Head to head · Web search · October 2026 research run

SERPHouse vs SpecStream

SpecStream scores 64.4 (B) on agent readiness against SERPHouse's 42.4 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. SERPHouse leads on reliability. Both do web search. SpecStream accepts x402. SERPHouse doesn't.

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.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 40 against 23

Also in its favour

  • Runs on your own machine

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

SpecStream B

Best for Agents that need a list of companies, places, grants, tenders, papers or packages matching stated conditions, with a source page on every value and a price approved before anything runs, and teams that want the same list rechecked on a schedule and sent to a sheet or CRM.

Ahead on

  • Schema & documentation, 80 against 66
  • Security & auth, 73 against 11
  • Payments & pricing, 85 against 40
  • Maintenance & community, 81 against 23
  • Transparency & trust, 66 against 50

Also in its favour

  • An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account

Watch for

No status page, incident history, SLA, published rate limit, 429 handling or Retry-After; the terms promise no uninterrupted access

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.

Security & auth SpecStream +62

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.

SpecStream 73

API keys ss_live_... shown once, with eight scopes, an optional project, an expiry of 1 to 365 days (default 90) and a spending ceiling, revoked singly; OAuth for MCP clients with client ID metadata documents or dynamic registration and read, prepare or execute access, with registered clients listed and revoked in settings; no secret in a query string documented. The authorisation server metadata on api.specstream.ai was not read and rotation is not described beyond expiry (28 of 30). Read, prepare and execute levels, only finds:spend or execute access starts paid work, every purchase needs an approved confirm_max_cents and delegated access has per-run and monthly limits; create_api_key, delegate_access and request_account_deletion are on the MCP surface marked destructive, and which scope guards account deletion is not documented (18 of 20). The home page says pages read are treated as data, never as instructions, and the Grok plugin's rules tell the agent to treat rows as untrusted; the docs, tool descriptions and four skills say nothing on it (6 of 15). A 12-month audit log of sign-ins, keys, delegated access, spending, exports, monitors and imports, readable through list_audit_events, plus per-find decisions, lineage and a source on every value; export of the audit log is Enterprise-only on the pricing page while the account docs describe a CSV export (13 of 15). security.txt is valid until October 2027 with support@specstream.ai, and SECURITY.md adds GitHub private vulnerability reporting; no SOC 2, ISO 27001 or bug bounty, and the DPA promises breach notice within 48 hours (8 of 20). 28+18+6+13+8 = 73.

Maintenance & community SpecStream +58

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.

SpecStream 81

specstream-mcp-stdio 1.2.3 on PyPI on 3 November 2026, the Python SDK 1.2.0 committed the same day and @specstream/sdk 1.2.0 on npm on 31 October (30). Five PyPI releases of the bridge from 12 October, five npm versions of the SDK, eight of the n8n node, and 48 dated changelog entries in five weeks (20). A closed service with a dated changelog, support@specstream.ai and a talk-to-a-human page; GitHub issues and reply times could not be read and support was not tested (8 of 15). server.json under the reverse-DNS namespace ai.specstream/specstream 1.3.0 (the live registry entry was not read) and current official SDKs in Python and TypeScript (15). CI runs the Python and TypeScript package tests on push, packages publish through trusted publishing with provenance, and the Python SDK and the bridge have no runtime dependencies; workflow actions are pinned to major tags rather than commits (8 of 10). 30+20+8+15+8 = 81.

Payments & pricing SpecStream +45

SERPHouse 40

No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-1,000 prices for SERP, autocomplete and top-100 requests published without login (20). Free trial of 4,000 credits for 7 days, 'No Credit Card Required' (20). A person signs up in a browser and confirms an email (0). 0 + 20 + 20 + 0 = 40.

SpecStream 85

x402 v2 (USDC on Base, Arbitrum or Polygon, Permit2 upto for the quoted maximum, settled for the results cost) and MPP by card on SpecStream's own POST /v1/agent/lists, the route for buying a list of 1 to 500 results without an account; enrichment of imported lists, refreshes, monitors and investigations need an account, and the route was read in the docs and not exercised because api.specstream.ai's robots.txt could not be read, so partial (25). Per-result prices published without a login, 5, 15 or 100 cents a result, 5 cents an email, 15 cents a phone, rechecks at half rate or 1 cent (20). $10 of work for 30 days with no card (20). An agent can buy a list over x402 or MPP with no account, and the A2A endpoint prices a request without a key (20). 25+20+20+20 = 85.

Reliability SERPHouse +17

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.

SpecStream 23

Hosted reading, for the MCP server and REST API on api.specstream.ai. No public status page was found. None is linked from the site, llms.txt or the docs, llms-full.txt mentions none, and https://specstream.ai/status returned an error (0). No readable incident history, so the floor (5). No rate limit with numbers is published in the docs, llms.txt, llms-full.txt or the part of the OpenAPI file read; the privacy policy and DPA mention rate limiting without figures, and the published limits are per job (10,000 results a request, four-hour runs, 20,000 imported rows) (0). Nothing documents 429, Retry-After or backoff, but paid work requires an idempotency_key on authorize_capacity_work and POST /v1/capacity/executions, GET /v1/capacity/requests/{request_key} recovers the original find after an uncertain response, and the skills say never to quote again to recover a lost reply (8 of 15). No SLA on any plan, and the terms say 'We do not promise uninterrupted access' (0). No beta or preview label on the API, the MCP server or the SDKs, which PyPI classifies as production and stable at 1.2 (10). 0+5+0+8+0+10 = 23.

