# Best keyword research API in 2026

> [DataForSEO](https://datacircle.dev/keyword-research-apis/dataforseo/top-up-from-50-pay-as-you-go-post-v3-dataforseo-labs-google-keyword-overview-live), [Bing Webmaster Tools](https://datacircle.dev/keyword-research-apis/bing-webmaster-tools/free-get-webmaster-api-svc-json-getkeywordstats) and [Mangools](https://datacircle.dev/keyword-research-apis/mangools/15-monthly) are the best keyword research API providers in our benchmark. We benchmarked 4 providers and rank all 4 by score. For the three we score highest, we show each one's top scoring plan, each part of the plan's score and what 1,000 keywords cost. We rank 45 plans by price. [Mangools's $15 monthly plan](https://datacircle.dev/keyword-research-apis/mangools/15-monthly) is the cheapest paid plan per 1,000 keywords: as little as $0.0001. Mangools's $15 monthly plan covers up to 5,000,000 keywords a day.

1. [DataForSEO, top-up from $50, Pay as you go: Keyword research API](https://datacircle.dev/keyword-research-apis/dataforseo/top-up-from-50-pay-as-you-go-post-v3-dataforseo-labs-google-keyword-overview-live): Overall score 69.2 (Price 58, Data 63, Cost to get started 82, Bundle 92, Performance 100), $0.12 per 1,000 keywords
   - It returns all 6 key fields we check: Search volume, Monthly trend, Cost per click, Competition, Keyword difficulty, Search intent.
   - On 30 October 2026, we sent this provider the same 20 keywords as every other provider in our benchmark.
   - This plan scored 0.6346 out of 1 on those 20 keywords. That gives this plan a Data score of 63 out of 100.
2. [Bing Webmaster Tools, free: Keyword research API](https://datacircle.dev/keyword-research-apis/bing-webmaster-tools/free-get-webmaster-api-svc-json-getkeywordstats): Overall score 56.7 (Price 100, Data 6, Cost to get started 100, Bundle 0, Performance 100), $0.00 per 1,000 keywords
   - It returns 2 of the 6 key fields we check: Search volume, Monthly trend.
   - On 30 October 2026, we sent this provider the same 20 keywords as every other provider in our benchmark.
   - This plan scored 0.0597 out of 1 on those 20 keywords. That gives this plan a Data score of 6 out of 100.
3. [Mangools, $15 monthly: Keyword research API](https://datacircle.dev/keyword-research-apis/mangools/15-monthly): Overall score 55.7 (Price 84, Data 23, Cost to get started 87, Bundle 88, Performance 10), $0.0001 per 1,000 keywords
   - It returns 5 of the 6 key fields we check: Search volume, Monthly trend, Cost per click, Competition, Keyword difficulty.
   - On 30 October 2026, we sent this provider the same 20 keywords as every other provider in our benchmark.
   - This plan scored 0.2333 out of 1 on those 20 keywords. That gives this plan a Data score of 23 out of 100.

The Data score on keyword research APIs: This score, out of 100, shows how much of a keyword's data a provider's call returns. We send each keyword to the provider's call, with the United States as the country and English as the language. For each keyword, we count the fields the answer held, such as the search volume and the cost per click. We divide that count by the fields we count for the keyword. We count a field when a live call that offers the field returned that field for the keyword. On a keyword where fewer than two live calls offer the field and return data, we count the field when any call returned that field. Then we average the results over all keywords. Each keyword counts the same. When a provider didn't find a keyword, we count that keyword as 0. We compare a provider that ran on fewer keywords with the other providers on those same keywords. A provider can't score higher by running only on easy keywords. We lower the score when we test the call on fewer keywords than the benchmark has.

## Every keyword research API provider we score, ranked

1. [DataForSEO, top-up from $50, Pay as you go](https://datacircle.dev/keyword-research-apis/dataforseo/top-up-from-50-pay-as-you-go-post-v3-dataforseo-labs-google-keyword-overview-live): Overall score 69.2, Data score 63, $0.12 per 1,000 keywords
2. [Bing Webmaster Tools, free](https://datacircle.dev/keyword-research-apis/bing-webmaster-tools/free-get-webmaster-api-svc-json-getkeywordstats): Overall score 56.7, Data score 6, $0.00 per 1,000 keywords
3. [Mangools, $15 monthly](https://datacircle.dev/keyword-research-apis/mangools/15-monthly): Overall score 55.7, Data score 23, $0.0001 per 1,000 keywords
4. [SE Ranking, $29 monthly](https://datacircle.dev/keyword-research-apis/se-ranking/29-monthly): Overall score 52.3, Data score 19, $0.0039 per 1,000 keywords

Last updated: October 31, 2026. The page: https://datacircle.dev/best-keyword-research-api. Every plan: https://datacircle.dev/keyword-research-api-pricing. The benchmark: https://datacircle.dev/keyword-research-api-pricing/benchmark.csv.