The Best SERP APIs
SERP APIs let you collect data from search engines without encountering CAPTCHAs or managing proxy infrastructure. But the market is full of options, and it can be hard to pick a reliable service. This page will help you compare the best SERP APIs and choose one that fits your needs.
The Best SERP Scraping Services of 2026:
1. Oxylabs – premium multi-engine web scraping service.
2. ScrapingBee – great SERP API alternative.
3. Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) – affordable scraper with a great user experience.
4. ScraperAPI – speedy full SERP API.
5. Zyte API – the Google scraper with essential features.
6. Apify – a platform full of SERP scraping APIs.
7. NetNut – fast SERP scraper for enterprise customers.
Different Ways of Acquiring Search Engine Data
Building a Custom SERP Scraper
Some companies choose to build a Google Search scraper themselves. It’s a complex process, but it helps them adjust the scraper to their needs or specific targets. To develop a scraper, engineers typically use Python with Beautiful Soup, a library that allows you to extract information from multiple markup languages, including HTML and XML.
The downside of a custom scraper isn’t just building it yourself. It also requires constant maintenance since Google regularly changes its SERP structure and overall algorithm.
Using a Third-Party Web Scraper
Another method is to use a third-party web scraper. Usually, these tools are designed to extract different web search data types, not just Google SERPs. Unless you use a scraper with high-quality residential proxies, you may end up having to deal with IP bans and CAPTCHAs.
The issue is that leading providers are starting to limit access to Google via their proxy networks, which brings us to the third option.
Using a Google Scraping API
SERP APIs (increasingly referred to as Search APIs these days) are the hero of this story. They’re basically remote web scrapers tailored for search engines and packaged as an API.
You send a request with some parameters (search query, device, location), and the API returns results for you. The biggest advantage here is that software providers take care of IP rotation, CAPTCHAs, JavaScript rendering, and even data parsing, providing you with useful results without the technical investment needed to get them.
That’s why most businesses today go hunting for the best SERP APIs rather than building one by themselves.
Is There an Official API for Google Search?
Google offers Custom Search JSON API, and, as a part of this service, you could also use the Google Search API, allowing you to retrieve SERP data according to your preferred country, language, and other parameters.
Note:. Custom Search JSON API is currently undergoing a bit of taken behind the shed and shot, and is not available to new customers. It will be shut down in 2027, and the various alternatives don’t seem to measure up. This will result in people looking for other APIs to scratch their SERP itch.
Is There an Official Bing Search API?
There used to be. However, Microsoft retired its Bing APIs in August 2025. The only remaining official data source is incorporated in Microsoft’s chatbot responses, making it useless for many former use cases.
What to Consider When Choosing a SERP Scraping API?
- Full or Fast API: a fast API has recently appeared as an alternative to full SERP APIs – designed for AI applications and optimised for speed, they supply just the organic search results as fast as possible. For human consumption, you’ll want a full API that scrapes all the elements of the SERP. Understanding this distinction is key when choosing the best SERP API.
- Response time. SERP APIs strive to ensure 100% data delivery. Outside of the highest-load periods, they generally succeed at it. However, response time is an area where these tools can differ significantly (by several times). It depends on their underlying web scraping capabilities, proxy infrastructure, and other factors. Fast APIs are usually aided by, say, proxies specifically chosen for the task.
- Location options. Normally, it’s enough to verify that the service allows targeting the country you need. But if you’re doing local SEO, make sure that you can pick a particular city or even co-ordinates.
- Parser quality and variety. Unlike general-purpose web scrapers, SERP APIs not only download the search page but also structure the data for further use. Most people find organic and paid results to be enough, but you may benefit from other search properties, too. What’s more, APIs follow different parsing schemas, some of which may be better structured than others.
- Integration methods. SERP APIs can integrate in several ways: as an API over open connection, using webhooks, or as a proxy server. You should consider which format works best for you. Large-scale operations tend to prefer webhooks, as they allow sending many requests asynchronously, saving resources.
- Output formats. The two most common formats are raw HTML or parsed JSON. That said, some tools support CSV output or even sending data directly to Google Sheets.
