{
  "data": {
    "a": {
      "slug": "searchapi-io",
      "name": "SearchAPI.io",
      "vendor": "SearchApi",
      "vendorUrl": "https://www.searchapi.io",
      "kind": "http-api",
      "category": "search",
      "summary": "SERP scraping API returning parsed JSON from Google and its verticals, Bing, Baidu, Yandex, DuckDuckGo, YouTube, Amazon, TikTok, ad libraries and travel sites, over 150 engine endpoints behind one GET URL.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/searchapi-io",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/searchapi-io.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/searchapi-io.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/searchapi-io.json",
      "transports": [
        "http",
        "streamable-http"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search",
      "packages": [],
      "auth": "mixed",
      "authNotes": "API key as the `api_key` query parameter or `Authorization: Bearer`. The hosted MCP uses OAuth in the browser, or an `X-MCP-Token` header for programmatic clients.",
      "pricing": "freemium",
      "pricingNotes": "100 free requests on signup, no card. Developer $40 a month for 10,000 searches ($4 per 1,000), Production $100 for 35,000, BigData $250 for 100,000, Scale $500 for 250,000, Octo tiers from $900 for 500,000 down to $1 per 1,000 at 5M. Only successful (HTTP 200) searches are charged (https://www.searchapi.io/pricing).",
      "priceSummary": "$4 / 1k req",
      "where": "hosted",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "No x402 on pricing, docs or MCP pages (checked 2026-09-30).",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": null,
        "npmWeekly": null,
        "pypiWeekly": null,
        "asOf": "2026-09-30"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://www.searchapi.io/docs/google",
      "openapi": "https://www.searchapi.io/openapi/google.yaml",
      "registryName": "io.searchapi/mcp",
      "capabilities": [
        "web.search",
        "search.serp",
        "search.news",
        "search.images"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "hosted",
        "freemium",
        "no-card",
        "mcp",
        "closed-source"
      ],
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 51.4,
        "grade": "D",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 351,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 452,
        "categoryRank": 10,
        "methodology": "0.3",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 52,
          "maintenance": 15,
          "payments": 30,
          "reliability": 90,
          "schema": 59,
          "security": 28,
          "transparency": 62
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-01"
        },
        "negative": 0,
        "verdict": "99.9% SLA on every plan and no incidents on the status page since August. MCP exposes over 100 tools with no toolsets.",
        "strengths": [
          "99.9% SLA on every plan and no incidents on the status page since August",
          "Only HTTP 200 searches are billed",
          "$4 per 1,000 on the entry plan, falling to $1 at 5 million a month",
          "Over 150 engine endpoints, including ad libraries, TikTok and travel sites",
          "OpenAPI 3.0 for the Google engine with typed enums"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "MCP exposes over 100 tools with no toolsets",
          "API key accepted as `api_key` in the query string, and the registry entry puts the MCP token in the URL",
          "No changelog, no llms.txt and no official SDKs",
          "No x402 and no per-call option. Every account starts with a browser signup",
          "Returns SERP snippets only, and no prompt-injection guidance for scraped AI answers"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Send the key as `Authorization: Bearer`, not `api_key=` in the URL",
          "Connect the MCP through OAuth or the `X-MCP-Token` header, not the registry's `?token=` URL",
          "Call the REST API with `engine=` when context is tight. The MCP loads over 100 tool definitions",
          "Page Google results with `page`. `num` is fixed at 10",
          "Pace bursts. One hour can use at most 20 per cent of the plan's monthly searches"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 2,
        "avgRating": 3,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "D",
            "methodology": "0.3",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 51.4
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 52,
          "maintenance": 15,
          "payments": 30,
          "reliability": 90,
          "schema": 59,
          "security": 28,
          "transparency": 48
        },
        "provenanceScore": 76
      },
      "connect": {
        "http": "curl -G https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search -H \"Authorization: Bearer $SEARCHAPI_API_KEY\" -d engine=google --data-urlencode \"q=chatgpt\"",
        "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http searchapi https://www.searchapi.io/mcp"
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/web.search",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/searchapi-io"
      },
      "area": "web-data",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Developer plan, per 1,000 searches",
          "unit": "1k-requests",
