YouTube Scraper: Videos, Channels, Search & Comments

Collect YouTube video statistics, channel profiles, search results and comments in one run. Paste video links, channel links or @handles, and search terms in any mix. Each video, channel and comment becomes one clean row with views, likes, comment count, duration, publish date, subscribers, descriptions and hashtags. You pay only for rows that are actually delivered.

Need transcripts? Use the companion YouTube Transcripts Scraper for timestamped captions of the same videos.

Quick Start

{
  "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"],
  "channelUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd"],
  "searchQueries": ["python tutorial"],
  "maxResults": 10,
  "maxComments": 50
}

This run returns the video's full statistics plus its top 50 comments, the MKBHD channel profile plus its 10 latest uploads, and the first 10 videos YouTube shows for "python tutorial".

Use cases

• Creator and competitor research: track subscribers, total views, upload cadence and per-video performance for any set of channels.
• Content and SEO research: see which videos rank for a search term, with views, duration and upload age.
• Audience and sentiment analysis: export comments and replies with likes and reply counts for any video.
• Campaign reporting: refresh views, likes and comment counts for a list of sponsored or owned videos.

Input

Input	Type	Default	Meaning
videoUrls	array	—	Watch, youtu.be, Shorts or live links, or bare 11-character video IDs. Each becomes one full video row.
channelUrls	array	—	Channel links, @handles or UC… channel IDs. Each adds one channel profile row plus its latest uploads.
searchQueries	array	—	Search terms. Videos are returned in YouTube's result order.
maxResults	integer	20	Videos per search term and per channel. 0 on a channel run returns only the profile row.
videoDetails	boolean	false	Also fetch likes, comment count, exact publish date, subscribers and the full description for search and channel videos. Slower.
includeShorts	boolean	true	Keep Shorts that appear in search results.
includeChannelInfo	boolean	true	Add the channel profile row for each channel.
maxComments	integer	0	Comments per video in videoUrls. Replies count toward this limit.
commentsSort	string	top	top (YouTube's ranking) or newest.
includeReplies	boolean	false	Also collect replies, each marked with its parent comment ID.
maxItems	integer	1000	Hard stop for the whole run across every input and row type, so you control the cost.
proxyConfiguration	object	Apify proxy, US	Optional proxy settings; the default works for most runs. Use a direct connection, Apify datacenter proxy or your own proxy URLs.

Inputs are processed in order: video links first, then channels, then search terms. A video that appears under several inputs is delivered once.

What it returns

Every row has a type (video, channel or comment), the input that produced it and a scrapedAt timestamp.

Video rows

Field	Meaning
videoId, url, title, description	Video identity and text. Search and channel rows carry the result-list snippet unless videoDetails is on.
viewCount, likeCount, commentCount	Engagement. Likes and comment count come with full details (video links, or videoDetails). Comment counts above 1,000 are rounded the way YouTube shows them.
publishedAt, publishedText	Publish date (YYYY-MM-DD) and the date as YouTube shows it, for example 2 days ago.
duration, durationText	Length in seconds and as m:ss / h:mm:ss.
channelId, channelName, channelUrl, channelHandle, subscriberCount	The uploader. Subscriber counts are YouTube's rounded figures.
hashtags, thumbnailUrl, isLive, isShort	Hashtags from the title area and description, a stable thumbnail link, live and Shorts flags.
detail	full for rows with full statistics, listing for search and channel result rows.
searchQuery	The search term, on search rows.

Channel rows: channelId, channelName, channelUrl, channelHandle, description, subscriberCount, subscriberCountText, videoCount, viewCount (total channel views), joinedDate, country, links, keywords, avatarUrl, isFamilySafe and aboutComplete.

Comment rows: commentId, videoId, videoUrl, text, authorName, authorChannelId, authorIsChannelOwner, authorIsVerified, likeCount (rounded the way YouTube shows it), replyCount, publishedText, isEdited, isPinned, isReply and parentCommentId.

The OUTPUT record of the run's key-value store summarizes the run: row counts by type, the run status and an errors list naming each input that could not be collected, with a code and a readable message. Inputs that fail never become dataset rows and are never charged.

