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# Google Search API alternatives in 2026: same JSON, $1 per 1,000

Compared on Nov 12, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/google-search-api-alternative

Google's Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers and ends for existing ones on January 1, 2027. Until then it costs $5 per 1,000 queries after 100 free a day, up to 10,000 a day.

SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. It answers the same `GET /customsearch/v1` call in Google's JSON at $1 per 1,000 searches: change the host and the key, and your parser stays.

[Get an API key](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-google-search-api-alternative&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=google-search-api-alternative&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fsearch%3Froute%3Dgoogle) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It covers 10,000 searches.

## The Google Search API next to SpecStream, row by row

| | SpecStream | Google Custom Search JSON API |
|---|---|---|
| Open to new customers | Yes. Create a key and start with $10 of credit, no card | No. Closed to new customers, and existing customers have until January 1, 2027 |
| Price per 1,000 searches | $1 for up to 10 results on Google's call. $5 with the answer on `/v1/web-search` | $5 per 1,000 queries after 100 free queries a day, for existing customers |
| Daily limit | None. Calls spend from your balance, inside the spending limit you set on the key | 10,000 queries a day |
| What you change | The host: `https://api.specstream.ai` in place of `https://www.googleapis.com`, and a SpecStream key in `key=`. `cx` is accepted and not used | A Programmable Search Engine ID in `cx` and a Google API key |
| The reply | Google's JSON: `items[]` with `title`, `link`, `snippet` and `displayLink`, `searchInformation.totalResults` and `queries.nextPage` | JSON that follows the OpenSearch 1.1 Specification, with `items` holding the URL, title and snippet of each result |
| Results per query | Up to 10 a call on Google's call, any page. Up to 100 in one call on `/v1/web-search`: `num=100` costs $0.0118 | 1 to 10 a call, and never more than the first 100 results of a query |
| What it searches | The whole live web, read at the moment of the call. 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct) | The Programmable Search Engine you configured. New engines search at most 50 domains |
| Image search | `searchType=image` on the same call, with `image.contextLink`, `width`, `height` and `thumbnailLink`, at the same price | `searchType=image` on the same call |
| The text of each page | `passages=true` on `/v1/web-search` returns the text of the top pages. The Extract API reads any page at $0.80 per 1,000, and a page with no text is not charged | Text snippets that describe each result |
| A failed call | A busy call answers `429` with `Retry-After` and is not charged. A call that returns no results costs nothing | Google's terms say you may be charged for each successful request |
| Structured rows | Deep Search: one request in plain words returns every match as a row, with a source URL and read time on every value, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row | A list of results. Your code reads the pages and builds the rows |

## How to choose a Google Search API replacement

### What Google offers in its place

Google names Vertex AI Search for searching up to 50 domains, and asks teams that need full web search to contact it. Since January 20, 2026 a new Programmable Search Engine can search at most 50 domains. For an app or an agent that searches the open web, the replacement is a third party API.

### Keep the code you have

Most replacements ask for a new client: a new request, a new reply and a new parser. SpecStream answers `GET /customsearch/v1` in Google's shape, so the change is one host and one key. `exactTerms`, `orTerms`, `siteSearch` and `hq` shape the search as they do on Google, and `start` pages as before.

### What 300,000 searches a month cost

On the Custom Search JSON API, 10,000 a day is the most Google serves: about $1,485 a month at $5 per 1,000 after the free 100 a day. On SpecStream the same 300,000 searches cost $300, with no daily limit. On Brave's Search plan they cost $1,500 before its $5 monthly credit.

### The most accurate web search API

The SpecStream Search API scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions, 978 of them correct, and 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official WideSearch tasks. Every score and its method are on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=google-search-api-alternative) page.

## Other Google Search API alternatives

### SpecStream

The live web data engine for teams and agents. The Search API costs $1 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results on the fast tier and every drop-in address, Google's among them, and $5 with the answer. The Extract API reads pages at $0.80 per 1,000, and Deep Search delivers full datasets at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row. New accounts get $10 of credit, no card.

### Brave Search API

An independent index at $5 per 1,000 requests on the Search plan, with $5 in free credits every month and 50 queries per second. SpecStream answers Brave's own call at $1 per 1,000.