          "usd": 4,
          "note": "10,000 searches for $40 a month"
        },
        {
          "item": "Developer plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 40,
          "note": "10,000 searches"
        },
        {
          "item": "Production plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 100,
          "note": "35,000 searches, includes Legal Protection Guarantee"
        },
        {
          "item": "BigData plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 250,
          "note": "100,000 searches"
        },
        {
          "item": "Scale plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 500,
          "note": "250,000 searches"
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "SearchApi, LLC",
        "domain": "searchapi.io",
        "domainRegistered": "2017-12-13",
        "domainNote": "Registered in 2017 and transferred on 2022-05-26.",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "https://www.searchapi.io/legal/terms",
        "privacy": "https://www.searchapi.io/legal/privacy",
        "statusPage": "https://status.searchapi.io",
        "changelog": "",
        "securityTxt": "none",
        "checked": "2026-09-30",
        "score": 76
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/searchapi-io.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "searchapi-io",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-10-05T03:17:32.67524836Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 401,
          "lastMs": 121,
          "lastNote": "asks for credentials",
          "authRequired": true,
          "uptime24h": 100,
          "uptime30d": 100,
          "p50ms24h": 111,
          "p95ms24h": 261,
          "samples24h": 273,
          "samples30d": 1140,
          "days": [
            {
              "date": "2026-09-30",
              "probes": 35,
              "ok": 35
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-01",
              "probes": 276,
              "ok": 276
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-02",
              "probes": 248,
              "ok": 248
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-03",
              "probes": 271,
              "ok": 271
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-04",
              "probes": 272,
              "ok": 272
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-05",
              "probes": 38,
              "ok": 38
            }
          ]
        },
        "vendorStatus": {
          "page": "https://status.searchapi.io",
          "indicator": "unknown",
          "summary": "no machine-readable status found",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T21:40:28.607098613Z"
        },
        "versions": [
          {
            "registry": "mcp-registry",
            "name": "io.searchapi/mcp",
            "version": "1.0.0",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T23:42:40.113054682Z"
          }
        ],
        "securityTxt": {
          "url": "https://searchapi.io/.well-known/security.txt",
          "state": "none",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:15:59.936201596Z"
        },
        "domain": {
          "domain": "searchapi.io",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:07:29.137009821Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://www.searchapi.io/pricing",
            "kind": "pricing",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:52:17.446104265Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-02T15:28:20.315693963Z",
            "fingerprint": "3be8bb617e50"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://www.searchapi.io/legal/privacy",
            "kind": "privacy",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:52:12.801220906Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-02T15:28:15.609308863Z",
            "fingerprint": "e5068628eb11"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://www.searchapi.io/legal/terms",
            "kind": "terms",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:52:15.401485994Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-02T15:28:18.274981242Z",
            "fingerprint": "6c89ffbef6cb"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-05T03:17:32.67524836Z"
      }
    },
    "b": {
      "slug": "serpapi",
      "name": "SerpApi",
      "vendor": "SerpApi",
      "vendorUrl": "https://serpapi.com",
      "kind": "http-api",
      "category": "search",
      "summary": "Scrapes live results pages from Google, Bing, Baidu, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Amazon, YouTube and about 20 other engines and returns them as parsed JSON or markdown.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpapi",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpapi.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpapi.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/serpapi.json",
      "transports": [
        "http",
        "streamable-http",
        "stdio"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://serpapi.com/search",
      "packages": [
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "serpapi"
        },
        {
          "registry": "pypi",
          "name": "serpapi"
        }
      ],
      "auth": "api-key",
