Pricing, limits, and integration
API and MCP access come with the SaaS subscription rather than as a separate product, and scale with the plan you are on (OTTO projects, keywords, seats and content pages). Pricing is public: Starter $99/mo, Growth $199/mo, Pro $399/mo and Agency $999/mo, with 20% off annual and a 7-day trial.
There is no separate metered API price list surfaced publicly; usage is governed by your plan's quotas rather than per-call billing. Authentication is by token or API key, and the same hosted v2 surface backs both the REST API and the MCP server, so limits apply consistently across both paths.
For agent use, the MCP server is the primary path because it exposes the full ~587-tool catalogue automatically. Plan for the token-from-browser-login step during setup, and size your plan by how many sites (OTTO projects) and content pages you need, since those are the limits that bite first.
How much does the Search Atlas API actually cost?
Search Atlas publishes an API, but per-tier gating wasn't extracted automatically.
- Most likely scenario: API access is either included in all paid plans, or it's gated to higher tiers and we need to verify on the live docs page.
- Until verified, treat the question "which plan unlocks the API" as open. Don't budget on the assumption it's free with the cheapest paid plan.
API at a glance
Which AI clients can read Search Atlas data?
Not every AI assistant supports MCP natively. Here's the per-client picture for Search Atlas specifically.
| Client | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Claude (Desktop/Web) | full | Connects to the official hosted MCP server (Streamable-HTTP, or the npm stdio bridge). ~587 tools available once a token is configured. |
| Claude Code | full | Works via the same official MCP server. Token or API-key auth (SEARCHATLAS_TOKEN / SEARCHATLAS_API_KEY). |
| Cursor | full | MCP-compatible; connect to mcp.searchatlas.com with a configured token. |
| n8n | API-only (custom code) | Drive via the v2 REST API (or an MCP node where supported). Token / API-key auth. |
Search Atlas also has an MCP server
If you're wiring Search Atlas into Claude / Cursor / Codex, the MCP server is usually less code than the REST API.
See Search Atlas MCP pageWhat you can build with the Search Atlas API
Three personas, three different shapes of build. Pick the row that matches how you actually ship.
Glue Search Atlas into your daily workflow
- Pull a digest of ranking changes into your morning Slack
- Trigger a one-off backfill when something looks off
- Pipe data into your own SQLite for ad-hoc queries
Sell Search Atlas reporting at scale
- White-label Search Atlas data into client-branded dashboards
- Run scheduled multi-account reports without logging into the Search Atlas UI
- Cross-reference with the rest of the client's stack (CRM, analytics, ad spend)
Production pipelines for Search Atlas
- Real-time sync into your warehouse on a cron
- Custom alerts the dashboard's built-in alerting can't express
- Backfill + idempotency handling for Search Atlas data older than the dashboard exposes
Limits and gotchas
- No OpenAPI spec — you write typed clients by hand or use a third-party generator on the docs HTML.
- No official SDK detected. Plan on hitting the API directly with your HTTP client of choice.
- Rate limits: always read the docs page before scaling — the published limit is usually lower than the practical one and overages can be expensive.
Agent-readiness verdict
A broad, first-class v2 REST API that covers the entire platform and underpins the official MCP server. The only knock is that obtaining the token runs through a browser login rather than a self-serve OAuth/API-key flow. A strong 9 out of 10 for API agent-readiness.
Search Atlas API FAQ
Should I use the API or the MCP server for Claude / Cursor / Codex?+
Does Search Atlas have a public API?+
Sources
- Search Atlas official site: https://searchatlas.com
10+ years in digital marketing. I review marketing software for AI-stack fit: real pricing, MCP and API support, and how cleanly each tool drops into an AI agent workflow, cross-checked against verified data and real user feedback.