# BBB Scraper (Cheap) (`data_api/bbb-scraper-cheap`) Actor Scrapes BBB business listings, ratings, contact details, and complaint records from bbb.org so you can build lead lists or check a company's standing before working with them. - **URL**: https://apify.com/data\_api/bbb-scraper-cheap.md - **Developed by:** [Data API](https://apify.com/data_api) (community) - **Categories:** Lead generation, Automation, Developer tools - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $3.99 / 1,000 results 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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## BBB Company Scraper ![BBB Company Scraper](cover.jpg) The Better Business Bureau holds trust signals on hundreds of thousands of North American companies, but the site only lets you read them one profile at a time. This scraper turns that directory into a dataset. Give it an industry and a city and it pulls back every matching company with its trust grade, accreditation status, phone, website, complaint count, and customer rating, ready to drop into a sheet or a CRM. Run it for one ZIP code or a whole state. ### What you get Each company comes back as one row with a steady set of columns, so results stay tidy when you load them into a spreadsheet or database. Two depths of data, depending on how you set the run: - **Listing level** (quick, `fetchFullProfile: false`): `companyName`, `trustGrade`, `accredited`, `phoneNumber`, `addressText`, `categoryList`, `logoImage`, and `profileUrl`. Roughly ten companies per results page. - **Full profile** (default, `fetchFullProfile: true`): everything above plus `websiteUrl`, `legalStructure`, `accreditedDate`, `operatingYears`, `foundedDate`, `incorporatedDate`, `fileOpenedDate`, `management`, `mainCategory`, `complaintsTotal`, `reviewsTotal`, `customerRating`, `acceptedPayments`, and `socialLinks`. Full-profile runs take longer because the scraper opens each company's BBB page on its own, but the records carry far more detail. ### Quick start 1. Press **Try for free** and open the input form. 2. Type a **Search term** — an industry works best, like "Plumbers", "Auto Repair", or "Roofing". You can also match a company by name (set **Lookup mode** to `Name`) or by phone number (`Phone`). 3. Type a **Search area** — a city with its state ("Denver, CO") or a bare ZIP code both work. 4. Set a **Results limit**, press **Start**, then export as JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML once the run finishes. ![How it works](how-it-works.jpg) ### Use cases - **Lead lists** — pull a whole industry in a target city and get phone numbers, websites, and contact names you can dial straight away. Sort by grade or accreditation after export. - **Vendor checks** — before you hire a local contractor, pull their BBB record and read the complaint count, years operating, and accreditation in one glance. - **Competitor mapping** — line up everyone in your category in a market and compare trust grades, customer ratings, and time in business side by side. - **Directory consistency** — confirm a company's name, address, and phone match what shows on other listings. - **Due diligence** — verify a company's legal structure, owner or manager name, and founding date before a deal. ### Input | Field | Type | Required | Description | |-------|------|----------|-------------| | `searchTerm` | string | Yes | Industry, keyword, or company name to look up (e.g. "HVAC Contractors", "Acme Roofing"). | | `searchArea` | string | Yes | City with state, or a ZIP code (e.g. "Austin, TX", "60614"). | | `countryCode` | string | No | BBB region to query: `USA` or `CAN`. Default `USA`. | | `lookupMode` | string | No | How BBB reads your term: `Category`, `Name`, or `Phone`. Default `Category`. | | `fetchFullProfile` | boolean | No | Open each company profile for the deeper fields. Default `true`; turn off for faster listing-only runs. | | `resultsLimit` | integer | No | Most companies to gather per run, up to 1000. Default `50`. | | `timeoutSeconds` | integer | No | Seconds to wait per request before timing out. Default `45`. | #### Example input ```json { "searchTerm": "HVAC Contractors", "searchArea": "Austin, TX", "countryCode": "USA", "lookupMode": "Category", "fetchFullProfile": true, "resultsLimit": 50, "timeoutSeconds": 45 } ```` ### Output Every company is one row. With `fetchFullProfile` on you get the full field set below; with it off, the profile-only fields come back empty. The example shows a complete record. #### Example output ```json { "companyName": "Lone Star Comfort Air", "trustGrade": "A+", "accredited": true, "accreditedDate": "5/12/2019", "operatingYears": 17, "phoneNumber": "(512) 555-0142", "websiteUrl": "https://lonestarcomfortair.com", "addressText": "2200 E Cesar Chavez St Austin TX 78702", "addressParts": { "street": "2200 E Cesar Chavez St", "cityStateZip": "Austin TX 78702" }, "mainCategory": "Heating and Air Conditioning", "categoryList": ["Heating and Air Conditioning", "HVAC Contractors"], "legalStructure": "Corporation", "management": "Ms. Dana Ruiz, President", "foundedDate": "1/1/2007", "incorporatedDate": "3/8/2008", "fileOpenedDate": "9/14/2010", "reviewsTotal": 48, "complaintsTotal": 1, "customerRating": 4.7, "acceptedPayments": ["Credit Card", "Check", "Cash"], "socialLinks": ["https://www.facebook.com/lonestarcomfortair"], "logoImage": "https://m.bbb.org/prod/ProfileImages/abc123.jpeg", "profileUrl": "https://www.bbb.org/us/tx/austin/profile/hvac/lone-star-comfort-air-0825-90012345", "collectedAt": "2026-06-29T10:00:00.000000+00:00" } ``` #### Output fields | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `companyName` | string | Company name as it appears on BBB | | `trustGrade` | string | Letter grade from A+ down to