Mungfali Image Search API

Affordable, developer-first image search — up to 150 results per request, SafeSearch, transparent-PNG filtering, and fast JSON over a single REST endpoint.

Keywords: image search API, Google Images API alternative, Bing Image Search alternative, SerpAPI alternative, REST image search, JSON image API, affordable image search for developers.

Get started free · Documentation · Pricing · OpenAPI spec · Postman collection

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Product overview

Mungfali Image Search API helps you add high-quality image search to apps, dashboards, and automation pipelines without expensive legacy providers. One GET /v1/search call returns up to 150 structured image objects — no pagination required.

Trusted by 5,000+ developers. Average response time ~243 ms. 250 free searches/month — no credit card required.

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Why Developers Choose Mungfali

• Up to 150 images per request — fewer round trips than Bing (10) or many Google CSE setups.
• Simple REST + JSON — one endpoint, predictable schema (name, value[], rich metadata per image).
• Transparent pricing — from $0 to $99/mo; ~$1.90 per 1,000 requests on paid tiers vs ~$15 for Bing.
• Built-in SafeSearch — family-friendly results via safeSearch.
• Transparent PNG filtering — optional removal of images with transparent backgrounds.
• Domain include/exclude — curate sources for brand-safe or licensed workflows.
• Global edge delivery — low latency worldwide.
• Official SDKs — PHP, Python, Node.js, and Go clients with a single search() method.

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Google Images API Alternative

Google does not offer a public “Google Images API” for general image search. Teams usually wire up Google Custom Search JSON API (limited image results, CSE setup, separate billing) or scrape via aggregators like SerpAPI.

Mungfali is built specifically for image search:

Capability	Mungfali	Google Custom Search API
Purpose-built image search	Yes	Partial (CSE configuration)
Results per request	Up to 150	Typically 10 per call
Setup complexity	API key only	Search engine ID + API key
Starting price	$0 (250 req/mo)	Pay-as-you-go + CSE limits
Pagination required	No	Yes

If you need a Google Images API alternative that is fast to integrate and priced for startups, Mungfali is designed for that workflow.

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Features

• Up to 150 image results per search in a single call (no pagination)
• SafeSearch (off, moderate, strict)
• Transparent background filtering
• Domain allow/block lists
• Structured JSON: imageUrl, hostUrl, dimensions, FamilyFriendly, isTransparent, accentColor
• Bearer token authentication
• Rate limits by plan with clear error codes
• Postman collection and OpenAPI 3 spec included in this repo

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Quick start

1. Sign up at mungfali.net/signup (250 free searches/month).
2. Copy your API key from the dashboard.
3. Call the search endpoint (example below), then parse the JSON value array and render imageUrl in your UI.

curl -s -G "https://mungfali.net/v1/search" \
  --data-urlencode "q=electric car" \
  --data-urlencode "count=150" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

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Example request and response

Request

GET /v1/search?q=luxury+car&count=150 HTTP/1.1
Host: mungfali.net
Authorization: Bearer mng_your_api_key_here
Accept: application/json

Response 200 OK

{
  "name": "luxury car",
  "value": [
    {
      "name": "Luxury Car Photos, Download The BEST Free Luxury Car Stock Photos & HD ...",
      "FamilyFriendly": true,
      "imageUrl": "https://images.pexels.com/photos/3729464/pexels-photo-3729464.jpeg?cs=srgb&dl=pexels-mikebirdy-3729464.jpg&fm=jpg",
      "hostUrl": "https://www.pexels.com/search/luxury%20car/",
      "contentSize": "1781235 B",
      "width": 5456,
      "height": 3632,
      "isTransparent": false,
      "accentColor": "C21C09"
    },
    {
      "name": "Black luxury sedan on coastal highway at sunset",
      "FamilyFriendly": true,
      "imageUrl": "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1503376780353-7e6692767b70?auto=format&fit=crop&w=1200&q=80",
      "hostUrl": "https://unsplash.com/s/photos/luxury-car",
      "contentSize": "412800 B",
      "width": 1200,
      "height": 800,
      "isTransparent": false,
      "accentColor": "1A1A2E"
    }
  ]
}

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Pricing and free tier

Plan	Monthly price	Requests / month	Best for
Free	$0	250	Prototypes, evaluation
Starter	$19	10,000	Early products
Growth	$49	50,000	Growing apps (most popular)
Pro	$99	150,000	Production workloads

• Annual billing: save 20% at checkout.
• Overages: billed per plan terms on the pricing page.
• Unused searches do not roll over.

