SerpAPI vs Serper vs Autom: Best SERP API in 2026

Google handles about 5.9 million searches every minute which is roughly 8.5 billion a day. That’s billions of questions, problems, and ideas running through one search bar every single day. 

With nearly 90% of the global search engine market share, Google dominates the space yet competitors like Bing, Yahoo!, and DuckDuckGo still play a meaningful role, especially across specific regions and industries.

All that activity creates a huge stream of data, and scraping that data has become essential for anyone who works with search results. The web scraping software market was valued at USD 782.5 million in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 2.7 billion by 2035. It’s fueling SEO tools, price trackers, ad monitors, automation systems basically, any product that needs real-time search data to function.

That’s why choosing the right SERP API matters. If you’re building a rank tracker, analytics dashboard, or automation product, your entire system depends on that API delivering clean and consistent data. One bad response can break features, throw off metrics, or slow down your product.

And since these APIs aren’t cheap, the wrong choice can get expensive fast. When you’re running a paid plan or handling large volumes, every request hits your budget, and every downtime hits your reputation.

So in this blog, we’re looking at three SERP APIs you can actually rely on in 2026: SerpAPI, Serper, and Autom. They’re trusted by major brands, built for scale, and proven to handle serious workloads. 

We’ll explore what they offer, how they perform, and which one’s the right fit for your next build.

Let‘s get started. 

Things That Matter When Choosing the Right SERP API

• Accuracy

• Speed

• Scalability

• Cost Efficiency

• Stability

• Integration Simplicity

• Geo & Device Coverage

• Support & Documentation

SerpAPI vs Serper vs Autom: Which SERP API Deserves Your Stack in 2026

Now that you know what really matters, it’s time to look at the three SERP APIs that stand out this year. Check out their features, pricing, and performance details, then decide which one fits your workflow best.

Feature	SerpAPI	Serper	Autom API
Supported Search Engines	Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, Yandex, eBay	Google only	Google, Bing, Brave
Speed (Avg. Response Time)	1.2 – 2.0 seconds	1 – 2 seconds	Milliseconds (lightning-fast)
Uptime	99.9%	~99.9%	99.9% guaranteed
Pricing Model	Monthly subscription (from $75/month for 5,000 searches)	Pay-as-you-go (from $50 for 50,000 credits)	Pay-as-you-go (from $50 for 50,000 credits, valid 1 year)
Free Tier / Trial	250 searches/month	2,500 free credits	1000 free requests
Data Output Format	JSON / HTML	JSON	JSON
Scalability	High — asynchronous, batch mode	Moderate — mini-batch supported	Very high — handles thousands of requests/sec
Accuracy & Stability	Enterprise-grade accuracy with failover redundancy	Real-time accuracy with autocorrect	Developer-optimized precision with consistent output
Geo & Language Targeting	Yes (location, gl, hl, google_domain)	Yes (gl, hl, tbs)	Yes (location, uule, gl, hl)
Unique Key Features	• ZeroTrace (Enterprise) • Speed Up Mode • Search Archive API • Advanced filters & caching	• Playground for live testing • Mini-batch processing • Real-time JSON output	• Handles thousands of queries/sec • Year-long credit validity • Multi-engine support • SDKs (Python, Node.js, PHP) • Built for large-scale AI, SEO & automation use cases
Best For	Enterprises & data-heavy SaaS	Startups & developers on a budget	AI, automation, and enterprise-scale use with long-term growth focus

1. SerpAPI

SerpAPI is one of the most established solutions in the search data space, launched in 2017 and built specifically to automate large-scale search result extraction. It removes scraping complexity entirely by managing proxies, solving CAPTCHAs, and delivering clean, structured JSON data ready for direct integration into your product or workflow. It’s trusted by developers, SEO tools, and data-driven platforms that rely on accurate, real-time SERP feeds without the maintenance headaches. 

Beyond Google, SerpAPI also supports results from other major search engines like Bing, Baidu, Yahoo, Yandex, and eBay, giving you broader data coverage through a single integration. 

