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# Free SERP API in 2026: 10,000 searches free, no card

Compared on Nov 12, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/free-serp-api

Free SERP API tiers in 2026 run from 50 searches a month on Zenserp to 5,000 requests a month on Bright Data. SerpApi gives 250 a month, Serper 2,500 once, Scale SERP 125 a month and VALUE SERP 100 on sign up.

SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. A new account gets $10 of credit with no card: 10,000 searches through the SerpApi, Serper, VALUE SERP, Scale SERP or DataForSEO address, each in that API's own JSON.

[Get an API key](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-free-serp-api&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=free-serp-api&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fsearch%3Froute%3Dserpapi) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It covers 10,000 searches through any drop-in address.

## What each SERP API gives free, from each company's own page

| | SpecStream | Bright Data | SerpApi | Serper | Scale SERP | VALUE SERP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free searches | 10,000 searches of up to 10 results on the $10 of credit | 5,000 requests a month on the Free Tier | 250 searches a month on the Free plan, at 50 an hour | 2,500 free queries | 125 free searches a month | 100 free requests on sign up |
| Card needed | No | No | A $0 Free plan | No | No | No |
| When it renews | Once, and it never expires | Every month | Every month | Once. Paid credits are valid for 6 months | Every month | Once |
| Price per 1,000 after the free step | $1 through a drop-in address, from your balance, with no plan to buy | $1.50 pay as you go | $25 on Starter, 1,000 searches for $25 a month | $1.00 on the 50k pack | $6.60 on 10,000 searches for $66 a month, billed annually | $2.50 pay as you go |
| Failed and empty calls | A call that returns no results costs nothing. A busy call gets `429` with `Retry-After` and is not charged | Failed and errored requests are not billed | Cached, errored and failed searches are not counted | A credit for each successful response | Only successful searches are counted | Only successful searches are counted |
| What else the credit runs | The [Extract API](https://specstream.ai/extract-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=free-serp-api) at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and [Deep Search](https://specstream.ai/deep-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=free-serp-api) rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row | SERP requests only | Searches only, from the same 250 a month | Queries only, from the same credits | Searches only. Calls to its other APIs cost nothing | Searches only |

## Why start your free SERP calls on SpecStream

### Your first free call, in SerpApi's JSON

```
curl "https://api.specstream.ai/serpapi/search.json?engine=google&q=coffee+roasters+in+portland&num=10&api_key=$SPECSTREAM_KEY"
```

The reply is SerpApi's: `organic_results[]` with `position`, `title`, `link`, `displayed_link` and `snippet`, with `search_metadata`, `search_parameters` and `serpapi_pagination.next` on our host. A call of up to 10 results costs $0.001 from the $10.

### Keep the client you already wrote

Change the base address and the key, and the parser stays. SerpApi answers at `https://api.specstream.ai/serpapi`, Serper at `/serper`, VALUE SERP at `/valueserp`, Scale SERP at `/scaleserp/search`, DataForSEO at `/dataforseo`, SearchApi at `/searchapi`, Zenserp at `/zenserp/api/v2`, serpstack at `/serpstack/search` and Google Custom Search at `/customsearch/v1`, each on `https://api.specstream.ai`.

Each move has its own page with the call before and after: [SerpApi](https://specstream.ai/migrate/serpapi?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=free-serp-api), [Serper](https://specstream.ai/migrate/serper?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=free-serp-api), [VALUE SERP](https://specstream.ai/migrate/valueserp?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=free-serp-api), [Scale SERP](https://specstream.ai/migrate/scale-serp?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=free-serp-api) and [DataForSEO](https://specstream.ai/migrate/dataforseo?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=free-serp-api).

### No card, and the credit stays

The $10 comes with a new account and asks for no card. It does not reset at the end of the month and it does not expire, so a project you start this week still has its searches next quarter. Credit you buy later never expires either.

### Up to 100 results a call

`num` goes to 100. On a drop-in address each started block of 10 more results adds $0.0012, so a call with 100 results costs $0.0118 and the free credit covers 847 of them. A call is charged for the results it returns, never more than `num` asks.

### News and images on the same credit

SerpApi's `engine=google_news` and `engine=google_images`, Serper's `/serper/news` and `/serper/images`, and VALUE SERP and Scale SERP with `search_type=news` or `images` answer in each API's own shape, at the same price as a web search.

### The top score on the free credit

A free search is the same search a paying account gets. The SpecStream Search API scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct), and 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 WideSearch tasks. Every score and its method is on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=free-serp-api) page.

### Search, pages and datasets on one key

The same key reads pages, PDF, Word and Excel files with the [Extract API](https://specstream.ai/extract-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=free-serp-api) at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and runs [Deep Search](https://specstream.ai/deep-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=free-serp-api), which returns every match on the live web as structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, under a maximum you approve before it runs. Source URL and read time on every value.

