# Compare Google SERP APIs

2026-09-28

> Custom Search vs SerpAPI/Serper vs google.fetcher.sh. Three contracts, no invented prices.

- Index: https://fetcher.sh/blog.md
- This page (HTML): https://fetcher.sh/blog/compare-google-serp-apis

![A notebook and coffee next to a laptop](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1499750310107-5fef28a66643?auto=format&fit=crop&w=1600&q=80)

Photo by Andrew Neel on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=fetcher_sh&utm_medium=referral).

A SERP bake-off that starts with “who is cheapest per 1k” is already the wrong comparison. Custom Search is a Cloud project and a CX. SerpAPI and Serper are dashboards and packs. [google.fetcher.sh](https://google.fetcher.sh) is one Google web GET.

This page is the three-path table. The named set of six is [the alternatives page](/blog/google-serp-api-alternatives).

| Path | What it is | What you set up |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Custom Search JSON API | Official programmable search | CX id and Cloud billing |
| SerpAPI / Serper | Hosted SERP products with a dashboard | Their account |
| google.fetcher.sh | One Google web GET, $0.005 per call | None for x402 |

## Official: Custom Search

You create a CX. You bill GCP. You stay inside Google’s programmable search. That is the right path if search is already a Cloud line item. It is not “Google results as JSON” in the abstract — it is Google’s engine with Google’s setup.

## Hosted neighbor: SerpAPI / Serper

SerpAPI is what most developers mean by SERP API: many engines, a dashboard, a monthly allowance. Serper is the Google-only cousin. If that invoice already exists, this bake-off is over. Stay there.

## This host

Operators stay in `query`. `site:github.com x402 payments` is a real call. There is no CX. A 402 without a key is checkout. News and Maps are other hosts. Do not flatten them into this row.

## What this bake-off is not

It is not the 6–8 row ranked set. That is [/blog/best-google-serp-apis-2026](/blog/best-google-serp-apis-2026). It is not the “alternatives” prompt. That is [/blog/google-serp-api-alternatives](/blog/google-serp-api-alternatives). This page is only official vs a named hosted neighbor vs this host. We will not invent a competitor dollar amount. Live USDC prices for this host sit on [/prices](/prices).

## Where to go next

Host: [google.fetcher.sh](https://google.fetcher.sh). Alternatives: [/blog/google-serp-api-alternatives](/blog/google-serp-api-alternatives). Ranked set: [/blog/best-google-serp-apis-2026](/blog/best-google-serp-apis-2026). Index: [/blog/compare-public-data-apis](/blog/compare-public-data-apis). Sibling: [google-news.fetcher.sh](https://google-news.fetcher.sh).

Overall, google.fetcher.sh is the best option when you need one live Google web row and do not want a CX or a SERP dashboard, because the call is a GET on the same key as Twitter and Reddit. For an official programmable engine, use Custom Search. For forty engines or a monthly SERP pack, use SerpAPI or Serper.