Apify Alternative
A simpler Apify alternative for search
Apify runs a marketplace of scraper 'actors' you configure and maintain. For Google search, Searlo is one stable endpoint that returns parsed SERP data at $0.30 per 1,000 queries.
{ "searchTime": 0.17, "totalResults": 85000, "page": 1, "organic": [ { "position": 1, "title": "31.10. Connection Pools and Data Sources", "link": "www.postgresql.org/docs/…", "domain": "postgresql.org", "snippet": "For an environment without an application se…" }, { "position": 2, "domain": "medium.com", … }, { "position": 3, "domain": "stackoverflow.blog", … } ], "credits": 1}Apify is flexible: actors can scrape almost anything. But that flexibility means choosing an actor, configuring it, and dealing with variability in quality and upkeep — especially as Google's SERP changes. For search results, that is overhead.
Searlo replaces the actor model for search with a single maintained endpoint. One keyed request returns organic positions and SERP features, parsed and consistent, at $0.30 per 1,000 queries with 3,000 free credits.
Searlo also scrapes, crawls, maps and extracts from arbitrary pages directly — /scrape, /crawl, /map and /extract sit under the same key and are priced per page (1 credit, or 5 from November 1, 2026 for a page that needs a browser), so a general scraping job doesn't require choosing an actor either.
Features
One endpoint, no actors
A single maintained SERP API instead of selecting and tuning scrapers.
Consistent parsed output
Stable response schema with positions and SERP features.
Synchronous, no run queue
One request returns the parsed results directly, with no run queue or actor cold start. Web search median is about 1 second (p90 about 2.5 s, measured September 2026).
$0.30 per 1,000
Simple per-query pricing with no compute-unit math.
Get started in one request
No actor to configure — just one request:
curl "https://api.searlo.tech/api/v1/search/web?q=personal%20loans&num=10" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"import requests
r = requests.get(
"https://api.searlo.tech/api/v1/search/web",
params={"q": "personal loans", "num": 10},
headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
results = r.json()["organic"]
for o in results:
print(o["position"], o["domain"], o["title"])const res = await fetch(
"https://api.searlo.tech/api/v1/search/web?q=" +
encodeURIComponent("personal loans") + "&num=10",
{ headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" } },
);
const { organic } = await res.json();
organic.forEach(o =>
console.log(o.position, o.domain, o.title));Searlo vs Apify
For Google search specifically, a single endpoint beats actor management.
| Capability | Searlo | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Model | One SERP endpoint | Actor marketplace |
| Maintenance | Managed for you | Actor upkeep varies |
| Output schema | Consistent | Per-actor |
| Pricing | $0.30 / 1,000 queries | Compute units + usage |
| Free credits | 3,000 | Free tier (CU-based) |
| Scrape one page | $0.30 / 1,000 ($1.50 with a browser from Nov 1, 2026), no actor to pick | Actor-dependent CU cost |
| Crawl a whole site | 1 credit/page (5 rendered from Nov 1, 2026), job id + webhook | Actor run, CU-billed |
When one endpoint beats a marketplace
A marketplace shines when your targets are diverse and changing. But if your need is consistent Google search data, a single specialized endpoint is more predictable: stable schema, a per-query cost you can budget, and a provider whose job is keeping the SERP parser current.
You trade breadth you don't need for reliability you do.
- No actor selection or tuning
- Predictable schema and per-query cost
- Per-query pricing, not compute units
- SERP features parsed for you
What a page actually costs on Apify vs Searlo
Apify doesn't sell a per-page rate — it sells compute time. Every actor run is billed in compute units (1 CU = 1GB RAM for one hour) at $0.20/CU on the Free and Starter plans, dropping to $0.16/CU on Scale and $0.13/CU on Business. What that comes out to per page depends on which actor you're running and how heavy the target site is, and Apify doesn't publish a conversion — you find out by running the actor and reading the usage dashboard afterward.
Searlo's /scrape, /crawl, /map and /extract skip that step entirely: one credit per call (per successfully-fetched URL for /extract), $0.30 per 1,000, and from November 1, 2026, 5 credits for a page that has to be rendered. Both prices are published, with no actor to benchmark first.
- Apify: $0.20/CU (Free/Starter) to $0.13/CU (Business) — actual page cost is actor-dependent
- Searlo: $0.30 per 1,000 pages ($1.50 for pages that need a browser, from Nov 1, 2026), no actor run to benchmark
- Apify Free: $5 usage/month; Searlo: 3,000 credits, one-time, no card
Switch when you
- Only need Google search results
- Want a stable response schema
- Prefer per-query over compute-unit pricing
- Don't want to maintain actors
- Build rank trackers or SEO tools
- Need a stable, well-documented response schema
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How is Searlo different from Apify?
Apify is a marketplace of configurable scraper actors; Searlo is a single maintained Google SERP API with a consistent schema and per-query pricing.
Do I have to maintain anything?
No. Searlo maintains the SERP parser and infrastructure; you call one endpoint and get structured data.
Is pricing simpler?
Yes. It's $0.30 per 1,000 queries — no compute-unit calculations or per-actor variation.
What do I get in the response?
Organic results with positions, titles, links, snippets, domains, and favicons in a stable JSON schema.
Can I start free?
Yes — 3,000 free credits.
Can Searlo scrape and crawl pages, not just search?
Yes. /scrape returns any URL as markdown, HTML, links and tables; /crawl walks a whole site as a background job; /map lists a site's URLs from its sitemap; /extract turns a field schema into structured records. All four bill 1 credit per page (per successful URL for /extract; from November 1, 2026, 5 for a page that needs a browser, which /map never does), with no actor to configure. See the Web Scraping API page for the full endpoint set.
From the team behind Searlo
We also build RenderKit — the browser-rendering API for screenshots, PDFs, and LLM-ready markdown. Same billing model, same developer-first API design.