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It's a split decision.
Apify is a hosted Actor platform for collecting web data: run marketplace tools or build your own, then access and export results through its API. SerpApi is a hosted API for structured search-engine results and related data, returned in JSON or Markdown. Choose Apify for varied scraping workflows and custom code; choose SerpApi when your application needs search results with location targeting. Their usage units differ: Apify bills around compute and resources, while SerpApi plans cap monthly searches and hourly throughput.
01Side by side
| Apify | SerpApi | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Monthly prepaid usage; compute-unit charges vary by plan. | Fixed monthly plans cap searches and hourly throughput. |
| Free tier | $5 monthly prepaid usage; $0.20 per compute unit. | 250 searches monthly; 50 throughput per hour. |
| API and language integrations | Run Actors by API; connect LangChain and LlamaIndex. | Search APIs; integrations include Python, Ruby, JavaScript, and more. |
| CLI and agent workflows | Connect agents through MCP, CLI, or Skills. | Lists MCP and CLI integrations. |
| Other integrations | Lists Zapier, GitHub, Google Sheets, Claude, n8n, and Slack. | Lists integrations across 11 programming languages. |
| Deployment model | Hosted cloud infrastructure for deploying and running Actors. | Hosted API; requests run immediately in a full browser. |
| Limits and scaling | Compute-unit rates, RAM, and concurrent-run allowances vary by plan. | Plans cap monthly searches and hourly throughput. |
| Output and portability | Export scraped data; run Actors through an API. | Returns structured results in JSON or Markdown. |
Apify Choose Apify if
- Choose Apify if you need ready-made or custom web-scraping tools.
- Choose Apify if your workflows need Actor scheduling and monitoring.
- Choose Apify if you want to export collected data for AI workflows.
SerpApi Choose SerpApi if
- Choose SerpApi if your application needs structured search-engine results.
- Choose SerpApi if location-targeted Google results matter to your workflow.
- Choose SerpApi if fixed monthly search and throughput limits suit your workload.
02Pricing at real usage
Apify’s Free plan includes $5 in monthly prepaid usage and charges $0.20 per compute unit. Starter costs $19 monthly, with $19 prepaid usage and the same compute-unit rate; Scale is $199 monthly with $0.16 per compute unit, and Business is $999 with $0.13 per compute unit. Unused prepaid credits expire at each billing-cycle end. Extra concurrent runs cost $5 per run, and additional Actor RAM costs $1 per GB.
SerpApi’s Free plan includes 250 searches and 50 throughput per hour. Paid plans start at $25 monthly for 1,000 searches and 200 throughput per hour; Developer is $75 for 5,000 searches, Production $150 for 15,000, and Big Data $275 for 30,000. Both paid search volume and throughput rise by plan. SerpApi lists month-to-month billing; annual discounts are not listed.
03API, SDKs and integration
Apify’s core unit is an Actor: run a marketplace Actor or build and deploy one using code templates and guides. Actors can run through an API, and Apify supports data exports, scheduling, and monitoring. Its homepage lists connections including Zapier, GitHub, Google Sheets, Claude, n8n, Google Drive, Slack, MCP clients, LangChain, and LlamaIndex. Agents can connect through MCP, CLI, or Skills.
SerpApi exposes a catalog of search and data APIs, including Google Search, Google Maps, Google Shopping, jobs, and other services. Its homepage says requests run immediately and can return JSON or Markdown; location parameters target results for locations around the world. It says requests run in a full browser and includes CAPTCHA-solving technology. Listed language integrations are Ruby, Python, JavaScript, Golang, PHP, Java, Rust, .NET, Swift, and C++, plus MCP and CLI. The two products have different interfaces: Actor runs versus search API requests.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Neither vendor publishes whether its product is open source or self-hostable, so plan on using the hosted services unless the vendors confirm otherwise. Apify provides cloud infrastructure for deployment, proxies, monitoring, and data processing. Its platform centers on Actors, including marketplace tools and custom deployments; Actor-specific inputs and outputs can make replacing a workflow require adapting code.
Apify says users can export scraped data, which gives you a way to retain collected results outside the platform. SerpApi returns structured JSON or Markdown, so applications can store responses independently, but consumers still depend on the fields and formats their code expects. The vendors do not describe a shared response schema or migration path. Before committing, check how your own pipeline stores outputs and how much code depends on product-specific Actor behavior or search-result fields.
Questions people ask
Is Apify or SerpApi better for web scraping?
Apify is built around ready-made and custom Actors for collecting web data across sites such as social media, maps, and e-commerce. SerpApi focuses on structured search-engine results and related APIs. For broad, customized collection, compare Apify Actors; for search-result data, SerpApi is the closer fit.
Can Apify replace SerpApi?
They overlap in some data-collection workflows, but their core interfaces differ. Apify runs Actors that collect and export data; SerpApi provides APIs for search results and related data. Replacing one with the other depends on whether an Actor returns the search fields and coverage your application requires.
Which is cheaper, Apify or SerpApi?
It depends on the workload. SerpApi starts at $25 monthly for 1,000 searches, while Apify Starter is $19 monthly with prepaid usage and compute-unit charges. Apify costs change with compute and resources; SerpApi plans set monthly search and hourly throughput caps, so compare your expected usage against both.
Can I self-host Apify or SerpApi?
The vendors do not publish self-hosting options in their product materials. Apify describes cloud infrastructure for running Actors, and SerpApi describes a hosted API. If self-hosting is a requirement, ask each vendor directly before designing around either service.