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It's a split decision.
Choose YepAPI for one usage-billed API key across SEO, scraping, social and commerce data, and 285 AI models. Its pricing page lists calls from $0.01, no monthly fees and no rate limits. Choose Oxylabs for a broader web-data stack: live search, structured scraping, proxies and a hosted MCP Server, with monthly plans that bundle product quotas. Both offer $5 in credits, but their pricing models and product scope differ.
01Side by side
| YepAPI | Oxylabs | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Pay per call; no subscriptions or monthly minimums | Monthly plans bundle quotas; top-ups available |
| Free tier | $5 signup credit; no card required | $5 welcome credits toward any product |
| API and SDKs | Shared key, JSON responses across multiple data categories | Web API combines live search and structured extraction |
| CLI and docs | Docs, llms.txt and agent-readable prompt | Web API product information and agent instructions |
| Integrations | Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, MCP server and agent skills | Remote MCP Server and Agent Skills |
| Deployment model | API access; self-hosting option not published | Hosted Web API, MCP Server and proxy infrastructure |
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Limits and scaling | No rate limits; pay for usage | Monthly quotas scale across five listed plans |
YepAPI Choose YepAPI if
- Choose YepAPI if you want one key for several data categories.
- Choose YepAPI if you prefer per-call billing without monthly minimums.
- Choose YepAPI if your agents use Claude Code, Cursor or Codex.
Oxylabs Choose Oxylabs if
- Choose Oxylabs if you need search, scraping and proxies in one stack.
- Choose Oxylabs if monthly product quotas fit your usage forecasts.
- Choose Oxylabs if agents need its hosted MCP Server and Agent Skills.
02Pricing at real usage
YepAPI lists a $5 signup credit, with no card required, subscriptions or monthly minimums. Its pricing is usage-based: the homepage lists Google SERP and web scraping at $0.01 per call, and keyword overview from $0.03 per call. The price depends on the endpoint or model; failed calls are not charged, and the pricing facts list no rate limits.
Oxylabs lists $5 in Welcome credits at $0 per month. Paid Starter is $15 per month, with up to 5.6K searches, 10K scrape results, 0.8 GB of residential proxies and 0.7 GB of Web Unblocker. Basic is $100, Flexible $500, and Enterprise starts at $2,500 per month, each with larger quotas. Top-ups are available at listed product rates. Compare expected calls and quota use: YepAPI bills each request, while Oxylabs plans bundle monthly allowances.
03API, SDKs and integration
YepAPI exposes endpoints such as POST /v1/seo/keywords/overview, POST /v1/serp/google and POST /v1/scrape. The homepage shows JSON request and response examples and says one API key works across endpoints and models. Its docs and llms.txt are intended to help AI agents generate calls. The homepage names Claude Code, Cursor and Codex, plus an MCP server and agent skills. It does not name language-specific SDKs or a CLI.
Oxylabs presents its Web API as one interface for live search and structured extraction. Its homepage lists a hosted remote MCP Server and Agent Skills for connecting agents to endpoints. Neither homepage names language-specific SDKs or a CLI, so developers should confirm SDK availability and language support before choosing an implementation path. The integration decision is therefore less about a named client library and more about the API surface: YepAPI spans SEO, scraping, social, commerce and AI models; Oxylabs combines search and extraction with proxy and browser products.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Neither vendor publishes an open-source license, self-hosting option or data-export path on its homepage. Treat both as hosted services in your architecture, and ask each vendor about data retention, export formats and migration support before sending production workloads.
The integration work differs. YepAPI uses one key and a consistent JSON response format across its endpoints and models, but moving away would still mean replacing endpoint calls and mapping responses to another provider’s schemas. Oxylabs spans a Web API, MCP Server, proxy products and Agent Browser, so replacement may involve more components and their associated settings. Keep provider-specific calls behind internal interfaces, store normalized records in your own systems, and avoid making either vendor’s response shape your application’s permanent data model.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper for a small API workload?
YepAPI may cost less for a small, irregular workload because it bills per call and lists no monthly minimums; Google SERP and scraping start at $0.01 per call. Oxylabs offers $5 in Welcome credits, then its Starter plan is $15 per month. Compare the calls or quotas your workload actually needs.
Does YepAPI have rate limits?
YepAPI’s pricing facts list no rate limits, and say failed calls are not charged. That does not establish guaranteed throughput or a service-level commitment. For production traffic, confirm concurrency, request timeouts and any endpoint-specific constraints in the docs or with YepAPI.
Can I connect either product to AI agents?
Yes. YepAPI lists an MCP server, agent skills and integrations with Claude Code, Cursor and Codex. Oxylabs lists a hosted remote MCP Server and Agent Skills for access to its endpoints. Check each vendor’s docs for the endpoints and operations exposed through its agent interfaces.
Do either vendor offer self-hosting?
Neither vendor publishes a self-hosting option on its homepage. The described products are API and hosted-service offerings, including Oxylabs’ remote MCP Server. If data residency or running components inside your own network is a requirement, ask the vendor about deployment options before integrating.