Keyword Search Volume API Find the keywords worth your time
Paste in a list of keywords and our tool tells you how often each one is searched, what advertisers pay per click, how hard it is to rank, and whether Google showed an AI Overview for it.
Every keyword comes back as one clear row with a 0 to 100 opportunity score, so the best bets stand out. Run it with no code, or call it from your scripts, spreadsheets and AI agents.
This is our own tool. When you run it on Apify, part of what you pay comes to us.
One row per keyword, everything you need to decide
Search demand
Average monthly searches, a month by month history and a rising, stable or declining trend label.
search_volume · monthly_searches · trendAdvertiser value
Cost per click, advertiser competition and the top of page bid range, so you can see what a click is worth.
cpc_usd · competition_level · bidsKeyword difficulty
How hard it is to rank organically, on a scale from 0 to 100.
keyword_difficultySearch intent
Whether people want information, are comparing options, are ready to buy, or are looking for a specific site.
search_intentResults page and AI Overview
Which result types Google showed, including whether an AI Overview appeared, with the date of that snapshot.
serp_features · has_ai_overview · serp_checked_atOpportunity score
One 0 to 100 number that sums it all up, with every factor behind it shown in the row.
opportunity_score · opportunity_factorsYou already have a list
Paste 2 to 1,000 keywords and get one row of data for each. Duplicates are removed first and never billed.
You have a topic, not a list
Start from up to 20 seed keywords, such as “podcast equipment”, and get up to 1,000 related ideas, each with the same data. Set a minimum monthly search volume to skip the tiny ones.
Works in 24 Google markets:
Pay only for the keywords you check
$0.01 per keyword processed
| 2 keywords | $0.02 |
| 10 keywords | $0.10 |
| 100 keywords | $1.00 |
| 1,000 keywords | $10.00 |
Same price on every Apify plan. Apify adds its standard start fee of $0.00005 per run. A keyword with no search data is still billed, because it was looked up.
No subscription to our tool
You pay per keyword through your Apify account. There’s no monthly plan for our tool and no per request fee.
No data provider account
You don’t need a DataForSEO account or a prepaid balance. DataForSEO’s own minimum payment is $50.
What you need on Apify
An Apify account. Runs above 10 keywords need a paid Apify plan, which is Apify’s own monthly subscription. See Apify’s plans.
You stay in control
Set a maximum cost per run and the tool stops cleanly when it’s reached. Failed runs have no keyword charges.
Four steps, no code needed
Open our tool
Go to our page on Apify and sign in or create an Apify account.
Add your keywords
Choose “Analyze my keywords” and paste your list, one keyword per line.
Pick a country
Choose the market you care about and press Start.
Sort and export
Sort by Opportunity or Monthly searches, then download as CSV, Excel or JSON.
Why “standing desk” scores 68
The opportunity score is calculated by our tool with a simple formula. No AI model is involved, and every factor comes back in the row. Tap a factor to see what it means.
100 × 1.00 × 0.62 × 1.00 × 1.10 × 1.00 × 1.00 = 68.2 → 68
How big is the demand?
Searches are scored on a log scale: about 1,000 a month gives 0.6, and 100,000 or more gives the full 1.0. At 135,000 a month, “standing desk” gets the maximum.
Worth noting: a made up phrase such as zzqx flumbo trank comes back marked no_data with empty metrics. Nothing is estimated, and it’s still billed as a processed keyword, so check spelling and market before large runs.
Why pay for this when I can ask ChatGPT or use a free keyword tool?
It’s a fair question, and sometimes the answer is that you don’t need to.
Asking a chatbot
- Great for brainstorming topics, angles and questions.
- From memory, it can’t reliably give current search volume, CPC, difficulty or whether an AI Overview shows.
- A number may sound plausible, but nobody looked it up.
A free keyword tool
- Often enough for a handful of keywords.
- Fine for rough ideas, or when ranges instead of single numbers are all you need.
- Use it, and come back when your list grows.
Our API
- Tens to a thousand keywords in one pass.
- The same checks every month, with results that line up.
- Structured rows for sheets, scripts and AI agents.
- The AI Overview flag and an explainable score in the same row as volume, CPC and difficulty.
They work well together. Connected through Apify’s MCP server, an assistant can draft your keyword list and then look up the real numbers in one call.
Where the numbers come from
Search volume, CPC, competition and bids are based on Google Ads data, provided through DataForSEO Labs, and update monthly. It isn’t official Google data, so numbers can differ between tools. Volumes are monthly averages, best for comparing and prioritising keywords.
How fresh the AI Overview flag is
It comes from the latest available Google results snapshot, which is often one to two months old. The date is in every row. Treat it as a strong signal, not a live check.
JSON in, one flat row per keyword out
Call it with your Apify API token. The synchronous endpoint returns the rows directly as a JSON array.
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/koalabed~keyword-search-volume/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"mode": "metrics", "keywords": ["keyword research tool", "best running shoes"], "country": "US"}'Keyword ideas instead:
{ "mode": "ideas", "seedKeywords": ["podcast equipment"], "maxIdeas": 200, "minSearchVolume": 100, "country": "GB" }Add Apify’s MCP server to Claude, Cursor or another MCP client, then call our Actor as a tool:
koalabed--keyword-search-volume
data_status is ok; treat no_data as answered, not as an error.opportunity_score, and deprioritise informational queries where has_ai_overview is true.search_volumeAverage monthly searchesmonthly_searchesMonth by month history, newest firstcpc_usd · competition_levelCost per click and advertiser competitionkeyword_difficulty0 to 100search_intentInformational, commercial, transactional or navigationalhas_ai_overview · serp_checked_atAI Overview flag and its snapshot dateopportunity_score · opportunity_factors0 to 100, with every factordata_status · data_monthok or no_data, and the month the data describesFrequently asked questions
Do I need a Google Ads or DataForSEO account?
No. You only need an Apify account, plus your Apify API token if you call our tool from code. The data comes through our own DataForSEO connection.
Are the search volumes exact numbers or ranges?
They’re averaged monthly numbers based on Google Ads data. Google’s Keyword Planner shows ranges to accounts without active ad spend; our tool returns the averaged number. Use volumes to compare and prioritise keywords rather than as exact traffic forecasts.
How fresh is the data?
Search volume, CPC and competition update monthly, and each row says which month it describes. The AI Overview flag comes from a results snapshot that’s often one to two months old, and each row shows that date.
Do I pay for keywords with no data, or for failed runs?
A keyword with no data is still billed, because it was looked up. It comes back marked no_data with empty metrics, and nothing is estimated. Failed runs have no keyword charges, only Apify’s small start fee, and if a run fails part way you pay only for keywords already delivered.
How many keywords can I check at once?
2 to 1,000 per run on a paid Apify plan, or up to 10 per run without one. In ideas mode you can start from up to 20 seed keywords and get up to 1,000 ideas.
Can AI agents like Claude or Cursor use it?
Yes. Through Apify’s MCP server our Actor is available as the tool koalabed--keyword-search-volume, so an assistant can send a keyword list and read back structured rows.
Can I get Bing or YouTube search volumes?
Not yet. Our tool covers Google search in 24 markets. Get in touch if you need another source.
Check your keyword list
$0.01 per keyword processed, minimum 2 per run. No subscription to our tool.
Open our tool on Apify →This is our own tool. When you run it on Apify, part of what you pay comes to us.
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Facts on this page were checked on 6 October 2026. Prices and limits are set on Apify and can change, so our Apify page is always the final word.