### Parallel

Search for agents at $1 per 1,000 requests in `turbo` and `fast` mode and $5 in `basic` and `advanced`, and a request with no mode runs `advanced`. SpecStream answers Parallel's own call at $1 per 1,000.

### Serper

Google results in prepaid packs, from 50k credits at $1.00 per 1,000 to 12.5M at $0.30, valid for 6 months. SpecStream answers Serper's own call at $1 per 1,000 with no pack and no expiry. The switch: [Serper migration](https://specstream.ai/migrate/serper?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=google-search-api-alternative).

### SerpApi

Google results by monthly plan, from $25 for 1,000 searches on Starter. SpecStream answers SerpApi's own call at $1 per 1,000 with no plan. The switch: [SerpApi migration](https://specstream.ai/migrate/serpapi?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=google-search-api-alternative).

### Vertex AI Search

Google's own path: $1.50 per 1,000 queries on Search Standard Edition, over sites and data you index, not the open web. SpecStream searches the whole live web at $1 per 1,000.

### Grounding with Google Search

A search a Gemini model runs inside its answer: 5,000 free a month, then $14 per 1,000. It returns the model's answer, not a list of results for your code. SpecStream returns the results, or an answer with its page, to any model.

## How to move from the Google Search API to SpecStream

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

2. Change the host. `https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1` answers the call your code sends to `https://www.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1` today. The key goes in `key=`, in `X-Goog-Api-Key` or as a Bearer token.

```
# Before
curl "https://www.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1?key=$GOOGLE_API_KEY&cx=$CX&q=$QUERY&num=10"

# After
curl "https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1?key=$SPECSTREAM_API_KEY&cx=$CX&q=$QUERY&num=10"
```

In Python:

```
import os
import requests

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

reply = requests.get(
    f"{BASE}/customsearch/v1",
    params={"key": os.environ["SPECSTREAM_API_KEY"], "q": "open source vector databases", "num": 10},
).json()

for item in reply["items"]:
    print(item["title"], item["link"], item["snippet"])
```

3. Leave the rest. A call of up to 10 results costs $0.001. Every parameter and reply field is in the [Google Custom Search migration guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/google-custom-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=google-search-api-alternative), and the dates are on [the shutdown page](https://specstream.ai/google-custom-search-api-shutdown?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=google-search-api-alternative).

On MCP, your agent calls `search_web` with `{"q": ...}` and `read_pages` with `{"urls": [...]}` at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp`.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Google Search API shutting down?

Yes. The Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers, and existing customers have until January 1, 2027 to move to another solution.

### What is the best Google Search API alternative?

SpecStream, at $1 per 1,000 searches. It answers Google's own `GET /customsearch/v1` in Google's JSON, has no daily limit, and scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions.

### What does Google recommend instead?

Vertex AI Search for up to 50 domains, at $1.50 per 1,000 queries on Search Standard Edition. For full web search, Google asks you to contact it.

### Is there a free Google Search API alternative?

SpecStream gives a new account $10 of credit with no card, which covers 10,000 searches through Google's own call. Brave includes $5 in free credits a month.

### Can I keep my Custom Search code?

Yes. Change `https://www.googleapis.com` to `https://api.specstream.ai` and put a SpecStream key in `key=`. `q`, `num`, `start` and `cx` are accepted, and the reply keeps `items[]`.

### Does SpecStream have an API and an MCP server?

Yes. The Search API is `GET https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search` at $5 per 1,000 searches, or $1 with `speed=fast`, and the MCP server is at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` over Streamable HTTP, with OAuth or an API key.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each Google price and date comes from Google's own pages, and each other price from that company's own page, read on Nov 12, 2026.

- [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Custom Search JSON API overview](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Custom Search JSON API reference](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/reference/rest/v1/cse/list), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Custom Search JSON API terms](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/terms), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Programmable Search Engine blog, Jan 20, 2026](https://programmablesearchengine.googleblog.com/2026/01/updates-to-our-web-search-products.html), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Vertex AI Search pricing](https://cloud.google.com/generative-ai-app-builder/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Grounding with Google Search](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/google-search), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Parallel search modes](https://docs.parallel.ai/search/modes.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Serper](https://serper.dev/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SerpApi pricing](https://serpapi.com/pricing.md), read Nov 12, 2026