Serper Alternatives (2026): 9 Search APIs Beyond Google-Only

Serper does one job: it returns Google results as JSON, across Search, Images, News, Maps, Places, Videos, Shopping, Scholar, Patents and Autocomplete. If that's all you need, there's little reason to move. But people building SEO tools, rank trackers and AI agents tend to hit one of four walls with it, and each wall has a different way round.

So I've grouped nine alternatives by the wall you hit. They're in no particular order, and nothing's crowned, because the right one depends on what broke for you, not on a league table.

Google's own search API won't rescue you

The obvious fallback is Google itself. It isn't one. Google for Developers says its Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers, that existing customers have until 1 Jan 2027 to move, and it points anyone with full-web needs to a contact-us route instead. That status comes straight from the Custom Search JSON API overview on developers.google.com.

That changes how you should read every list of alternatives, this one included. Most tools here still read Google's results themselves: they collect what a searcher would see and hand it back as JSON. Only two run indexes of their own and leave Google out entirely. So the first question isn't which vendor. It's whether your product needs Google's ranking order, or just search results in a Google-shaped format. A rank tracker needs the first. An AI agent answering questions may be fine with the second.

Serper's own terms are open about this: they say it provides web-scraped data from public sources and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Google. If your compliance team weighs that, they'll weigh it for most of the vendors below too, so ask each one how it collects results. Requirements vary by country and sector, so check with your regulator or legal adviser rather than relying on a vendor's summary.

You need more engines than Google

Every endpoint on Serper's home page is a Google surface. If a client wants Bing positions, or you're tracking how a brand appears in an AI-answer engine, you'll need another vendor sooner or later.

SerpApi lists a long run of engines and verticals as separate APIs, so adding a second engine doesn't mean a second supplier. SearchApi pairs its Google endpoints with Bing Copilot, Perplexity, GitHub and Amazon search, and the vendor also claims coordinate-level geo-targeting, which matters for local rank tracking. Bright Data SERP API is the big-vendor route here, and it says it handles blocks and CAPTCHAs for you, which is the part most teams don't want to run themselves.

You'd rather leave Google out entirely

This is the group most comparison pages miss. Brave Search API runs on Brave's own independent index, and Brave says it has zero dependencies on Google or Bing. Mojeek is the smaller independent option, with its own index and stated data retention terms, which privacy reviews tend to ask about.

The trade-off is plain. An independent index won't give you Google's order, so it's the wrong fit for Google rank tracking. It's a much better fit for research tools, AI agents and products whose customers would rather not depend on Google at all.

Your agent has to read the pages, not just list them

Serper's sample output is ranked links with titles and snippets. That's fine for a rank tracker. For an AI agent it's half the job, because the agent still has to open and read each page, and that usually means a second tool and a second bill.

Exa is built for that gap: a search API for AI agents on its own index, with a Contents product that returns page text. If you'd rather keep a SERP API and add a reader on top, our guide to web crawlers that turn pages into clean text covers that half of the job.

You want SEO data, documentation or your own scraper

The last wall is evaluation. Serper's site publishes very little to judge it by: no public docs, no changelog and no standalone plans page, and the plans address you'd expect returns a not-found error. If you're building a product on an API, that's a fair reason to want a vendor that writes things down.

DataForSEO links a full API Docs section and a set of free tools, and its SERP API sits inside a much bigger catalogue, so one account can feed several features in an SEO tool. HasData explains credits and concurrency in its docs, which saves a lot of guesswork when you're sizing a job. Apify packages a Google Search scraper as a ready-to-run Actor, and the same team builds Crawlee, an open source scraping library, so you can move towards running your own scraper without changing supplier. For more routes in that direction, see our roundup of web scraping APIs.

Nine search APIs at a glance

Tool	Kind of API	Good for
Apify	Scraper library	Swap in other ready-made scrapers for other sites
Brave Search API	Independent-index search API	Web results from an index that isn't Google's
Bright Data SERP API	Multi-engine SERP API	Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo and Yandex from one vendor
DataForSEO	SEO data suite with SERP API	Keyword, on-page and review data beside the results
Exa	AI search API	Page text for agents, not only links
HasData	SERP and scraping API	Docs, a CLI and an MCP server
Mojeek	Independent-index search API	Its own index on European infrastructure
SearchApi	Multi-engine SERP API	Google plus Bing Copilot, Perplexity and more
SerpApi	Multi-engine SERP API	A long list of engines as separate APIs

The full list, in no particular order

Apify

Best for: Teams that may need other sites or engines later, since the Google scraper is one of many ready-to-run Actors in the same library.

Brave Search API

Best for: Products that want web search with no Google in the chain, bought with prepaid credits rather than a subscription, as Brave describes it.

Bright Data SERP API

Best for: Buyers who'd rather keep search data with one large data vendor covering four named engines: Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo and Yandex.

DataForSEO

Best for: SEO tools and agencies that want SERP data inside a wider API catalogue covering keywords, on-page checks, reviews and AI optimisation data.

Exa

Best for: AI agent builders who want search on an independent index, with Lite, Auto and Deep modes the vendor says trade speed for depth.

HasData

Best for: Developers who want a Google SERP API alongside Maps, Amazon and general scraping APIs, plus a CLI and an MCP server for agents.

Mojeek

Best for: Privacy-minded teams wanting an independent index on European infrastructure; the vendor states standard 90-day data retention, with zero retention on request.

SearchApi

Best for: Builders who need Google endpoints and AI-answer engines in one account, with a documentation hub to read before signing up.

SerpApi

Best for: Rank trackers and SEO tools that need Bing, Baidu, DuckDuckGo and Brave alongside Google, each offered as its own API.

My advice: match the API to the wall you hit

Start by writing down why you're leaving in one line. If it's other engines, stay with a multi-engine SERP API and leave your Google code alone. If it's dependence on Google, try an independent index on a real query set and see whether the results are good enough for your users, because that's the only test that counts. If your agent needs page text, pick a search API that returns contents, or pair a SERP API with a reader.

Whatever you pick, don't plan around Google's own API as a backstop, because new customers can't get in. Keep your search calls behind a thin layer of your own code so a vendor swap means changing one file, and run the same hundred queries through two candidates before you commit. Our wider comparison of SERP APIs is useful if your reason for leaving is simply that you want more choice.

Do you make a search or SERP API? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.

Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official Google search API I can switch to?

Not for new customers. Google for Developers says the Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers, existing customers have until 1 Jan 2027 to move, and full-web needs are pointed to a contact-us route.

What's the difference between a SERP API and a search API with its own index?

A SERP API collects the results a search engine shows and returns them as structured data. A search API with its own index crawls and ranks the web itself, so its results won't match Google's order but don't depend on Google either.

Do AI agents need a SERP API?

They need search, but a list of links is only the start. Agents usually need page text too, so look for a search API that returns page contents or pair a SERP API with a crawler that reads pages.

Is it legal to use a SERP API?

It depends on where you operate, what you collect and how you use it. Requirements vary by country and sector, so check with your regulator or a legal adviser, and read each vendor's terms on how it gathers results.

Can I switch SERP APIs without rewriting my product?

Yes, if your search calls sit behind your own small service layer. Response formats differ between vendors, so map each field once in that layer and the rest of your code won't notice the change.

Do these search APIs have a free tier?

Several vendors here mention free requests, free credits or a free plan as of Nov 2026, and the terms differ a lot. Check each vendor's own page before you plan a test run.