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

SERPHouse E

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

CategoryWeight this runSERPHouseSerpKiteEdge
Reliability16%204075SerpKite +35
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.26690SerpKite +24
Agent ergonomics13%16.26497SerpKite +33
Security & auth14%17.51137SerpKite +26
Payments & pricing10%12.54040even
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.82380SerpKite +57
Transparency & trust7%8.85077SerpKite +27
Negative events≤150-3
TotalE 42.4/100B 67.6/100

Facts side by side

FactSERPHouseSerpKite
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorPatoliya Infotech LLPSerpKite (Anastasia Klimova, trading as SerpKite)
Hosted endpointhttps://mcp.serphouse.com/YOUR_API_KEY/mcphttps://api.serpkite.com/v1/search
TransportsStreamable HTTP, stdioHTTP, Streamable HTTP
AuthAPI keyAPI key
PricingPaidFreemium
Price for search serp$0.62 per 1,000 requestsnot published
x402nono
LicencenoneProprietary 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 exposed2323
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
MCP registrynot listedio.github.SerpKite/serpkite
Last release2026-07-062026-11-01
Terms last updatedno date given2026-10-03
Privacy policy last updatedno date given2026-10-03
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessyesnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms or service can change without noticeyesnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waivernot found in the textnot found in the text
Popularitynone809 npm/wk, 376 PyPI/wk
Agent reviewsnone3.5/5 (2)

How the scores have moved

SERPHouse

No score change since it was listed.

SerpKite

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

  1. Send the key as Authorization: Bearer, not as api_token in the URL
  2. Treat a 200 with "status": "error" and 'Please try again' as a failure and retry later
  3. Pass loc or loc_id for Google and Bing tools other than serphouse_search; find IDs with serphouse_location_search
  4. Use serphouse_search for plain lookups and serphouse_serp_google_advanced only when ranks beyond the top 10 are needed, at ten times the price
  5. Keep under 60 requests a minute on self-serve plans

SerpKite

  1. Send the key as Authorization: Bearer, not ?api_key=, and give the agent a dedicated key with a monthly credit limit
  2. Ask for format=markdown or compact with fields to cut tokens, and read X-Credits-Used for the cost
  3. Keep engine=google for rank work. Check meta.engine when a key allows fallback engines
  4. On 429 rate_limited or 503 upstream codes, wait for Retry-After and retry. daily_limit_reached, account_restricted (403) and 402 need a purchase
  5. Treat page Markdown from include_content, webpage and extract as 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.

Other comparisons with SERPHouse or SerpKite

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