YouTube Comments Scraper — Replies, Likes & Authors

Unofficial tool for publicly accessible YouTube comment data. YouTube and related trademarks belong to their respective owners. Not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by YouTube or Google. Provided for informational use only; users must comply with applicable terms and laws.

Social listening	Product launches
YouTube Comments Scraper ◄── you are here	Product Hunt Scraper
Bluesky Scraper	Launches, reviews, comments, leaderboards

YouTube Comments Scraper for Apify — scrape YouTube comments from public videos and Shorts into structured JSON: comment text, author handle and channel, like count, reply count, pinned / hearted flags, and optional reply threads. No YouTube login, no Data API quota. A practical YouTube comments API alternative for brand listening, sentiment, and moderation pipelines — run from Python, Node.js, cURL, or MCP / AI assistants and export the dataset as JSON / CSV / Excel.

When to use

• Brand or product listening on a launch trailer, review video, or ad
• Sentiment / NLP datasets from high-engagement comment sections
• Export pinned creator statements and top fan threads with engagement metrics
• Batch several video URLs in one run until a shared maxComments cap
• Feed comments into CRM, Slack alerts, or agent workflows via Apify MCP

When not to use

• Private, age-gated, or members-only videos (public Innertube only)
• Videos with comments disabled — the Actor fails with a clear status message
• Full channel crawls, search, transcripts, or video download — this Actor is comments-only

Key features

• Comments-first slice — purpose-built YouTube comment scraper, not a bloated “everything” YouTube tool
• Innertube continuations — same /youtubei/v1/next feed the website uses when you scroll
• No login / no API key — Chrome-impersonated TLS via curl_cffi
• Top or Newest — switches sort when YouTube exposes the comments sort menu
• Optional replies — each reply is a flat dataset row with parentCommentId
• Engagement fields — likes, reply counts, isPinned, isHearted, verified / creator badges
• Shorts + youtu.be — watch URLs, Shorts, embeds, live paths, and bare 11-char video IDs
• Proxy-ready — Apify RESIDENTIAL when datacenter IPs hit a consent wall

Input

Parameter	Description
videoUrls	Watch / Shorts / youtu.be URLs or 11-char video IDs
maxComments	Dataset cap for the whole run (top-level + replies). 0 = unlimited (hard cap applies)
sortOrder	top (default) or newest
includeReplies	Fetch reply threads under each top-level comment
maxRepliesPerComment	Cap per thread when replies are on (default 10 if replies enabled and this is 0)
hl / gl	YouTube language and country (default en / US)
requestDelaySecs	Throttle between Innertube calls
proxyConfiguration	Optional Apify proxy (RESIDENTIAL recommended if blocked)

Top comments only:

{
  "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"],
  "maxComments": 200,
  "sortOrder": "top",
  "includeReplies": false
}

With replies (flat rows):

{
  "videoUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dQw4w9WgXcQ"
  ],
  "maxComments": 500,
  "sortOrder": "newest",
  "includeReplies": true,
  "maxRepliesPerComment": 10,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
  }
}

Output

One dataset row per comment or reply — ready for CSV export and PPE billing per result.

Field	Description
type	Always comment
commentId / commentUrl	Stable ID and deep link (watch?v=…&lc=…)
videoId / videoUrl	Source video
text	Comment body
publishedTimeText	Relative time from YouTube (e.g. 1 year ago)
likeCount / replyCount	Parsed integers (+ raw *Text fields)
authorDisplayName / authorChannelId / authorChannelUrl	Author identity
authorAvatarUrl	Author avatar thumbnail
authorIsVerified / authorIsCreator / authorIsArtist	Badges
isReply / replyLevel / parentCommentId	Thread position
isPinned / isHearted	Pinned comment / creator heart when exposed
sortOrder / scrapedAt	Run metadata

{
  "type": "comment",
  "commentId": "Ugzge340dBgB75hWBm54AaABAg",
  "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "text": "can confirm: he never gave us up",
  "publishedTimeText": "1 year ago",
  "likeCount": 300000,
  "replyCount": 963,
  "authorDisplayName": "@YouTube",
  "authorChannelId": "UCBR8-60-B28hp2BmDPdntcQ",
  "authorChannelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@YouTube",
  "authorIsVerified": true,
  "isReply": false,
  "replyLevel": 0,
  "parentCommentId": null,
  "isPinned": true,
  "isHearted": true,
  "commentUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&lc=Ugzge340dBgB75hWBm54AaABAg",
  "sortOrder": "top",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-08-13T18:13:00Z"
}

Use cases

• Capture launch-video feedback for a product, game, or campaign drop
• Build moderation / spam samples from high-traffic uploads
• Compare Top vs Newest comment themes on the same video
• Enrich influencer or competitor research with audience language
• Pipe YouTube comments into an NLP or agent workflow via Apify dataset API / MCP

Integration examples

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('crawloop/youtube-comments-scraper').call({
  videoUrls: ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ'],
  maxComments: 100,
  sortOrder: 'top',
  includeReplies: true,
  maxRepliesPerComment: 5,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items.slice(0, 3));

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient()
run = client.actor("crawloop/youtube-comments-scraper").call(
    run_input={
        "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"],
        "maxComments": 100,
        "sortOrder": "top",
        "includeReplies": True,
        "maxRepliesPerComment": 5,
    }
)
items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items
print(items[:3])

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/crawloop~youtube-comments-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"videoUrls":["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"],"maxComments":100,"sortOrder":"top","includeReplies":true}'

MCP and AI assistants

Use this Actor from AI tools via Apify MCP. Connect your Apify account, then call this Actor by its Store ID / name (crawloop/youtube-comments-scraper).

Example prompts:

• "Run YouTube Comments Scraper for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ and return the top 50 comments as JSON"
• "Scrape newest YouTube comments with replies for this video list and summarize the top complaints"
• "Chain YouTube Comments Scraper then Bluesky Scraper to compare reaction themes across platforms"

Suite next step

After exporting comments, run Bluesky Scraper for cross-platform listening on the same brand keywords, or Product Hunt Scraper when the video is tied to a launch day.

FAQ

How do I scrape YouTube comments without the official API?
This Actor reads the public Innertube comment continuation feed used by the website. No Data API key or OAuth.

Do I need a YouTube login or cookies?
No for public videos. Enable Apify RESIDENTIAL proxy if you see consent walls or empty sections from datacenter IPs.

Are replies included by default?
No. Set includeReplies: true and optionally maxRepliesPerComment. Each reply is a separate dataset row with parentCommentId.

Can I scrape YouTube Shorts comments?
Yes. Shorts URLs and bare video IDs work the same as watch URLs.

Why is Newest sort still Top?
Some comment headers omit the sort menu for logged-out sessions. The Actor logs a warning and keeps the default Top feed.

What if comments are disabled?
The run fails with a clear status message for that video; no empty “success” dataset.

Related Actors

Actor	Use after / beside
Bluesky Scraper	Cross-platform social listening
Product Hunt Scraper	Launch-day comments and reviews
Trustpilot Scraper	Review / reputation parallel to video comments