How much does SerpApi cost in 2026?
On September 10, 2026, SerpApi’s public pricing page listed a free plan with 250 searches per month, selected paid tiers from $25 per month for 1,000 searches through $275 per month for 30,000 searches, plus higher-volume and enterprise options. Check the official pricing page for current terms.
Are SerpApi searches and SERPpost credits directly comparable?
No. SerpApi presents monthly successful-search allowances, while SERPpost uses credits and Request Slots. Compare the actual endpoint, result type, response needs, and concurrency for your workload before comparing a unit price.
What are Request Slots?
Request Slots are the number of live requests an account can run at once. They affect capacity, while credits fund requests. Review the current SERPpost pricing page for the plan rules.
Should I test cached and fresh requests separately?
Yes. Keep the cache rule explicit during an evaluation. A fresh V1 request uses maxCache: 0; use the same setting when you compare request behavior across a representative workload.
Sources and review date
This article was reviewed on September 10, 2026.
- SerpApi pricing
- SERPpost V1 documentation
- SERPpost pricing