Head to head · Search serp · October 2026 research run
SERPHouse vs SerpKite
SerpKite scores 67.6 (B) on agent readiness against SERPHouse's 42.4 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do search serp.
Best web search APIs for AI agents · All 308 search comparisons
Which one, for what
Best for Low-cost Google, Bing and Yahoo result parsing for SEO and rank tracking, with many Google verticals.
Also in its favour
- Runs on your own machine
- No incidents deducted, where SerpKite loses 3 points for them
Watch for
The hosted MCP server takes the API key only in its URL path, and the REST API also accepts api_token in the query string
SerpKite B
Best for Agents that want Google results and the top pages as Markdown in one call at a low per-1,000 price, with spend caps per key.
Ahead on
- Reliability, 75 against 40
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 66
- Agent ergonomics, 97 against 64
- Security & auth, 37 against 11
- Maintenance & community, 80 against 23
- Transparency & trust, 77 against 50
Watch for
Launched 29 September 2026 by a sole trader, with status monitoring only since 2 October
Why the edge
Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.
Maintenance & community SerpKite +57
SERPHouse 23
Read for a closed service, with its repositories read as code. No changelog or dated API change was found. The newest release is MCP server 1.1.0 on 6 July 2026, 123 days before 6 November, and the last commit in its repository was on 22 July (10). No release or dated change in the 90 days from 8 August; the about page's 2026 entry (Forums, Place Details and Scraper APIs) is undated (0). No changelog; support by email. Issues weren't read, since the GitHub API refused us for its rate limit (5 of 25). Not in the official MCP registry, though the repository's server.json names io.github.SERPHouse/serphouse-mcp. Node.js SDK last changed 24 June 2026, PHP SDK 10 May 2024, and no Python SDK repository was found under the SERPHouse organisation (5 of 15). The MCP repository has an npm publish workflow and no tests (3 of 10). 10 + 0 + 5 + 5 + 3 = 23.
SerpKite 80
Closed service read with the API lines. The newest API changelog entries are dated 1 November 2026 (API 1.12.7) (30). 31 dated changelog entries from 9 October to 1 November, among them API 1.6.0 to 1.12.7 and SDKs 0.8.0 and 0.8.1 (20). Public changelog, support@serpkite.com and a Discord link. The SDK repositories are mirrors of a private monorepo and we couldn't see issues or replies (8). In the official MCP registry under the GitHub-verified namespace io.github.SerpKite, per the 5 October check, with current official SDKs in three languages (15). The SDK repositories run typecheck, tests and build in CI, but we couldn't see run results (7). 30+20+8+15+7 = 80.
Reliability SerpKite +35
SERPHouse 40
Read with the hosted lines. No status page is linked from the site or docs, and status.serphouse.com did not answer on 6 November 2026 (0). No readable incident history (5). Rate limits published, 60 requests a minute and 60 concurrent on every self-serve plan (15). 429 is documented as 'slow down', and a 200 can carry "status": "error" with 'Please try again', with no Retry-After or backoff guidance. Failed requests aren't charged (5 of 15). The pricing page lists a 99.99% uptime SLA on Basic and Regular and the docs a 99.95% one, but no SLA terms or credits were found in the terms (5 of 10). Generally available (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 5 + 5 + 10 = 40.
SerpKite 75
Hosted API, read with the hosted lines. Better Stack status page at status.serpkite.com with four monitors (api.serpkite.com/healthz, dashboard API, dashboard, website) and daily bars (20). Monitoring began on 2 October 2026, so the record covers 31 days of the 90 from 4 August. The page's own figures give 99.978 per cent uptime over 30 days for the API health monitor and 99.971 for the dashboard API, the 5 October check saw 29 to 41 minutes of downtime on each monitor on 2 October and 19 seconds on 3 October, and the feed has never carried an incident post. No outage reached an hour. A readable record shorter than 90 days with nothing major scores 15, as this run settled for short records. Rate limits published per key, 5 to 100 requests a second by pack (15). 429 rate_limited with Retry-After, backoff guidance for 429 and 503, and Idempotency-Key on batch creation (15). The terms say self-serve plans have no uptime guarantee and an enterprise SLA sits in a separate agreement we couldn't read (0). v1 API with no beta or preview label (10). 20+15+15+15+0+10 = 75.
Agent ergonomics SerpKite +33
SERPHouse 64
23 MCP tools with no toolsets or filtering (15 of 25). num_result, max_pages, paging, device, location, language, date and video filters (16 of 20). Status codes are tabulated, but a 200 can also mean an error and the body carries only 'Please try again' (10 of 20). Searches only read and failed requests aren't charged, but the MCP tools carry no readOnlyHint or other annotations (10 of 20). serphouse_search needs only q and defaults to the US; most other tools need loc or loc_id. Official Node.js, PHP and Python SDKs are documented (13 of 15). 15 + 16 + 10 + 10 + 13 = 64.
