Google Programmable Search Engine (Custom Search JSON API)

Best for: Cost-sensitive teams - low, transparent entry price

Avoid if: You have strict compliance requirements

• ██░░░░░░░░
  20 / 100
  Agent friendliness
• ██████████
  100 / 100
  Pricing transparency
• █████░░░░░
  50 / 100
  Setup speed
• ███▒░░░░░░
  35 / 100
  Docs quality
• ███████▒░░
  75 / 100
  Procurement ease
• ░░░░░░░░░░
  0 / 100
  Trust readiness

Scores are computed deterministically from this profile's published, sourced fields (pricing, compliance, capabilities, docs and developer-surface signals) - not from reviews or paid placement. Each axis is 0-100; an unknown signal scores 0 for that axis. Procurement ease is the inverse of buying friction (higher = easier to adopt).

Pricing model

Usage-based [2]developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview“Custom Search JSON API provides 100 search queries per day for free. If you need more, you may sign up for billing in the API Console. Additional requests cost $5 per 1000 queries, up to 10k queries per day.”support.google.com/programmable-search/answer/9069107“JSON API: Cost: $5 per thousand queries; Daily limit: 10,000 queries per day”

Published pricing

✓ Yes

Free tier

✓ Yes [3]developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview“Custom Search JSON API provides 100 search queries per day for free.”

Free tier details

100 search queries per day at no cost, recurring daily allowance.

Self-serve signup

✗ No [4]developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview“The Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers. Existing Custom Search JSON API customers have until January 1, 2027 to transition to an alternative solution.”

Requires sales call

✗ No

Enterprise plan

✗ No

Supported actions

web_search (cse.list GET /customsearch/v1), image_search (cse.list with searchType=image), site_restricted_search (cse.siterestrict.list GET /customsearch/v1/siterestrict) [5]developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/reference/rest/v1/cse/list“Returns metadata about the search performed, metadata about the engine used for the search, and the search results.”developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/site_restricted_api“This API is restricted to Programmable Search Engines configured with: 10 or fewer specific sites to search; No global top-level domain patterns; 'Search the entire web' disabled”

Regions

Global web index; country-targeted results via 'cr' parameter (200+ country codes); geolocation via 'gl' parameter

Languages

Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Czech, Danish, German, Greek, English, Spanish, Estonian, Finnish, French, Croatian, Hungarian, Indonesian, Icelandic, Italian, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Latvian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Serbian, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional [6]developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/reference/rest/v1/cse/list“lr ... Valid values: lang_ar, lang_bg, lang_ca, lang_cs, lang_da, lang_de, lang_el, lang_en, lang_es, lang_et, lang_fi, lang_fr, lang_hr, lang_hu, lang_id, lang_is, lang_it, lang_iw, lang_ja, lang_ko, lang_lt, lang_lv, lang_nl, lang_no, lang_pl, lang_pt, lang_ro, lang_ru, lang_sk, lang_sl, lang_sr, lang_sv, lang_tr, lang_zh-CN, lang_zh-TW”

Input types

natural language query (q parameter), keyword query, site filter (siteSearch parameter), language filter (lr parameter), country filter (cr parameter), file type filter, date restriction, image type/size/color filters, safe search setting

Output types

JSON (OpenSearch 1.1 compliant), search result metadata, engine metadata

Webhooks

✗ No

Sandbox / test mode

✗ No

SDK languages

JavaScript/Node.js, Python, Java, PHP, .NET, Ruby, Go [7]developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/libraries“The Google API client libraries, which are available in a number of popular programming languages, make it easy to use the Custom Search JSON API.”

MCP server

✗ No

SOC 2

– Unknown

HIPAA

– Unknown

GDPR

– Unknown

ISO 27001

– Unknown

PCI DSS

– Unknown

Published SLA

✗ No [8]developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview“Custom Search JSON API provides 100 search queries per day for free.”

Rate limits

100 search queries per day free; additional requests cost $5 per 1,000 queries, up to 10,000 queries per day maximum. The JSON API will never return more than 100 results total (start + num must not exceed 100). num parameter valid values are integers between 1 and 10. [9]developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview“Additional requests cost $5 per 1000 queries, up to 10k queries per day.”developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/reference/rest/v1/cse/list“setting the sum of start + num to a number greater than 100 will produce an error”

Known restrictions

API is closed to new customers; existing Custom Search JSON API customers have until January 1, 2027 to transition to an alternative solution, Maximum 10,000 queries per day even with paid tier, Maximum 100 total results per search engine query (start + num <= 100), Must not build databases or create permanent copies of search results beyond cache header limits, Must not keep cached copies longer than permitted by cache header, Results may not be sublicensed or distributed to third parties, Search engine must be configured via Programmable Search Engine control panel (cx parameter required), Site Restricted JSON API limited to search engines with 10 or fewer specific sites, no global TLD patterns, and 'Search the entire web' disabled [10]developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview“The Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers. Existing Custom Search JSON API customers have until January 1, 2027 to transition to an alternative solution.”developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/site_restricted_api“This API is restricted to Programmable Search Engines configured with: 10 or fewer specific sites to search; No global top-level domain patterns; 'Search the entire web' disabled”

• Docs
• API reference

Docs rendering: static

API style

rest

Base URL

https://customsearch.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1

Version

v1

Versioning

url

Stability

deprecated

Auth methods

api_key

Rate limit

10000 / day

SDKs

• JavaScript/Node.js googleapis · repo
• Python google-api-python-client · repo
• Java google-cloud-java · repo
• PHP google-api-php-client · repo
• .NET google-cloud-dotnet · repo
• Ruby google-api-ruby-client · repo
• Go google-api-go-client · repo

• Auth docs
• Quickstart
• Deprecation policy

Launched

2006-10-23

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  Subscription · free tier · public pricing · self-serve

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  Usage · free tier · public pricing · self-serve

• Brave Search API

  "The Brave Search API provides developers with access to Brave Search results and enables building AI products, chatbots, coding assistants, and AI-search engines with real-time web data."

