Serper API: pricing, limits, and how it compares (2026)

Serper pricing & limits

Where Serper wins — and where it doesn't

From GroundRoute's State of AI Search benchmark (N=170 real agent queries, judge κ=0.78):

Quality is indicative (judged on a gold subset); per-class head-to-head win-rate is a fast-follow.

How GroundRoute uses Serper

In practice: GroundRoute routes the queries Serper is best at to Serper, and your cheaper lookups to the cheapest engine that clears the bar — so you get Serper quality where it matters without paying Serper prices on every call.

Serper vs the field

FAQ

How much does the Serper API cost?

Serper lists at ~$1 / 1k (drops to ~$0.30 at scale) (verify current pricing). Through GroundRoute you can route Serper alongside five other engines and keep half of what caching saves — so you never pay more than calling Serper directly.

Is there a Serper free tier?

Serper offers trial credits (verify). GroundRoute's free tier is BYOK — bring your Serper key and route on it.

What's the best Serper alternative?

Rather than swapping one engine for another, GroundRoute routes each query to the cheapest of six engines that clears the quality bar — including Serper when it's the best fit. See the alternatives page for an honest comparison.