      "authNotes": "API key as the `api_key` query parameter on every request. The hosted MCP takes `Authorization: Bearer \u003ckey\u003e` or the key in the URL path (`/\u003ckey\u003e/mcp`) for clients that can't set headers.",
      "pricing": "freemium",
      "pricingNotes": "Free plan 250 searches a month (50 an hour). Starter $25 a month for 1,000 searches, Developer $75 for 5,000, Production $150 for 15,000, Big Data $275 for 30,000, Searcher $725 for 100,000, then Cloud tiers from $3,750 for 1M. Only successful searches count, cached and failed ones are free, and a response with 100 results is still one search. Ludicrous Speed doubles the price, Ludicrous Speed Max quadruples it (https://serpapi.com/pricing).",
      "priceSummary": "$25 / 1k req",
      "where": "both",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "No x402 in llms.txt, pricing or integrations pages (checked 2026-09-30).",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": 3,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": 175,
        "npmWeekly": 168618,
        "pypiWeekly": 104227,
        "asOf": "2026-09-30"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://serpapi.com/search-api",
      "llmsTxt": "https://serpapi.com/llms.txt",
      "registryName": "io.github.serpapi/serpapi-mcp",
      "capabilities": [
        "web.search",
        "search.serp",
        "search.news",
        "search.images"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "hosted",
        "freemium",
        "mcp",
        "llms-txt",
        "python",
        "typescript",
        "closed-source"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2026-09-22",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 62.6,
        "grade": "B",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 216,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 452,
        "categoryRank": 8,
        "methodology": "0.3",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 88,
          "maintenance": 82,
          "payments": 30,
          "reliability": 60,
          "schema": 67,
          "security": 40,
          "transparency": 85
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-01"
        },
        "negative": 0,
        "verdict": "Over 100 engines behind one GET URL, with `json_restrictor` field selection and `output=md`. 25 incidents on the status feed from July to 1 October 2026, including an outage across all APIs on 10 September.",
        "strengths": [
          "Over 100 engines behind one GET URL, with `json_restrictor` field selection and `output=md`",
          "Failed, errored and cached searches aren't billed, and the cache lasts 1 hour",
          "Terms promise a 99.95% SLA on all plans",
          "SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 listed on the security page, 31-day data retention stated twice",
          "Hosted MCP server in the official registry, with read-only tool annotations"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "25 incidents on the status feed from July to 1 October 2026, including an outage across all APIs on 10 September",
          "REST auth is the `api_key` query parameter, with no header option documented",
          "No OpenAPI spec, and the MCP `search` tool takes a free-form `params` object",
          "Monthly plans only, from $25 for 1,000 searches, with no pay-per-call or machine payment",
          "No prompt-injection guidance for the snippets it returns"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Use the MCP with `Authorization: Bearer`, not the key-in-path URL the README leads with",
          "Read `serpapi://engines/\u003cengine\u003e` before calling a new engine, since `params` isn't typed",
          "Add `json_restrictor` or `output=md` to cut tokens, and `mode: compact` on the MCP",
          "A 429 means either the hourly limit or an empty balance. Check the account before retrying",
          "Repeat a search within the hour and the cached copy is free. Set `no_cache=true` only when freshness matters"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 2,
        "avgRating": 3.5,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "B",
            "methodology": "0.3",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 62.6
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 88,
          "maintenance": 82,
          "payments": 30,
          "reliability": 60,
          "schema": 67,
          "security": 40,
          "transparency": 70
        },
        "provenanceScore": 100
      },
      "connect": {
        "http": "curl -G https://serpapi.com/search --data-urlencode \"q=coffee\" -d engine=google -d api_key=$SERPAPI_API_KEY",
        "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http serpapi https://mcp.serpapi.com/mcp --header \"Authorization: Bearer $SERPAPI_API_KEY\"",
        "config": {
          "mcpServers": {
            "serpapi": {
              "headers": {
                "Authorization": "Bearer ${SERPAPI_API_KEY}"
              },
              "type": "http",
              "url": "https://mcp.serpapi.com/mcp"
            }
          }
        }
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/web.search",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/serpapi"
      },
      "area": "web-data",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Starter plan, per 1,000 searches",
          "unit": "1k-requests",
