Bing Search API Retired: 5 Real Replacements Tested (May 2026)

Microsoft retired the Bing Search API on August 11, 2025. New signups closed first, then existing keys were transitioned to Microsoft's Generative AI Services on a tiered timeline. If your product depends on Bing search results, you have already migrated or you are about to.

I spent a week porting a small SaaS off Bing's API to five different replacement services. Same workload, same queries, same expectations. Here is what worked, what did not, and which API I ended up shipping with.

Why Microsoft Killed It

The official line: usage shifted to AI-grounded search. The unofficial line: the SERP-data resale market commoditised, margins disappeared, and Microsoft repositioned its ranking signal as a value-add to its LLM products instead of a standalone SaaS.

Whatever the reason, the practical effect is the same. Teams using Bing Search API for AI agent grounding, rank tracking, content analysis, or affiliate research have to find a new provider.

The Test

To compare replacements fairly, I built a tiny migration harness:

• 50 representative queries from a real production app (mix of US and UK, mix of brand and product searches).
• For each provider, I rewrote one Bing API call into the new shape.
• Logged developer time to migrate, latency, success rate, monthly cost projection at 100,000 queries.

Five replacements made the cut: Serpent API, SerpApi.com, DataForSEO, Bright Data SERP API, and Brave Search API. Microsoft's own Generative AI Services Grounding endpoint also gets a section because some teams will want to evaluate it.

The Results Table

#1 Serpent API — Cheapest, Drop-in Bing Endpoint

Serpent has a dedicated engine=bing parameter that returns a JSON shape close to what most teams ship today. Under the hood it routes via a different backend, but the response is consistent — organic results, ads, related searches, sitelinks, all there.

Migration: map webPages.value[] → organic_results[], rename a few fields, ship. Two hours total for a typical app.

# Before (Bing Search API)
import requests
r = requests.get(
    "https://api.bing.microsoft.com/v7.0/search",
    headers={"Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key": KEY},
    params={"q": "best protein powder", "mkt": "en-US"}
)
results = r.json()["webPages"]["value"]

# After (Serpent API)
import requests
r = requests.get(
    "https://apiserpent.com/api/search",
    params={"q": "best protein powder", "engine": "bing",
            "country": "us", "api_key": KEY}
)
results = r.json()["organic_results"]

Cost: $0.30 per 1,000 quick searches at Scale tier. 100K/month = $30. Cheapest in the test.

Watch out: only four engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo). If you need Yandex or Baidu in the same SDK, look elsewhere on this list.

#2 Serper.dev — Google-Only, but Fast and Clean

Serper does not support Bing directly. I include it because a lot of "I used Bing" actually means "I needed search results that did not depend on Google's algorithm" — and for many use cases (AI agents, RAG pipelines), Google's results work fine if you can swap.

Migration: if you can switch your downstream logic to Google, the migration is two to three hours. If you specifically needed Bing's index, skip this row.

Cost: ~$1 per 1,000 at Starter, dropping to ~$0.30 per 1,000 at scale.

#3 DataForSEO — Wide Coverage, Queue Model

DataForSEO has a dedicated Bing endpoint with similar feature parity. The catch: their default Standard Queue is asynchronous (you POST a task, GET the result a few minutes later). Live mode is real-time but pricier.

Migration: rewriting the request flow from synchronous Bing API to async DFS Standard takes about six hours. Or pay 3× for Live and stay synchronous.

Cost: $0.60 per 1,000 SERPs at Standard, $2 at Live.

#4 SerpApi.com — Bing Supported, but Expensive

SerpApi has supported Bing for years and the endpoint shape is mature. The data depth is excellent. The cost is the highest in this list.

import requests
r = requests.get("https://serpapi.com/search", params={
    "q": "best protein powder",
    "engine": "bing",
    "cc": "us",
    "api_key": KEY,
})
results = r.json()["organic_results"]

Cost: Developer plan at $75/month = $15 per 1,000. 100K/month = $1,000+. Roughly 33× more expensive than Serpent for the same Bing data.

