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Most buyers should pick YepAPI.
Choose YepAPI if one usage-billed API key for SEO, scraping, social and e-commerce data, and AI models fits your stack. Its listed Google SERP price starts at $0.01 per call, and failed calls are not charged. Choose SearchApi for a dedicated real-time SERP API, coordinate-level geo-targeting and monthly search tiers with a listed 99.9% SLA on several plans. The products overlap on search results, but they are not equivalent: SearchApi’s scope is narrower, while YepAPI combines multiple services.
01Side by side
| YepAPI | SearchApi | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Pay per call; no subscription or monthly minimum | Monthly tiers, from $40 for 10,000 searches |
| Free tier | $5 signup credit; no card required | 100 free requests; no card required |
| API and SDKs | One key; JSON across endpoints and models | Google search endpoint returns parsed JSON |
| CLI and docs | Docs, llms.txt, MCP server and agent skills | API docs and a cURL request example |
| Integrations | Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, MCP | cURL example; no named integrations |
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Limits and scaling | No rate limits listed; failed calls uncharged | Monthly search quotas; throughput varies by plan |
| Product scope | SEO, scraping, social, commerce and 285 AI models | Real-time search results, including Google |
YepAPI Choose YepAPI if
- Choose YepAPI if you need SEO, scraping and SERPs under one API key.
- Choose YepAPI if you also need social, commerce or AI model endpoints.
- Choose YepAPI if metered billing without a monthly subscription suits your workload.
SearchApi Choose SearchApi if
- Choose SearchApi if your application primarily retrieves Google search results.
- Choose SearchApi if coordinate-level geo-targeting is a requirement.
- Choose SearchApi if monthly search quotas and listed SLA terms fit your planning.
02Pricing at real usage
YepAPI offers $5 in signup credit, requires no card, and has no subscription or monthly minimum. Its pricing page lists Google SERP calls at $0.01 per call; the homepage lists web scraping at $0.01 per call. Other endpoints have their own metered prices. Failed calls are not charged, and the pricing page says there are no rate limits. SearchApi offers 100 free requests without a card. Its Developer Plan is $40 per month for 10,000 searches ($4 per 1,000). Listed tiers rise to $100 for 35,000, $250 for 100,000, and $500 for 250,000 searches. Larger plans go from $900 for 500,000 searches to $5,000 for 5 million. That lowers the listed per-thousand rate as volume grows. The pages do not specify overage charges, so confirm what happens when a monthly quota is exhausted.
03API, SDKs and integration
YepAPI presents a shared API key and consistent JSON response format across its SEO, SERP, scraping, social, commerce and model endpoints. The homepage shows POST calls such as /v1/seo/keywords/overview, /v1/serp/google and /v1/scrape. Its docs include an llms.txt file, and the homepage points to an MCP server and agent skills for Claude Code, Cursor and Codex. SearchApi shows a cURL request to https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search, with engine=google and a query parameter; its response is parsed JSON. The homepage links to API documentation. Neither homepage names language-specific SDKs, so teams should plan around the documented API interface unless the vendor confirms an SDK. The examples establish how to make requests, but do not establish identical schemas or drop-in compatibility. Test required fields and response handling against each service’s endpoint docs before switching.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Neither vendor publishes an open-source license or self-hosting option on its homepage. Both products are presented as web APIs, so teams should treat the vendors as external service dependencies unless they confirm otherwise. The products return JSON, but that alone does not make them interchangeable: YepAPI spans multiple endpoint families, while SearchApi focuses on search results, and their request and response shapes differ. SearchApi’s example response includes html_url and json_url references for a search. That is not a general data-export guarantee. The vendors do not publish data-export or migration procedures on their homepages. Before committing, ask how long responses and account data are retained, whether you can export stored results, and what happens to access when an account closes. Keep your own copies of records your application must retain, and isolate vendor-specific request and response handling behind an adapter.
Questions people ask
Is YepAPI a direct replacement for SearchApi?
Only for overlapping SERP use cases. Both offer search-result data as an API, but SearchApi is focused on real-time SERPs, while YepAPI also covers SEO metrics, scraping, social and commerce data, and AI models. Compare the exact endpoint, fields, and geographic targeting your application needs before migrating.
Which service is cheaper for Google search requests?
YepAPI lists Google SERP calls at $0.01 per call, with no monthly minimum. SearchApi’s Developer Plan is $40 per month for 10,000 searches, or $4 per 1,000 at that tier. SearchApi’s listed per-search price falls at larger tiers. Compare expected volume and quota behavior, not just the starting rate.
Do both APIs offer free requests?
Yes. YepAPI offers $5 in signup credit and says no card is required. SearchApi offers 100 free requests without a credit card. These are different forms of free access: estimate how many calls your test workflow needs and check each vendor’s current signup terms.
Can I self-host either service or use an official SDK?
The vendors do not publish self-hosting options or language-specific SDK names on their homepages. YepAPI points to API docs, an llms.txt file, an MCP server and agent skills. SearchApi links API documentation and shows a cURL example. Confirm SDK and hosting availability with the vendors.