SE Ranking API Comparison: Project API vs. Data API – Knowledge Base

The API package is available as a standalone product — no active SE Ranking subscription is required. Start with a 14-day trial that includes 100,000 free API credits.

Paid plans include monthly Data API credits for testing: Core (25,000/month), Growth & Enterprise (100,000/month).

Legacy v7 plans: Essential (10,000/month), Pro (25,000/month), Business & Enterprise (100,000/month).

Legacy v1-v6: Essential and Pro plans do not include API access. To use the API, please purchase the API add-on.

SE Ranking offers two APIs designed for different use cases:

Project API — automate and manage SEO workflows inside your SE Ranking account
Data API — access SEO datasets for research, analytics, and custom applications

This guide explains the differences between both APIs, including billing, authentication, capabilities, and recommended use cases.

Overview
What Is the Project API?
What Is the Data API?
Side-by-Side Comparison
Common Use Cases
Rate Limits
Which API Should You Use?

Overview

	Project API	Data API
Primary purpose	Automate and manage SEO projects	Access SEO datasets and analytics
Best suited for	Agencies, businesses, and teams managing SEO workflows	Agencies, businesses, developers, and data teams building custom solutions
Billing model	Uses your SE Ranking subscription limits	Credit-based usage model
API keys	Shared API key	Shared API key
Available on	Any paid SE Ranking plan	Any paid SE Ranking plan, which includes a limited number of free API requests (see the disclaimer for details), or an API add-on or standalone API plan for higher API usage.

What Is the Project API?

The Project API allows you to programmatically manage SEO workflows inside your SE Ranking account. It mirrors many actions available in the SE Ranking interface, enabling you to automate project management, rank tracking, audits, backlink monitoring, and more.

Key capabilities

Create and manage projects
Add and organize keywords
Retrieve ranking data and SERP results
Launch website audits
Monitor backlinks and disavow lists
Manage users and agency sub-accounts
Track visibility in AI search engines and LLMs
Integrate with Looker Studio, MCP, n8n, and Make.com

Billing

The Project API does not use a separate credit balance. All API actions consume the limits already included in your SE Ranking subscription.

For example:

Adding keywords via API uses your keyword tracking limits
Running audits via API uses your audit page quota

If you exceed your plan limits, the API returns an error without generating additional charges.

Authentication

SE Ranking uses a unified API key system for both the Project API and Data API.

To authenticate requests, include your API key in the request header:

Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY

You can manage your API keys in the API Dashboard.

What Is the Data API?

The Data API provides direct access to SE Ranking’s SEO datasets without requiring active projects inside the platform. It is designed for research, analytics, reporting, and custom integrations.

Dataset scale

5.4B+ keywords
2.2B+ domain profiles
2.9T+ backlinks
31M+ domains tracked in Google AI Overviews
188 geo databases

Key capabilities

Backlink analysis and monitoring
Domain and competitor analysis
Keyword research and bulk exports
AI Overview and LLM visibility tracking
Website audits and historical comparisons
Integrations with Looker Studio, MCP, n8n, and Make.com

Billing

The Data API uses a credit-based billing system.

Credit usage rules

Only successful 2xx requests consume credits
Failed requests (4xx or 5xx) do not consume credits
Credit cost depends on the endpoint and response size

If your balance reaches zero, the API returns:

HTTP 403 Insufficient Funds

You can monitor your balance in the API Dashboard or through the API.

Included credits

Plan	Included credits
Trial	100,000 credits
Core plan	25,000 credits
Growth plan	100,000 credits
API Add-on	From 3M credits/year
Standalone API plan	From 12M credits/year

Authentication

The Data API uses the same unified API key system:

Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY

Side-by-Side Comparison

Purpose

Project API	Data API
Manages SEO workflows inside SE Ranking	Provides access to SEO datasets
Automates actions normally performed in the UI	Powers external applications and analytics
Requires SE Ranking projects	Works independently from projects

Billing

Project API	Data API
Uses subscription limits	Uses API credits
Connected to plan quotas	Scales independently from subscription usage
No separate credit balance required	Credits deducted per successful request

Common Use Cases

Project API

Automating keyword tracking setup
Managing SEO projects programmatically
Scheduling website audits
Managing agency client workspaces
Building internal SEO workflow automations

Data API

Building custom SEO dashboards
Enriching SaaS platforms with SEO data
Conducting large-scale competitor research
Exporting backlink and keyword datasets
Building AI search visibility monitoring tools

For more examples, see the SE Ranking API Use Cases Overview.

Rate Limits

Both APIs use rolling one-second rate limits.

	Project API	Data API
Standard limit	5 requests/second	10 requests/second
Trial accounts	5 requests/second	1 request/second
Custom limits	Available on request	Available on request
Rate limit response	HTTP 429 Too Many Requests	HTTP 429 Too Many Requests

Best practices

If you exceed the limit, the API returns:

HTTP 429 Too Many Requests

Recommended handling strategies:

Use exponential backoff
Add randomized retry delays (jitter)
Implement client-side throttling
Reduce polling frequency for async operations

For asynchronous tasks, both the initial request and subsequent polling requests count toward the same rate limit.

Which API should you use?

Choose the Project API if:

You want to automate SEO workflows inside SE Ranking
You manage projects, rankings, audits, or backlinks
You need API access tied directly to your SE Ranking workspace

Choose the Data API if:

You need large-scale SEO datasets
You are building external applications or analytics tools
You need keyword, backlink, competitor, or AI search data programmatically

Use both APIs if:

You are building a full SEO platform or advanced automation workflow
You want to combine project management with large-scale SEO intelligence

Important notes

Project API usage still counts toward your subscription limits
Data API endpoint costs vary depending on the request type
Always review endpoint pricing before building high-volume integrations
Both APIs use the same authentication method and API key system