View full pricing → · Create free account →

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Comparison with other image search APIs

Feature	Mungfali	Google Custom Search API	Bing Image Search API	SerpAPI
Primary use	Image search	Web + image via CSE	Image search	Multi-engine SERP
Typical results / call	150	~10	10–50 (tiered)	Varies by engine
Pagination required	No	Yes	Often	Yes
SafeSearch	Built-in	Limited	Yes	Varies
Transparent PNG filter	Yes	No	No	No
Starting price	$0 (250/mo)	Pay-as-you-go + CSE	Paid tiers	Paid tiers
Cost per 1,000 requests (indicative)	~$1.90	Varies	~$15	~$10+
Setup	API key	API key + Search Engine ID	Azure resource	API key

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SDK usage

Lightweight clients live under sdks/. Each exposes search(query, options?).

PHP

<?php
require 'sdks/php/MungfaliClient.php';

$client = new MungfaliClient(getenv('MUNGfALI_API_KEY'));
$result = $client->search('mountain landscape', ['count' => 150]);
foreach ($result['value'] as $image) {
    echo $image['imageUrl'] . PHP_EOL;
}

Python

from mungfali_client import MungfaliClient

client = MungfaliClient(api_key="mng_your_api_key")
data = client.search("mountain landscape", count=150)
for image in data["value"]:
    print(image["imageUrl"])

Node.js

const { MungfaliClient } = require('./sdks/nodejs/mungfali-client');

const client = new MungfaliClient(process.env.MUNGfALI_API_KEY);
const data = await client.search('mountain landscape', { count: 150 });
data.value.forEach((img) => console.log(img.imageUrl));

Go

client := mungfali.NewClient(os.Getenv("MUNGfALI_API_KEY"))
data, err := client.Search(ctx, "mountain landscape", mungfali.SearchOptions{Count: 150})

See examples/ for full cURL, PHP, Python, Node.js, and Go samples.

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Common Use Cases

• Content and media apps — hero images, galleries, and editorial tooling
• E-commerce — product inspiration, mood boards, and merchandising aids
• Marketing automation — campaign asset discovery with domain filters
• Internal dashboards — research panels for design and SEO teams
• AI / ML pipelines — collect labeled image URLs and metadata at scale
• Education platforms — SafeSearch-enabled image pickers for students

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Documentation in this repository

Topic	Link
Authentication	docs/authentication.md
Search endpoint	docs/search.md
Error codes	docs/error-codes.md
Rate limits	docs/rate-limits.md
FAQ	docs/faq.md
OpenAPI 3	openapi.yaml
Examples	examples/

Live docs: mungfali.net/dashboard/docs

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FAQ

Is there a free tier?

Yes — 250 searches per month on the Free plan. Sign up without a credit card.

How do I authenticate?

Send Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY. See Authentication. The live API also accepts X-API-Key for the same key.

What is the best Google Images API alternative for startups?

Mungfali offers a single image-focused endpoint, up to 150 results per call, and transparent pricing — without configuring a Custom Search Engine.

Does unused quota roll over?

No. Quota resets each billing period. You can upgrade mid-cycle for more capacity.

What format are responses?

JSON with a query name and a value array of image objects. See Search.

How fast is the API?

Average response time is under 300 ms for typical queries.

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Contributing

We welcome issues and pull requests. See CONTRIBUTING.md and CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.

Security

Report vulnerabilities privately — see SECURITY.md.

License

MIT License © Mungfali

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