Free Web Scraping and SERP APIs
Which scraping, search result and AI web data APIs you can use without paying today, what one request really costs on each and the limits on the free allowance, read from the providers' own pages.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Free plans, credit costs and limits change often: confirm them on the provider's page before you build on them.
Web scraping and search APIs you can use for free today include Bright Data (5,000 credits a month across its scraping APIs), Serper (2,500 free queries on signup), Tavily (1,000 API credits a month), ZenRows (5,000 credits a month, not a trial), and SerpApi (250 searches a month). Each of the 19 allowances below links to the provider's page that states it, with what one request costs and the limits on the free plan.
Web scraping APIs fetch a page for you through rotating proxies and a headless browser, search result (SERP) APIs return a search engine's results as structured JSON, and a newer group serves AI agents, returning search results and page content as clean text for a prompt. Most of them let a developer start free, with a plan that renews every month or a one-time grant of credits.
The number that matters is not the size of the free allowance but what it buys. These APIs count usage in credits, and one request can cost one credit or many: rendering JavaScript, using premium or residential proxies and querying a search engine cost more on most of them, so the same allowance can mean a thousand simple pages or a few dozen protected ones. Each API below shows what a request costs, the limits on the free allowance, whether a card is needed and what comes after it, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which APIs we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which APIs are listed or where.
Scraping APIs: any page, through proxies and a browser
Send a URL and get the page back: the provider rotates proxies, renders JavaScript and gets past anti-bot checks. What one request costs depends on which of those it needs.
- 1
Bright Data
The most free requests a month at one credit each
Every new account gets 5,000 credits a month, renewing monthly, in one pool for the Web Unlocker, SERP and Web Scraper APIs, and those APIs cost one credit per request or record. No card is needed; proxy products are not part of the free tier.
- What a request costs
- 1 credit per request or record (source: docs.brightdata.com)
- Limits on the free allowance
- 1,000 requests a minute while the account is unfunded (source: docs.brightdata.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: docs.brightdata.com)
- After the free allowance
- Pay as you go from $1 per 1,000 requests (source: brightdata.com)
Start free at Bright DataReferral linkTerms read on docs.brightdata.com on Bright Data: the free allowance and how to start Bright Data AI Startup Program: what startups get - 2
ZenRows
A large monthly free plan with every feature on
ZenRows says its free plan is not a trial: 5,000 credits every month with everything unlocked except standalone Residential Proxies. A plain request costs 1 credit and a protected page with JavaScript rendering and premium proxies 25, so it covers 200 to 5,000 pages.
- What a request costs
- 1 credit; 5 with JavaScript; 25 with JS and premium proxies (source: docs.zenrows.com)
- Limits on the free allowance
- 5 concurrent requests; no credit rollover (source: zenrows.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: zenrows.com)
- After the free allowance
- Build: $19 a month for 45,000 credits (source: docs.zenrows.com)
- 3
Scrape.do
Residential and mobile proxies on a free plan
The free plan renews 1,000 successful credits every month and includes every feature, residential and mobile proxies too. A residential request with a headless browser costs 25 credits, so the same allowance is 40 of those requests.
- What a request costs
- 1 credit; 5 with a browser; 25 residential with a browser (source: scrape.do)
- Limits on the free allowance
- 5 concurrent requests; every feature included (source: scrape.do)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: scrape.do)
- After the free allowance
- Hobby: $29 a month (source: scrape.do)
Start free at Scrape.doReferral linkTerms read on scrape.do on Scrape.do: the free allowance and how to start - 4
ScraperAPI
A free plan plus a bigger first week
ScraperAPI's free plan gives 1,000 credits a month at up to 5 concurrent connections, and 5,000 credits for the first 7 days after signup. A standard page costs 1 credit, while Google and Bing cost 25 and sites behind bot protection add 10.