Ranking Performance
We ran our web scraping API test for 2025 by trying to access 15 popular targets with the tools from some of the most prominent web scraping providers. One of those targets was Google. This means that the provider’s performance in the test sets a baseline for what you can expect from their SERP APIs.
Below is a table of results from running 2 requests/second using 6,000 Google URLs as targets. The providers are judged on success rate as well as average response time.
We have also made a search API report where we tested the performance of search APIs. It included some of the providers outlined in the list below. Their performance ratings will be noted in their specific sections.
The Best SERP APIs
If you’ve decided to go with an API for scraping Google and other search engines, here’s an overview of six robust tools to help you pick the best one.
1. Oxylabs
Premium multi-engine web scraping service.
Use the code Discount30 to get 30% off.
Available tools
Web Scraper API, Fast API, Web Unblocker
- Supported search engines: Google, Bing, Baidu, Yandex
- Geolocation: 150+ locations with city and coordinate-level targeting (Web Scraper API)
- Pricing model: subscription
- Pricing structure: based on successful requests (Web Scraper API), traffic (Web Unblocker)
- Parsing: yes
- Free trial: 7-day free trial
- Pricing:
– Web Scraper API: $49 for 49k results ($1/1K requests)
– Fast API: custom
– Web Unblocker: $45 for 8 GB ($5.64/GB)
Oxylabs is a major proxy provider with one of the largest (and often best-performing) proxy networks. The company recently merged all of its specialized web scrapers into a multipurpose Web Scraper API. It supports Google, together with other major search engines and websites. Meanwhile, its Fast Search API boasts response times of less than a second.
Web Scraper API is probably the most feature-complete tool on this list. It lets you target any location up to the coordinate level, retrieve data directly or in batches via webhook. It’s also the only option that supports CSV output, though it covers a limited range of search types (mostly Google web search). Finally, there’s an AI-powered assistant – OxyCopilot – that can help with writing queries and other tasks.
In our tests, the API was fast (4.79 seconds avg. response time) and had a nearly perfect success rate with Google. The Fast API is even faster – 95% of requests were returned in 1.11 seconds or faster. Oxylabs has a playground to test your configuration, detailed docs, and competent customer service.
Read the Oxylabs review for more information and performance tests.
2. ScrapingBee
Great SERP API alternative.
Available tools
Google API, Fast API
- Supported search engines: Google
- Geolocation: 195+ locations with country-level targeting
- Pricing model: subscription
- Pricing structure: credits
- Parsing: yes
- Free trial: 1K free API calls
- Pricing starts at: $49/mo for 250K credits
ScrapingBee has several APIs under its belt, one of them being the Google API. You can retrieve results from search, news, images, maps, shopping, Lens, or AI mode. You can also set the country and the number of pages you want to be scraped. Any parameters not yet supported by the API (like UULE) can be appended, provided they are properly URL-encoded – the documentation lays that out easily.
Fast API is much simpler: search request, pages, country, done. Our test showed 50% of requests to be faster than 0.96 seconds, with 95% clocking in before 1.78 seconds, and all for 10 credits. Regular Google SERP API results can cost up to 15 credits if you need browser rendering; otherwise, it’s also 10.
For Yandex, Bing, etc., you can try to use the highly configurable generic scraper. You’ll have to add your own JavaScript scenarios and whatnot, but it beats writing your own scraper.
Read the ScrapingBee review for more information and performance tests.
3. Decodo (formerly Smartproxy)
Affordable scraper with a great performance.
Start free trial.
Available tools
Web Scraping API
- Supported search engines: Google, Bing
- Geolocation: 150+ countries with city & coordinate-level targeting for Google
- Pricing model: subscription
- Pricing structure: credits
- Parsing: yes
- Free trial: $1 credit, 14-day refund
- Pricing starts at: $19/mo for up to 38K requests ($0.50 CPM)
Decodo’s Web Scraping API now includes SERP Scraping API for hauling Google and Bing results in large quantities. For Google, you have scraping templates like Search with AI Overview, AI Mode, Travel Hotels, Lens, and Ads with AI Overview. For Bing, you get the template for Bing Search and another one for scraping specific Bing URLs.
