The Serper alternative with page content built in
Serpex is a web search API for AI agents that returns search results and the full page content behind them as LLM-ready markdown in a single request. Serper is a low-cost Google search API that returns Google's results page as JSON, sold as prepaid credit packs. Serper lists $0.30 – $1.00 per 1,000 searches; Serpex lists $0.50 – $0.80. Serper’s largest plan ($0.30 per 1,000) costs less per search than our lowest rate, while Serpex costs less on their smallest plan. The difference is page content: Serpex returns it on the same request.
Pricing verified against Serper’s public pricing page on 2026-10-19. Source. Prices change — check theirs before deciding.
Pricing compared
| Serpex | Serper | |
|---|---|---|
| Search, per 1,000 | $0.50 – $0.80 | $0.30 – $1.00 |
| Page content | Included on the same request | A separate Webpage endpoint. Its credit cost is shown after sign-in rather than on a public pricing page |
| Search + content, 10 results, per 1,000 | $3.00 – $4.80 | Not published |
| Free tier | 200 free credits on signup, no card required | 2,500 free queries on signup, no credit card required |
Where Serpex is different
- Cheaper on smaller purchases: $0.65 per 1,000 on a $50 purchase against Serper's $1.00 on its $50 pack, and $0.65 against $0.75 at around $375
- Search results and page markdown in one request (3 credits for 5 pages, 6 for 10); with Serper, page content is a separate call
- Page content is billed on what was actually delivered — failed page fetches are never charged
Where Serper is the better choice
- Cheaper per search at high volume: $0.30 per 1,000 on their $3,750 pack, against our lowest self-serve rate of $0.50. The two match at about $1,250
- Google's own results as JSON, including the knowledge graph, People Also Ask and related searches
- Many Google verticals behind one key: images, news, maps, places, videos, shopping, scholar, patents and autocomplete
- A larger free trial: 2,500 queries with no card, against our 200 credits
Pick Serper if you need Google's results specifically — the knowledge graph, People Also Ask, or a vertical like Maps, Shopping or Scholar — or you run high-volume, search-only workloads where their $0.30 per 1,000 beats our $0.50.
What the Serpex request looks like
One call returns the results and the page content behind them. There is no second request to orchestrate.
curl -X POST https://api.serpex.dev/api/search \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SERPEX_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"query": "how does retrieval augmented generation work",
"include_content": true,
"content_results": 5
}'Frequently asked questions
Is Serpex cheaper than Serper?
Not at every volume. Serper lists $0.30 – $1.00 per 1,000 searches. Its largest plan ($0.30 per 1,000) costs less per search than Serpex's lowest rate ($0.50). On Serper's smallest plan, Serpex costs less. Serpex also returns page content on the same request, which Serper prices separately. Verified against their public pricing page on 2026-10-19.
What is the main difference between Serpex and Serper?
Serper is a low-cost Google search API that returns Google's results page as JSON, sold as prepaid credit packs. Serpex returns search results and the full page content behind them as LLM-ready markdown in a single API call, which is the difference that matters for most retrieval pipelines.
When should I use Serper instead of Serpex?
You need Google's results specifically — the knowledge graph, People Also Ask, or a vertical like Maps, Shopping or Scholar — or you run high-volume, search-only workloads where their $0.30 per 1,000 beats our $0.50.
Can I get both search results and page content in one request?
With Serpex, yes — set include_content on a normal search call and each result comes back with the page converted to markdown. That costs $3.00 – $4.80 per 1,000 requests for 10 results with content. Serper returns page content through a separate call, and does not publish that price on a public pricing page.
Try it against your own queries
Free credits on signup, no card required. Compare the output with Serper on the queries you actually run.