Serper

What it is for

Serper is a Google Search API desk: you send a query, get JSON in 1–2 seconds, and new accounts get 2,500 free queries (no credit card). Use it when the job is a SERP you start at a public $, not when you need Apify’s Free $5 Actor run only.

Soft-note: 2,500 free + prepaid packs $50 / $375 / $1,250 / $3,750 ($1.00 down to $0.30 per 1k). Distinct from Apify, Bright Data, and ScrapingBee.

What makes it unique: the cover is Serper’s official homepage playground (Search / Images / News / Maps / Places / Videos + google search JSON knowledgeGraph) from serper.dev — not a wordmark. Soft-note: marketing headline + cookie banner on the live still, real playground chrome. The JSON knowledgeGraph itself is ops of the playground.

Key features

• Search API — real-time Google JSON in 1–2 seconds (product). One desk. Organic / knowledge graph / PAA sit here.
• Images / News / Maps / Places / Videos / Shopping — extra result types on the same key (product). Types, not a pack tile.
• Country + language — customize query location (FAQ). A locale, not a $0.30 meter.
• Autocomplete — typeahead suggestions on the same key (product). A suggest, not Get started.
• Playground JSON — knowledgeGraph / organic on the cover (cover still; product). JSON, not Enterprise.
• Scholar — academic Google results on a dedicated endpoint (product). Scholar, not SSO.

Sign up / Buy credits are CTAs (not desks). Free 2,500 and pack $ stay in Pricing. Haystack / LLM-framework tiles stay off Key features as AI extras.

Who it's for

Best fit: builders who will stay on the 2,500 free queries while they run a first playground search — then the $50 Starter pack when prod volume starts, not Bright Data Unlocker from $1/1k first unless they need a proxy zone.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) from serper.dev (homepage prints the packs; there is no /pricing route — 404). Soft-note: prepaid credits, not a subscription. Credits valid 6 months. Excluding sales tax / VAT / GST.

• Free — 2,500 queries. “Get 2,500 free queries” / “No credit card required.”
• Starter — $50 for 50,000 credits ($1.00/1k).
• Standard — $375 for 500,000 credits ($0.75/1k).
• Scale — $1,250 for 2,500,000 credits ($0.50/1k).
• Ultimate — $3,750 for 12,500,000 credits ($0.30/1k). Default 300 QPS on Ultimate.
• Credits deduct on successful responses. 7-day refund unless you used more than 20%. Confirm Paddle checkout.

Limitations / costs

• Free quota is small for prod. 2,500 queries is a trial; the first paid pack is $50.
• Google-only JSON, not a crawler. For Actors / CU see Apify.
• The product is not OSS. We omit a GitHub CTA rather than invent a product repo.

Alternatives

• Apify — an Actor desk when you want Free $5 usage / Starter $19, not a Google JSON pack.
• Bright Data — a proxy / SERP zone when you want Unlocker from $1/1k, not Serper’s $0.30/1k Ultimate pack.
• ScrapingBee — a request builder when you want Hobby $19, not 2,500 free Google queries.

Official tutorial

We searched @serperdev (404) and @serper (200, title serper — about page did not print serper.dev, so we do not embed it). serper.dev HTML has no YouTube channel link. No verified official how-to to embed. Written path: serper.dev.

Website

https://serper.dev/

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is Serper’s official homepage playground (Search/Images/News + knowledgeGraph JSON) from serper.dev. Dollars checked on serper.dev (Free 2,500; Starter $50/50k; Standard $375; Scale $1,250; Ultimate $3,750 / $0.30/1k). No verified official YouTube. No invented GitHub.

Last verified

2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.