SerpAPI alternative: Why teams choose cloro for AI scraping

SerpAPI is comprehensive. With support for Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, Yandex, DuckDuckGo, and more, they cover the traditional search landscape with pricing starting at $25/month for 1,000 searches.

But in 2025, comprehensive coverage of traditional search engines isn’t enough. Your audience has moved to AI platforms – ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot – and SerpAPI can’t follow them there.

The search landscape has shifted

Modern SEO requires:

1. AI platform coverage – Not just Google/Bing, but ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot
2. Clean data formats – Parsed objects, not nested JSON to decode
3. Better pricing at scale – $0.90 per 1,000 vs $10+ per 1,000
4. AI visibility tracking – Monitor your brand across AI platforms

SerpAPI was built for the traditional search era. cloro was built for the AI-first future.

What SerpAPI does well

SerpAPI has earned its reputation:

• Broad engine coverage – Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, Yandex, DuckDuckGo, YouTube, eBay
• Deep parameter support – Advanced filters, localization, device types
• Comprehensive results – Every SERP element included in JSON responses
• Rich structured data – Very detailed objects with all Google features exposed

But here’s the tradeoff: You pay a premium for this comprehensiveness. At $10+ per 1,000 searches for higher tiers, the pricing becomes prohibitive for high-volume usage. You’re paying for features you may not need, at a price that doesn’t scale.

Where cloro wins

1. AI Platform Support

SerpAPI covers traditional search engines. cloro covers AI platforms:

• ChatGPT – Scraping with citation extraction
• Perplexity – Source parsing and answer tracking
• Copilot – Microsoft Bing AI monitoring
• Google Gemini – Response extraction
• Grok – Real-time result monitoring
• Google Search – With AI Overview parsing

Same number of platforms (6+), but focused on where users are actually searching.

2. Clean Data vs. Raw JSON

SerpAPI returns comprehensive raw JSON with every possible SERP element. The data is there, but you’ll need to parse through massive nested structures to extract what you need.

cloro returns parsed, ready-to-use objects:

Less parsing, more using. SerpAPI gives you comprehensive data if you’re willing to pay $10+ CPM and do the parsing work yourself.

3. Pricing at Scale

SerpAPI’s comprehensive objects come at a prohibitive price:

• Starter: $25/month (1,000 searches) = $25 per 1,000
• Production: $150/month (15,000 searches) = $10 per 1,000
• Higher tiers: Even more expensive

At $10+ per 1,000 searches, SerpAPI is 11x more expensive than cloro for Google Search ($0.90 per 1,000).

cloro: $0.90 per 1,000 for Google Search with clean parsed data

For high-volume monitoring, you get better pricing and ready-to-use data.

4. AI Visibility Tracking

SerpAPI can’t monitor AI platforms. cloro does:

• ChatGPT monitoring – Track what GPT says about your brand
• Perplexity tracking – Monitor citations and source appearances
• Copilot watching – Microsoft AI result monitoring
• Change alerts – Get notified when AI responses change

SEO in 2025 requires AI platform monitoring.

When to choose SerpAPI

Choose SerpAPI if you need:

• Broad search engine coverage – Google, Bing, Baidu, Yandex, DuckDuckGo
• Regional search – Country-specific engines (Baidu, Yandex, etc.)
• Specialized engines – YouTube, eBay, Amazon, Apple App Store
• Monthly subscription model – Fixed costs for predictable volumes
• Comprehensive raw data – You want every SERP element in raw JSON

When to choose cloro

Choose cloro if you need:

• AI platform coverage – ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, Gemini, Grok
• Clean parsed data – Ready-to-use objects, not raw JSON to parse
• Better pricing at scale – $0.90 per 1,000 vs $10+ per 1,000
• AI visibility tracking – Monitor your brand across AI platforms
• Modern DX – Clean documentation, instant setup

The bottom line

SerpAPI is excellent for traditional SERP scraping across many engines.

But for AI-first SEO and monitoring, cloro offers:

• AI platform coverage – 6+ AI engines vs traditional search only
• Clean data formats – Parsed objects vs raw JSON
• Better pricing at scale – $0.90 per 1,000 vs $10+ per 1,000
• AI visibility – Brand monitoring across AI platforms

Most teams switch from SerpAPI when they need AI platform coverage and better pricing at scale.