u/BellComfortable3367

Can anybody confirm this? We’ve been evaluating SerpApi for agentic search workflows and the pricing/docs are confusing as I dont get the exact association between $1 that i am spending and what I am getting in terms of volumes of search.

i) 1 credit is not one action. If I buy 1000 credits, I dont exactly know what that corresponds to

ii) Cached searches are supposedly free, but then I start wondering what actually invalidates cache. Different params? Different location? Different pages? Slightly different query wording? It becomes hard to model spending precisely.

iii) The throughput/hourly limits on top of monthly quotas make things even harder to estimate operationally. So you technically paid for X but cannot necessarily use it however you want.

iv) The docs are confusing, pls fix

Maybe I am fundamentally misunderstanding something here, but I need something where I am sure that

$X = Y requests

Is it too much to ask?

https://preview.redd.it/jipjbuxjy0fh1.png?width=637&format=png&auto=webp&s=e8a5dbc55c9be411b166865306178da01ccfc822

I'm creating content for different brands for a while now. In the first few weeks of being a UGC creator, I didn’t have any equipment aside from my phone and a cheap tripod I bought on Amazon. After a few months of creating content, I started earning and saving up so I could invest in more tools that actually helped me work faster and improve quality. Here’s the full list of tools I personally use:

1-Phone/Camera: You don’t need to start with an expensive setup. All of my early deals were filmed on a phone. None of them asked what camera I used. They cared more about lighting, framing, audio, and whether the content felt natural. Start with what you already have and focus on making it look good.

2-Lighting kit: I used natural lighting before, and looking back at the content I filmed, everything looked dull especially videos I shot at night. Once I got a basic lighting kit, my videos looked cleaner, clearer, and more consistent. Good lighting can make even phone footage look more professional.

3-ChatGPT and Claude: This is super useful for beginners. It helps generate script ideas, I usually copy the brief, ask for a few hook ideas or script angles, then rewrite it in my own voice. I wouldn’t rely on it too heavily though. Use it for ideas not to replace your personality.

4-CapCut: This is where I edit everything. Auto captions, quick cuts, music, and transitions. I film and edit in the same app which saves me a lot of time. No need to transfer files or learn a complicated editing tool when you're just starting.

5-Canva: Treat your portfolio like a resume and make it look professional. Every brand deal I finish, I add the best piece to my Canva portfolio page. Clean layout, brand name, content type, thumbnail. It takes me around 10 minutes to update and it's usually the first thing I send when a brand reaches out or when I apply to platforms.

6-Cueprompter: Having a good script is not enough if you can’t deliver it well on camera. This is what I use as my teleprompter so I can read scripts more naturally instead of re-taking shots 10 times trying to memorize lines and still sounding stiff.

7-Google Drive: This is how I deliver every single project. I create a labeled folder for each brand, export the final videos from capcut, upload them, and send a clean shared link with a short note explaining what’s inside. Brands notice when delivery is organized. It’s one of those small things that can affect whether they work with you again.

8-Sideshift: This was one of the platforms I used early on to look for opportunities. I found a few beginner friendly campaigns there, including one where the brand already had the script ready and I just needed to film and deliver. It wasn’t my only source of deals, but it helped when I was starting out and trying different platforms like Billo and Fiverr

None of this is expensive or complicated. I’m using free apps and cheap tools to make high quality content You don’t need a full setup to start. You can begin with your current phone and a cheap tripod, then upgrade slowly as you start earning from it.