Firecrawl vs Google Programmable Search Engine (Custom Search JSON API)
Firecrawl and Google Programmable Search Engine (Custom Search JSON API) are both Web Search APIs, compared here on pricing, compliance, capabilities, and developer experience from structured, cited data - not reviews or paid placement. Firecrawl supports self-serve signup; the other routes through a sales conversation. On compliance, Firecrawl additionally documents SOC 2, GDPR. Firecrawl supports webhooks for event-driven integration; the other does not document them. For coding-agent use, Firecrawl scores higher on agent-friendliness (65 vs 20).
| Field | Firecrawl | Google Programmable Search Engine (Custom Search JSON API) |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $16 month | $5 1,000 queries |
| Pricing model | Subscription | Usage |
| Free tier | ✓ | ✓ |
| Self-serve signup | ✓ | ✗ |
| SOC 2 | Type II | · |
| HIPAA | · | · |
| GDPR | ✓ | · |
| Webhooks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sandbox | ✗ | ✗ |
| Documented actions | 10 | 3 |