The cheapest web search API in 2026
Ten web search APIs ranked by price per 1,000 searches, what each costs a month at your volume, and the catches that change the ranking.
Quick answer. The cheapest web search API in 2026 is Keirolabs /search/lite (browserfoundry by Keirolabs): $0.10 per 1,000 searches on the $29.99 Essential plan, $0.06 on Pro and $0.03 on Startup, on its own index. The cheapest Google-specific API is Serper, at $1.00 per 1,000, falling to $0.30 only at 12.5 million prepaid queries. The cheapest API that returns page text with each result is Keirolabs /search/content at $1.33 per 1,000 on Startup. Every price below comes from the vendor's own pricing page.
The cheapest web search APIs, ranked by price per 1,000
| Rank | API | Price per 1,000 searches | Free allowance | What you get back |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keirolabs /search/lite | $0.03 to $0.10 on a plan | 750 credits once, no card | Ranked results, snippets, dates |
| 2 | Serper | $1.00, down to $0.30 at 12.5M prepaid | 2,500 queries once | Google SERP as JSON |
| 3 | Parallel Search (Turbo) | $1.00 | 5,000 requests a month | Results with short excerpts |
| 4 | Keirolabs /search/content | $1.33 to $4.00 on a plan | same 750 credits | Results plus each page as clean markdown |
| 5 | Firecrawl Search | about $1.66 (Standard) | 1,000 credits a month | Results plus fresh-crawled markdown |
| 6 | Brave Search API | $5.00 | $5 credit a month, card required | Results from Brave's own index |
| 7 | Linkup | $5.00 to $6.00 | 4,000 queries | Results from Linkup's index |
| 8 | Exa | $7.00 for 10 results | $20 signup credit | Neural search, contents for 10 results |
| 9 | Tavily | $8.00 basic, $16.00 advanced | 1,000 credits a month | Results with inline content |
| 10 | SerpAPI | $3.75 to $25 by plan | 250 searches a month | Google SERP, many engines |
Prices were checked against each vendor's pricing page in October 2026. Keirolabs is our product; its numbers come from our pricing page.
What it costs per month at your volume
The per-1,000 rate is only half the bill. Plans, minimums and packs decide what you actually pay:
| Searches a month | Cheapest option | Monthly cost | Next cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 750 | Keirolabs free credits | $0 | Serper's 2,500 free queries |
| 10,000 | Keirolabs Essential | $29.99 (covers 300,000 lite searches) | Serper $50 pack |
| 100,000 | Keirolabs Essential | $29.99 | Serper about $100 |
| 1,000,000 | Keirolabs Startup | $99.99 (covers 3,000,000) | Serper about $1,000 |
The catches that change the ranking
- Plan rates need a plan. Keirolabs' $0.03 to $0.10 rates apply on monthly plans. Free credits and one-time packs bill lite at 1 credit per search, which is $5.00 to $6.67 per 1,000 on a pack. If you search more than a few thousand times a month, the $29.99 plan is far cheaper than packs.
- Credits expire. Serper's prepaid credits last 6 months. Keirolabs packs last 12 months after the latest top-up.
- Results past 10 cost extra. Exa adds $1 per 1,000 for each result after the 10th, so a 30-result search costs $27 per 1,000. Serper charges 2 credits for more than 10 results.
- "Advanced" doubles the price. Tavily's advanced search is $16 per 1,000, not $8.
- Snippets are not pages. The cheapest APIs return links and snippets. If your agent then fetches each page, add the cost of a scraper, or use an API that returns page text in the same call.
- Google's own API is closing. The Custom Search JSON API ($5 per 1,000) takes no new customers and stops on January 1, 2027. Bing's Search API was retired in August 2025.
The cheapest option for each job
| If you need | Cheapest choice | Price per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Ranked web results for an agent | Keirolabs /search/lite | $0.03 to $0.10 on a plan |
| Google's exact rankings | Serper | $0.30 to $1.00 |
| Results plus full page text (RAG) | Keirolabs /search/content | $1.33 to $4.00 on a plan |
| A cited answer, not links | Keirolabs /answer | $0.89 to $2.67 on a plan |
| The lowest latency | Parallel Turbo (~200 ms median) | $1.00 |
| An independent, non-Google index | Brave Search API | $5.00 |
| Free, no card, to test | Keirolabs (750 credits) or Serper (2,500 queries) | $0 |
Is the cheapest one good enough?
Price matters only if the results are good. On the benchmarks vendors publish, the cheap end does not trail:
- Datacircle's best web search API ranking: browserfoundry by Keirolabs is #1 with 64.0, ahead of Exa (60.2), Firecrawl (59.2) and Parallel (57.3). See the ranking.
- SimpleQA: Keirolabs deep finds the answer to 96.5% of questions, against 95.47% for Exa and 93.3% for Tavily. Details in the best web search API by use case.
How to check the price yourself
Run your own volume through the search API pricing calculator. It prices 17 plans and modes across 11 vendors at any monthly volume. For per-query cost against latency, see search API cost per query vs latency. For Google-only results, see the cheapest SERP API.
In plain questions.
What is the cheapest web search API?
Keirolabs /search/lite (browserfoundry by Keirolabs): $0.10 per 1,000 searches on the $29.99 Essential plan, $0.06 on Pro and $0.03 on Startup, on its own index. Without a plan, free and pack credits bill lite at 1 credit per search, $5.00 to $6.67 per 1,000.
What is the cheapest Google search API?
Serper, at $1.00 per 1,000 Google searches, falling to $0.30 per 1,000 only at 12.5 million prepaid queries. Google's own Custom Search JSON API costs $5 per 1,000, takes no new customers and stops on January 1, 2027.
What is the cheapest search API that returns page content?
Keirolabs /search/content returns ranked results plus each page as clean markdown for $1.33 per 1,000 on the Startup plan and $4.00 on Essential. Firecrawl Search costs about $1.66 on Standard, Exa $7.00 and Tavily $8.00.
Is there a free web search API?
Yes. Keirolabs gives 750 credits once at signup with no card. Serper gives 2,500 queries once, Tavily 1,000 credits a month, Parallel 5,000 requests a month, and Brave a $5 monthly credit with a card.
How much does 1 million searches a month cost?
About $100 on Keirolabs Startup ($99.99 covers 3,000,000 lite searches), about $1,000 on Serper, $1,000 on Parallel Turbo, $5,000 on Brave, $7,000 on Exa and $8,000 on Tavily basic.
Is the cheapest search API good enough for AI agents?
On published benchmarks the cheap end does not trail: browserfoundry by Keirolabs ranks #1 on Datacircle's best web search API ranking (64.0, ahead of Exa at 60.2), and Keirolabs deep scores 96.5% on SimpleQA.