- What a request costs
- 1 credit; Google or Bing 25; bot-protected sites +10 (source: scraperapi.com)
- Limits on the free allowance
- Up to 5 concurrent connections (source: scraperapi.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: scraperapi.com)
- After the free allowance
- Hobby: $49 a month for 100,000 credits (source: scraperapi.com)
Start free at ScraperAPIReferral linkTerms read on docs.scraperapi.com on ScraperAPI: the free allowance and how to start - 5
Apify
Ready-made scrapers for specific sites
Apify's free plan gives $5 of usage every month to run your own scrapers or ready-made Actors from Apify Store, at $0.2 per compute unit, with no card. What one scrape costs depends on the Actor you run, and the plan is blocked once the $5 is spent until the next month.
- What's free
- $5 of usage a month (source: apify.com)
- What a request costs
- $0.2 per compute unit (1 GB of RAM for an hour) (source: apify.com)
- Limits on the free allowance
- 5 concurrent runs and 16 GB of memory (source: apify.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: apify.com)
- After the free allowance
- Starter: $19 a month with $19 of usage (source: apify.com)
Start free at ApifyReferral linkTerms read on apify.com on Apify: the free allowance and how to start Apify for Startups: what startups get - 6
Crawlbase
Free credits that only charge successful requests
New accounts get 1,000 free credits with no card, rising to up to 5,000 after setup steps, and failed or blocked requests are never billed. JavaScript rendering doubles a request's cost and heavily defended sites cost more.
- What a request costs
- 1 credit; JavaScript doubles it; hard sites cost more (source: crawlbase.com)
- Limits on the free allowance
- 20 concurrent requests per token (source: crawlbase.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed to start (source: crawlbase.com)
- After the free allowance
- Pay as you go from $3 per 1,000 requests (source: crawlbase.com)
Start free at CrawlbaseReferral linkTerms read on crawlbase.com on Crawlbase: the free allowance and how to start - 7
ScrapingBee
A trial of a browser-first scraping API
ScrapingBee's free trial gives 1,000 credits with no card. JavaScript rendering is on by default at 5 credits a request, so the trial covers about 200 rendered pages, or 1,000 with rendering turned off.
- What a request costs
- 1 credit; 5 with JavaScript (the default); 25 premium (source: scrapingbee.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: scrapingbee.com)
- After the free allowance
- Hobby: $19 a month for 75,000 credits (source: scrapingbee.com)
Start free at ScrapingBeeTerms read on scrapingbee.com on ScrapingBee: the free allowance and how to start - 8
Scrapingdog
A small test across scraping and Google search APIs
Every account starts with 100 free credits and access to all of Scrapingdog's APIs, with no card. JavaScript rendering is on by default at 5 credits a request, so 100 credits is about 20 rendered pages unless you turn it off.
- What a request costs
- 5 credits with JavaScript (the default); 1 without (source: scrapingdog.com)
- Limits on the free allowance
- 1 concurrent request (source: scrapingdog.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: scrapingdog.com)
- After the free allowance
- Lite: $40 a month for 200,000 credits (source: scrapingdog.com)
Start free at ScrapingdogReferral linkTerms read on scrapingdog.com on Scrapingdog: the free allowance and how to start - 9
Zyte API
Hard sites, priced by how hard each one is
Zyte API gives a $5 free credit for the first month with no card, and charges per successful response by how hard the site is to scrape, from $0.13 per 1,000 plain responses to $16.08 per 1,000 browser-rendered ones on the hardest sites.
- What a request costs
- $0.13 to $16.08 per 1,000 responses, by site and browser (source: zyte.com)
- Limits on the free allowance
- Account suspended when the credit ends, until a limit is set (source: docs.zyte.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: zyte.com)
- After the free allowance
- Pay as you go, no monthly commitment (source: docs.zyte.com)
Start free at ZyteReferral linkTerms read on docs.zyte.com on Zyte API: the free allowance and how to start
Search APIs: search results as JSON
Send a query and get structured results (organic results, ads, maps, news) without running your own scraper.
- 1
Serper
The most free Google searches to start
Serper gives 2,500 free queries on signup with no card, at one credit per query. After that, credits are prepaid top-ups with no subscription, from $50 for 50,000 queries.
