SERP API Comparison: Thordata, Bright Data, and ScraperAPI
This page is published by Thordata, one of the products compared.
A SERP API comparison depends on the searches you need to collect, the locations you need to target, and whether you pay per response, request or API credit. Thordata suits buyers who want Google and Bing results in JSON or HTML with country- or city-level targeting; Bright Data offers a larger free request allowance, while ScraperAPI offers a higher-volume monthly credit plan. This guide is for teams comparing APIs for rank tracking, local search research and automated reports. It sets out the published capabilities, trial terms and prices as of October 2026, then gives a decision rule for each workflow.
Which SERP API fits the job?
Match the API to the search engines, locations, output format, and collection workflow you need. Thordata fits localized search monitoring across Google, Bing, and other search engines; Bright Data offers coverage in 195 countries for geographically broad tracking; ScraperAPI fits workflows that need parsed organic and paid SERP results. Last updated: October 27, 2026.
| Decision point | Thordata | Bright Data | ScraperAPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search workflow | Real-time results for SEO monitoring and keyword-rank tracking | Real-time SERP collection across major search engines | Parsed organic and paid results at configurable collection intervals |
| Location | Country- or city-specific results | 195 countries and city-level targeting | Country-, region-, or city-level results |
| Output | JSON or HTML | JSON or HTML | Structured, parsed SERP data |
The Thordata SERP API suits teams comparing local rankings or ad placements across selected cities. Choose Bright Data when country coverage is the deciding constraint; choose ScraperAPI when the collection workflow calls for scheduled, parsed results.
How do their capabilities compare?
Thordata returns real-time results from Google, Bing and other search engines as JSON or HTML, with country- and city-level targeting. Bright Data documents major search engines, 195 countries and city-level targeting. ScraperAPI documents Google organic and paid results with automatic parsing. The practical difference is which search engines, output formats and integration routes each provider explicitly supports.
Last updated: October 27, 2026.
| Provider | Search coverage | Location controls | Output or parsing | Integration options |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thordata SERP API | Google, Bing and other engines; real-time results | Country or city | JSON or HTML | Code examples in multiple languages |
| Bright Data | Major search engines; real-time results | 195 countries; city-level targeting | JSON or HTML | Third-party crawler software |
| ScraperAPI | Google organic and paid results | Country, region or city | Automatic parsing; output format unverified | Proxy pool connects to in-house scrapers or ScraperAPI’s Scraping API |
ScraperAPI’s documented parsing may remove work from a Google-results pipeline. Its output format and coverage of other search engines remain unverified in this comparison; neither should be assumed to match the JSON/HTML and multi-engine options documented for the other two.
What differs in billing and trial access?
Bright Data bills SERP API calls as requests and offers pay-as-you-go pricing; ScraperAPI sells a monthly allocation of API credits. Thordata sells packages pairing one credit with one response. These are different billing units: a request, an API credit, and a response should not be treated as interchangeable when comparing costs.
| Billing and access, as of October 2026 | Thordata | Bright Data | ScraperAPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid model | Responses paired with credits | $1.5 per 1,000 requests pay as you go; $499/month includes 380,000 requests, then $1.3 per 1,000 | 100,000 API credits for $49/month |
| Free access | 7-day trial: 500 responses | 5,000 requests and 5,000 records per month; no credit card required | 7-day trial: 5,000 API credits |
Bright Data counts an executed API call as a request; in asynchronous mode, collecting its response does not count as another request. Thordata’s paid response ladder, as of October 2026, is:
| Responses | Total | Per 1,000 responses |
|---|---|---|
| 15,000 | $18.00 | $1.20 |
| 50,000 | $55.00 | $1.10 |
| 150,000 | $135.00 | $0.90 |
| 500,000 | $400.00 | $0.80 |
| 1,000,000 | $700.00 | $0.70 |
How should readers evaluate an API before choosing?
Use the same representative queries, locations, devices, and organic and paid result types for every SERP API. Include searches with local intent and ads, then run each query at the same time and frequency. This makes differences in returned fields and failures easier to attribute to the API rather than to changing search results.