Supported Data Types

SerpAPI provides fully structured Google Search data, replicating all major result components that appear in live SERPs. Its API returns rich JSON objects for:

• Organic Results

• Knowledge Graph Entries

• Local Results & Maps

• Ad Results (Top & Bottom)

• People Also Ask Sections

• Shopping Results

• Image Results

• Video Results

• News Results & Top Stories

• Direct Answer Boxes (featured snippets, weather, time, population, etc.)

Developers can also toggle search types via the tbm parameter to collect data from Google Images, News, Videos, Local, Shopping, and Patents, effectively covering every major Google search vertical.

Speed & Uptime

SerpAPI maintains up to 2.0 seconds per query on average, even under heavy workloads. Its globally distributed infrastructure keeps uptime near 99.9%, with automatic retries and failover systems in place to maintain stability during network disruptions. Developers handling time-sensitive workloads can toggle “Speed Up” mode, which prioritises faster responses for production-critical pipelines.

Key Features

• Search Query Control: Supports advanced Google query parameters such as inurl:, site:, intitle:, as_dt, and as_eq, giving developers precision-level search capabilities.

• Geo-Targeting: Use the location or uule parameters to define search origin down to the city level, simulating real user searches.

• Language & Country Targeting: Adjust hl (language), gl (country), and google_domain to localize results exactly how users see them.

• Device Simulation: Choose between desktop, mobile, or tablet environments using the device parameter.

• Advanced Filters: Manage adult content visibility via safe, control “Similar” or “Omitted” results using filter, and apply fine-tuned search filters through uds or tbs.

• Caching Efficiency: Cached searches are free and don’t count toward your monthly quota; the no_cache flag lets you force a live fetch when required.

• Asynchronous Requests: Enable async mode to queue large-scale searches and fetch results later using the Search Archive API ideal for batch workloads.

• ZeroTrace Mode (Enterprise): Disable all data storage, including query logs and metadata, for full privacy compliance and regulatory security.

• Flexible Output: Choose between json for structured data or html for raw output useful in debugging or custom parsing.

• JSON Restrictor: Limit JSON fields in responses for faster processing and smaller payloads.

Pricing

SerpAPI offers a free trial with 250 searches per month, perfect for testing. 

Paid plans start at $75/month for 5,000 searches, billed month-to-month with no contracts. 

The average rate sits around $15 per 1,000 requests, and you’re only charged for successful results, which makes it fair, predictable, and easy to scale.

2. Serper 

Serper is built to make large-scale search data extraction fast, affordable, and simple to use. 

It gives developers, analytics teams, and automation products structured Google search data through a clean JSON interface. 

Supported Data Types

Serper delivers structured, real-time results across Google’s major search categories:

• Search (Web)

• Images

• Videos

• Maps

• Places

• Shopping Results

• News & Top Stories

• Scholar Results

• Patents

• Autocomplete

Each response includes organised fields like organic listings, Knowledge Graph data, People Also Ask, and related searches, making it easy to use in dashboards, reports, and AI applications.

Speed & Uptime

Serper processes queries in about 1–2 seconds. Its global infrastructure maintains an uptime of around 99.9%, ensuring consistent availability and responsiveness even under high concurrency. The system is optimised for steady, real-time performance, giving developers reliable access to Google search data at scale.

Key Features

• Simple Query Structure: Parameters like q (query), gl (country), hl (language), and tbs (date range) make it easy to replicate real Google searches. The Playground interface lets you test these parameters instantly before using them in production.

• Real-Time Results: Every query runs live on Google and returns structured JSON to ensure fresh and complete SERP data every time.

• Geo & Language Targeting: Customize queries by country, region, and language to simulate localized searches.

• Mini-Batch Processing: Run up to 100 queries at once using mini-batch mode for efficient bulk operations.

• Autocorrect Handling: Automatically corrects misspelled queries while still returning contextual search results for high accuracy.

• Developer-Friendly Playground: The Serper Playground provides a live, interactive testing environment where you can preview both Results and Code outputs, making integration and debugging easier.

