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# Tavily vs Serper in 2026: one SpecStream key answers both calls

Compared on Nov 10, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/compare/tavily-vs-serper

On Nov 10, 2026, a basic Tavily search costs $0.008 pay as you go and an advanced one $0.016. Serper sells Google results in prepaid packs from $1.00 to $0.30 per 1,000 credits, valid for 6 months. Each answers in its own JSON.

SpecStream answers both calls. Point Tavily code at `https://api.specstream.ai/tavily` and Serper code at `https://api.specstream.ai/serper`, put one SpecStream key where the old key went, and the same body returns the same JSON.

Every call costs $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results, from credit that never expires. The Search API scores a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 WideSearch tasks.

[Get an API key](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-tavily-vs-serper&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=tavily-vs-serper&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fagents%3Ftab%3Dkeys) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It covers 2,000 searches.

## SpecStream, Tavily and Serper side by side

| | SpecStream | Tavily | Serper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your code | Runs as it is. `https://api.specstream.ai/tavily` in place of `https://api.tavily.com`, `https://api.specstream.ai/serper` in place of `https://google.serper.dev`, and one SpecStream key for both | `POST https://api.tavily.com/search`, with the key as a Bearer token | `POST https://google.serper.dev/search`, with the key in `X-API-KEY` |
| Price per 1,000 searches | $5 for up to 10 results, on either route, basic or advanced, with page text included on the Tavily route | $8 for basic searches pay as you go ($0.008 a credit, 1 credit each). $16 for advanced, at 2 credits each | $1.00 per 1,000 credits on the 50k pack, $0.75 on 500k, $0.50 on 2.5M and $0.30 on 12.5M |
| How you pay | From a balance, with no monthly plan. Credit you buy never expires | Monthly plans at $0.0075 to $0.005 a credit: Project is $30 a month for 4,000 credits, Growth $500 a month for 100,000. Credits reset on the first day of each month | Prepaid packs with no monthly subscription. Credits are valid for 6 months |
| Free to start | $10 of credit, no card. That is 2,000 searches | 1,000 credits a month, no credit card | 2,500 free queries, no credit card |
| When the credit runs out | Nothing resets and nothing expires. A busy call answers `429` with `Retry-After` and is not charged | Requests stop until your credits reset or you upgrade to a paid plan | Serper stops accepting new queries when the balance reaches zero. A credit is deducted for each successful response |
| What answers the call | The whole live web, read at the moment of the call. 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct) and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 WideSearch tasks | Cached copies, with pages fetched live as needed. `max_age_hours` from 1 to 720 asks for a copy fetched within that many hours | Google, queried live on each call, with nothing cached. The query takes a country and a language |
| What comes back | Each route's own JSON: Tavily's `results[]` with `title`, `url`, `content` and `score`, or Serper's `organic[]` with `title`, `link`, `snippet` and `position`, and `answerBox` when the search has an answer | Results, with each page's content as markdown or text through `include_raw_content`, 0 to 20 a call | `organic` results with `snippet` and `position`, `knowledgeGraph`, `peopleAlsoAsk` and `relatedSearches` |
| Beyond search | Extract API at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, map and crawl, and Deep Search: every match on the live web as structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, rerun on a schedule if you save the request | Extract at 1 credit for every 5 successful URLs on basic. Research from 4 to 250 credits a request | Google result types: images, news, maps, places, videos, shopping, scholar, patents and autocomplete |

## Why teams that weigh Tavily and Serper pick SpecStream

### Both calls, one key

You do not have to choose an API or rewrite one. Tavily's call and Serper's call both run on SpecStream, each on its own path and in its own JSON. The address changes, and the key.

```
# Tavily: before
curl -X POST https://api.tavily.com/search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TAVILY_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "Who founded Mistral AI and when?", "max_results": 5}'

# Tavily: after
curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/tavily/search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "Who founded Mistral AI and when?", "max_results": 5}'
```

```
# Serper: before
curl -X POST https://google.serper.dev/search \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $SERPER_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"q": "open source vector databases", "num": 10, "page": 1}'

# Serper: after
curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/serper/search \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"q": "open source vector databases", "num": 10, "page": 1}'
```

In the clients it is one setting: `TavilyClient(api_key=SPECSTREAM_API_KEY, api_base_url="https://api.specstream.ai/tavily")`, `api_base_url` on LangChain's `TavilySearch`, and `base_url="https://api.specstream.ai/serper"` on crewAI's `SerperDevTool`.

### What stays the same

The Tavily route reads `query`, `max_results` (0 to 20), `include_domains`, `exclude_domains`, `time_range`, `topic` `news` with `days`, `start_date`, `end_date`, `include_answer` and `include_raw_content`, and returns `results[]` with `title`, `url`, `content`, `score` and `raw_content`. The [Tavily migration guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/tavily?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=tavily-vs-serper) lists every parameter and field.

The Serper route reads `q` with operators such as `site:`, `num` from 1 to 100, `page` and `tbs` date ranges, and returns `organic[]` with `title`, `link`, `snippet` and `position`, plus `answerBox` on page 1 when the search has an answer. It serves web search, and `knowledgeGraph`, `peopleAlsoAsk` and `relatedSearches` are not in the reply. The [Serper migration guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/serper?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=tavily-vs-serper) lists every parameter and field.

### One price for every call

On SpecStream a search of up to 10 results costs $0.005 on either route, Tavily basic or advanced, with page text or without. Each started block of 10 more results adds $0.006. 100,000 searches cost $500, from credit that never expires: no monthly reset as on Tavily's plans, and no 6 month limit as on Serper's packs. A busy call answers `429` with `Retry-After` and is not charged.

