Apify vs Oxylabs SERP API: full comparison for 2026
Last updated: June 2026
Quick verdict
Apify (3.8/5) edges ahead of Oxylabs SERP API (3.8/5) overall. Apify is the better choice for developers needing flexible, customisable data extraction from any web source with managed proxies and no infrastructure overhead. Oxylabs SERP API is the stronger option for enterprise teams needing real-time (not cached) SERP data with custom extraction logic backed by a large proprietary proxy network. The right choice depends on your project size, budget, and required tech stack.
Apify vs Oxylabs SERP API: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Apify | Oxylabs SERP API |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 | 2015 |
| HQ | Prague, Czech Republic | Vilnius, Lithuania |
| Team size | 51–200 | 201–500 |
| Rating | 3.8 / 5 | 3.8 / 5 |
| Best for | Developers needing flexible, customisable data extraction from any web source with managed proxies and no infrastructure overhead | Enterprise teams needing real-time (not cached) SERP data with custom extraction logic backed by a large proprietary proxy network |
| Pricing model | Usage-based ($5 free platform credits/month; $49/month starter); Actor runs billed per compute unit | Pay-per-request (~$3–$15/1K queries by target and mode); volume discounts on enterprise plans |
| Min. engagement | $5/month (Free plan with $5 platform credits) | Not publicly disclosed (enterprise sales process) |
| Primary tech stack | REST API, JavaScript/Node.js SDK, Python SDK | REST API, Python SDK, Node.js SDK |
| Industries served | E-commerce, Marketing Analytics, Research & Academia, AI / LLM Workflows | E-commerce, Marketing Analytics, Financial Services, Research & Academia |
Apify vs Oxylabs SERP API: overview
Apify
Apify is a cloud web scraping and automation platform that provides search API capabilities through its Actor marketplace — a library of 3,000+ pre-built web scrapers and automation scripts runnable via REST API. Actors for Google Search, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Amazon, and hundreds of other sources are available as ready-to-use endpoints. Unlike SERP API SaaS products, each Actor runs in an isolated container with managed proxies and configurable output schemas. Apify was founded in 2015 by Jan Curn and Jakub Kopecký and is headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic. It serves 50,000+ developers and 1,000+ enterprise clients (per company website; independently unverifiable).
Oxylabs SERP API
Oxylabs SERP Scraper API provides structured SERP data from Google, Bing, Baidu, and other engines by routing live requests through its own 102M+ IP proxy network — no cached data. Custom JavaScript parsers allow callers to define exactly what is extracted from each result page. Oxylabs was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, with offices in the US and UK. It holds ISO 27001 certification. The SERP API uses asynchronous delivery with webhooks or polling, with typical completion times of 5–30 seconds depending on target and proxy routing. Notable clients include Reebok, Adidas, and Nielsen (per company website; independently unverifiable).
Services and capabilities: Apify vs Oxylabs SERP API
| Capability | Apify | Oxylabs SERP API |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time web search | ✗ | ✗ |
| News & event intelligence | ✗ | ✗ |
| Structured JSON output | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI / LLM pipeline integration | ✗ | ✗ |
| Scheduled monitoring | ✗ | ✗ |
| Multi-language coverage | ✗ | ✗ |
Tech stack comparison: Apify vs Oxylabs SERP API
| Framework / platform | Apify | Oxylabs SERP API |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Python SDK | ✓ | ✓ |
| JSON output | N/A | ✓ |
| LLM validation | N/A | N/A |
| Webhook delivery | N/A | N/A |
Pricing comparison: Apify vs Oxylabs SERP API
| Criterion | Apify | Oxylabs SERP API |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum engagement | $5/month (Free plan with $5 platform credits) | Not publicly disclosed (enterprise sales process) |
| Engagement models | Free tier, Monthly subscription, Enterprise contract | Pay-as-you-go, Enterprise contract |
| Rate transparency | Minimum disclosed | Minimum disclosed |
| Price tier | Accessible | Mid-market |
Target audience comparison: Apify vs Oxylabs SERP API
| Dimension | Apify | Oxylabs SERP API |
|---|---|---|
| Best company size | Startup to mid-market | Startup to mid-market |
| Best industries | E-commerce, Marketing Analytics, Research & Academia | E-commerce, Marketing Analytics, Financial Services |
| Best use cases | Competitive intelligence scraping across dozens of sources using community Actors rather than building custom scrapers, E-commerce price monitoring across multiple retailers with normalised JSON output schemas | Real-time e-commerce price intelligence requiring current (not cached) SERP and product listing data, Competitive SEO monitoring in markets with frequent HTML changes where a fixed parser would break |
| Typical project type | Free tier | Pay-as-you-go |
Apify vs Oxylabs SERP API: pros and cons
| Apify | |
|---|---|
| + | 3,000+ pre-built Actors for Google, Bing, Amazon, LinkedIn, and niche sources — no custom scraper code required |
| + | Each Actor runs in an isolated container with managed proxies — eliminates scraping infrastructure and proxy rotation |
| + | Highly customisable: modify Actor source code, define output schemas, chain Actors for multi-step extraction pipelines |
| + | Scheduling and webhooks enable event-driven and recurring data collection without custom orchestration |
| + | $5 monthly free credit covers meaningful testing across multiple Actors before committing to paid usage |
| - | Billing complexity — compute units, Actor costs, and proxy usage billed separately, harder to estimate than per-query SERP pricing |
| - | Google Search Actors are community-maintained — quality and freshness vary; some break when Google updates its HTML structure |
| - | Actor cold-start latency makes Apify unsuitable for real-time or sub-second search response requirements |
| - | No SOC2, SLA, or enterprise compliance certifications documented for the core platform |
| Oxylabs SERP API | |
|---|---|
| + | 102M+ residential and datacenter IP pool — high success rate against bot detection on Google, Bing, and Baidu |
| + | Real-time crawling — every response reflects the current SERP state at request time, not a cached snapshot |
| + | Custom JavaScript parsers enable caller-defined output schemas beyond a fixed SERP data model |
| + | ISO 27001 certified — documented information security management for compliance-sensitive procurement |
| + | Multi-engine support with per-engine parameter customisation for Google, Bing, Baidu, and Yahoo |
| - | Enterprise-only pricing — requires a sales process before access; no self-serve free tier documented |
| - | 5–30 second response times via asynchronous delivery make it unsuitable for real-time user-facing search |
| - | Per-request pricing is expensive at high volume compared to DataForSEO standard queue pricing |
| - | Custom parsers require JavaScript maintenance when target sites update HTML structure |
Who should choose Apify?
