Custom Search JSON API Pricing
Google Custom Search JSON API Pricing (2026) — and a cheaper option
Google's Custom Search JSON API gives you 100 free queries per day, then charges $5 per 1,000 queries up to a hard cap of 10,000 per day. Here's exactly what that means — and how Searlo compares at $0.30 per 1,000.
{ "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}How much does the Google Custom Search JSON API cost?
$5 per 1,000 queries, after 100 free queries per day, with a hard ceiling of 10,000 queries per day. Each request returns at most 10 results, so pulling 100 results for one keyword costs ten billable queries — $0.05 per keyword at full depth.
Two limits matter more than the rate. There is no plan above 10,000 queries per day, so the API cannot serve a high-volume workload at any price. And it is closed to new customers: Google's own overview page states that existing customers have until January 1, 2027 to move to something else.
- Paid rate
- $5.00 per 1,000 queries— developers.google.com
- Free tier
- 100 queries per day— developers.google.com
- Daily ceiling
- 10,000 queries per day — no larger plan exists— developers.google.com
- Availability
- Closed to new customers— developers.google.com
- Shutdown for existing customers
- January 1, 2027— developers.google.com
- Cost of 100 results for one keyword
- 10 queries = $0.05
- Searlo, same volume
- $0.30 per 1,000 queries, no daily cap, 3,000 free credits— our pricing
Third-party figures on this page last verified against the sources linked above. Prices change; if you find one of these stale, tell us and we will correct it.
Google's Custom Search JSON API (part of Programmable Search Engine) is priced as follows in 2026: the first 100 search queries per day are free, additional queries cost $5 per 1,000, and there is a hard limit of 10,000 queries per day. Each request returns up to 10 results, so a single page of 100 results consumes ten billable queries.
For small projects the free tier is fine. But the $5-per-1,000 rate and the 10,000/day ceiling become real constraints once you need production search volume, full SERP data, or more than 10,000 daily queries — which the Custom Search JSON API simply will not serve.
Searlo is a drop-in alternative for developers who hit those limits: $0.30 per 1,000 queries (about 94% cheaper), no fixed daily cap, full Google SERP data across web, image, news, and shopping search, and 3,000 free credits to start.
Features
$5/1K vs $0.30/1K
Custom Search JSON API charges $5 per 1,000 queries; Searlo charges $0.30 for the same volume.
10,000/day cap removed
Google caps the JSON API at 10,000 queries/day. Searlo scales past that without a hard ceiling.
Full SERP, not 10 links
Get image, news, and shopping search alongside organic — not just basic web results.
No Programmable Search setup
Skip creating and configuring a Custom Search Engine; call one endpoint with an API key.
Get started in one request
Where Custom Search JSON API needs a configured search engine ID, Searlo is one keyed request:
curl "https://api.searlo.tech/api/v1/search/web?q=best%20laptops%202026&num=10" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"import requests
r = requests.get(
"https://api.searlo.tech/api/v1/search/web",
params={"q": "best laptops 2026", "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("best laptops 2026") + "&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 Google Custom Search JSON API
A direct pricing and capability comparison for 2026.
| Capability | Searlo | Google Custom Search JSON API |
|---|---|---|
| Price per 1,000 queries | $0.30 | $5.00 |
| Free tier | 3,000 credits | 100 queries/day |
| Daily cap | No hard cap | 10,000 queries/day |
| Results per request | Up to 10, full SERP | Up to 10 |
| Image, news & shopping search | Included | Not provided |
| Setup | API key only | Must configure a search engine |
How the $5 per 1,000 rate adds up
Because each Custom Search JSON API request returns at most 10 results and is billed as one query, real workloads consume volume quickly. Pulling the first 50 results for a keyword is five queries; doing that for 1,000 keywords daily is 5,000 queries — $25 a day, or about $750 a month, and you are still inside the 10,000/day cap.
The same 5,000 daily queries on Searlo costs $1.50 a day at $0.30 per 1,000. That gap is why volume users migrate once they outgrow the free tier.
- 100 free queries/day, then $5 per 1,000
- Hard cap of 10,000 queries/day
- 10 results per billable query
- Searlo: $0.30/1K, no hard daily cap
When to move off the Custom Search JSON API
- You exceed 100 free queries/day
- You need more than 10,000 queries/day
- You want full SERP features, not basic results
- The $5/1K rate is too high at your volume
- You want to avoid Programmable Search setup
- You need image, news, or shopping search
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Google Custom Search JSON API cost in 2026?
100 queries per day are free. Beyond that it costs $5 per 1,000 queries, with a hard limit of 10,000 queries per day. Each query returns up to 10 results.
Is there a free tier?
Yes — 100 search queries per day at no cost. Additional queries are billed at $5 per 1,000.
What is the daily limit?
The Custom Search JSON API is capped at 10,000 queries per day. If you need more, you must use a different provider.
Is there a cheaper alternative?
Yes. Searlo provides Google search results at $0.30 per 1,000 queries — roughly 94% cheaper — with no hard daily cap and image/news/shopping search, plus 3,000 free credits.