Time to Bail · Boarding pass
Yes.
Current customers have until January 1, 2027 to move. The API is closed to new customers.[1]
Bail means: it is ending, or getting much worse, for this group. Leave before the date.
Google Custom Search JSON API ends for current users January 1, 2027
The Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers. Existing customers must move by January 1, 2027. Engines that use "Search the entire web" lose it the same day.
Tick steps as you go. Your progress stays in this browser.
Find every app, script and plugin that calls the Custom Search JSON API with your key.
With 50 or fewer domains, Search Element users can switch to "Sites to search" for free. API users can try Vertex AI Search.
Contact Google about its full web search, or test another search API. Switch before January 1, 2027.
| Existing customers must move by | January 1, 2027[1] |
|---|---|
| New customers | Closed to new customers[1] |
| Free use until then | 100 search queries per day[1] |
| Paid use until then | $5 per 1000 queries, up to 10k queries per day[1] |
| Google's suggested path | Vertex AI Search, for searching up to 50 domains[1] |
| Need the whole web? | Google asks you to contact it about its full web search solution[1] |
| Search Element with "Search the entire web" | Existing engines can use it until January 1, 2027[2] |
| Site search ("Sites to search") | Free, for up to 50 domains[2] |
| Announced | January 20, 2026[2] |
| Current API customers | Must move to another solution by January 1, 2027[1] |
Listed for convenience. Not ranked. Not paid.
Chosen by an editor. An importer claim links to its source.
Web search API on its own index. Brave lists $5 per 1,000 requests with $5 in free credits each month.
Option people mentionSearch API made for AI agents. Tavily lists 1,000 free credits a month, no card needed.
Option people mentionCheck it yourself. Every fact above links here.
Time to bail on Google Custom Search JSON API? Yes. Current customers have until January 1, 2027 to move. The API is closed to new customers.
On our scale this is Bail: it is ending, or getting much worse, for this group. Move your work out now.
The Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers. Existing customers must move by January 1, 2027. Engines that use "Search the entire web" lose it the same day.
Here are the facts we checked:
This is a full shutdown, not a pause. When the service closes, files and lists you did not save may be gone.
Do not wait for a last reminder email. Those emails are often late, and some never come.
Google is the main source for this page. Google Custom Search JSON API has not said more than what is listed here. If a fact is not on this page, we do not know it yet.
Current API customers: Must move to another solution by January 1, 2027.
Export takes some work. Do not leave it for the last day.
The date to remember is January 1, 2027. After that, it may be too late to save what you need.
A few rules help every move go well:
Send one short email. Say what changed, where to find you now, and what they need to do. Put the most important line first.
If there is a date, send a short reminder a few days before it. Keep a copy of the list you sent it to.
Listed for convenience. Not ranked. Not paid. These names come up in threads and reviews; that does not show where people moved.
Before you pay, check the price page of each tool yourself. Prices change, and we only list what our sources say.
No questions collected yet.
Thanks.
Run SaaS spend at work? Get these changes before the invoice
Arrivals · for builders
People leaving Google Custom Search JSON API need a new home. Get the playbook for this change, and list your product here.
Listing is free. An editor checks it. Not ranked. Not paid.
One email when we publish a checked change in the category you pick. No account needed.