SearXNG vs SerpAPI
SearXNG is a free, open-source meta-search engine you host yourself that aggregates results from 70+ search engines. SerpAPI is a managed SERP API that handles proxy rotation, CAPTCHA solving, and structured parsing for you. The decision comes down to how much ops time you can sink into maintaining scrapers versus how much you will pay for hosted infrastructure.
SearXNG
Free (self-hosted, AGPL-3.0)
Strengths
- Zero per-query cost once hosted
- Aggregates 70+ engines (Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Brave)
- Full privacy -- no third-party API logs
- Extensible with plugins and custom engines
Weaknesses
- You own reliability, rate limits, and engine breakage
- Engines rotate IPs and block scrapers constantly
- No structured SERP data (knowledge graph, PAA, shopping)
- Deployment, monitoring, and captcha handling are your problem
SerpAPI
$75/mo (5,000 searches), 100 free/mo
Strengths
- Managed proxy rotation and CAPTCHA solving
- Structured JSON for 60+ search engines
- Rich SERP features: knowledge graph, PAA, shopping, images
- Legal precedent from 2025 Google case
Weaknesses
- $75/mo entry tier is steep for low volume
- Credit burn on rich SERP features
- Vendor lock-in for structured response shape
- No built-in LLM-optimized summarization
Feature-by-feature comparison
The verdict
SearXNG is the right call if you already have an ops team that can babysit scrapers and you value privacy above structured SERP features. For everyone else -- especially teams shipping agents into production -- the hours you save by not maintaining 70 engine adapters are worth more than the monthly API bill. SearXNG shines for internal search, not agent-facing workflows.
Consider Scavio instead
Scavio gives you structured Google, YouTube, Amazon, Walmart, and Reddit data in a single API at $30/mo for 7,000 credits. No proxy pool to maintain, no HTML parsing to write, and no AGPL license to worry about in your commercial product.
Frequently Asked Questions
SearXNG is a free, open-source meta-search engine you host yourself that aggregates results from 70+ search engines. SerpAPI is a managed SERP API that handles proxy rotation, CAPTCHA solving, and structured parsing for you. The decision comes down to how much ops time you can sink into maintaining scrapers versus how much you will pay for hosted infrastructure.
SearXNG is priced at Free (self-hosted, AGPL-3.0). SerpAPI is priced at $75/mo (5,000 searches), 100 free/mo. The better value depends on your usage volume and feature requirements.
Scavio gives you structured Google, YouTube, Amazon, Walmart, and Reddit data in a single API at $30/mo for 7,000 credits. No proxy pool to maintain, no HTML parsing to write, and no AGPL license to worry about in your commercial product.
Some teams use both tools for different parts of their pipeline. However, a unified API like Scavio can replace the need for multiple subscriptions by providing search, content extraction, YouTube, and Amazon data from a single endpoint.
Try Scavio for free
500 free credits/month. Structured data from Google, YouTube, Amazon, Walmart, and Reddit. No credit card required.