Whichever you choose, the service will run on Decodo’s excellent infrastructure, including a worldwide network of proxies. JavaScript rendering is optionally available, and so are parameters like location, language, device type, and a session ID. Output options include HTML, JSON, Markdown, XHR, and PNG (the last two need JS rendering).
Price-wise, Decodo’s entry plans don’t cost much. This makes the provider a good choice if you’re looking for an easy-to-use tool. Unfortunately, there’s no option to pay as you go.
Read the Decodo review for more information and performance tests.
4. ScraperAPI
Speedy full SERP API.
Available tools
Google SERP API
- Supported search engines: Google
- Geolocation: 70+ locations with country-level targeting
- Model: Subscription
- Format: Credits (up to 75 per request)
- Parsing: yes
- Free trial: 5K requests for 7 days
- Pricing starts at: $49 for 100k credits & 20 concurrency
ScraperAPI would be silly not to throw its hat into the SERP ring, so it did. The developer offers structured data endpoints for Google Search, Jobs, News, Shopping, and Maps. You can choose the country, the domain, or enter the UULE. You can also pick the time frame, just like you were using Google yourself.
Since the whole point of using a scraper is not to touch Google yourself, you can integrate ScraperAPI as an API, SDK, proxy, or via MCP. The structured outputs for Google are available in JSON or CSV (generic scrapes only return HTML, Markdown, or text).
At the most basic level, ScraperAPI subscription costs $49. In exchange, you get 100k credits. To put that into perspective, a request can cost between one (for basic) and 75 credits (for JS rendering and ultra premium proxies).
5. Zyte API
The Google scraper with essential features.
Available tools
Zyte API
- Supported search engines: Google
- Geolocation: 150+ countries
- Pricing model: based on successful requests
- Pricing structure: PAYG, subscription
- Parsing: Google SERP
- Free trial: $5 credits for 30 days
- Pricing: custom
Zyte offers a very fast web scraping API with advanced proxy management features. It integrates either as an API or a proxy.
Zyte API automatically selects the location based on the URL (you can also manually choose from available locations). It allows you to manage cookies, automate clicks, scrolls, and typing, as well as scrape JavaScript-dependent websites, and has a built-in parser.
In terms of headless scraping, Zyte takes a step further. Its TypeScript API allows enterprise clients to script browser actions like hovering on elements or entering individual symbols in a cloud development environment.
When it comes to pricing, Zyte doesn’t have a fixed rate – it depends on the difficulty of the website and selected features. But there’s a price estimator to help you determine the likely costs of your project.
Read the Zyte review for more information and performance tests.
6. Apify
A platform full of SERP scraping APIs.
Available tools
Various
- Supported search engines: Google, Bing, Baidu, Yandex, DuckDuckGo, others
- Geolocation: up to 195, depending on the Actor and config
- Pricing model: subscription, PAYG
- Pricing structure: depends on the Actor
- Parsing: depends on the Actor
- Free trial: a free plan with $5 platform credits
- Pricing starts at: $29/mo
Apify is a platform hosting third-party (and some of their own) Actors – over 19,000 tools for various purposes. Many Actors are aimed at SERP scraping, so you’re more likely to find one aimed at your search engine of choice. You may even have alternatives.
While the actors all run on Apify’s infrastructure, their performance depends on the individual approach of their developers. As such, Apify’s test results can be markedly different on the target/Actor combination. Once you find the desirable Actor, they can be integrated as APIs or with various AI integration tools like MCP, Google ADK, and LangChain.
Much like the technical approach, the pricing is variable on Apify, as Actor developers set their own prices. This makes it difficult to estimate what the basic $29/mo fee or the free $5 credits will get you – you can only hope that the competition is keeping prices low.
7. NetNut
Fast Google scraping service for enterprise customers.
Use the code Proxyway to get a 30% discount.
