---
title: "Bing Image Search API is gone: the alternatives for keyword and reverse image search"
category: "guides"
url: https://keirolabs.cloud/blog/bing-image-search-api-alternatives
---

If you came here because your Bing Image Search API key stopped working, it is not your account: **Microsoft retired the Bing Search APIs, image search included, on August 11, 2025.** There is no official drop-in replacement — Microsoft points customers to "Grounding with Bing Search" inside Azure AI Agent Service, which is a different product, not an image API. Here is what actually replaces it for the two things people used it for: keyword image search and reverse image search.

## Keyword image search: use a SERP API

The standard replacement is a SERP API that returns image results as structured JSON — image URLs, thumbnails, source pages and dimensions — from Google or Bing. You send a query, you get image results back, no scraping or CAPTCHAs to manage.

```python
import os, requests

# Keirolabs Google SERP — returns organic + image blocks as JSON
r = requests.post(
    "https://api.keirolabs.cloud/api/v2/search/google",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['KEIRO_API_KEY']}"},
    json={"query": "golden retriever puppy", "search_type": "images"},
)
images = r.json()  # image url, thumbnail, source page, dimensions
```

Every major SERP provider offers an image engine. The differences are price and whether you also get the page content for each result.

| API | Image search price per 1,000 | Engine | Notes |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Serper** | $1.00 | Google Images | Cheapest Google-specific |
| **Keirolabs** (Google SERP) | $1.78–$5.33 | Google | Also returns web results + page content on one key |
| Scrapingdog | ~$1 and up | Google | SERP-focused |
| SearchApi | ~$1.60 | Google / Bing | Multiple engines |
| SerpApi | ~$3.75–$25 by plan | Google / Bing | Most engines, incl. reverse image |

Prices are from each vendor's pricing page in November 2026.

## Reverse image search: search by an image URL

Reverse image search (give an image, find where it appears and visually similar images) is more specialised. The widely supported option is **SerpApi's Google Reverse Image** endpoint, and some providers expose **Google Lens**-style results:

```python
# SerpApi Google Reverse Image (search by image URL)
import requests
r = requests.get("https://serpapi.com/search", params={
    "engine": "google_reverse_image",
    "image_url": "https://example.com/photo.jpg",
    "api_key": "YOUR_KEY",
})
matches = r.json()  # inline images + pages that use the image
```

If your use case is "find the source of this image" or "find similar product photos," a Google Lens / reverse-image endpoint is the right tool. If it is "get images for this keyword," the SERP image search above is cheaper and simpler.

## What is the cheapest option?

For keyword image search, **Serper at $1.00 per 1,000** is the cheapest Google-specific route. **Keirolabs** is $1.78–$5.33 per 1,000 for Google SERP but returns web results and clean page markdown on the same key and the same 750 free credits, which is worth it if your app also does text search or extraction. SerpApi is the most feature-complete (it still offers Bing and reverse image) but the priciest per 1,000.

## Do you still need Bing specifically?

Usually not. Teams used Bing Image Search because it had a clean official API — now that it is gone, Google image results through a SERP API are the better-supported path. If you genuinely need Bing's image results, a few SERP APIs (SerpApi, SearchApi) still offer a Bing engine by scraping it for you, but expect higher prices and more variability than the old first-party API.

## Migrating off Bing Image Search

1. Pick a SERP API with an image engine (Serper or Keirolabs for cost, SerpApi if you also need reverse image or Bing).
2. Swap the endpoint and key; map the fields — most return `image_url`, `thumbnail`, `source`/`link` and `title`, close to Bing's old shape.
3. Add simple retry-on-429 (search APIs rarely 429, but be safe). See [how to fix 429 errors](/blog/fix-429-too-many-requests-scraping-agents).

The broader Bing shutdown also killed web and news search — if you relied on those, see the [Bing Search API replacement guide](/blog/bing-search-api-alternatives).