<!-- twin of https://specstream.ai/grounding-with-google-search-alternative -->
# Grounding with Google Search alternative: raw results at $5 per 1,000

Compared on Nov 10, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/grounding-with-google-search-alternative

Grounding with Google Search costs $14 per 1,000 search requests on Gemini 3 and newer models, after 5,000 free a month. It returns Gemini's grounded answer and search suggestions, not the list of results.

SpecStream returns the list: `items[]` with `title`, `link` and `snippet` from `https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1`, at $5 per 1,000 searches. Your code hands them to Gemini, Claude, GPT or any other model as a tool result.

It scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 WideSearch tasks ([benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=grounding-with-google-search-alternative)).

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

## SpecStream next to Grounding with Google Search and the Custom Search JSON API

| | SpecStream | Grounding with Google Search | Custom Search JSON API |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per 1,000 | $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results, $0.005 a call, with no tokens on top | $14 per 1,000 search requests on Gemini 3 and newer, and $35 per 1,000 grounded prompts on Gemini 2.5 | $5 per 1,000 queries after 100 free a day, for existing customers |
| What comes back | The raw result list in Google's JSON: `items[]` with `title`, `link`, `snippet` and `displayLink` | A final answer grounded in the search results, with search suggestions HTML for your UI. No raw result list | `items[]` with the URL, title and text snippets of each result |
| Models | Any model, or none. The results go to your code | Gemini models | Any. The JSON goes to the code that made the call |
| Who decides the searches | Your code or your agent: one call is one search | The model. Each search query it decides to run on Gemini 3 and newer is billed | Your code |
| Free use | $10 of credit on a new account, no card. It covers 2,000 searches, and credit you buy never expires | 5,000 search requests a month on Gemini 3 and newer, and 1,500 prompts a day on Gemini 2.5 | 100 queries a day |
| Limit | Up to 8,800 searches a minute on one account. A call over that gets a `429` and is not charged | 1,500 requests a day per project by default on the paid tier | 10,000 queries a day |
| Status | Yes. The Custom Search route is live at `https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1` | A tool of the Gemini API | Closed to new customers. Existing customers have until January 1, 2027 |

## Why teams ground their models on SpecStream results

### Your search tool in ten lines

Define one tool that calls SpecStream and returns the results as text. Any model that calls tools can use it.

```
import requests

def web_search(q: str) -> str:
    """The search tool your model calls. One call is one search at $0.005."""
    reply = requests.get(
        "https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1",
        params={"key": SPECSTREAM_KEY, "q": q, "num": 10},
    ).json()
    return "\n\n".join(
        f"{i['title']}\n{i['link']}\n{i['snippet']}" for i in reply.get("items", [])
    )

# Give the text back to Gemini, Claude, GPT or any other model as the tool result.
print(web_search("Gemini 3 release date"))
```

The same tool in JavaScript:

```
async function webSearch(q) {
  const params = new URLSearchParams({ key: SPECSTREAM_KEY, q, num: "10" });
  const reply = await fetch(`https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1?${params}`).then((r) => r.json());
  return (reply.items ?? []).map((i) => `${i.title}\n${i.link}\n${i.snippet}`).join("\n\n");
}
```

### You see every result the model sees

Grounding hands you Gemini's finished answer and search suggestions HTML. SpecStream hands you the results themselves, so you choose what goes into the prompt, log what the model read, and show your users the links.

### $5 per 1,000, billed for the searches you send

Grounding bills each search query the model decides to run, at $14 per 1,000 after 5,000 free a month, and stops at 1,500 requests a day per project by default. On SpecStream your code makes the call, a search of up to 10 results costs $0.005, and one account can send up to 8,800 a minute. A call stopped by a `429` charges nothing.

### Page text for the prompt in the same call

On the same key, `GET https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search?q=...&passages=true` returns the text of the top pages closest to the question, each with its `url` and `title`, and an `answer` with the page it was read from. Your model reads the passage without a second call, and the call is priced as any search.