SerpKite 97
format=markdown or compact, fields projection, num and an X-Tokens-Estimate header size REST responses. The MCP server now has 23 tools with no toolsets or read-only subset we could find (22). page, num up to 100, country, language, location, time, domain include, exclude and boost, date bounds, highlights and max_tokens on extract (20). Stable error codes with a retry column, and errors are never billed (20). Searches are read-only, failed and empty calls are refunded, and batch creation takes Idempotency-Key. Since 9 October 2026 the changelog says every MCP tool carries readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint and openWorldHint, with all read-only except crawl, and on 2 November the MCP page says every tool is read-only except crawl and research, which start paid tasks, and none is destructive (20). Only q or url is required, and official SDKs exist for TypeScript, Python and Go with retries built in (15). 22+20+20+20+15 = 97.
Transparency & trust SerpKite +27
SERPHouse 50
Closed service under terms naming Patoliya Infotech LLP in India, and the MCP server is MIT (18 of 30). The terms give retention periods (JSON results up to 6 months, HTML up to 1 month, search history indefinitely) and say personal data sits on DigitalOcean in India, and they advise EEA users not to use the service. The privacy policy is generic and neither document carries a date (15 of 30). No deprecation policy, and the terms allow products to be discontinued without notice (0 of 20). DigitalOcean in India named for account data; no sub-processor list (6 of 20). 18 + 15 + 0 + 6 = 39.
SerpKite 77
Closed API under terms that name the operator, an Ontario address and governing law, with the SDKs and the MCP connection repository MIT (18). The privacy policy, DPA page, retention doc and security page agree that query text of successful requests isn't logged, usage metadata lasts 31 days and batch results 24 hours. On 26 October failed and empty requests began keeping their query for 24 hours, and the changelog says the privacy policy, terms and DPA were updated the same day (27). The terms promise 30 days' notice before removing an endpoint, with exceptions for changes forced by a third party. AI Overview, AI Mode and Lens were removed in the first week without notice under that exception, and the reviews limit of 16 October came the same way, while a batch price change for 23 November 2026 was announced ahead (14). Subprocessors named with purpose and location, including Contabo in Germany, Cloudflare, Paddle, Resend, PostHog EU and Better Stack, with 30 days' notice of changes (20).
Security & auth SerpKite +26
SERPHouse 11
One key per account, one account per user, no scopes or rotation found (10). The REST API documents api_token in the query string and the hosted MCP server takes the key only in its URL path, less 10 (0 of 30). Searches only read, with no read-only or restricted key (8 of 20). Results are third-party snippets and AI Overview text, with no prompt-injection guidance (0). An account tool shows plan and credit usage; no per-call log was found (3 of 15). No security.txt (404), disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found (0 of 20). 0 + 8 + 0 + 3 + 0 = 11.
SerpKite 37
Many keys per account, each revocable and rotatable with an optional monthly credit limit, stored as SHA-256 hashes, with no scopes. Since 9 October the MCP server also takes OAuth (authorisation code with PKCE, dynamic client registration, rotating refresh tokens, one mcp scope), each connection running as a named, revocable API key, while REST still needs a key (20). The docs allow the key as ?api_key= on GET requests (minus 10). Search is read-only, and per-key limits and an account spend cap bound cost, but there's no read-only key, and the MCP server exposes crawl alongside search with no confirmation step we could see (10). Results include third-party snippets and full page Markdown, and we found no prompt-injection guidance (0). The dashboard request log keeps per-call metadata (endpoint, status, credits, key) for 31 days with CSV export, and each key records who created it (12). security.txt returns 404. The security page has a disclosure policy with acknowledgement in 2 business days, no paid bug bounty and SOC 2 marked as not yet started (5).
Schema & documentation SerpKite +24
SERPHouse 66
No OpenAPI or similar contract for the REST API. The MCP server's tools carry typed Zod schemas, published in the source and a static server card (18 of 25). llms.txt at the site and the docs, and every docs page as Markdown (10). MCP tool descriptions say which tool to use for what, such as serphouse_google_web when device or num_result is needed, while the docs pages lead with marketing lines such as 'Unlock captivating Google video content' (12 of 20). Enums for device, SERP type, engine and video duration, defaults and 37 described parameters (11 of 15). A status code table and request examples per engine, with a generic error body (12 of 15). No changelog or API versioning; only the MCP server has tags (3 of 15). 18 + 10 + 12 + 11 + 12 + 3 = 66.
