{"id":"serp-scrape","slug":"serp-scrape","name":"SERP / search results API","shortName":"SERP / search results API","problemStatement":"Programmatic search engine results pages.","whenNotTopPick":"privacy index — Brave; AI-agent search — Tavily/Exa.","categoryIds":["cat-search-scrape"],"depotPickProviderId":"serper","depotPickRationale":"pricePerf + capability; compliance caveats for scrape-based SERP.","runnersUpIds":["bright-data","brave-search","serpapi"],"weights":{"capabilityFit":0.25,"pricePerformance":0.18,"latencyReliability":0.15,"developerDx":0.15,"privacyPosture":0.1,"lockInRisk":0.07,"maturity":0.1},"methodologyNotes":"pricePerf + capability; compliance caveats for scrape-based SERP.","tags":["serp"],"depth":{"whenNotToUse":{"text":"privacy index — Brave; AI-agent search — Tavily/Exa.","source":"editorial `whenNotTopPick` (data/jtbds.json)"},"whenNotToUseReason":null,"runnerUp":{"providerId":"bright-data","name":"Bright Data","overallForJob":7.66,"pickOverallForJob":8.03,"beatsPickOn":["capabilityFit","latencyReliability","privacyPosture","maturity"],"source":"first resolvable entry of the job's editorially ranked `runnersUpIds`; scores are stored job-weighted scores"},"runnerUpReason":null,"lockIn":{"pickLockInRisk":4,"runnerUpLockInRisk":5,"scale":"0–10 stored curated estimate; higher = more lock-in (worse)","pickExitSignals":[],"runnerUpExitSignals":[],"pickNotes":[],"selfHostFallback":[],"migration":"The pick has lower stored lock-in risk than runner-up Bright Data (4 vs 5).","migrationReason":null,"derivedFrom":"stored lockInRisk scores, provider tags (oss, self-host, openai-compat, open-models), free rows that list this job, and verbatim provider notes. No migration guide was invented."}},"freshness":{"pick":{"score":{"asOf":"2026-09-14","ageDays":43,"stale":true,"staleAfterDays":30,"reason":null},"lastReviewed":{"asOf":"2026-09-14","ageDays":43,"stale":true,"staleAfterDays":30,"reason":null},"sourceCheck":{"checkedAt":"2026-10-27","sourceUrls":2,"sourcesReachable":1,"pricingRows":1,"pricingRowsReconfirmed":0,"note":"A source re-check confirms the page is reachable and, for pricing rows, that the stored amount and SKU name appear on it. It does not re-derive or change the score.","reason":null}}},"depotPick":{"id":"serper","slug":"serper","name":"Serper","tagline":"Budget SERP hammer. Great for hacks; prefer Tavily/Exa for cleaner long-term agent search.","overall":8.03},"runnersUp":[{"id":"bright-data","slug":"bright-data","name":"Bright Data","tagline":"Nuclear option for hard anti-bot targets. Start with Firecrawl/ScrapingBee; escalate here when blocked.","overall":7.66},{"id":"brave-search","slug":"brave-search","name":"Brave Search API","tagline":"Best privacy-forward search API with an independent index. Strong complement to Tavily/Exa.","overall":8.33},{"id":"serpapi","slug":"serpapi","name":"SerpApi","tagline":"Classic SERP API when you need engine breadth. Prefer Serper for budget Google-only; Exa/Tavily/You for…","overall":8.15}]}