### The most accurate web search API in the world

On SimpleQA Verified the SpecStream Search API scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official questions, 978 of them correct. On WideSearch it scores 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official tasks. The Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. Every score and its method is on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=grounding-with-google-search-alternative) page.

### About one second a search, measured under load

The Custom Search route runs on the fast search. On November 9, 2026 production took 1, 5, 10 and 20 searches a second on the fast search and answered 718 of 720. 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. One account can send up to 8,800 searches a minute; a call over that gets a `429` with `Retry-After` and is not charged.

### You decide what is kept, on each key

Create a key with `zero_retention` and a search made with it keeps no request text and no answer after the reply. It is not in the history and its log lines carry neither. The charge keeps the account, the key, the request ID, the price and the time. `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=grounding-with-google-search-alternative) at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and a page with no text is not charged. [Deep Search](https://specstream.ai/deep-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=grounding-with-google-search-alternative) takes a request in plain words and returns every match on the live web as structured rows, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, plus 5¢ for an email and 15¢ for a phone. The most a run can cost is quoted before it starts, and a saved request reruns hourly to yearly.

## Other Grounding with Google Search alternatives

### OpenAI web search

A tool of the OpenAI API at $10 per 1,000 calls, plus search content tokens at the model's rates. SpecStream costs $5 per 1,000 searches with no tokens on top, and the results work with any model.

### Claude web search

A tool of the Claude API at $10 per 1,000 searches, plus standard token costs for search-generated content. SpecStream returns the raw results at $5 per 1,000 for Claude or any other model.

### Custom Search JSON API

Google's raw result list at $5 per 1,000 queries, closed to new customers and ending on January 1, 2027. SpecStream answers the same call in the same JSON. See [the shutdown and the one-line move](https://specstream.ai/google-custom-search-api-shutdown?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=grounding-with-google-search-alternative).

### Brave Search API

A raw result list on Brave's own index at $5 per 1,000 requests, up to 50 queries a second, with $5 in free credits every month. SpecStream costs the same $5 and scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions.

## How to replace Grounding with Google Search

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. Turn off the Google Search tool on your Gemini call and declare your own search tool in its place, with one string parameter, the query.

3. When the model calls the tool, send the query to SpecStream and return the results as the tool result.

```
curl "https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1?key=$SPECSTREAM_KEY&q=Gemini+3+release+date&num=10"
```

4. Give the key a spending limit with `spend_cap_cents`, and turn on `zero_retention` when your users' searches must leave no trace.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does Grounding with Google Search cost?

$14 per 1,000 search requests on Gemini 3 and newer models, after 5,000 free a month. On Gemini 2.5 it is $35 per 1,000 grounded prompts after 1,500 free a day.

### Does Grounding with Google Search return the search results?

No. It returns a final answer grounded in the search results, with search suggestions HTML for your UI. SpecStream returns the result list itself, `items[]` with `title`, `link` and `snippet`, at $5 per 1,000 searches.

### Can I use Google Search grounding with Claude or GPT?

No, it is a tool of the Gemini API. SpecStream results work with any model: your code calls `https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1` and passes the results to the model as a tool result.

### What is the daily limit for Grounding with Google Search?

1,500 requests a day per project by default on the paid tier for Gemini 3 and newer. One SpecStream account can send up to 8,800 searches a minute.

### What is the cheapest alternative to Grounding with Google Search?

SpecStream, at $5 per 1,000 searches against $14, with no tokens on top. It scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions.

### Who decides how many searches a grounded prompt runs?

On Gemini 3 and newer the model does, and each search query it runs is billed. With SpecStream your code decides: one call is one search at $0.005.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each figure about Google and other providers comes from that company's own page.

- [Google Custom Search JSON API overview](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Google Custom Search JSON API, using REST](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/using_rest), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Gemini API, Grounding with Google Search](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/google-search), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Gemini API pricing](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Google AI Studio pricing](https://aistudio.google.com/docs/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [OpenAI API pricing](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Claude API, web search tool](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/web-search-tool), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api/), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), 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