Available tools
SERP Scraper API
- Supported search engines: Google, Bing, Baidu
- Geolocation: 150+ locations with UULE-level targeting
- Pricing model: based on successful requests
- Pricing structure: subscription
- Parsing: yes
- Free trial: 7-day free trial for companies
- Pricing: $99 for 132K requests
NetNut, a well-known proxy provider, offers a specialized SERP Scraper API for fetching Google, Bing, and Baidu results. For Google, you can target the results based on UULE.
Outside of the regular Google SERP, it also allows scraping Images, Shopping, and Hotels. There’s also the option for accurate extraction of AI Overview results. The tools for Baidu and Bing are a lot less precise, with outstanding options including Traditional or Simplified Chinese for Baidu and a safe-search toggle for Bing.
At $99 a month, NetNut has some of the highest entry-level pricing on the market. However, with 132K requests – and only charging for successes – you’re getting a lot for what you’re paying. It’s a pity that the trial option is only available for business clients.
Read the NetNut review for more information and performance tests.
Search Engine Scraper or SERP API – Which One Should You Choose?
An alternative way to gather Google search results on a large scale is using a web scraper. Let’s do a quick run-through of two popular web scrapers – Octoparse and ScrapeBox.
Octoparse
Octoparse is a web scraping software that’s known for its easy-to-navigate user interface. It offers a free plan, limiting users to 10,000 records per export. Since the free plan doesn’t provide any advanced features, it’s more suitable for small-scale projects.
Octoparse also offers plans for medium-sized companies and enterprises. These plans cost 83-299 USD and deliver unlimited data exporting capabilities, automatic IP rotation, scheduled result extractions, and other extra features.
Many appreciate how easy-to-use Octoparse is and that it doesn’t require any coding skills. On the other hand, only its Premium plan includes priority support. So, if you have the standard or free one, it may take quite a while to get issues resolved. Also, Octoparse doesn’t guarantee 100% success in data delivery, possibly resulting in request errors.
ScrapeBox
ScrapeBox is an all-in-one web scraper designed for SEO specialists and agencies for 97 USD (it’s a product, not a service). It offers various features helping you ensure all your SEO bases are covered: a keyword and metadata scraper, backlink checker, search engine harvester, and more.
Although ScrapeBox mainly focuses on SEO, it allows you to acquire all sorts of web data: emails, phone numbers, or comments. It also offers additional services such as Contact Form Submitter for posting information to website contact forms automatically; or Name and Email Generator, which creates fake names for accounts or blog comments.
ScrapeBox is a powerful, obfuscated search engine optimization tool; however, its interface is not the most user-friendly one. You may need some technical guidance to get used to it. Also, proxies aren’t covered by the price – you’ll have to get your own. Lastly, the company doesn’t guarantee 100% success in data delivery, meaning you may get invalid requests.
As you can see, there’s this tendency with web scrapers: they may not return Google with a 100% success rate. To get a successful response, you’ll have to deal with these issues, requiring some technical knowledge or help from customer support.
Proxy Management
If you decide to go with a web scraper to harvest Google search results, make sure you’re using high-quality residential proxies; otherwise, you’ll encounter various technical problems. If Google determines that you’ve been checking rankings or tracking specific keywords too often, it may permanently ban your IP address or bombard you with CAPTCHA tests.
However, if you use residential proxies, the provider ensures that the IP addresses rotate regularly. This way, you can control your sessions, prevent CAPTCHAs and avoid IP bans. To find a high-quality residential proxy provider, ensure their proxies have high uptime and are sourced ethically from legitimate sources. We’ve made a list of the best residential proxies to help you.
Bypassing CAPTCHAs
CAPTCHAs are one of the greatest difficulties of web scraping. To confirm a visitor is a human, websites ask them to complete various tests, i.e., select all images showing boats. The images are usually blurry and low-quality, making it nearly impossible for bots to complete the test.
The best way to deal with CAPTCHA is to avoid it in the first place: i.e., don’t scrape the entire website, rotate proxies, or try to mimic organic human behavior. However, not all CAPTCHAs are avoidable, so you should either use specific CAPTCHA-solving services or crawling tools that are designed to handle them.
If only someone had made a list of such tools. Maybe even a list of best SERP APIs that would, naturally, be able to handle CAPTCHAs and come with their own proxies. One can only dream…
