SpecStream vs SerpApi
One plain-words request to SpecStream returns finished records: the live web searched, the pages behind the results read and extracted, the rows enriched and delivered to your sheet, CRM or agent. You pay only for the rows delivered.
| SpecStream | SerpApi | |
|---|---|---|
| Web search | Searches the live web for every match | Google, Bing, Baidu, Yandex, YouTube, Amazon, Maps and more enginesP1 |
| Scrape and crawl | Reads each page, PDF or scan needed | Extract API scrapes, maps or crawls up to 100 pages a callP4 |
| Extract structured fields | Typed rows with the fields you name | Results pages parsed to JSON; other pages as MarkdownP2P4 |
| Datasets we already hold | Form D, grants, contracts, rules, nonprofits, placesS2 | Search Archive keeps your own searches for 31 daysP5 |
| Enrich a list you have | Fills the missing facts in your list | One search per row, sent from your codeP6 |
| Monitor and rerun on a schedule | Hourly to yearly, each row change labeled | No schedule on its pricing or API pagesP1P2 |
| Map and area filters | Results on a map, filtered by area | Google Maps and Local results near a locationP1 |
| Deliver to your tools | Sheets, CRMs, Slack, Teams, n8n, Zapier, webhooks | JSON, HTML or Markdown to your codeP2P6 |
| Agents and MCP | MCP, A2A, REST API, SDKs, pay per request | Hosted MCP server; searches come out of the planP3 |
| Price per result | 5¢, 15¢ or $1 per matching rowS1 | Per search, $9.17 to $25.00 per 1,000P1 |
| Quote before the run | Maximum shown and approved before anything runs | A monthly plan of searches, bought aheadP1 |
| Source URL on each value | Source URL and read time on every value | A link per result and the time of the searchP2 |
Where SpecStream does more
Records from the pages behind the results
A SerpApi call returns one results page as JSON, with organic results, local results and the knowledge graphP2. The facts a record needs sit on the company sites, registers, filings and stores those results point to. One SpecStream request reads those pages and returns records that meet every condition you wrote, with the facts from every site joined into one record.
Billed per row delivered
SerpApi counts every successful search, and a search that returns no results counts as 1P1. SpecStream bills only delivered rows, 5¢, 15¢ or $1 each, under a maximum you approve, and the searches and pages behind a row are not billed. A company left out, a retry and a run that finds nothing cost nothingS1.
The whole job with no code
SerpApi is called through its API, its client libraries, a CLI or MCPP6. On SpecStream one request finds every match, reads each page, PDF or scan, enriches the rows and delivers them to Sheets, your CRM, Slack, n8n or Zapier.
Every row rechecked on your schedule
SerpApi's pricing and API pages offer no scheduled rerunsP1P2. A saved SpecStream request reruns hourly to yearly, labels each row changed, unchanged or no longer matching, and charges half the rate for a changed row and 1¢ for an unchanged oneS1.
Data already built
SerpApi's Search Archive returns your own past searches for 31 daysP5. SpecStream already holds every company that filed a Form D since 2023 with its filing history, places, bank failures, federal rules, nonprofits, and open federal contracts and grants, with signals for US funding rounds, layoffs and new executivesS2S3.
Pricing side by side
| SpecStream | SerpApi | |
|---|---|---|
| How it bills | Each matching row: 5¢, 15¢ or $1, plus 5¢ for an email and 15¢ for a phoneS1 | Each successful search; one with no results counts as 1P1 |
| Plans | $19, $99 or $499 a month, the whole price turned into work; no seatsS1 | $25 to $275 a month for 1,000 to 30,000 searches, month to monthP1 |
| Free start | $10 of work on sign-up for your first 30 days, no card | 250 searches a monthP1 |
| A typical job | 100 matching rows at 5¢ each: $5 | 1,000 searches: a $25 Starter month, results pages onlyP1 |
| Not charged | A run that finds nothing, rows left out, rows you already own, and reading or pricing a request | Errored and failed searches, and a cached repeat within 1 hour; a search with no results countsP1P2 |
Switch from SerpApi
- Write the data you want in plain words, in place of the queries you send, with the conditions every row must meet.
- Read how SpecStream reads the request back, and edit any condition or fact.
- Approve the most the run can cost. Nothing runs before you do.
- Send the rows to your sheet, CRM, Slack or agent, and save the request to rerun it on your schedule.
claude mcp add --transport http specstream https://api.specstream.ai/mcpHow we checked
We read every SerpApi figure on SerpApi's own pages on Nov 4, 2026, and each marker links to its page. Where those pages say nothing, the cell says so. Our own figures come from specstream.ai/pricing.
Changes
- Nov 4, 2026: every figure read on SerpApi's own pages that day.
Tarek Etman, Founder & CEO, SpecStream
Sources, each checked Nov 4, 2026
Frequently asked questions
Something we didn't answer? Talk to a human
What is the best SerpApi alternative?
Is there a cheaper alternative to SerpApi?
Can SpecStream read the pages behind the search results?
Does a search that finds nothing cost anything?
Which SerpApi alternatives have an MCP server?
api.specstream.ai/mcp, with OAuth or an API key, alongside A2A, the REST API, SDKs and a CLI. Through it an agent sends the data it needs in plain words, sees the most the run can cost, and reads rows that meet every condition under the maximum you approved.Describe the data you need
Write the request today and see how SpecStream reads it and the most it can cost, before anything runs. New accounts get $10 of work on sign-up for your first 30 days, no card: at 5¢ a row, that is up to 200 rows that meet every condition you wrote, in the tool where your team works.