Brave Search API vs Serper: Side-by-Side Comparison 2026
Brave Search API vs Serper comparison 2026. Side-by-side features, pricing & capabilities.
Brave Search API is an AI search / scraping API from Brave Software — independent search api with no tracking — built on brave's own index. Serper is an AI search / scraping API from Serper — fast, affordable google search api — 2,500 free queries to start.
Brave Search API
Brave Search API provides access to Brave's independent search index — one of the few major search indexes not built on Google or Bing. It returns structured search results including web, news, and images, with a strong focus on privacy (no user tracking). The API includes a Summarizer feature that uses AI to generate direct answers. Brave Search handles over 10 billion queries annually and is the default search engine in the Brave browser (70M+ users). The API is popular among AI developers who want an independent data source that isn't just a Google/Bing wrapper.
- ✓ Independent search index — not built on Google or Bing
- ✓ Web, news, and image search endpoints
- ✓ AI Summarizer — generates direct answers from search results
- ✓ No user tracking — privacy by design
- ✓ Location and language targeting
Free · 3 plans
Serper
Serper is a Google Search API that returns structured search results (organic results, knowledge graph, people also ask, related searches, and more) as clean JSON. It's designed for speed and affordability — faster and cheaper than alternatives like SerpAPI. Serper is one of the most popular search tools in the AI agent ecosystem, integrated as the default Google search provider in LangChain and widely used in RAG and agent workflows. It supports Google Search, Images, Videos, Maps, News, Shopping, Scholar, and more.
- ✓ Real Google Search results as structured JSON
- ✓ All Google search types (web, images, news, videos, maps, scholar, shopping)
- ✓ Knowledge graph data
- ✓ People Also Ask data
- ✓ Related searches
Free · 2 plans
| Feature | Brave Search API | Serper |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search | Search |
| Starting Price | Usage-based | Free |
| Model Family | Brave independent search index | Google SERP data |
| Open Source | No | No |
Pricing verified Apr 7, 2026. Brave Search API pricing | Serper pricing
Key Differences
- Model family: Brave Search API uses Brave independent search index; Serper uses Google SERP data.
- Platforms: Brave Search API runs on API, Any HTTP client, Python, TypeScript; Serper runs on API, LangChain, Python, TypeScript.
- Provider: Brave Search API is built by Brave Software; Serper is built by Serper.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Brave Search API if you want an independent search API with no user tracking, built on Brave's own index. Choose Serper if you want fast, affordable access to real Google search results for AI agent workflows. Read our full reviews to see which fits your workflow.