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Home / Web search APIs / Google Custom Search JSON API / Alternatives

Google Custom Search JSON API alternatives

7 APIs are cheaper than Google Custom Search JSON API for 100,000 searches a month: TinyFish costs $0.00, $500.00 a month less than Google Custom Search JSON API's $500.00.

Prices read on each vendor's own pricing page; dates on every row. How we check prices

The lowest bills for 100,000 searches a month

The whole job priced the way each vendor sells it.

  1. TinyFish $0.00 a month saves $500.00 a month · Search · checked Oct 9, 2026 Check TinyFish's pricing
  2. Search1API $99.00 a month saves $401.00 a month · Professional plan · checked Oct 9, 2026 Check Search1API's pricing
  3. Parallel Web Systems Search API $100.00 a month saves $400.00 a month · Turbo Search · checked Oct 9, 2026 Check Parallel Web Systems Search API's pricing
  4. Nimble $110.00 a month saves $390.00 a month · Pay as you go · checked Oct 9, 2026 Check Nimble's pricing
  5. Desearch $179.00 a month saves $321.00 a month · Starter plan · checked Oct 9, 2026 Check Desearch's pricing

Pay as you go, no plan to outgrow

Nothing unused at the end of the month, and no cliff at a plan boundary.

  1. TinyFish $0.00 at this volume saves $500.00 a month · Search · checked Oct 9, 2026 Check TinyFish's pricing
  2. Parallel Web Systems Search API $100.00 at this volume saves $400.00 a month · Turbo Search · checked Oct 9, 2026 Check Parallel Web Systems Search API's pricing
  3. Nimble $110.00 at this volume saves $390.00 a month · Pay as you go · checked Oct 9, 2026 Check Nimble's pricing
  4. Brave Search API $500.00 at this volume same bill · Search · checked Oct 9, 2026 Check Brave Search API's pricing
  5. Linkup $500.00 at this volume same bill · Fast or Standard Search Results · checked Oct 9, 2026 Check Linkup's pricing

All 22 web search APIs, priced for any job you set →

Who should stay, temporarily

Only an existing customer should stay, and only as a controlled migration bridge. Google Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers, keeps a 100-query daily allowance for existing customers, caps paid usage at 10,000 queries per day, and is scheduled for discontinuation on January 1, 2027. An existing workload below that daily cap can justify a short overlap while a replacement is validated against production queries. That is not a long-term endorsement. The shutdown date is the deciding condition, and the reviewed overview still does not state whether failed requests count toward billing or quota. (Google Custom Search JSON API overview, checked 2026-07-26.)

Why a replacement is more than a price row

Brave Search API offers a current raw-search route with a 50-query-per-second limit and successful-request billing, but its standard terms restrict storage and redistribution. Exa separates standard, deep, and deep-reasoning search, with up to 10 results in the standard baseline and separate content and summary meters. Serper.dev uses prepaid credits that remain valid for 6 months and publishes limits from 50 to 300 queries per second. None is a continuation of Google’s retiring API or its remaining customer entitlement. Migration therefore requires response-schema, query-coverage, quota, and terms validation even when the table can price the same nominal request. (Brave Search API, checked 2026-07-26; Brave Search API terms, checked 2026-07-26; Exa API pricing, checked 2026-07-26; Serper.dev, checked 2026-07-26.)