Why anyone still picks it: 80+ engine support, Apple App Store, Walmart, Yelp, etc. If your migration requires those, SerpApi may be the only option.

#5 Bright Data SERP API — Reliability at Enterprise Cost

Bright Data has a Bing endpoint that runs on their massive residential proxy network. Sub-second response times and 100% success rate in my test. Worth it for enterprise teams that cannot afford a single failed query.

Migration: the API itself is straightforward. The KYC + contract + sales call onboarding adds days, not hours.

Cost: ~$1.50 per 1,000 (entry) dropping to $0.55 per 1,000 (commit). 100K/month around $150.

Honourable Mention: Brave Search API

Brave runs an independent index. Privacy-first. No tracking. The trade-off is the index is smaller than Bing or Google, so for niche queries you will see fewer results. Their free tier was removed in late 2025; expect to pay from query 1.

Brave is a good fit if you previously used Bing for privacy reasons. It is a poor fit if you used Bing for SERP-feature parity with Google.

Microsoft Generative AI Services: Not Quite a Replacement

Microsoft directs former Bing Search API customers to Grounding with Bing Search inside Azure AI Foundry. This endpoint is designed to be called by an LLM. It returns synthesised answers with citations — not raw SERP results.

If your app was an LLM app calling Bing for grounding, this is a real option. If your app was a rank tracker, an SEO platform, or anything that needed organic positions and SERP features, Grounding-with-Bing is not what you want. You need a third-party SERP API.

The Migration Checklist

Whichever provider you pick, do these in order:

1. Diff the JSON shape. Run the same query through your old Bing call and the new provider. Map every field your app reads. Most schemas converge but field names differ.
2. Verify SERP-feature parity. If you read PAA, related searches, sitelinks, or AIO from Bing, confirm the replacement returns the same. Not all do.
3. Re-test rate limits. Microsoft's Bing API allowed up to 100 QPS on enterprise tiers. Most replacements cap at 600 RPM by default. Plan accordingly.
4. Add automatic refunds. Some replacements (Serpent, Bright Data) refund failed queries automatically. Others require you to retry and absorb the cost. Build retry logic accordingly.
5. Monitor cost the first week. Per-call pricing can drift on volume tiers. Watch your invoice for the first week before fully decommissioning the old Bing integration.

Decision Tree

• Need Bing-equivalent results, watching cost? → Serpent API.
• Need Bing plus Yelp/App Store/Walmart? → SerpApi.com.
• Enterprise reliability, money no object? → Bright Data.
• Could swap to Google in this app? → Serper.dev.
• Needed Bing for privacy reasons? → Brave Search API.
• LLM grounding only, fine with synthesised output? → Microsoft Generative AI Services.

FAQ

Did Microsoft really retire the Bing Search API?

Yes. Microsoft announced the retirement on August 11, 2025. New customer signups stopped first, then existing keys were transitioned to Microsoft's Generative AI Services on a tiered timeline.

What is the cheapest Bing Search API replacement in 2026?

Serpent API at $0.30 per 1,000 quick searches (Scale tier) is the cheapest Bing-equivalent we tested, followed by Serper.dev at $0.30 per 1,000 (Google only) and DataForSEO at $0.60 per 1,000.

Can I migrate from Bing Search API without rewriting my app?

Mostly. Most replacements return a similar JSON shape. The main migration work is mapping field names — for example Bing's webPages.value becomes organic_results in most replacements. Two to four hours for a typical app.

Is Microsoft's new Generative AI Services API a like-for-like replacement?

No. It exposes a Grounding-with-Bing-Search endpoint targeted at LLM apps, not classic SERP scraping. If you need raw Bing organic results plus SERP features, you need a third-party SERP API.

Does Bing search data still differ from Google in 2026?

Yes. Around 18 percent of US queries return materially different top-10 results between the two engines. If you previously used Bing because it surfaced different content, you still want a Bing-equivalent endpoint, not Google.

How long do I have before my old Bing key stops working?

Microsoft's transition period varies by contract type. Most existing customers were given 12 to 18 months. By mid-2026, the original Bing Search API endpoints are off. Migrate this quarter.