## Other free SERP APIs

### SerpHouse

The Free plan gives 4,000 API credits a month to a work email and 7 days to a personal email, and the Basic plan is $29.99 a month at $0.75 per 1,000 SERP requests. SpecStream's $10 has no time limit and covers 10,000 searches at $1 per 1,000 after it.

### SearchApi

100 free requests on sign up with no card, then $4 per 1,000 searches on the Developer plan. SpecStream answers the same `GET /api/v1/search?engine=google` at `https://api.specstream.ai/searchapi` for $1 per 1,000.

### Zenserp

50 free searches a month, then $49.99 a month for 25,000. SpecStream answers Zenserp's `/api/v2/search` at `https://api.specstream.ai/zenserp/api/v2` in Zenserp's JSON, with 10,000 searches on the free credit.

### serpstack

100 searches a month on the Free plan, for non commercial use, then $29.99 a month for 5,000. SpecStream answers serpstack's `/search` at `https://api.specstream.ai/serpstack/search`, from $1 per 1,000.

### DataForSEO

A $1 trial credit on a new account, then a $50 minimum top-up. SpecStream answers the `live/regular` and `live/advanced` Google organic calls at `https://api.specstream.ai/dataforseo` in DataForSEO's shape, one task a call, with $10 of credit and no minimum.

### Google Custom Search JSON API

100 free queries a day, then $5 per 1,000, for existing customers only: the API is closed to new customers and ends on January 1, 2027. SpecStream answers the same `GET /customsearch/v1` call in Google's JSON with a key you create today.

## How to start for free

1. Sign up at specstream.ai. The account starts with $10 of credit, no card.

2. Create a key under Agents & API in the workspace, and give it a spending limit.

3. Point the client you have at SpecStream. With serpapi-python:

```
import serpapi

client = serpapi.Client(api_key=SPECSTREAM_KEY)
client.BASE_DOMAIN = "https://api.specstream.ai/serpapi"  # was https://serpapi.com

results = client.search({"engine": "google", "q": "coffee roasters in portland", "num": 10})
for result in results["organic_results"]:
    print(result["position"], result["title"], result["link"])
```

4. Or with Serper's call, in JavaScript:

```
const reply = await fetch("https://api.specstream.ai/serper/search", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "X-API-KEY": process.env.SPECSTREAM_KEY, "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify({ q: "coffee roasters in portland", num: 10 }),
});
const { organic } = await reply.json();
console.log(organic.map((r) => r.link));
```

5. In an MCP client, add the server `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` with OAuth or the key, and call the `search_web` tool with `{"q": "<the question>"}`.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is there a free SERP API?

Yes. A new SpecStream account gets $10 of credit with no card, which covers 10,000 searches through the SerpApi, Serper, VALUE SERP, Scale SERP or DataForSEO address. Bright Data gives 5,000 requests a month, SerpApi 250 a month and Serper 2,500 once.

### Which free SERP API gives the most searches at once?

Of the tiers on this page, SpecStream's: 10,000 searches of up to 10 results on $10 of credit, with no card and no expiry. Serper gives 2,500 once, and Bright Data 5,000 a month.

### Is SerpApi free?

SerpApi's Free plan gives 250 searches a month at 50 an hour. Starter is $25 a month for 1,000. Through SpecStream's SerpApi address the same `search.json` call costs $1 per 1,000, and the first 10,000 come with the $10 credit.

### Does Serper have a free tier?

Serper gives 2,500 free queries with no card, and its smallest pack is 50,000 credits at $1.00 per 1,000. SpecStream answers Serper's `/search` in Serper's JSON at `https://api.specstream.ai/serper` for $1 per 1,000, with 10,000 searches on the free credit.

### Is the Google Custom Search API free?

It gives 100 queries a day free to existing customers only. It is closed to new customers and ends on January 1, 2027. SpecStream answers the same call at `https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1` with a key you create today.

### How much does a SERP API cost after the free tier?

From $1.00 per 1,000 on Serper's 50k pack and $1.50 on Bright Data to $25 on SerpApi Starter. SpecStream costs $1 per 1,000 through every drop-in address, from your balance, with no plan.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each free tier and price comes from that company's own page, read on Nov 12, 2026.

- [Bright Data SERP API pricing](https://brightdata.com/pricing/serp), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Bright Data SERP API billing](https://docs.brightdata.com/products/serp-api/pricing-and-billing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SerpApi pricing](https://serpapi.com/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Serper](https://serper.dev/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Scale SERP pricing](https://trajectdata.com/pricing/scaleserp-api), read Nov 12, 2026
- [VALUE SERP pricing](https://trajectdata.com/serp/value-serp-api/pricing/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SerpHouse pricing](https://www.serphouse.com/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SearchApi pricing](https://www.searchapi.io/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Zenserp pricing](https://www.zenserp.com/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [serpstack pricing](https://serpstack.com/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [DataForSEO pricing](https://dataforseo.com/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Google Custom Search JSON API overview](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md), read Nov 12, 2026