SerpApi Rate Limits

Overview

SerpApi uses credit-based pricing (each search = 1 credit) plus per-second rate limits. Retrieving cached/archived searches does not consume credits. Plans range from 100 searches/month (free) to unlimited (enterprise).

Plan Limits

Plan	Searches/Month	Rate Limit	Price
Free	100	1/second	$0
Developer	5,000	5/second	$75/mo
Business	15,000	10/second	$200/mo
Enterprise	50,000+	15/second	Custom

Instructions

Step 1: Monitor Credit Usage

import serpapi, os

client = serpapi.Client(api_key=os.environ["SERPAPI_API_KEY"])

# Check remaining credits before batch operations
account = client.account()
remaining = account["plan_searches_left"]
used = account["this_month_usage"]
total = account["total_searches_left"]

print(f"Used: {used}, Remaining: {remaining}")
if remaining < 100:
    print("WARNING: Low credits remaining")

Step 2: Request Throttling

import time
from threading import Semaphore

class ThrottledSerpApi:
    def __init__(self, api_key: str, max_per_second: int = 5):
        self.client = serpapi.Client(api_key=api_key)
        self.semaphore = Semaphore(max_per_second)
        self.last_request = 0

    def search(self, **params) -> dict:
        with self.semaphore:
            # Enforce minimum interval
            elapsed = time.time() - self.last_request
            if elapsed < 0.2:  # 5/sec max
                time.sleep(0.2 - elapsed)
            self.last_request = time.time()
            return self.client.search(**params)

Step 3: Use Archive to Avoid Credit Waste

# Retrieve a previous search result by ID (FREE, no credit charge)
archived = client.search(engine="google", search_id="previous_search_id")

# Check if a query was recently searched before spending a credit
# Store search IDs in your database keyed by query+params hash

Step 4: Node.js Rate Limiter

import PQueue from 'p-queue';
import { getJson } from 'serpapi';

const queue = new PQueue({
  concurrency: 3,       // Max parallel requests
  interval: 1000,       // Per second
  intervalCap: 5,       // Max 5 per second
});

async function throttledSearch(params: Record<string, any>) {
  return queue.add(() => getJson({
    ...params,
    api_key: process.env.SERPAPI_API_KEY,
  }));
}

// Batch search with automatic throttling
const queries = ['query1', 'query2', 'query3'];
const results = await Promise.all(
  queries.map(q => throttledSearch({ engine: 'google', q }))
);

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
`429 Too Many Requests`	Rate limit exceeded	Slow down, check plan tier
`Searches exhausted`	Monthly credits used up	Cache results, upgrade plan
`Account disabled`	Payment issue or abuse	Contact SerpApi support

Resources

Next Steps

For security configuration, see serpapi-security-basics.