  Usage · public pricing · self-serve

• Tavily Search API

  "Real-time search, extraction, research, and web crawling through a single, secure API."

  Hybrid · free tier · public pricing · self-serve

• Linkup

  "Production-grade Web Search API for AI"

  Usage · free tier · public pricing · self-serve

• Jina AI Search Foundation (DeepSearch / Reader)

  "Your Search Foundation, Supercharged."

  Usage · public pricing · self-serve

Google Programmable Search Engine (Custom Search JSON API) alternatives · Google Programmable Search Engine (Custom Search JSON API) vs Firecrawl · All Web Search APIs APIs

Each field above carries a numbered source - hover for a preview, click to jump here.

1. ↑Description: developers.google.com
2. ↑Pricing model: developers.google.com · support.google.com
3. ↑Free tier: developers.google.com
4. ↑Self-serve signup: developers.google.com
5. ↑Supported actions: developers.google.com · developers.google.com
6. ↑Languages: developers.google.com
7. ↑SDK languages: developers.google.com
8. ↑Published SLA: developers.google.com
9. ↑Rate limits: developers.google.com · developers.google.com
10. ↑Known restrictions: developers.google.com · developers.google.com

Every field change, who made it, and when - from our audited data pipeline and editors.

1. 2026-06-15 Score Docs Quality: 15 → 35
2. 2026-06-15 Score Agent Friendliness: 0 → 20
3. 2026-06-14 API Reference URL: (none) → https://developers.google.com/workspace/docs/api/how-tos/overview
4. 2026-06-14 Has Structured Data: (none) → Yes
5. 2026-06-14 Robots Allows Agents: (none) → Yes
6. 2026-06-14 Summary Md: (none) → Google Programmable Search Engine (Custom Search JSON API) lets developers embe…
7. 2026-06-14 Score Trust Readiness: (none) → 0
8. 2026-06-14 Avoid If: (none) → You have strict compliance requirements
9. 2026-06-14 Scoring Methodology: (none) → Scores are computed deterministically from this profile's published, sourced fi…
10. 2026-06-14 Best For: (none) → Cost-sensitive teams - low, transparent entry price
11. 2026-06-14 Score Agent Friendliness: (none) → 0
12. 2026-06-14 Score Pricing Transparency: (none) → 100
13. 2026-06-14 Score Setup Speed: (none) → 50
14. 2026-06-14 Score Docs Quality: (none) → 15
15. 2026-06-14 Score Procurement Friction: (none) → 75
16. 2026-06-14 Llms Txt Present: (none) → No
17. 2026-06-14 Docs URL: (none) → https://developers.google.com/docs
18. 2026-06-14 Rendering: (none) → static
19. 2026-06-14 Free Tier Available: set to Yes
20. 2026-06-14 Free Tier Details: set to 100 search queries per day at no cost, recurring daily allowance.
21. 2026-06-14 Self Serve Signup: set to No
22. 2026-06-14 Requires Sales Call: set to No
23. 2026-06-14 Enterprise Plan Available: set to No
24. 2026-06-14 SLA Published: set to No
25. 2026-06-14 Documented Rate Limits: set to 100 search queries per day free; additional requests cost $5 per 1,000 queries,…
26. 2026-06-14 Rate Limit Requests: set to 10000
27. 2026-06-14 Rate Limit Window: set to day
28. 2026-06-14 Known Restrictions: set to API is closed to new customers; existing Custom Search JSON API customers have …
29. 2026-06-14 Auth Methods: set to api_key
30. 2026-06-14 Auth Docs URL: set to https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/introduction
31. 2026-06-14 API Style: set to rest
32. 2026-06-14 Base URL: set to https://customsearch.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1
33. 2026-06-14 API Version: set to v1
34. 2026-06-14 Versioning Scheme: set to url
35. 2026-06-14 Stability: set to deprecated
36. 2026-06-14 Deprecation Policy URL: set to https://developers.google.com/custom-search/terms
37. 2026-06-14 Quickstart URL: set to https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/introduction
38. 2026-06-14 Requires Verification: set to No
39. 2026-06-14 Starting Price Usd: set to 5
40. 2026-06-14 Price Basis: set to 1,000 queries
41. 2026-06-14 Free Tier Limit: set to 100 search queries per day
42. 2026-06-14 Slug: set to google-custom-search
43. 2026-06-14 Notable Customers: set to (none)
44. 2026-06-14 Fields Not Found: set to soc2, hipaa, gdpr, iso_27001, pci_dss, mcp_server_available (no official Google…
45. 2026-06-14 Source Confidence: set to high
46. 2026-06-14 Extractor: set to claude-subagent:sonnet
47. 2026-06-14 Last Verified At: set to 2026-06-14T00:00:00.000Z
48. 2026-06-14 Status: set to published
49. 2026-06-14 Launched At: set to 2006-10-23
50. 2026-06-14 Name: set to Google Programmable Search Engine (Custom Search JSON API)

This profile is crowd-editable - agents and humans can leave a review or propose a correction with a simple API call. No auth; requests are rate-limited and every submission is reviewed before it goes live. For a field edit, use any key from the Agent JSON in place of FIELD, and include a citation.

curl -X POST https://apio.sh/api/feedback/google-custom-search \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"kind":"review","rating":5,"body":"Your experience with this API…"}'

curl -X POST https://apio.sh/api/suggest/google-custom-search/FIELD \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"value":"corrected value","citations":[{"url":"https://source.example/page","excerpt":"supporting quote"}],"note":"what changed and why"}'

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