          "usd": 25,
          "note": "1,000 searches for $25 a month"
        },
        {
          "item": "Starter plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 25,
          "note": "1,000 searches"
        },
        {
          "item": "Developer plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 75,
          "note": "5,000 searches"
        },
        {
          "item": "Production plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 150,
          "note": "15,000 searches, includes Legal Shield"
        },
        {
          "item": "Big Data plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 275,
          "note": "30,000 searches"
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "SerpApi, LLC",
        "domain": "serpapi.com",
        "domainRegistered": "2016-07-27",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "https://serpapi.com/legal",
        "privacy": "https://serpapi.com/legal",
        "statusPage": "https://status.serpapi.com",
        "changelog": "https://serpapi.com/release-notes",
        "securityTxt": "valid",
        "checked": "2026-09-30",
        "notes": [
          "Terms and privacy policy share one page. The entity is a Texas LLC at 1632 S 1st St, Austin"
        ],
        "score": 100
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpapi.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "serpapi",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://serpapi.com/search",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-10-05T03:17:32.768170213Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 401,
          "lastMs": 121,
          "lastNote": "asks for credentials",
          "authRequired": true,
          "uptime24h": 100,
          "uptime30d": 100,
          "p50ms24h": 122,
          "p95ms24h": 161,
          "samples24h": 273,
          "samples30d": 1140,
          "days": [
            {
              "date": "2026-09-30",
              "probes": 35,
              "ok": 35
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-01",
              "probes": 276,
              "ok": 276
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-02",
              "probes": 248,
              "ok": 248
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-03",
              "probes": 271,
              "ok": 271
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-04",
              "probes": 272,
              "ok": 272
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-05",
              "probes": 38,
              "ok": 38
            }
          ]
        },
        "vendorStatus": {
          "page": "https://status.serpapi.com",
          "indicator": "minor",
          "summary": "Partially Degraded Service",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T03:19:17.611372963Z"
        },
        "versions": [
          {
            "registry": "mcp-registry",
            "name": "io.github.serpapi/serpapi-mcp",
            "version": "2.0.0",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T23:42:40.113054682Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "npm",
            "name": "serpapi",
            "version": "2.2.1",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:39:46.767306834Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "pypi",
            "name": "serpapi",
            "version": "1.1.2",
            "released": "2026-09-22",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:39:47.563060356Z"
          }
        ],
        "npmWeekly": 179483,
        "pypiWeekly": 98760,
        "securityTxt": {
          "url": "https://serpapi.com/.well-known/security.txt",
          "state": "valid",
          "expires": "2027-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:16:05.776295986Z"
        },
        "llmsTxt": {
          "url": "https://serpapi.com/llms.txt",
          "ok": true,
          "status": 200,
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:18:13.725747382Z"
        },
        "domain": {
          "domain": "serpapi.com",
          "registered": "2016-07-27",
          "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/serpapi.com",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:07:58.738158184Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://serpapi.com/release-notes",
            "kind": "changelog",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:47:46.72146268Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-04T15:47:46.72146268Z",
            "fingerprint": "c2f31ad37222"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://serpapi.com/pricing",
            "kind": "pricing",
            "status": 304,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:47:44.749973052Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "30dfa765089d"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://serpapi.com/legal",
            "kind": "terms",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:47:42.707883837Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-04T15:47:42.707883837Z",
            "fingerprint": "60e86363a7be"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-05T03:19:17.611372963Z"
      }
    },
    "summary": "SerpApi has a score of 62.6 (B) against SearchAPI.io's 51.4 (D). Both do web search. The largest gap is maintenance \u0026 community, 67 points."
