What is a SERP API? — Complete Answer

A SERP API (Search Engine Results Page API) lets you programmatically retrieve Google, Bing, or other search engine results as structured free JSON formatter data. Instead of scraping search results manually and dealing with CAPTCHAs, rate limits, and DOM changes, a SERP API handles all of that for you and returns clean, parsed data.

SERP APIs are essential infrastructure for SEO tools, price comparison engines, AI agents, market research platforms, and any application that needs real-time search data.

Key Takeaways

• A SERP API returns search results as structured JSON -- no HTML parsing, no CAPTCHAs, no proxy management.
• It handles the hard parts for you: bot detection, geo-targeting, result parsing, and pagination.
• Pricing ranges from $0.001 to $5 per search depending on the provider and features.
• SearchHive's SwiftSearch API starts at $0.001/search on the Builder plan, significantly cheaper than most competitors.
• AI agents increasingly rely on SERP APIs for real-time web search capabilities.

How SERP APIs Work

1. You send a request with a search query, location, language, and other parameters
2. The provider handles the complexity -- making the request through proxy networks, solving CAPTCHAs, rotating user agents
3. You get structured JSON back -- titles, URLs, descriptions, positions, knowledge panels, featured snippets, and more

import httpx

# Using SearchHive SwiftSearch API
response = httpx.get(
    "https://api.searchhive.dev/v1/search",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"},
    params={"query": "best web scraping APIs 2026", "num_results": 10}
)

results = response.json()
for result in results.get("organic", []):
    print(f"{result['position']}. {result['title']}")
    print(f"   {result['url']}")
    print(f"   {result['snippet'][:100]}...")

This returns clean, structured data without any of the scraping headaches.

What Data Does a SERP API Return?

Most SERP APIs return the full search results page, including:

• Organic results -- title, URL, snippet, position, sitelinks
• Paid ads -- Google Ads with headlines, descriptions, and display URLs
• Featured snippets -- the "answer box" at the top of results
• Knowledge panels -- structured info about entities (people, companies, places)
• Local results -- Google Maps/Local pack data (for local search queries)
• People Also Ask -- related questions and their answers
• Image and video results -- with thumbnails, titles, and source URLs
• Related searches -- "Related searches" at the bottom of the page

SERP API Pricing Comparison (2026)

SearchHive stands out because credits work across all three APIs (SwiftSearch, ScrapeForge, DeepDive), and the per-search cost is among the lowest in the market.

Why Not Just Scrape Google Yourself?

Technically you can, but it gets painful fast:

• CAPTCHAs: Google detects automated queries quickly and serves CAPTCHAs
• Rate limiting: Without rotating proxies, you'll get blocked after a handful of requests
• DOM changes: Google frequently updates its HTML structure, breaking your parsers
• Legal risk: Google's Terms of Service restrict automated access without permission
• Geo-targeting: Getting results from specific locations requires proxy infrastructure
• Maintenance overhead: You'll spend more time maintaining the scraper than using the data

A SERP API packages all of this into a simple HTTP request. /blog/is-it-legal-to-scrape-google-search-results-complete-answer

SERP APIs for AI Agents

The rise of AI agents has made SERP APIs more important than ever. Agents need to search the web to answer questions, research topics, and gather current information.

# AI agent using SearchHive for web search
import httpx

def web_search(query: str) -> str:
    # Search the web and return formatted results
    resp = httpx.get(
        "https://api.searchhive.dev/v1/search",
        headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"},
        params={"query": query, "num_results": 5}
    )
    data = resp.json()
    results = []
    for r in data.get("organic", []):
        results.append(f"- {r['title']}: {r['snippet']}")
    return "\n".join(results)

# Use in your agent's tool definitions
tools = [
    {"type": "function", "function": {
        "name": "web_search",
        "description": "Search the web for current information",
        "parameters": {"query": {"type": "string"}}
    }}
]

SearchHive also works with MCP (Model Context Protocol), so you can expose web search as an MCP server that any AI model can use. /blog/what-is-mcp-in-ai-complete-answer

FAQ

What does SERP stand for? SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page -- the page of results Google (or Bing, etc.) shows after you type a search query.

Is a SERP API the same as a search API? Mostly yes, but "SERP API" specifically refers to APIs that replicate search engine results pages (including ads, snippets, knowledge panels). A general "search API" might refer to any search functionality, including site search.

Can I get Google Maps results from a SERP API? Yes. Most SERP APIs support local search parameters that return Google Maps/local pack data including business names, addresses, ratings, phone numbers, and review counts.

How fast are SERP APIs? Most return results in 1-3 seconds. SearchHive's SwiftSearch typically responds in under 1 second. Latency depends on the search engine, location targeting, and the complexity of results.

Do SERP APIs work for Bing and other search engines? Most support Google as the primary engine, with Bing as a secondary option. SearchHive's SwiftSearch supports multiple search engines for broader coverage.

Can I use a SERP API for SEO monitoring? Yes, that's one of the most common use cases. Track your rankings, monitor competitors, analyze SERP features (featured snippets, People Also Ask), and track SERP changes over time.

Is Google Custom Search API a good option? Not for new projects. Google is deprecating the Custom Search JSON API -- it's closed to new customers since 2025, and existing customers must migrate by January 1, 2027. /blog/best-serpapi-alternatives-for-developers

What's the cheapest SERP API? SearchHive's SwiftSearch is among the cheapest at ~$0.001 per search on the Builder plan ($49/mo for 100K credits). You also get scraping and deep research capabilities in the same plan.

Choose SearchHive for SERP Data

SearchHive combines SERP data, web scraping, and deep research into a single API platform. You get structured search results without the complexity of managing multiple vendors.

• Free tier: 500 credits to test all three APIs
• Builder plan: 100K credits/mo for $49 -- includes search, scraping, and deep dive
• No rate limit anxiety: Higher concurrent request limits on paid plans
• Works with MCP: Expose as an MCP server for any AI model

Start with 500 free credits at searchhive.dev/pricing -- no credit card required.

/compare/serpapi | /blog/what-is-mcp-in-ai-complete-answer