Pricing

Serper offers 2500 free credits to get started without any credit card. After that, pricing runs on a pay-as-you-go credit system starting at $50 for 50,000 credits (about $1 per 1,000 queries). Higher packs drop the cost to $0.30 per 1,000 while the Credits stay valid for six months, and you only pay for what you use.

3. Autom API

Autom is one of the most promising and fastest-growing SERP API providers today. It’s part of the Web API Group, a collective of experienced developers building specialized APIs across various data domains. Because it’s run by developers who understand real-world needs, Autom is engineered with a clear focus on speed, precision, and cost-efficiency.

Backed by a strong developer-first foundation, Autom delivers lightning-fast, accurate, and stable SERP extraction built for scale. Its infrastructure is capable of handling large-volume workloads across diverse use cases from SEO analytics and AI data pipelines to large-scale enterprise monitoring all at economical pricing.

Though relatively new, Autom has quickly gained traction among startups and enterprises alike for its performance, reliability, and simplicity. It eliminates the complexity of scraping entirely, providing instant setup, structured JSON outputs, and seamless integration across multiple search engines which makes it a next-generation SERP API platform.

Supported Data Types

Autom provides APIs for multiple Google data sources, alongside support for other search engines. You can access structured, real-time results from:

• Google Search

• Google Autocomplete

• Google Images

• Google News

• Google Videos

• Bing Search

• Brave Search

Its unified endpoint covers everything from organic listings to Knowledge Graphs, related searches, and entity descriptions. Each response includes consistent JSON fields, making integration straightforward for analytics dashboards, automation tools, and AI pipelines.

Speed & Uptime

Autom is built for performance. With optimized infrastructure and distributed nodes, it delivers search results in milliseconds with a guaranteed 99.9% uptime. That means no downtime interruptions, even during peak loads. The API also includes time_taken_displayed in its response, which allows developers to measure and monitor real-time query speed for every request.

Key Features

• High-Speed Performance: Engineered for near-instant response times with advanced caching and parallel processing.

• Scalable Architecture: Handles thousands of requests per second without rate-limit bottlenecks.

• Accurate Structured Data: Returns clean JSON with organic results, knowledge graphs, entity attributes, related searches, and total results count.

• Geo & Language Targeting: Fine-tune queries by location (location, uule) and language (hl, gl) for localized results.

• Advanced Filters: Use the tbs parameter for date-based filtering like last hour, day, week, month, or year.

• Pagination Support: Access multiple result pages with parameters like page, next, and other_pages.

• Simple Authentication: Uses a straightforward API key system managed through the Autom Dashboard.

• SDK Availability: Libraries for Python, Node.js, and PHP, with examples ready to deploy.

• Enterprise Reliability: Built-in error handling, clear HTTP codes, and automatic failover for production use.

Pricing

Autom offers 1000 free requests on free trial. 

Paid access runs on a pay-as-you-go model with credits valid for up to one year, giving teams flexibility without the pressure of monthly resets.

The Starter plan begins at $50 for 50,000 credits (~$1 CPM per 1,000 queries) and scaling down to as low as $0.30 CPM on higher tiers.

Wrapping Up

Each of these APIs SerpAPI, Serper, and Autom are similar yet bring something different to the table, and the best one for you depends on what you’re building.

• SerpAPI is the long-standing leader, detailed, and built for enterprise use cases that demand accuracy across multiple search engines.

• Serper delivers a perfect balance of affordability, simplicity, and performance, great for developers who need fast, clean Google data on flexible terms.

• Autom is the new force catching everyone’s attention. With its developer-first design, powerful infrastructure, and pay-as-you-go pricing, it’s quickly becoming a favorite for teams managing large-scale or data-intensive projects.

If you want an API that combines speed, reliability, and affordability, Autom is a strong choice. Just sign up, test it for yourself, and see how smoothly it fits into your workflow.

Explore these detailed resources for more insight into SERP APIs, automation, and practical implementation guides:

• 5 Economical SERP APIs in 2026

• 4 Serper Alternatives To Try in 2026

• How To Scrape Google Search Results using Python

• Automation To Extract Titles from Search Results using Autom Google Search API