- What a request costs
- 1 credit per query (source: serper.dev)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: serper.dev)
- After the free allowance
- Top-up: $50 for 50,000 credits, valid 6 months (source: serper.dev)
- 2
SerpApi
A free monthly plan for many search engines
SerpApi's Free plan gives 250 searches every month, and only successful searches count: cached, errored and failed ones do not. The free plan does not include SerpApi's U.S. Legal Shield.
- What's free
- 250 searches a month (source: serpapi.com)
- What a request costs
- Only successful searches count (source: serpapi.com)
- Limits on the free allowance
- 50 searches an hour (source: serpapi.com)
- After the free allowance
- Starter: $25 a month for 1,000 searches (source: serpapi.com)
- 3
Brave Search API
Search results from an independent index
Every Brave Search API plan includes $5 in free credits each month, about 1,000 searches at $5 per 1,000. Brave asks for a card at signup (the prepay can be $0) and its terms forbid storing the results you receive.
- What's free
- $5 in free credits a month, about 1,000 searches (source: api-dashboard.search.brave.com)
- What a request costs
- $5 per 1,000 searches (source: api-dashboard.search.brave.com)
- Limits on the free allowance
- 50 requests a second (source: api-dashboard.search.brave.com)
- After the free allowance
- Prepaid credits, no subscription or minimum (source: brave.com)
Start free at Brave Search APITerms read on api-dashboard.search.brave.com on Brave Search API: the free allowance and how to start - 4
serpstack
Side projects that need Google results
serpstack's free plan gives 100 searches a month, free forever, with JSON output and no support. It is for non-commercial use only: commercial use starts on the paid plans.
- What a request costs
- 1 request per search; errors not counted (source: serpstack.com)
- Limits on the free allowance
- JSON output only, no support (source: serpstack.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: serpstack.com)
- After the free allowance
- Basic: $29.99 a month for 5,000 searches (source: serpstack.com)
Start free at serpstackReferral linkTerms read on serpstack.com on serpstack: the free allowance and how to start - 5
SearchApi
Trying a SERP API that bills only successful searches
Signing up gives 100 free requests with no card, and SearchApi bills only successful searches (an HTTP 200 response). Its terms allow one account per person.
- What a request costs
- Only successful searches are billed (source: searchapi.io)
- Limits on the free allowance
- Up to 20% of a plan's credits an hour (source: searchapi.io)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: searchapi.io)
- After the free allowance
- Developer: $40 a month for 10,000 searches (source: searchapi.io)
Start free at SearchApiReferral linkTerms read on searchapi.io on SearchApi: the free allowance and how to start
Web search and page content for AI agents
Search and extraction built for LLM apps: results and pages come back as clean text or markdown, ready for a prompt.
- 1
Tavily
Search built for AI agents, free every month
Tavily gives 1,000 free API credits every month with no card; a basic search costs 1 credit and an advanced search 2. Free accounts use a development key limited to 100 requests a minute.
- What a request costs
- 1 credit a basic search; 2 an advanced one (source: docs.tavily.com)
- Limits on the free allowance
- 100 requests a minute on a development key (source: docs.tavily.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: tavily.com)
- After the free allowance
- Project: $30 a month for 4,000 credits (source: docs.tavily.com)
Start free at TavilyTerms read on docs.tavily.com on Tavily: the free allowance and how to start Tavily for Startups: what startups get - 2
Firecrawl
Turning websites into markdown for LLMs
Firecrawl gives 1,000 free credits every month, about 1,000 pages, with no card. A basic scrape, crawl or map page costs 1 credit and search 2 credits per 10 results, at 2 concurrent browsers on the free plan.
- What a request costs
- 1 credit a page; search 2 per 10 results (source: firecrawl.dev)
- Limits on the free allowance
- 2 concurrent browsers; 10 requests a minute (source: docs.firecrawl.dev)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: docs.firecrawl.dev)
- After the free allowance
- Hobby: $19 a month for 5,000 credits (source: firecrawl.dev)
Start free at FirecrawlReferral linkTerms read on firecrawl.dev on Firecrawl: the free allowance and how to start Firecrawl for Startups: what startups get - 3
Exa
Neural web search for AI apps
Exa gives $10 in credits every month plus a one-time $10 onboarding bonus, with no payment method. A lite search costs $4 per 1,000, so the monthly credit covers up to 2,500 searches.
