After pytrends: Google Trends data in your code, options compared
You want Google Trends data inside a script, a spreadsheet, n8n or an AI agent: interest over time, interest by region, related queries and topics. Here is where the usual options stand, and what PlainRows offers.
The options and their limits
- Official Google Trends API: on 2026-10-08 it was still an alpha. Google writes that it is "accepting applications for alpha testers" and is "prioritizing developers that know what they want to do"; the data is a rolling window of the last 5 years (developers.google.com/search/apis/trends).
- pytrends: the popular Python library was archived by its owner on April 17, 2025 and is read-only. Its README says "This is not an official or supported API" and that the rate limit "is not publicly known" (github.com/GeneralMills/pytrends).
- SerpApi Google Trends API: each request returns one data type (interest over time, by region, related topics or related queries), and related queries, related topics and interest by region accept a single keyword per search (serpapi.com/google-trends-api). Plans start at $25 for 1,000 searches a month, with a free plan of 250 searches (serpapi.com/pricing). The full picture of one keyword therefore takes four searches.
What PlainRows charges
No subscription to us. The tool runs on Apify: the free Apify plan is enough to test it, and the Starter plan ($19 per month, with $19 of usage included, apify.com/pricing) removes the free-plan limits.
| Data | Tool | Price (Starter plan) |
|---|---|---|
| Interest over time for up to 5 compared keywords, interest by region (countries, states or metro areas), related queries and related topics (top and rising), for web, YouTube, News, Images or Shopping search, any country or Worldwide | Google Trends Scraper API | $0.005 per search, all of these rows included; searches with no data are free |
Example: tracking 100 keywords once a week, with regions and related queries, is 400 searches a month, about $2.00.
When another option is the better choice
- You are accepted into the official Google Trends API alpha: consistently scaled data straight from Google.
- You already pay for a SerpApi plan with unused searches, or you only need a few searches a month (SerpApi's free plan).
- You need an answer in under a few seconds on every call. In Standard speed a PlainRows search waits in the data provider's queue, usually about a minute; Fast speed answers in about 10-30 seconds for an extra $0.01 per search.
When PlainRows is the better choice
- You want interest over time, regions and related queries for a keyword in one call and one price.
- You run it from n8n, Make, Zapier, Google Sheets or an AI agent (MCP) and want flat rows, not nested chart JSON.
- You want a hard cap: every run stops at the maximum cost you set.
Competitor facts checked on 2026-10-08 from the linked pages; prices change, check them before you decide.