### The most accurate web search API in the world, in about one second

The SpecStream Search API scores a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions, with 978 correct. On WideSearch it scores 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official tasks, and the Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. The scores and the method are at [specstream.ai/benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=tavily-vs-serper).

A call of up to 10 results without page text runs the fast search. On November 9, 2026 production answered 718 of 720 fast searches: the median was 0.82 s at 1 search a second and 1.07 s at 20 a second, and the 95th percentile stayed between 1.09 and 1.73 s. There is no limit per key and no daily limit.

### Zero retention on any key

Create the key with `zero_retention` and a search made with it keeps no request text and no answer after the reply. `spend_cap_cents` is the most the key can spend.

```
curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/account/keys \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "production", "scopes": ["account:read", "finds:spend"], "spend_cap_cents": 500000, "zero_retention": true}'
```

### Search, pages and rows on one key

The same key reads up to 20 pages or documents a call with the [Extract API](https://specstream.ai/extract-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=tavily-vs-serper) at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and a page with no text is not charged. Tavily Extract calls answer on the Tavily route, and Serper news at `/serper/news`. [Deep Search](https://specstream.ai/deep-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=tavily-vs-serper) takes a request in plain words and returns every match on the live web as structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row. The most a run can cost is approved before it starts.

## Other search APIs teams price against Tavily and Serper

### Exa

$7 per 1,000 searches on `auto` and $4 on `lite` for the first 10 results, with a free balance of $10 a month. SpecStream answers Exa's `POST /search` at `https://api.specstream.ai/exa`, in Exa's JSON, with the same key that answers Tavily and Serper.

### SerpApi

Google results by monthly plan, month to month: Starter is $25 for 1,000 searches, with 200 successful searches an hour. SpecStream answers SerpApi's `GET /search.json?engine=google` at `https://api.specstream.ai/serpapi`, at $5 per 1,000 with no plan.

### Brave Search API

$5 per 1,000 requests, with $5 in free credits every month and 50 queries a second. SpecStream answers Brave's `GET /res/v1/web/search` in Brave's JSON on the same key.

### Firecrawl

Hobby costs $19 a month for 5,000 credits and Standard $99 for 100,000. SpecStream answers Firecrawl's search, scrape, map and crawl calls at `https://api.specstream.ai/firecrawl`, with search at $5 per 1,000 and pages at $0.80 per 1,000.

## How to move Tavily or Serper code to SpecStream

1. Create a key under Agents & API in the workspace. A new account gets $10 of credit, no card, which covers 2,000 searches.

2. In Tavily code, set the base address to `https://api.specstream.ai/tavily` and send the SpecStream key as the Bearer token.

```
import os, requests

BASE = "https://api.specstream.ai/tavily"  # was https://api.tavily.com

reply = requests.post(
    f"{BASE}/search",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['SPECSTREAM_API_KEY']}"},
    json={"query": "Who founded Mistral AI and when?", "max_results": 10},
    timeout=30,
).json()

for result in reply["results"]:
    print(result["title"], result["url"], result["score"])
```

3. In Serper code, set the base address to `https://api.specstream.ai/serper` and put the same key in `X-API-KEY`.

```
const res = await fetch("https://api.specstream.ai/serper/search", { // was https://google.serper.dev
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "X-API-KEY": process.env.SPECSTREAM_API_KEY, "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify({ q: "open source vector databases", num: 10, page: 1 }),
});
const data = await res.json();
for (const result of data.organic) console.log(result.position, result.title, result.link);
```

4. Leave the rest. Both routes bill each call of up to 10 results at $0.005 from one balance. Serper's `credits` field is always 1, so read the price of a call from `specstream.price_usd`.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Tavily better than Serper?

For a team that has written to either one, SpecStream is the better choice: since Nov 9, 2026 it answers both calls in their own JSON at $5 per 1,000 searches, and scores a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions. Tavily answers from cached copies fetched live as needed; Serper returns Google's results.

### Tavily vs Serper pricing: what does each cost?

Tavily costs $0.008 a credit pay as you go, 1 credit a basic search and 2 an advanced one, or $0.0075 to $0.005 a credit on monthly plans. Serper costs $1.00 to $0.30 per 1,000 credits in prepaid packs valid for 6 months. SpecStream costs $5 per 1,000 searches from credit that never expires.

### Can I use both Tavily and Serper?

Yes, on one SpecStream key since Nov 9, 2026. Tavily code calls `https://api.specstream.ai/tavily` and Serper code calls `https://api.specstream.ai/serper`, each in its own JSON, on one balance and one request history.

### Do Tavily and Serper have a free tier?

Tavily gives 1,000 credits a month and Serper 2,500 free queries, both with no credit card. SpecStream gives $10 of credit with no card, which covers 2,000 searches on either route.

### Do I have to rewrite my Tavily or Serper code to move?

No. You change one base address and the key. The Tavily body, Serper's `q`, `num` and `page`, and both parsers stay as they are.

### Which is better for an LLM app, Google results or an AI search API?

The one that answers correctly: SpecStream scores a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct) and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 WideSearch tasks, and returns results in either format. The scores and the method are on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=tavily-vs-serper) page.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each figure for Tavily, Serper and the other APIs comes from that company's own page.

- [Tavily API credits](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits.md), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Tavily pricing](https://tavily.com/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Tavily search reference](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-reference/endpoint/search.md), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Serper homepage and pricing](https://serper.dev/), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Exa pricing](https://exa.ai/docs/admin/pricing.md), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SerpApi pricing](https://serpapi.com/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api/), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Firecrawl pricing](https://www.firecrawl.dev/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 10, 2026