- What a request costs
- Lite search: $4 per 1,000 requests (source: exa.ai)
- Limits on the free allowance
- 10 searches a second (source: exa.ai)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: exa.ai)
- After the free allowance
- Pay as you go, no subscription or minimum (source: exa.ai)
- 4
Diffbot
Structured data from pages and a knowledge graph
Diffbot's free plan gives 10,000 credits a month with no card, at 5 calls a minute, and extracting one page costs 1 credit. Crawl is not included on the free plan.
- What's free
- 10,000 credits a month (source: diffbot.com)
- What a request costs
- 1 credit to extract a page (2 via proxy) (source: diffbot.com)
- Limits on the free allowance
- 5 calls a minute; Crawl not included (source: diffbot.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: diffbot.com)
- After the free allowance
- Startup: $299 a month for 250,000 credits (source: diffbot.com)
- 5
Jina Reader
Reading single pages as text with no signup
Reader works without an API key at 20 requests a minute, and every new key comes with 10 million free tokens. Jina's price table marks the free tokens as for non-commercial use only.
- What a request costs
- Search: from 10,000 tokens a request (source: jina.ai)
- Limits on the free allowance
- 20 requests a minute without a key (source: jina.ai)
- After the free allowance
- 1 billion tokens for $50 (source: jina.ai)
Startup programs from these providers
Programs that give startups more credits or a discount on these APIs, largest tracked value first. Most ask for an application, and several for funding limits or a backing investor.
Also useful for web data and scraping
Shown only because they fit what this page is about, and ordered by that fit (70%) and what a referral is expected to earn us (30%). We may earn a commission if you sign up through one of these, at no cost to you. They never change the ranking of this page.
Compare the top options
How this comparison is built
The list covers web scraping, search result (SERP) and AI web data APIs a developer can use for free today without applying to a program, grouped by the job they do. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each provider's terms. Every term comes from the provider's own pricing, documentation or FAQ page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. These APIs count usage in credits and one request can cost several, so the comparison quotes what a request costs wherever the provider states it. Some of these providers pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that never decides whether or where a provider appears, and no provider pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
Is there a free web scraping API?
Yes. Several scraping APIs have a free plan that renews every month, and others give a one-time grant of credits or a trial. The comparison lists the ones we track with what each gives, and what one request costs, because a request that needs JavaScript rendering or premium proxies can use several credits.
How many pages can I scrape with 1,000 free credits?
It depends on what each request needs. On most scraping APIs a plain request costs one credit, while JavaScript rendering, premium or residential proxies and some protected sites cost more, so the same allowance covers far fewer protected pages than simple ones. Each API on this page quotes its provider's own credit costs.
Do free scraping and search APIs need a credit card?
Most of the free allowances compared here need only an account, but not all of them. Each API on this page states what its provider's own page says about a card.
Can I use a free scraping API in production?
Free allowances are sized for building and testing: they come with low concurrency, a monthly cap or a trial period, and some providers limit what the free plan may be used for. Where a provider states such a condition, the comparison quotes it. For steady volume, the cheapest paid plan of each API is listed under what comes after the free allowance.
Is there a free SERP API?
Yes. SerpApi has a free plan of 250 searches a month, Serper gives 2,500 free queries on signup, SearchApi 100 free requests, serpstack 100 searches a month for non-commercial use, and every Brave Search API plan includes $5 in free credits a month. Each is compared on this page with its limits and what comes after, and Bright Data's free tier also covers its SERP API.
What is the difference between a SERP API and a web scraping API?
A web scraping API fetches any page you name and returns its HTML or content, handling proxies, JavaScript and anti-bot checks for you. A SERP API runs a search query on a search engine and returns the results as structured JSON (titles, links, snippets, ads, maps), so you never parse the results page yourself. Several providers offer both, usually at different credit costs.
More best-of guides
New startup perks, in your inbox
Get an email when a new credit, discount, or deal for founders is added. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.