# Substack Leaderboard: Top Publications by Category (`accountable_eel/substack-leaderboard-lookup`) Actor

Substack leaderboard scraper: the top paid newsletters in any Substack category, ranked, with author, subscriber tier, subscriber floor, prices and URL. One row per publication.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/accountable_eel/substack-leaderboard-lookup.md
- **Developed by:** [Adriana Voss](https://apify.com/accountable_eel) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Social media
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.50 / 1,000 ranked publication returneds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Substack Leaderboard: Top Publications by Category

**Get the top paid Substack publications in any category, ranked, with author, subscriber tier, prices and URL.**
Pick a category (Technology, Finance, Food & Drink, Health & Wellness and 28 more) and get Substack's own bestseller leaderboard for it as one row per publication. Built for sponsorship and partnership prospecting, newsletter market research and creator outreach lists. Public publication fields only: no author bios, no emails.

**Related actors:** to profile one publication in depth (posting cadence, paid-post ratio, recent posts) use [Substack Publication Lookup](https://apify.com/accountable_eel/substack-publication-lookup). This actor answers a different question: which publications lead a category.

### How to use

1. **In the Apify Console.** Open the actor page and click **Start** — the `categories` field is already pre-filled with a working example. Results land in the run's dataset as soon as each item is found.
2. **Via the API.** Call it directly with a POST request — no Console needed once you have an API token:
   ```bash
   curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~substack-leaderboard-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
     -X POST \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"categories":["Technology"]}'
   ```
3. **On a schedule.** Save this actor as an Apify **Task** with the input you want, then add a **Schedule** (hourly, daily, weekly) so it runs on its own — no server of your own required.

### Input

```json
{
  "categories": [
    "Technology"
  ]
}
```

One per line. A category name (Technology, Finance, Food & Drink), its slug (food) or its numeric id (4). Each category returns its paid-subscriber bestseller leaderboard, ranked. Accepted formats: Technology, Finance, food, 4.

Each line is one category, given as its name, its slug or its numeric id. `maxPerCategory` (default 20, up to 200) sets how many publications you get, and pay for, per category. Substack serves 25 per page, so 25, 50, 75 and so on cost the least.

### Output

One row per ranked publication, for example:

| query | found | status | category | categoryId | publicationCount | publications | rank | publicationName | tagline | publicationUrl | subdomain | customDomain | publicationId | authorName | authorHandle | paidSubscriberTier | paidSubscribersAtLeast | totalSubscribersLabel | totalSubscribersAtLeast | monthlyPrice | annualPrice | priceCurrency | language | firstPostDate | hasPodcast | sourceUrl | scrapedAt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Technology | true | OK | <category> | <category id> | <publications returned> | \<all publications (full list)> | <rank in category> | <publication> | <tagline> | <publication url> | <substack subdomain> | <custom domain> | <publication id> | \<author / byline> | <author handle> | <paid subscriber tier> | \<paid subscribers (at least)> | \<total subscribers (label)> | \<total subscribers (at least)> | <monthly price> | <annual price> | <price currency> | <language> | <first post> | <has a podcast> | <source> | 1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z |

`rank` is the position in the order Substack serves the category leaderboard (1 = top). Subscriber figures are Substack's own rounded bands, not exact counts: `paidSubscribersAtLeast` is 100, 1000 or 10000 and `totalSubscribersAtLeast` is the floor behind a label such as `321K+`. Fields Substack does not publish for a publication are `null`, never `0`.

A category that does not exist, or has no public leaderboard, comes back as one row with `"found": false` that lists the categories you can use. It is never charged.

### Pricing

- **Ranked publication returned**: $3 per 1,000 publications

Plus a $0.0015 start fee per run. Each event above is billed independently, only when it actually returns data — misses (`found:false`) are never charged.

Billing is per ranked publication returned: $3 per 1,000 publications on the free plan, less on paid Apify plans. A category with no result is free.

### Example runs

Paste any of these into the Input tab and press Start. All three return rows with no key, no token
and no account of your own beyond an Apify login.