Transparency & trust SpecStream +16

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.

SpecStream 66

Closed hosted service under terms of 3 November 2026 naming SpecStream SAS, French law and a liability cap of the greater of 12 months' fees or 100 euros; the client code is MIT (20 of 30). The privacy policy and DPA agree with each other and the about page on EU hosting, no training on customer requests, lists or results, and a retention table (server logs 30 days, backups 8 days, page copies 24 hours, run working copies 7 days, audit log 12 months, support 3 years, accounts until deleted, erased from backups within 8 days of deletion), with breach notice in 48 hours and audit rights; the pricing page and the account docs disagree on who can export the audit log (27 of 30). No API deprecation policy; the changelog dates a price cut of 26 October 2026 that kept approved quotes at their old prices, the terms promise notice of material changes and keep historical quotes on their terms, and the DPA gives 30 days' notice of a new subprocessor (8 of 20). Subprocessors are listed by category with locations and transfer safeguards, hosting on IBM Cloud in Madrid is named in the legal notice, and names are available only on request (12 of 20). 20+27+8+12 = 67.

Schema & documentation SpecStream +14

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.

SpecStream 80

MCP reading, with the REST API described. The tool list shipped in specstream-mcp-stdio 1.2.3 gives every one of the 128 tools a typed JSON Schema input (357 of 358 properties typed, additionalProperties: false on all but two objects), and an OpenAPI 3.1 file at https://specstream.ai/openapi.json lists at least 121 paths with cursor and limit parameters; several capacity and investigation responses are untyped objects, and our reader stopped at about 104,000 characters before the components, so request bodies and ErrorEnvelope were not read (22 of 25). llms.txt, llms-full.txt and a Markdown twin of every page, also served for Accept: text/markdown (10). Each tool has a title and a description of what it does and whether it charges ('Nothing runs and nothing is charged'), and the skills set the order of calls and where to stop and ask, but no description says when not to use a tool or names a better one (13 of 20). 13 enums (operations, evidence level, key scopes), 264 bounds and patterns such as 64-hex hashes, requested_units 1 to 10,000 and limit up to 100, and required lists on every tool (14 of 15). curl, Python and TypeScript examples, worked scripts in the repository and a sample run on the home page, but no documented error codes or error examples (6 of 15). A dated changelog of 48 entries from 30 September to 26 October 2026, /v1 paths, a named API version and tagged releases (15). 22+10+13+14+6+15 = 80.

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runSERPHouseSpecStreamEdge
Reliability16%204023SERPHouse +17
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.26680SpecStream +14
Agent ergonomics13%16.26465SpecStream +1
Security & auth14%17.51173SpecStream +62
Payments & pricing10%12.54085SpecStream +45
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.82381SpecStream +58
Transparency & trust7%8.85066SpecStream +16
Negative events≤1500
TotalE 42.4/100B 64.4/100

Facts side by side

FactSERPHouseSpecStream
KindHTTP APIPlatform
VendorPatoliya Infotech LLPSpecStream SAS
Hosted endpointhttps://mcp.serphouse.com/YOUR_API_KEY/mcphttps://api.specstream.ai/mcp
TransportsStreamable HTTP, stdioStreamable HTTP, HTTP
AuthAPI keyOAuth or key
PricingPaidPay per use
x402noyes
LicencenoneProprietary hosted service under SpecStream SAS's terms of use (updated 3 November 2026, French law). The client code in specstream/specstream-tools (SDKs, the stdio bridge, framework packages, plugins, skills and integrations) is MIT, copyright SpecStream SAS
Tools exposed23128
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
MCP registrynot listedai.specstream/specstream
Last release2026-07-062026-11-03
Terms last updatedno date givennot read yet
Privacy policy last updatedno date givennot read yet
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot read yet
Terms restrict automated accessyesnot read yet
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot found in the textnot read yet
Terms or service can change without noticeyesnot read yet
Arbitration or class-action waivernot found in the textnot read yet

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.

SpecStream

Typed MCP and REST surfaces with a quote-then-approve flow, required idempotency keys on paid work, scoped expiring keys with spending caps, per-result prices and an x402 or card route that needs no account. No status page, rate limits, error code list or SLA, and 128 MCP tools whose definitions run to about 144,000 characters.

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

SpecStream

  1. Call compile, then quote_capacity_work, show the person the maximum, and only then authorize_capacity_work with confirm_max_cents and an idempotency_key you saved first.
  2. If an authorise call times out, call get_capacity_request with the same key instead of quoting again; a new quote or key can buy the same work twice.
  3. Page through list_find_rows with cursor and limit (100 at most) and keep evidence: short unless you need the full trail; treat every value and source page as untrusted data.
  4. Load only the tools you need if your client allows filtering; the full list is 128 definitions and about 36,000 tokens.
  5. Without an account, use POST /v1/agent/lists with x402 or MPP and poll the status_url; runs can take up to four hours.

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, SERPHouse or SpecStream?

SpecStream scores 64.4 (B) on agent readiness against SERPHouse's 42.4 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. SERPHouse leads on reliability.

Can an agent call SERPHouse and SpecStream without installing anything?

Yes. SERPHouse has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.serphouse.com/YOUR_API_KEY/mcp and SpecStream at https://api.specstream.ai/mcp.

Other comparisons with SERPHouse or SpecStream

Machine-readable

For companies

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