Apify is the right choice for developers needing flexible, customisable data extraction from any web source with managed proxies and no infrastructure overhead.
3,000+ pre-built Actors (scrapers) for any website, each runnable as an API endpoint — more flexible than fixed-schema SERP APIs, at the cost of actor-level quality variance. Minimum engagement starts at $5/month (Free plan with $5 platform credits). Works best with clients in E-commerce, Marketing Analytics, Research & Academia, AI / LLM Workflows.
Who should choose Oxylabs SERP API?
Oxylabs SERP API is the right choice for enterprise teams needing real-time (not cached) SERP data with custom extraction logic backed by a large proprietary proxy network.
Live crawling via 102M+ proprietary IPs with caller-defined JavaScript parsers — real-time data with custom output schemas, not a fixed-schema cached SERP product. Minimum engagement starts at Not publicly disclosed (enterprise sales process). Works best with clients in E-commerce, Marketing Analytics, Financial Services, Research & Academia.
Decision matrix: Apify vs Oxylabs SERP API
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You need maximum recall across trade press and regional sources | Compare coverage benchmarks directly |
| You need sub-second real-time results | Apify |
| Your budget is at the lower end | Compare: Apify ($5/month (Free plan with $5 platform credits)) vs Oxylabs SERP API (Not publicly disclosed (enterprise sales process)) |
| You need structured data for downstream LLM processing | Apify |
| You need scheduled monitoring with deduplication | Neither; check alternatives for monitoring features |
| You need enterprise compliance (SOC2, GDPR, ISO) | Verify compliance certifications directly |
Use case fit: Apify vs Oxylabs SERP API
| Use case | Apify fit | Oxylabs SERP API fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitive intelligence scraping across dozens of sources using community Actors rather than building custom scrapers | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| E-commerce price monitoring across multiple retailers with normalised JSON output schemas | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Real-time e-commerce price intelligence requiring current (not cached) SERP and product listing data | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Competitive SEO monitoring in markets with frequent HTML changes where a fixed parser would break | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Financial risk monitoring | Limited | Limited | Both equally |
| LLM knowledge base population | Limited | Limited | Both equally |
Verdict: Apify vs Oxylabs SERP API
Apify (3.8/5) is the stronger overall choice for most Web Search API projects. 3,000+ pre-built Actors (scrapers) for any website, each runnable as an API endpoint — more flexible than fixed-schema SERP APIs, at the cost of actor-level quality variance. It is best for developers needing flexible, customisable data extraction from any web source with managed proxies and no infrastructure overhead.
Oxylabs SERP API (3.8/5) is the better choice when enterprise teams needing real-time (not cached) SERP data with custom extraction logic backed by a large proprietary proxy network. If your situation matches those criteria, Oxylabs SERP API is a competitive option.
Related comparisons
Apify vs Oxylabs SERP API FAQ
Is Apify better than Oxylabs SERP API?
Apify (3.8/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Apify is better for developers needing flexible, customisable data extraction from any web source with managed proxies and no infrastructure overhead. Oxylabs SERP API is better for enterprise teams needing real-time (not cached) SERP data with custom extraction logic backed by a large proprietary proxy network.
How do Apify and Oxylabs SERP API differ in pricing?
Apify uses usage-based ($5 free platform credits/month; $49/month starter); actor runs billed per compute unit pricing with a minimum engagement of $5/month (Free plan with $5 platform credits). Oxylabs SERP API uses pay-per-request (~$3–$15/1k queries by target and mode); volume discounts on enterprise plans pricing with a minimum engagement of Not publicly disclosed (enterprise sales process). Neither firm publishes a full rate card; a discovery call is required for project-specific quotes.
Which is better for enterprise: Apify or Oxylabs SERP API?
Oxylabs SERP API is the larger team and typically the better enterprise-scale choice. For very large programmes, verify team size and compliance coverage directly with each provider before shortlisting.
What are the main differences between Apify and Oxylabs SERP API?
Apify's primary differentiator is: 3,000+ pre-built actors (scrapers) for any website, each runnable as an api endpoint — more flexible than fixed-schema serp apis, at the cost of actor-level quality variance. Oxylabs SERP API's primary differentiator is: live crawling via 102m+ proprietary ips with caller-defined javascript parsers — real-time data with custom output schemas, not a fixed-schema cached serp product. They also differ in team size (51–200 vs 201–500), minimum engagement ($5/month (Free plan with $5 platform credits) vs Not publicly disclosed (enterprise sales process)), and primary industries served (E-commerce, Marketing Analytics vs E-commerce, Marketing Analytics).
Last reviewed: June 2026. Verify all details directly with each provider before making a decision.