Output example

Illustrative rows (live values change constantly):

{"type": "video", "input": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "scrapedAt": "2026-10-19T22:36:59Z", "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video) (4K Remaster)", "description": "The official video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley. ...", "viewCount": 1828414467, "likeCount": 19489750, "commentCount": 2400000, "publishedAt": "2009-10-24", "publishedText": "Oct 24, 2009", "duration": 214, "durationText": "3:34", "channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw", "channelName": "Rick Astley", "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw", "channelHandle": null, "subscriberCount": 4550000, "hashtags": ["RickAstley", "NeverGonnaGiveYouUp"], "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/hqdefault.jpg", "isLive": false, "isShort": null, "detail": "full"}
{"type": "channel", "input": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd", "scrapedAt": "2026-10-19T22:37:02Z", "channelId": "UCBJycsmduvYEL83R_U4JriQ", "channelName": "Marques Brownlee", "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd", "channelHandle": "@mkbhd", "description": "MKBHD: Quality Tech Videos | YouTuber | Geek | Consumer Electronics | Tech Head | Internet Personality!", "subscriberCount": 21400000, "subscriberCountText": "21.4M subscribers", "videoCount": 1859, "viewCount": 5798311104, "joinedDate": "2008-03-21", "country": "United States", "links": [{"title": "Twitter", "url": "https://twitter.com/MKBHD"}], "keywords": ["MKBHD", "MarquesBrownlee"], "avatarUrl": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/qu4TmIaYUlS41-dJ9gZ7DUR3nilvmB5_11i6OKSdvNnBNiyOusZP1bMN6ICnuxtjFBb6ioKgRQ=s900-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj", "isFamilySafe": true, "aboutComplete": true}
{"type": "video", "input": "python tutorial", "scrapedAt": "2026-10-19T22:37:05Z", "videoId": "fWjsdhR3z3c", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWjsdhR3z3c", "title": "Learn Python in Less than 10 Minutes for Beginners (Fast & Easy)", "description": "In this crash course I'll be teaching you the basics of Python in less than 10 minutes. ...", "viewCount": 1843779, "likeCount": null, "commentCount": null, "publishedAt": null, "publishedText": "5 years ago", "duration": 630, "durationText": "10:30", "channelId": "UCuudpdbKmQWq2PPzYgVCWlA", "channelName": "Indently", "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@Indently", "channelHandle": "@Indently", "subscriberCount": null, "hashtags": [], "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fWjsdhR3z3c/hqdefault.jpg", "isLive": false, "isShort": false, "detail": "listing", "searchQuery": "python tutorial"}
{"type": "comment", "input": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "scrapedAt": "2026-10-19T22:37:08Z", "commentId": "UgzKYksqeQ5gA3t0g0F4AaABAg", "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "text": "I Rick rolled my entire French class ...", "authorName": "@grustache4569", "authorChannelId": "UCKrzgYonJnMd0Dk7zQXjYXw", "authorIsChannelOwner": false, "authorIsVerified": false, "likeCount": 104000, "replyCount": 623, "publishedText": "6 years ago", "isEdited": true, "isPinned": false, "isReply": false, "parentCommentId": null}

Limits and caveats

• Only public information is collected. Private, removed, members-only, age-restricted and region-restricted videos may be unavailable; they are listed in OUTPUT.errors and not charged.
• Uploader keyword tags are not exposed on public pages; hashtags lists the hashtags shown with the video instead.
• Search and channel rows show the upload age as YouTube displays it (publishedText); turn on videoDetails for an exact publishedAt date, likes and comment counts.
• Channel uploads cover the Videos tab; Shorts and past live streams on separate channel tabs are not included. Individual Shorts and live links can be added to videoUrls.
• Subscriber counts, comment like counts and comment counts above 1,000 are rounded by YouTube (for example 21.4M).
• Comments can be turned off by the uploader; such videos are reported as COMMENTS_UNAVAILABLE and the video row is still delivered.
• A mixed run keeps its successful rows and lists failures in OUTPUT.errors. A run that delivers no row at all ends with an error.
• Use this actor only where you have the necessary permissions and a lawful basis; YouTube's terms restrict automated access.

Error codes you may see in OUTPUT.errors: INVALID_INPUT, VIDEO_UNAVAILABLE, CHANNEL_NOT_FOUND, CHANNEL_UNAVAILABLE, COMMENTS_UNAVAILABLE, NO_RESULTS, RATE_LIMITED, BLOCKED, UPSTREAM_ERROR, NETWORK_ERROR and SOURCE_CHANGED.

FAQ

Can I mix videos, channels and searches in one run? Yes. Fill any combination of videoUrls, channelUrls and searchQueries; duplicates are delivered once.

How do I get comments for videos found by a search? Run the search first, then pass the video links you want to videoUrls with maxComments set.

How do I keep the cost predictable? Set maxItems. The run stops as soon as that many rows have been delivered.

Do failed inputs cost anything? No row charge applies to inputs that fail. The run-start charge still applies.

Price

$0.00125 per delivered row (video, channel or comment), plus $0.005 per run start. A start is charged once per GB of memory, so the default 512 MB run is one start. Inputs that fail are not dataset rows and incur no row charge; the run-start charge still applies. Platform usage is included in these prices.