  },
  "kind": "anchor.page",
  "links": {
    "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json",
    "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpapi",
    "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpapi.json",
    "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt",
    "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpapi.md",
    "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpapi.min.md"
  },
  "markdown": "SerpApi has a score of 62.6 (B) against SearchAPI.io's 51.4 (D). Both do web search. The largest gap is maintenance \u0026 community, 67 points.\n\n- SearchAPI.io: grade D, 51.4/100, rank #351 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/searchapi-io.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/searchapi-io.json\n- SerpApi: grade B, 62.6/100, rank #216 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpapi.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/serpapi.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\nPick SearchAPI.io for reliability (+30).\n\nPick SerpApi for schema \u0026 documentation (+8), agent ergonomics (+36), security \u0026 auth (+12), maintenance \u0026 community (+67), transparency \u0026 trust (+23).\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | SearchAPI.io | SerpApi | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 90 | 60 | SearchAPI.io +30 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 59 | 67 | SerpApi +8 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 52 | 88 | SerpApi +36 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 28 | 40 | SerpApi +12 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 30 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 15 | 82 | SerpApi +67 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 62 | 85 | SerpApi +23 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **51.4 · D** | **62.6 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | SearchAPI.io | SerpApi |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | SearchApi | SerpApi |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search` | `https://serpapi.com/search` |\n| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | none | none |\n| Tools exposed | none | 3 |\n| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |\n| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |\n| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| MCP registry | `io.searchapi/mcp` | `io.github.serpapi/serpapi-mcp` |\n| Last release | none | 2026-09-22 |\n| Popularity | none | 175 stars, 169k npm/wk, 104k PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | 3.5/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**SearchAPI.io.** 99.9% SLA on every plan and no incidents on the status page since August. MCP exposes over 100 tools with no toolsets.\n\n**SerpApi.** Over 100 engines behind one GET URL, with `json_restrictor` field selection and `output=md`. 25 incidents on the status feed from July to 1 October 2026, including an outage across all APIs on 10 September.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### SearchAPI.io\n\n1. Send the key as `Authorization: Bearer`, not `api_key=` in the URL\n2. Connect the MCP through OAuth or the `X-MCP-Token` header, not the registry's `?token=` URL\n3. Call the REST API with `engine=` when context is tight. The MCP loads over 100 tool definitions\n4. Page Google results with `page`. `num` is fixed at 10\n5. Pace bursts. One hour can use at most 20 per cent of the plan's monthly searches\n\n### SerpApi\n\n1. Use the MCP with `Authorization: Bearer`, not the key-in-path URL the README leads with\n2. Read `serpapi://engines/\u003cengine\u003e` before calling a new engine, since `params` isn't typed\n3. Add `json_restrictor` or `output=md` to cut tokens, and `mode: compact` on the MCP\n4. A 429 means either the hourly limit or an empty balance. Check the account before retrying\n5. Repeat a search within the hour and the cached copy is free. Set `no_cache=true` only when freshness matters\n\n## Other comparisons with SearchAPI.io or SerpApi\n\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-searchapi-io.md)\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-searchapi-io.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [Firecrawl MCP vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-searchapi-io.md)\n- [Firecrawl MCP vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [Linkup vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-searchapi-io.md)\n- [Linkup vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [Parallel Search and Task APIs vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-searchapi-io.md)\n- [Parallel Search and Task APIs vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serper.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-tavily-mcp.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-valyu.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [SerpApi vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-serper.md)\n- [SerpApi vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-tavily-mcp.md)\n- [SerpApi vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-valyu.md)\n- [SerpApi vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-you-com-api.md)\n",
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    "description": "SerpApi has a score of 62.6 (B) against SearchAPI.io's 51.4 (D). Both do web search. The largest gap is maintenance \u0026 community, 67 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.",
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    "title": "SearchAPI.io vs SerpApi for AI agents, D 51.4 vs B 62.6",
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