# YouTube Comments Scraper: Comments, Likes & Replies (`buy-it/youtube-comments-scraper`) Actor

Scrape comments from any YouTube video by URL or ID. Get comment text, author, likes, reply count, posting time and pinned or hearted status, with optional replies. Sort by top or newest. Export JSON, CSV or Excel, use the API, or schedule runs.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-comments-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Ioannis Kokkinis](https://apify.com/buy-it) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.40 / 1,000 comments

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

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

## YouTube Comments Scraper

Scrape the comments of any YouTube video from its link or ID. Get the comment text, author, likes, reply count and posting time, with optional replies, as JSON, CSV or Excel.

### What you get for each comment

- Comment text and unique comment ID
- Author name, channel ID and channel link, verified badge, creator flag
- Likes (as a number and as shown on YouTube) and reply count
- When it was posted (as shown on YouTube, for example "3 days ago")
- Pinned and hearted-by-creator flags
- For replies: `isReply` and the `parentCommentId` of the comment they answer

### How to use it

1. Paste video links or IDs into **Videos**, one per line. Watch, youtu.be, Shorts, embed and live links work.
2. Choose how many comments per video, and **Top comments** or **Newest first**.
3. Turn on **Include replies** if you also want the answers under each comment.
4. Press **Start**, then download the results or read them through the API.

### Input

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Videos | Links or 11-character IDs |
| Comments per video | Top-level comments to collect from each video |
| Sort by | Top comments or newest first |
| Include replies | Also collect replies under each comment |
| Replies per comment | Limit for replies under each comment |
| Maximum results in total | Stops the whole run, comments plus replies |

### Output example

```json
{
  "commentId": "Ugzge340dBgB75hWBm54AaABAg",
  "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "text": "can confirm: he never gave us up",
  "author": "@YouTube",
  "likeCount": 317000,
  "replyCount": 962,
  "publishedTimeText": "1 year ago",
  "isPinned": false,
  "isHearted": true,
  "isReply": false,
  "parentCommentId": null
}
```

### Pricing

You pay per comment or reply returned, plus a tiny start fee. Videos with comments turned off or removed videos return nothing and cost nothing. Set a maximum spend per run and the Actor stops when it is reached.

### Notes

- Videos with comments turned off are listed in the `FAILED_VIDEOS` record of the run's key-value store.
- The Actor reads publicly visible comments. Use the data in line with YouTube's terms and with privacy law such as GDPR when it contains personal data.
- Missing a field or need playlists and channels? Open an issue on the Actor page.

### Related actors

More scrapers from the same publisher:

- [YouTube Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-transcript-scraper) — Captions and subtitles by video URL
- [YouTube Channel Videos Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-channel-videos-scraper) — Full video list for a channel
- [YouTube Channel Info Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-channel-info-scraper) — Subscribers, views, links and about
- [YouTube Search Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-search-scraper) — Search results by keyword
- [YouTube Playlist Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-playlist-scraper) — Every video in a playlist
- [YouTube Shorts Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-shorts-scraper) — Shorts list for a channel
- [YouTube Video Details Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-video-details-scraper) — Likes, views, tags and description
- [TikTok Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/tiktok-profile-scraper) — Followers, likes, bio and avatar

# Actor input Schema

## `videoUrls` (type: `array`):

YouTube video links or 11-character video IDs, one per line. Watch, youtu.be, Shorts, embed and live links all work.

## `maxCommentsPerVideo` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of top-level comments to collect from each video. Replies are counted separately.

## `sortBy` (type: `string`):

Order of the comments: the most relevant first (top) or the most recent first (newest).

## `includeReplies` (type: `boolean`):

Also collect replies to each comment. Each reply is one extra result and is charged like a comment.

## `maxRepliesPerComment` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of replies to collect under each comment. Only used when replies are included.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop the whole run after this many results (comments plus replies) across all videos.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "videoUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU"
  ],
  "maxCommentsPerVideo": 100,
  "sortBy": "top",
  "includeReplies": false,
  "maxRepliesPerComment": 10,
  "maxItems": 1000
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `comments` (type: `string`):

One row per comment or reply. Download as JSON, CSV or Excel.

# 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 = {
    "videoUrls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("buy-it/youtube-comments-scraper").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 = { "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("buy-it/youtube-comments-scraper").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 '{
  "videoUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU"
  ]
}' |
apify call buy-it/youtube-comments-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,buy-it/youtube-comments-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

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/zT4eBYUBVhBvIunVU/builds/MuYcxYQd0ee1Pec7k/openapi.json