The best search API for lead generation in 2026 is Scavio at $0.005/query. Search Google for prospect companies, extract business data from SERP results, and enrich leads with Reddit sentiment and YouTube presence under one API key.
Top Pick
Scavio enables search-based lead generation across Google, Reddit, and YouTube at $0.005/query with prospect enrichment from SERP data.
Full Ranking
#1Our Pick
Scavio
Teams building search-based lead gen pipelines
Pros
- Google search for prospect discovery
- Reddit for sentiment enrichment
- Extract API for company pages
- Multi-platform context
- $0.015/prospect for 3 queries
Cons
- No email finder
- No contact database
- Requires enrichment integration
#2
SerpAPI
Teams with existing SerpAPI integrations
Pros
- Structured Google results
- Google Maps/Places data
- Mature API
- Good documentation
Cons
- $0.025/search at 1K plan
- No Reddit or social context
- No MCP for agent pipelines
- Expensive for high-volume prospecting
#3
Serper
High-volume Google-only prospecting
Pros
- 2,500 free/mo
- Very low cost at scale
- Fast responses
- Google search data
Cons
- Google only
- No enrichment context
- Basic SERP features
- No multi-platform
#4
DataForSEO
Budget bulk prospecting with Google data
Pros
- Cheapest per-query
- Google Maps API
- Structured data
- Pay-as-you-go
Cons
- $50 minimum deposit
- Async delivery for cheap tier
- No social platform data
- Complex setup
#5
Bright Data
Enterprise lead gen with proxy infrastructure
Pros
- Massive data collection capability
- Google + LinkedIn (with proxies)
- Dataset marketplace
- Enterprise scale
Cons
- Enterprise pricing
- Complex setup
- Proxy management needed
- Not a simple API call
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Criteria | Scavio | Runner-up | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead Discovery | Google SERP + Reddit + YouTube | Google SERP + Maps | Google SERP only |
| Enrichment Context | Reddit sentiment + YouTube presence | No social context | No social context |
| Cost per Prospect | $0.015 (3 queries) | $0.075 (3 queries) | Free or $0.003 |
| Agent Pipeline | MCP for automated prospecting | REST API | REST API |
| Free Tier | 250/mo (83 prospects) | 100/mo (33 prospects) | 2,500/mo (833 prospects) |
| Multi-Platform Context | Yes (6 platforms) | No | No |
Why Scavio Wins
- Multi-platform enrichment makes lead gen actionable. Search Google for companies, then check Reddit for sentiment and YouTube for content presence. Each platform adds context that improves outreach personalization.
- At $0.015/prospect (3 queries across platforms), qualifying 1,000 leads costs $15. SerpAPI at $0.075/prospect (3 queries) costs $75 for the same volume. The 5x savings compound on high-volume prospecting.
- MCP integration enables AI agent-driven lead gen. A Claude or LangChain agent can autonomously research prospects, enrich with multi-platform context, and draft personalized outreach. No manual copy-paste research.
- Extract API supplements search-based discovery. After finding a prospect via Google, extract structured data from their website for additional enrichment at 1 credit per page.