API Description
Choosing your API
| Data API | Project API | |
|---|---|---|
| Ideal for | Building dashboards, BI connectors, SaaS products, data science pipelines | Automating day-to-day rank tracking and site health checks for your own projects |
| Data scope | Backlink index, domain/keyword intelligence, authority metrics, bulk CSV exports; SERP & Audit endpoints coming soon | Project creation/editing, keyword lists, positions history, audit status, competitor & backlink modules tied to your sites |
| Subscription | Stand-alone; starts at $79.20 / mo for 1 M credits (pay only for what you pull) | Bundled into Business plan (from $235 / mo). No extra charge, but feature set is frozen |
| Rate limit | 10 req/s per key | 5 req/s per key |
| Output | Clean JSON (or XML) with consistent envelopes | JSON responses mirroring platform data structures |
| Credit model | Unit-based: every call debits your balance; batch up to 100 targets per hit | Quota-free inside Business limits; cost = keyword units your plan already covers |
| Status | Active & expanding — new data sets ship here first | Maintenance — still works for existing workflows, but new datasets now live in Data API |
Quick decision framework
1. Need third-party or historical data?
Choose Data API. It’s the only way to pull competitor backlinks, keyword volumes, SERP ads and future audit/SERP endpoints.
2. Automating internal reporting on sites you already track in SE Ranking?
Project API keeps your scripts intact. No extra spend, same limits your Business account already pays for.
3. Building something customer-facing?
Data API’s scalable credit system lets you price, meter, and re-sell data without hard-coding platform limits.
4. Migrating from Business endpoints that were sunset (keywords research, backlinks, etc.)?
Point those calls to Data API leveraging a Data API add-on for Business.