SerpKite 90
Public OpenAPI 3.1 spec (version 1.12.7 on 2 November 2026, 41 paths and 47 operations) at serpkite.com/openapi/serp-api.yaml (25). llms.txt, llms-full.txt and a Markdown twin of every docs page (10). Endpoint descriptions state purpose and when to use them, and the guides cover which tool to pick. The MCP tool definitions aren't public and tools/list needs a key, so we read the MCP docs table and the matching descriptions in the MIT AI SDK package, which state purpose and some when-to-use lines but not when not to (12). Typed parameters with 64 enums in the spec, documented ranges and strict validation that rejects unknown parameters with a 400 naming the replacement. We couldn't confirm the MCP JSON Schemas (13). curl, TypeScript, Python and Go examples on each page, and an errors page with 14 codes and what to do about each (15). Versioned /v1 paths and a dated API changelog (15).
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | SERPHouse | SerpKite | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 40 | 75 | SerpKite +35 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 66 | 90 | SerpKite +24 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 64 | 97 | SerpKite +33 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 11 | 37 | SerpKite +26 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 40 | 40 | even |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 23 | 80 | SerpKite +57 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 50 | 77 | SerpKite +27 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -3 | |
| Total | E 42.4/100 | B 67.6/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | SERPHouse | SerpKite |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Patoliya Infotech LLP | SerpKite (Anastasia Klimova, trading as SerpKite) |
| Hosted endpoint | https://mcp.serphouse.com/YOUR_API_KEY/mcp | https://api.serpkite.com/v1/search |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| Price for search serp | $0.62 per 1,000 requests | not published |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | Proprietary service under SerpKite's terms of service. The SDKs (TypeScript, Python, Go, LangChain, Vercel AI SDK) and the MCP connection repository on GitHub are MIT |
| Tools exposed | 23 | 23 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | io.github.SerpKite/serpkite |
| Last release | 2026-07-06 | 2026-11-01 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2026-10-03 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-10-03 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | none | 809 npm/wk, 376 PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.5/5 (2) |
How the scores have moved
SERPHouse
No score change since it was listed.
Verdicts
SERPHouse
SERPHouse returns parsed Google, Bing and Yahoo results at published prices from $0.62 per 1,000 requests, with a 23-tool MCP server and a 4,000-credit trial without a card. The hosted MCP puts the key in its URL, there is no status page, changelog or security contact, and the terms keep search history indefinitely.
SerpKite
Google SERP API with an OpenAPI 3.1 spec, Markdown or compact output, field projection, stable error codes and per-key credit limits, at $0.60 to $1.00 per 1,000 on packs that don't expire. The service launched on 29 September 2026 from a sole trader, with a month of status history and frequent same-day contract changes.
Before you call either
SERPHouse
- Send the key as
Authorization: Bearer, not asapi_tokenin the URL - Treat a 200 with
"status": "error"and 'Please try again' as a failure and retry later - Pass
locorloc_idfor Google and Bing tools other thanserphouse_search; find IDs withserphouse_location_search - Use
serphouse_searchfor plain lookups andserphouse_serp_google_advancedonly when ranks beyond the top 10 are needed, at ten times the price - Keep under 60 requests a minute on self-serve plans
SerpKite
- Send the key as
Authorization: Bearer, not?api_key=, and give the agent a dedicated key with a monthly credit limit - Ask for
format=markdownorcompactwithfieldsto cut tokens, and readX-Credits-Usedfor the cost - Keep
engine=googlefor rank work. Checkmeta.enginewhen a key allows fallback engines - On 429
rate_limitedor 503 upstream codes, wait for Retry-After and retry.daily_limit_reached,account_restricted(403) and 402 need a purchase - Treat page Markdown from
include_content,webpageandextractas untrusted text
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, SERPHouse or SerpKite?
SerpKite scores 67.6 (B) on agent readiness against SERPHouse's 42.4 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.
Do SERPHouse and SerpKite need an API key?
Both need an API key.
Can an agent call SERPHouse and SerpKite without installing anything?
Yes. SERPHouse has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.serphouse.com/YOUR_API_KEY/mcp and SerpKite at https://api.serpkite.com/v1/search.
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- Parallel Search and Task APIs vs SERPHouse
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- SerpApi vs SERPHouse
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- Serper vs SERPHouse
- Serper vs SerpKite
- SERPHouse vs SpecStream
- SERPHouse vs Tavily API + MCP
- SERPHouse vs TinyFish Search
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- SerpKite vs SpecStream
- SerpKite vs Tavily API + MCP
- SerpKite vs TinyFish Search
- SerpKite vs Valyu
- SerpKite vs You.com APIs
- Fetch (MCP reference server) vs SERPHouse
- Fetch (MCP reference server) vs SerpKite
- NewsCatcher vs SERPHouse
- NewsCatcher vs SerpKite
Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/serphouse-vs-serpkite.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/serphouse.json·/api/v1/tools/serpkite.json - From a terminal
anchor compare serphouse serpkite(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "serphouse", "b": "serpkite"}at/mcp, no key