**Top 20 technology newsletters.** The default shape.

```json
{
  "categories": ["Technology"]
}
```

**Top 50 finance and top 50 business publications side by side.**

```json
{
  "categories": ["Finance", "Business"],
  "maxPerCategory": 50
}
```

**The food leaderboard by slug, with the top 10 only.**

```json
{
  "categories": ["food"],
  "maxPerCategory": 10
}
```

### Use it from Clay, n8n, Make, or an AI agent

This actor runs synchronously over plain HTTP — call it directly from a script, a workflow tool, or an AI agent, no Apify Console needed once you have an API token.

```bash
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~substack-leaderboard-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"categories":["Technology"]}'
```

**n8n.** Add an HTTP Request node: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~substack-leaderboard-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>`, Body Content Type `JSON`, JSON Body `{"categories":["Technology"]}` (swap in an expression from an earlier node for a real value).

**Clay.** Add an "HTTP API" column: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~substack-leaderboard-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>`, Body `{"categories":["{{category}}"]}`, mapping the row's category into the `categories` array.

**MCP.** In Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client with the Apify MCP server, ask for "substack leaderboard scraper" — the agent will find and run this actor.

# Actor input Schema

## `categories` (type: `array`):

One per line. A category name (Technology, Finance, Food & Drink), its slug (food) or its numeric id (4). Each category returns its paid-subscriber bestseller leaderboard, ranked. Accepted formats: Technology, Finance, food, 4. You're only charged for the ones we actually find — a miss costs nothing.

## `maxPerCategory` (type: `integer`):

How many top publications to return per category, 1 to 200. Substack serves 25 per page, so 25, 50, 75 … costs the least. This is also the most you can be charged per category.

## `testRun` (type: `boolean`):

Turn this on to test your input on a small sample before running the full list. Turn it off to process everything.

## `onlyFound` (type: `boolean`):

Only keep rows where something was actually found. Misses are always free, whether or not you show them here.

## `includeKeywords` (type: `array`):

Optional. Only keep results that mention at least one of these words (e.g. a job title, a city, a product name). Leave empty to keep everything.

## `excludeKeywords` (type: `array`):

Optional. Drop any result that mentions one of these words. Leave empty to skip nothing.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Optional. Stop the run once this many results have been found — useful for a quick, cheap sample. Leave blank for no limit.

## `columns` (type: `array`):

Choose which pieces of information to include in each result row. All are included by default.

## `expandRows` (type: `boolean`):

When on, each publication found gets its own row instead of being grouped under its category. You're still only charged once per category, no matter how many rows it produces.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Parallel requests. Keep conservative — this target has no browser fallback, so getting blocked costs more than slow-and-steady.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Apify Proxy config. Residential recommended for anti-bot-sensitive targets.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "categories": [
    "Technology"
  ],
  "maxPerCategory": 20,
  "testRun": false,
  "onlyFound": false,
  "includeKeywords": [],
  "excludeKeywords": [],
  "columns": [
    "category",
    "categoryId",
    "publicationCount",
    "publications",
    "rank",
    "publicationName",
    "tagline",
    "publicationUrl",
    "subdomain",
    "customDomain",
    "publicationId",
    "authorName",
    "authorHandle",
    "paidSubscriberTier",
    "paidSubscribersAtLeast",
    "totalSubscribersLabel",
    "totalSubscribersAtLeast",
    "monthlyPrice",
    "annualPrice",
    "priceCurrency",
    "language",
    "firstPostDate",
    "hasPodcast",
    "sourceUrl"
  ],
  "expandRows": true,
  "maxConcurrency": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "categories": [
        "Technology"
    ],
    "includeKeywords": [],
    "excludeKeywords": []
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("accountable_eel/substack-leaderboard-lookup").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "categories": ["Technology"],
    "includeKeywords": [],
    "excludeKeywords": [],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("accountable_eel/substack-leaderboard-lookup").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "categories": [
    "Technology"
  ],
  "includeKeywords": [],
  "excludeKeywords": []
}' |
apify call accountable_eel/substack-leaderboard-lookup --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,accountable_eel/substack-leaderboard-lookup"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/thihqlDBByHD1TssM/builds/pPXRVDVF0OwALXofW/openapi.json