Is Serper cheaper than SerpApi?

Per 1,000 Google searches at entry, yes: about $1 at Serper vs $25 on SerpApi's Starter plan. SerpApi's price includes 100+ APIs beyond Google and a U.S. Legal Shield included with the Production Plan and above, while Serper credits expire after six months.

Is SerpApi faster than Serper?

In our July 11, 2026 benchmarks, Serper's web median was 1.08s while SerpApi's was 2.18s with a 0.8 to 4.7s spread. CrustAPI measured 1.05 to 1.35s on the same day.

What is the best SerpApi and Serper alternative?

CrustAPI covers the same Google data with prepaid credits that never expire, a 3,000-credit monthly free tier, and no charge for empty or failed searches. SerpApi remains the pick for engines beyond Google; Serper has the cheapest raw entry credit.

Do Serper credits expire?

Yes, Serper credits expire six months after purchase. SerpApi quotas reset monthly. CrustAPI purchased credits never expire.

SerpApi vs Serper vs CrustAPI

Two established Google SERP APIs and the new one, which we build. Benchmarks, public pricing, and receipts below.

Same-day benchmarks Published raw data Each API wins somewhere

tldr.txt

→ serper: cheapest raw entry credit ($1 per 1,000), but credits expire in 6 months
→ serpapi: 100+ APIs beyond Google + a U.S. Legal Shield on bigger plans, at $9 to $25 per 1,000
→ crustapi: credits never expire, empties are free, $1.96 falling to $0.40 per 1,000
! we build CrustAPI, so check the receipts instead of trusting us

HEAD TO HEAD TO HEAD

Side by side

	SerpApi	Serper	CrustAPI
Pricing model	Monthly subscription	Prepaid, expires in 6 months	Prepaid, never expires
Entry price per 1,000 searches	$25 (Starter)	$1.00 ($50 / 50k)	$1.96 ($49 / 25k), to $0.40 at scale
Free tier	250 / month	2,500 once	3,000 / month, no card
Unused credits	Quota resets monthly	Expire after 6 months	Still yours, forever
Empty results	Count against quota	1 credit (we tested)	Free
Web speed, our July 11 runs	2.18s median, 0.8 to 4.7s spread	1.08s median	1.05 to 1.35s median
Images per credit	~100 per search	10 default, 50 at best	~100, in 1.7s
Maps data	Lean place fields	Lean place fields	Counts, hours, sites, stars
Engines beyond Google	100+ APIs (Bing, Baidu, eBay, more)	Google only	Google only, on purpose
U.S. Legal Shield (scraping liability cover)	Yes, with the Production Plan and above	No	No
AI Overview field	Yes	No	Not yet
Agent tooling	MCP (hosted) + IDE plugins	None official	MCP, CLI, x402 agent self-pay

Figures from SerpApi's and serper's public pages plus our paid probes of both APIs, July 11 to 12, 2026. Anything stale? Email support@crustapi.com and we'll fix it.

WE PAID FOR THE PROOF

The receipts

One billing quirk per rival, found by testing real accounts. Both raw benchmark files are linked below the cards.

on the clock

serpapi · account.json

planFree, 250 / month

usage after our run6 of 250

quota renewsAug 11, 2026

unused searchesreset monthly

charged

serper · google.serper.dev

query"zxqv9kqpw waaxbolt…"

results returned0

credits charged1

Raw timings, billing probes, and the exact scripts: the serper file and the SerpApi file. Re-run them yourself.

THE WORKED MATH

60,000 searches over a year

A common mid-size workload: 5,000 searches a month, bursty. Here's what each API bills for it.

SERPAPI · DEVELOPER PLAN

$900

$75 x 12, whether you run the searches or not.

SERPER · TWO $50 PACKS

$100

Buys 100,000, but the unused 40,000 expire on the six-month clock.

CRUSTAPI · TWO $49 PACKS

~$98

50,000 that never expire, and the free 3,000 a month covers the rest.

Dollar totals put serper and us in the same band, an order cheaper than the subscription. The difference is what survives: their leftovers burn, ours wait for your next project.

Run your real queries free

3,000 credits a month. No card, no contract.

Get started →

EACH ONE WINS SOMEWHERE

The fair verdicts

Pick SerpApi when

You need engines beyond Google (100+ APIs including Bing, Baidu, and eBay), your legal team requires their U.S. Legal Shield (Production Plan and above), or you want an AI Overview field today.

Pick serper when

You run a steady, high-volume, web-only firehose and reliably burn every credit inside six months. Their raw entry rate of $1 per 1,000 is hard to beat, and they serve reverse image search (Lens).

Pick CrustAPI when

Your usage is bursty or seasonal (credits must survive quiet months), you bill on lead lists where empties shouldn't cost money, you want deeper maps data, or your AI agents need MCP, a CLI, or x402 self-pay.

DEPENDS WHO YOU ARE

Which should you pick?

Multi-engine coverage or procurement needs legal coverSerpApi

Steady 1M+/month web-only firehose, credits burned in timeSerper

Reverse image search (Lens) todaySerper

Bursty or seasonal usage, credits must keepCrustAPI

Lead-gen and local business data (maps depth, empties free)CrustAPI

Image-heavy workloads (per-image cost and speed)CrustAPI

AI agents that fund themselves (x402, no signup)CrustAPI

MIGRATION

Switching costs one file

Coming from serper, our JSON uses the same field names, so it's a URL swap. Coming from SerpApi, it's a handful of renames (organic_results becomes organic, related_questions becomes peopleAlsoAsk).

# one endpoint, twelve Google surfaces curl "https://crustapi.com/v1/search?type=web&q=YOUR%20QUERY" -H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY"

BEFORE YOU ASK

Common questions

Run the test yourself

Point your real queries at all three for a day. Our side costs nothing, and the results decide, not this page.

Get 3,000 free credits

No credit card required