SEO MCP vs SerpApi: Raw SERP Scraping vs Keyword Intelligence

SerpApi has been a go-to for developers who need real-time search result data. It scrapes Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other engines, then returns structured JSON. The open-source MCP wrapper makes it easy to pipe that data into Claude or Cursor.

It’s a good tool for what it does. But if you’re looking for a serpapi alternative that goes beyond raw SERP data and actually helps you with keyword strategy, SEO MCP by Delulu9 fills that gap.

What SerpApi Does

SerpApi is a SERP scraping service. You send a search query, it returns the results page as structured data – titles, URLs, snippets, featured snippets, people-also-ask boxes, the works. The open-source MCP wrapper lets you access this from Claude.

Pricing is roughly $0.01 per query on their credit system, or you can self-host the open-source components for free (with your own proxy infrastructure).

The data is accurate and real-time. If you want to know exactly what Google shows for a query right now, SerpApi delivers.

What SerpApi Doesn’t Do

Here’s where the gap shows. SerpApi gives you search results. It doesn’t give you keyword suggestions. It doesn’t categorize intent. It doesn’t score difficulty. And it doesn’t tell you what keywords are trending on Reddit.

You ask “what ranks for X?” and it answers. But you can’t ask “what keywords should I target?” because that’s not what it’s built for.

Where SEO MCP Steps In

SEO MCP by Delulu9 is a keyword research tool, not a SERP scraper. The difference matters. It answers questions like “what keywords should I write about?” and “how hard would it be to rank for this term?” and “what are people on Reddit searching for in this space?”

It pulls from Google, Bing, and Reddit. It categorizes keywords by intent (informational, commercial, transactional, navigational). It scores difficulty so you can prioritize winnable terms. And the Claude/Cursor templates mean you can run these queries without writing any setup code.

$12/mo flat. No per-query charges.

Comparison Table

Feature	SerpApi	SEO MCP
SERP scraping	Yes	No
Keyword suggestions	No	Yes
Intent categorization	No	Yes
Difficulty scoring	No	Yes
Reddit keyword data	No	Yes
MCP server	Yes (open-source)	Yes
REST API	Yes	Yes
Claude/Cursor templates	No	Yes
Self-hostable	Yes	No
Pricing	~$0.01/query or self-host	$12/mo flat

They Solve Different Problems

The seo mcp vs serpapi comparison is a bit like comparing a telescope and a compass. SerpApi lets you see exactly what’s out there in search results right now. SEO MCP helps you figure out which direction to go.

In practice, some teams use both. SerpApi for competitive analysis and SERP monitoring. SEO MCP for keyword discovery and content planning. They’re complementary more than competitive.

But if you can only pick one, the question is: do you need to see current search results, or do you need to find the right keywords to target?

When to Use SerpApi

You’re building a tool that needs live SERP data. You want to monitor rankings programmatically. You need to scrape featured snippets or people-also-ask data. SerpApi is built for exactly this.

When to Use SEO MCP

You’re planning content. You want to find keywords with commercial intent. You want to know what people on Reddit are searching for. You want keyword research baked into your Claude Code workflow without any integration work.

The Bottom Line

SerpApi is excellent infrastructure for SERP data. SEO MCP is excellent tooling for keyword strategy. If your goal is finding the right keywords and understanding their intent, SEO MCP gives you that out of the box for $12/mo – no scraping infrastructure needed, no query-by-query costs to track.