// Compare · DataBlue vs ScraperAPI

DataBlue vs ScraperAPI — which Google SERP API wins in 2026?

ScraperAPI is great for general scraping but charges 25 credits per Google SERP and returns raw HTML. DataBlue is a Google-first SERP API: 1 credit per SERP, parsed JSON, ~80% cheaper. Honest head-to-head below.

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// TL;DR

Why DataBlue wins.

  • ~80% cheaper for Google SERPs. $29 vs ~$149 at 50K SERPs/month — because ScraperAPI charges 25 credits per Google SERP and we charge 1.
  • Parsed JSON, not raw HTML. Skip BeautifulSoup. Get organic, ads, PAA, knowledge graph as typed fields.
  • Built for SERP, not general scraping. Faster responses, higher Google success rate, and Google verticals (Maps, Shopping, News) ship first.
  • AI-ready out of the box. Schema-guided extraction + MCP server included. No autoparse upgrade required.
// Side-by-side

Feature-by-feature comparison.

What you actually care about, not a 50-row marketing matrix.

FeatureDataBlueScraperAPI
Price for 50K Google SERPs / month$29~$149
Credits per Google SERP125 (premium multiplier)
OutputParsed JSONRaw HTML (you parse)
Structured People Also AskYesDIY from HTML
AI extraction built-inYesNo
MCP serverYesNo
Free tier5,000 SERPs / mo5,000 credits = ~200 Google SERPs
Avg response time1.2s3–6s for SERPs
Best atGoogle SERPGeneral-purpose web scraping
Credit expiryNeverMonthly reset
// Migration · 3 steps

Switch in 10 minutes.

Stop building Google URLs by hand. Stop parsing HTML. Below is the exact diff most teams ship in their first commit.

STEP 01

Drop the URL-encoded proxy call

ScraperAPI is a fetch-and-return-HTML proxy. DataBlue gives you a typed SDK with parsed JSON.

Before · ScraperAPI
# ScraperAPI
import requests
After · DataBlue
# DataBlue
pip install datablue
STEP 02

Replace the URL with a method call

Stop encoding Google URLs and stop paying the 25-credit premium for autoparse. Just call .serp().

Before · ScraperAPI
url = "https://www.google.com/search?q=running+shoes"
r = requests.get(
  "https://api.scraperapi.com",
  params={"api_key": "...", "url": url, "autoparse": "true"},
)
After · DataBlue
from datablue import DataBlue
client = DataBlue(api_key="db_...")
results = client.serp(q="running shoes")
STEP 03

Skip the HTML parsing layer

ScraperAPI returns HTML you have to parse with BeautifulSoup. DataBlue returns structured JSON ready for your pipeline.

Before · ScraperAPI
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
soup = BeautifulSoup(r.text, "html.parser")
organic = [a["href"] for a in soup.select("div.g a")]
After · DataBlue
organic = results["organic"]
paa = results["people_also_ask"]
// Honest take

When ScraperAPI might still win.

DataBlue is a Google SERP API, not a general-purpose proxy. Here's when ScraperAPI is genuinely the right tool.

  • You're scraping non-Google sites at scale.Amazon, e-commerce sites, forums, news outlets — that's ScraperAPI's home turf. We don't cover it.
  • You need a generic proxy with custom JS rendering. ScraperAPI exposes a flexible proxy mode for arbitrary URLs. DataBlue is opinionated and only does Google verticals.
  • Your team wants HTML, not JSON.If your downstream pipeline already eats HTML, forcing it through a JSON shape is friction you don't need.
// Real money

What teams actually save.

50K Google SERPs/month with autoparse on ScraperAPI.

$149/mo
ScraperAPI · Business plan
$29/mo
DataBlue · Starter plan
// You save$120/mo · $1,440/yearsame volume · parsed JSON · 5K free credits forever
// FAQ

Migration questions.

No. DataBlue is flat: 1 SERP = 1 credit. You don't pay extra for autoparse, render, premium proxies, or geo. The price you see is the price you pay.
We don't. DataBlue is a Google-first SERP API. If your usage is, say, Amazon product pages plus Google SERPs, keep ScraperAPI for Amazon and use DataBlue for SERPs — most teams who do this still come out ahead, since SERPs were the expensive part.
Not for SERPs. We return parsed organic, ads, shopping, PAA, knowledge graph as typed JSON. You delete the parser layer entirely.
All handled internally. You don't pick proxy types, you don't tune retries, and you don't hit a credit cliff when our system has to retry. If we don't return data, you don't pay credits — period.

Start free — migrate in 10 minutes.

5,000 free credits every month, no credit card. Parsed JSON, 1-credit pricing, credits that never expire.

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