Last updated: October 27, 2026. Record outcomes separately for Thordata’s SERP API, Bright Data, and ScraperAPI:
| Measure | How to record it | Thordata | Bright Data | ScraperAPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result completeness | Expected organic and paid results returned | |||
| Structured-field accuracy | Correct titles, URLs, ranks, and ad labels | |||
| Reliability | Successful responses divided by attempted queries | |||
| Latency | Median and slowest response times |
The table is a proposed test method, not measured results; its outcome cells remain empty until testing is done. Compare localized results against the requested city, log blocks and retries, count the code and parsing work needed for integration, and apply the data-use requirements relevant to the intended collection.
Which option suits each workflow?
Thordata fits localized rank tracking and search-trend analysis: its SERP API is intended for both tasks and can simulate searches from specific countries or cities. Bright Data suits monitoring spread across many markets, while ScraperAPI suits agencies building reports or teams connecting SERP collection to an in-house scraper.
Last updated: October 27, 2026. Coverage and workflow details are as of October 2026.
| Workflow | Option | Reason to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| Local keyword ranks and search trends | Thordata | Country- and city-level search simulation matches its stated SEO monitoring and trend-analysis uses. |
| Monitoring across many markets | Bright Data | Coverage spans 195 countries with city-level targeting; stated uses include organic keyword tracking and brand protection. |
| Agency reports or an in-house scraper | ScraperAPI | Its stated agency uses include automated reports and dashboards, and its proxy pool can connect to an in-house scraper or its Scraping API. |
For the localized workflow, see Thordata’s SERP API.
How to choose
Match the API to the data you need to retrieve and the unit you want to pay for. Thordata suits teams collecting localized Google or Bing results as JSON or HTML, especially when city-level targeting matters. Choose a response-based package for that workflow; choose a different service when your work extends beyond search results or requires a different billing model. Last updated: October 2026.
If you need city-level Google or Bing results, choose Thordata’s SERP API, because it returns JSON or HTML and supports country- or city-level targeting.
If you need a free tier for recurring requests, choose Bright Data, because its tier includes 5K requests and 5K records per month.
If you need organic and paid results with managed parsing, choose ScraperAPI, because it handles Google changes, CAPTCHAs and parsing.
If you need data from competitor websites as well as SERPs, choose ScraperAPI’s broader scraping service rather than Thordata’s SERP API, because ScraperAPI supports both SERP and competitor-site collection.
FAQ
What is Bright Data’s official SERP API pricing?
Bright Data lists a free tier of 5,000 requests per month and pay-as-you-go pricing of $1.50 per 1,000 requests, as of October 2026. Its SERP API pricing also lists 380,000 included requests for $499 per month, with additional requests at $1.30 per 1,000.
What is DataForSEO’s official SERP API pricing?
A DataForSEO price cannot be stated from the product information covered here. Compare its charge per request and minimum spend with the other options before using price as the deciding factor.
What does SerpApi charge for Google Search API access?
A SerpApi price cannot be stated from the product information covered here. For a Google Search workload, compare the cost of the required monthly request volume rather than a headline entry price.
What is ScraperAPI’s official SERP API pricing?
ScraperAPI lists 100,000 API credits for $49 per month, as of October 2026. Its SERP API page also lists a seven-day trial with 5,000 API credits; the listed paid unit is an API credit, so do not equate that figure with 100,000 responses without a matching credit rule.
What are Serper API’s pricing and features?
A Serper API price and feature list cannot be stated from the product information covered here. If the job requires local results, compare its location controls and the returned fields against the fields your report actually stores.
What does Serper.dev charge for Google Search API access?
A Serper.dev price cannot be stated from the product information covered here. Calculate the cost for your expected Google Search request volume before comparing it with a response-priced package.
Where can I find official SerpApi pricing?
An official SerpApi price cannot be stated from the product information covered here. Use the same request volume and required search features when comparing its plan with another API’s plan.
Is a SERP API the right tool for collecting Google Videos results?
Thordata’s SERP API fits a workflow that needs search results in JSON or HTML, while its Google Videos offering returns video-search fields such as titles, links, key moments, dates and thumbnails. Choose the Google Videos offering when those video-specific fields are the output, rather than video files or transcripts.
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