Updated October 8, 2026 · First published October 8, 2026

Google Custom Search JSON API Alternatives Before the January 2027 Shutdown

The short answer: Google's Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers, and existing customers have until January 1, 2027 to move off it. If your application uses it to get Google web results, a third-party SERP API is the most direct replacement. PrismCrawl returns live Google results as JSON for $0.30 per 1,000 searches from a $5 purchase, falling to $0.15, with no daily cap and 100 free credits to test your migration.

This guide is published by PrismCrawl, which is one of the alternatives listed. Google's terms come from its Custom Search JSON API documentation and other prices from each provider's public pricing page, checked October 4–8, 2026.

What is changing

Google's documentation states that the Custom Search JSON API "is closed to new customers" and that "existing Custom Search JSON API customers have until January 1, 2027 to transition to an alternative solution." Google's pricing section calls January 1, 2027 the date of the service discontinuation.

Google points customers to Vertex AI Search, which is designed for search over websites and data stores you configure, so it suits site search and internal search. It does not return the results Google shows on its public results page, which is what most Custom Search integrations use the API for.

Custom Search JSON API limits to plan around

• Price: 100 free queries per day, then $5 per 1,000 queries.
• Daily cap: 10,000 queries per day.
• Results: at most 10 results per request and 100 per query.
• Setup: every request needs a Programmable Search Engine ID (cx) as well as an API key.

A replacement should match or beat these on the volume and result depth you actually use.

Replacement options at a glance

The Custom Search figure assumes 3,000 free queries a month (100 per day) and $5 per 1,000 for the rest. SERP APIs bill per search and return SERP features such as AI Overviews alongside the organic results.

Choosing a replacement

1. Confirm what you use the API for. If you need Google's public web results, choose a SERP API. If you search only your own site, compare Vertex AI Search, a hosted site-search product, or a SERP API with site: queries.
2. Count your monthly queries and peak rate. SERP APIs have no daily cap, but each package has a requests-per-second limit.
3. List the fields you read. Most integrations read the title, link, and snippet of each result. Check that the replacement returns those fields for your queries and locations.
4. Test with real queries before the deadline. Use free credits to run your most common queries on two providers and compare the results with what your users see today.

Migrating from Custom Search to PrismCrawl

Custom Search takes a GET request with key, cx, and q. PrismCrawl takes a POST request with your key in the x-api-key header and needs no search engine ID:

curl "https://api.prismcrawl.com/v1/google/search" \
  -X POST -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query":"site:example.com pricing","gl":"us","hl":"en-US"}'

Map the parameters you use:

PrismCrawl returns live, uncached results and bills only successful searches. See the Google Search API overview, the Python guide, or the JavaScript guide for complete examples, and try requests in the playground.

Frequently asked questions

For a broader comparison of Google search APIs, read the best SERP API buyer's guide or see all SERP API alternatives.