Google Search API prices span a 50× range in 2026 — from $0.0003 to $0.015 per request. Picking on sticker price alone is a mistake, because billing model (pay-as-you-go vs monthly), credit expiry, and sync vs async access change the effective cost dramatically. Here’s the honest breakdown.
Price per 1,000 requests (2026)
| Provider | Per 1,000 | Model | Min. spend | Credits expire | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| serp.cheap | $0.75 fresh PAYG → $0.60 at volume ($0.30 cached) | Pay as you go | None | 12 months | Sync, 12 countries, KG |
| DataForSEO | $0.60 (standard) | Pay as you go | ~$50 top-up | No | Async queue |
| Serper | $0.30–$1.00 | Prepaid | None | 6 months | Fast, 2,500 free trial |
| Scale SERP | ~$1.50 | Monthly | $49/mo | Monthly | — |
| ValueSERP | ~$2.00 | Monthly | $50/mo | Monthly | — |
| Scrapingdog | ~$2.00 | Credits | None | No | — |
| Bright Data SERP | ~$3.00 | Commitment | $500/mo | — | Enterprise |
| Google Custom Search | $5.00 | Pay as you go | None | — | Restricted index, not real SERP |
| SerpApi | ~$15.00 (entry) | Monthly | $75/mo | Monthly | 30+ engines, SLA |
Prices last reviewed June 2026 — always check the provider’s pricing page.
Effective cost, not sticker cost
Three hidden factors decide what you actually pay:
- Credit expiry. A $50/mo plan at $2/1,000 looks fine — until you use 50% and your real rate becomes $4/1,000. serp.cheap credits stay valid for 12 months; DataForSEO and Scrapingdog don’t expire credits.
- Monthly minimums. Bright Data’s $500/mo floor disqualifies it for most projects regardless of per-request price.
- Sync vs async. DataForSEO’s standard queue is cheap but asynchronous — budget for polling and added latency. serp.cheap returns synchronously in ~2s.
Cost at common volumes
serp.cheap figures below use the $0.60/1k volume rate; pay-as-you-go starts at $0.75/1k fresh (≈25% higher) and drops to $0.60 automatically once you pass $500 in spend.
10,000 requests/month
| Provider | Monthly cost |
|---|---|
| serp.cheap (50% cached) | $4.50 |
| serp.cheap (all fresh) | $6.00 |
| DataForSEO | ~$6.00 |
| Scale SERP | ~$15.00 |
| Google Custom Search | ~$45.00 |
| SerpApi | ~$100.00 |
100,000 requests/month
| Provider | Monthly cost |
|---|---|
| serp.cheap (50% cached) | $45 |
| serp.cheap (all fresh) | $60 |
| Scale SERP | ~$130 |
| Bright Data | $300+ (over the $500 min) |
| SerpApi | $830+ |
Prices last reviewed June 2026 — always check the provider’s pricing page.
Match the provider to the job
- Lowest effective cost, zero ops overhead → serp.cheap. Real google.com, sync, credits valid for 12 months. See the cheapest Google Search API.
- Huge async batches → DataForSEO. Cheapest at scale if you can tolerate the queue.
- Multi-engine (Bing, Maps, Amazon) + SLA → SerpApi. You pay for breadth. If Google is all you need, see SerpApi alternatives.
- Site search on your own domain → Google Custom Search. But note it returns a restricted index, not real rankings — details in SERP API vs Google Custom Search.
Bottom line
For real Google organic results at the lowest effective price, serp.cheap and DataForSEO lead. serp.cheap wins on simplicity (synchronous, 12-month credit validity, no minimum) and on cached pricing ($0.0003). If you want the SERP-API-specific shortlist, read cheapest SERP API 2026.
Try serp.cheap
Run the cost math on your own workload. 100 free searches on signup — no card required; pay-as-you-go from $0.75/1k after that, and credits stay valid for 12 months.
- Get your free API key →
- Prefer paying by card? serp.cheap is also on RapidAPI (
$0.90/1k) and Apify ($1.50/1k).