Credits and limits

Search1API deducts credits when a request completes successfully. A search that completes but finds zero results is a successful request and is charged; requests that fail with an error status — including 502 service failures — are not charged.

Request costs

Search with full page content

/search and /news have a dynamic cost when you set crawl_results:

1 credit for the search + 1 credit for each page crawled successfully

For example, if crawl_results is 4 and three pages return content, the request costs 4 credits. The unsuccessful crawl is not charged. crawl_results cannot be greater than max_results.

Batch requests are calculated item by item. A failed item has a cost of zero even when other items in the batch succeed.

Free and paid credits

New accounts receive 100 credits without a credit card or expiration date. Subscriptions reset an allowance each month. Top-up credits never expire. When both balances are available, subscription credits are deducted before top-up credits.

See the pricing page for current plans and top-up amounts.

Top up credits

Top up any amount from $5 to $2,000. The base rate is $1 = 1,000 credits. Larger top-ups receive a bonus on the whole amount:

• $19 or more: +5%
• $99 or more: +20%
• $499 or more: +60%

You can start a top-up from the pricing page or from the dashboard. For amounts above $2,000, contact sys@search1api.com.

Auto top-up

Auto top-up is optional and off by default. In the dashboard, set a credit threshold, a top-up amount, and a card. Search1API charges that amount only after your combined available subscription and top-up credits fall below the threshold.

Automatic top-ups use the same bonus tiers as a manual top-up. Saving the rule does not charge the card. Automatic top-ups are capped at three charges in any 24-hour window, and the feature turns itself off after three consecutive payment failures. The threshold must be lower than the credits one top-up grants, so a single refill can move the balance back above the line.

If auto top-up is enabled and can still run, Search1API skips the generic low-balance email. A failed charge sends its own notice; after repeated failures you can update the card and turn the rule back on.

Check your balance

curl https://api.search1api.com/usage \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

{ "usage": 24980 }

The usage field is the number of credits remaining. When the balance cannot cover a successful request, the API returns 402 Payment Required instead of the original success response.

Rate limit

For bearer-authenticated requests billed to account credits, most endpoints allow 200 requests per minute per account. Screenshot rendering has a separate limit of 10 requests per minute per account. Requests made with different API keys from the same account share these limits.

A request above its endpoint limit returns 429 Too Many Requests with a Retry-After: 60 header. Wait for that interval before retrying. Contact sys@search1api.com if you need a higher limit.

Client timeouts

Search and result-crawling operations can wait up to 20 seconds for an upstream service. Screenshot requests accept a timeout_ms value from 1 to 30 seconds. Set the client timeout above the API timeout so the server can return a useful error response.

POST /deepcrawl is asynchronous. A successful start returns 202 Accepted with a taskId; poll GET /deepcrawl/status/{taskId} for the result. Status checks cost no credits.