# YouTube Scraper - Search, Channels, Videos, $1/1K, No API Key (`dariandanciu/youtube-scraper`) Actor

Scrape YouTube search results, channels and playlists: title, channel, views, length and date, with subscriber counts on channel runs. No API key and no quota. Bulk input, filters, pay only for videos returned.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/dariandanciu/youtube-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Darian Danciu](https://apify.com/dariandanciu) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, Social media, Marketing
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.70 / 1,000 videos

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

## YouTube Scraper - Search, Channels, Videos, $1/1K, No API Key

Scrape **YouTube search results, channels and playlists** with no API key and no quota: **title, channel, views, length and date**, with subscriber counts on channel runs.

### Why this one

- **$1 per 1,000 videos**, and less on paid plans.
- **One input box.** Put keywords, @handles, channel links and playlist links on separate lines; the Actor works out which is which.
- **No API key, no daily quota.** You don't need a Google Cloud project.
- **Real filters.** Sort by views, upload date, length and country on keyword searches.
- **Channel numbers on every row.** Channel runs add subscribers and video count, so sizing up channels needs no second step.
- **You only pay for videos.** Failed lines are listed in `RUN_SUMMARY` and cost nothing.

### Input

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Keywords, channels or playlists | `home espresso machine`, `@NASA`, `https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...` |
| Max videos per search | `100` |
| Sort searches by | Relevance or most views |
| Uploaded | Today, this week, this month... |
| Length | Under 4, 4 to 20, over 20 minutes |
| Channel tab | Videos, live streams or Shorts |
| Country | `US`, `GB`, `DE` |

Every field is optional except **Keywords, channels or playlists**.

### Output

One row per video. Example:

```json
{
    "id": "vy-IH48TE6s",
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy-IH48TE6s",
    "type": "video",
    "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vy-IH48TE6s/hqdefault.jpg",
    "title": "Best Coffee Machine? What 4 Years of Testing Taught Me",
    "channel": "Cafelista_Coffee",
    "channelId": "UCs9ebaR2mjroAZh4k8kMSyw",
    "channelHandle": "@Cafelista_Coffee",
    "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@Cafelista_Coffee",
    "views": 30214,
    "duration": "14:27",
    "durationSeconds": 867,
    "publishedAgo": "4 days ago",
    "snippet": "CHECK THE PRICES of every model in the chart: *Drip Coffee Makers* Budget drip coffee maker: https://geni.us/LEMib ...",
    "source": "search",
    "searchQuery": "home espresso machine"
}
```

Each row also has `searchQuery`: the search that found it. A summary of the run (videos per search, the site's total
for each search, and any searches that failed) is saved as `RUN_SUMMARY` in the key-value store.

Export to JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML from the Output tab, or use the API.

### Use cases

- **Competitor research:** every video a channel posted, with views and dates.
- **Keyword and topic research:** what ranks for a search, how long it is and how many views it gets.
- **Creator discovery:** channels in a niche with their subscriber counts.
- **Daily monitoring:** run a channel on a schedule with a low limit to catch new uploads.

### Pricing

Pay per video. See the Pricing tab. Searches that fail are free.

### Good to know

- Lists show rounded view counts ("1M views"), so views are rounded on many rows. This Actor does not return likes, tags, full descriptions or exact publish times, and it does not read single video links.
- YouTube ends a keyword search after several hundred results. To go deeper, split it into narrower keywords or use the upload date filter.
- The Shorts tab shows about the latest 40 Shorts per channel.
- This Actor does not return transcripts: YouTube restricts caption files for automated requests.
- `publishedAgo` is YouTube's own text ("3 weeks ago").
- This Actor reads public video data only. It does not log in, and it does not collect comments, commenter names or contact details.

### Feedback

Missing a field or a filter? Open an issue on the Issues tab.

### Related Actors

More search, seo and content scrapers by the same developer, with the same pay-per-result pricing:

| Actor | What it gets |
|---|---|
| [Google Trends Scraper](https://apify.com/dariandanciu/google-trends-scraper) | Interest over time, by region, related queries and trending searches |
| [Google News Scraper](https://apify.com/dariandanciu/google-news-scraper) | Google News articles with the real publisher URL |
| [Keyword Suggestions](https://apify.com/dariandanciu/keyword-suggestions-scraper) | Autocomplete keyword ideas from Google, YouTube, Bing and Amazon |
| [Google Play Scraper](https://apify.com/dariandanciu/google-play-scraper-all-in-one) | Google Play reviews, app details, search and developers |
| [Article Extractor](https://apify.com/dariandanciu/article-extractor-markdown) | Clean text and Markdown from any article URL |
| [Website Screenshot](https://apify.com/dariandanciu/website-screenshot) | Bulk full-page, mobile and PDF screenshots |
| [Domain Lookup](https://apify.com/dariandanciu/domain-lookup-whois-dns-ssl) | WHOIS/RDAP, DNS, SSL expiry and email security for many domains |
| [Events Scraper](https://apify.com/dariandanciu/events-scraper-eventbrite-meetup-luma) | Events from Eventbrite, Meetup and Luma in one format |
| [Telegram Channel Scraper](https://apify.com/dariandanciu/telegram-channel-scraper) | Public channel posts with views and reactions, no login |
| [Pinterest Search Scraper](https://apify.com/dariandanciu/pinterest-search-scraper) | Pins with images, destination links and product prices |

# Actor input Schema

## `searches` (type: `array`):

One per line. Keywords ("home espresso machine"), a channel ("@NASA" or its link) or a playlist link. Mix them freely.

## `maxResultsPerSearch` (type: `integer`):

Stop each search after this many videos.

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

Keyword searches only.

## `uploadDate` (type: `string`):

Keyword searches only.

## `videoLength` (type: `string`):

Keyword searches only.

## `channelTab` (type: `string`):

Channels only: which tab to read, newest first.

## `country` (type: `string`):

Two-letter country code for search results, e.g. US, GB or DE.

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

Apify Proxy is recommended. If the site starts blocking, requests switch to residential proxies automatically.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searches": [
    "home espresso machine",
    "@NASA"
  ],
  "maxResultsPerSearch": 100,
  "sortBy": "relevance",
  "uploadDate": "any",
  "videoLength": "any",
  "channelTab": "videos",
  "country": "US",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

One row per video.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

Videos per search, and any searches that failed (not charged).

# 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 = {
    "searches": [
        "home espresso machine",
        "@NASA"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("dariandanciu/youtube-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 = { "searches": [
        "home espresso machine",
        "@NASA",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("dariandanciu/youtube-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 '{
  "searches": [
    "home espresso machine",
    "@NASA"
  ]
}' |
apify call dariandanciu/youtube-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,dariandanciu/youtube-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/rnxBabGFznP1lVG9p/builds/8HFbT1PrtWrMtlV04/openapi.json