F, or NR when not rated | | `accredited` | boolean | True when the company is a BBB Accredited Business | | `accreditedDate` | string | Date accreditation was granted (accredited companies only) | | `operatingYears` | integer | How long the company has been in business | | `phoneNumber` | string | Main phone number | | `websiteUrl` | string | Company website link | | `addressText` | string | Full address as a single string | | `addressParts` | object | Split address with `street` and `cityStateZip` | | `mainCategory` | string | Primary business category | | `categoryList` | array | Every category the company is filed under | | `legalStructure` | string | Legal form — Corporation, LLC, Sole Proprietorship, and similar | | `management` | string | Owner or manager name and title | | `foundedDate` | string | Date the company started trading | | `incorporatedDate` | string | Date of incorporation, where applicable | | `fileOpenedDate` | string | Date BBB first opened a file on the company | | `reviewsTotal` | integer | Count of customer reviews on BBB | | `complaintsTotal` | integer | Count of complaints filed through BBB | | `customerRating` | float | Average customer review score from 1 to 5 | | `acceptedPayments` | array | Payment types the company takes | | `socialLinks` | array | Social profile URLs listed on the BBB page | | `logoImage` | string | Company logo image link from BBB | | `profileUrl` | string | Direct link to the full BBB profile | | `collectedAt` | string | ISO 8601 timestamp of when the row was captured | ### Tips for best results - **Skip the profiles for speed.** Set `fetchFullProfile` to `false` when you only need the listing basics — it skips the per-company page visits and runs much faster. - **Plan for ten per page.** BBB returns about ten companies per results page, so a 50-company full-profile run opens roughly 55 pages in total. - **Cap big markets.** A broad category in a large metro can return thousands of hits, so set `resultsLimit` to keep the run in check. - **Raise the timeout on slow runs.** Push `timeoutSeconds` toward 60 if you start seeing timeout errors. - **Expect thin records for some companies.** A company that never sought accreditation or had a complaint may carry little more than a name and address — that is sparse source data, not a scrape failure. ### How can I use Better Business Bureau company data? **How can I use the BBB Company Scraper to build a local lead list?** Set `lookupMode` to `Category`, enter an industry like "Roofing" as the `searchTerm`, and put your target city in `searchArea`. The run returns each company with `phoneNumber`, `websiteUrl`, `management`, and `trustGrade`, so you can filter to accredited or high-grade companies and start outreach from a clean BBB export. **How can I check a company on the Better Business Bureau before hiring?** Switch `lookupMode` to `Name`, type the company name, and add its city as the `searchArea`. With `fetchFullProfile` on, you get its trust grade, `complaintsTotal`, `operatingYears`, accreditation status, and `customerRating` in one row — a fast read on whether a contractor or vendor is worth the call. **How can I pull BBB ratings and complaints for a whole industry?** Search by `Category` with `fetchFullProfile` turned on and raise `resultsLimit` to cover the market. Each company comes back with `trustGrade`, `reviewsTotal`, `complaintsTotal`, and `customerRating`, giving you a ranked view of who holds the strongest reputation in your sector. **How can I export Better Business Bureau company data to a spreadsheet?** Run the scraper, then use the export menu to download JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML. Every company keeps the same fields, so the file loads cleanly into Sheets, Excel, or a CRM with no reshaping. ### Is it legal to scrape data? Our actors are ethical and do not extract any private user data, such as email addresses or private contact information. They only extract what the user has chosen to share publicly. We therefore believe that our actors, when used for ethical purposes by Apify users, are safe. However, you should be aware that your results could contain personal data. Personal data is protected by the GDPR in the European Union and by other regulations around the world. You should not scrape personal data unless you have a legitimate reason to do so. If you're unsure whether your reason is legitimate, consult your lawyers. You can also read Apify's blog post on the [legality of web scraping](https://blog.apify.com/is-web-scraping-legal/). ### Support Questions, feature requests, or a field you'd like added? Reach out at and we'll get back to you. # Actor input Schema ## `searchTerm` (type: `string`): What to look up on BBB — an industry, a keyword, or a specific company name (for example "Plumbers", "Auto Repair", or "Acme Roofing"). ## `searchArea` (type: `string`): Where to search. Pass a city with its state, or just a ZIP code — for instance "Austin, TX", "Seattle, WA", or "60614". ## `countryCode` (type: `string`): Which BBB region to query. ## `lookupMode` (type: `string`): Tells BBB how to read your search term. ## `fetchFullProfile` (type: `boolean`): When on, the scraper opens every company's BBB page to gather the deeper fields: website, legal structure, accreditation date, management, complaint totals, customer rating, and more. Turn it off for quicker runs when the listing-level basics are enough. ## `resultsLimit` (type: `integer`): Greatest number of company records to gather in a single run. ## `timeoutSeconds` (type: `integer`): How long to wait on each request before it times out. Raise it if you hit frequent timeouts. ## Actor input object example ```json { "searchTerm": "HVAC Contractors", "searchArea": "Austin, TX", "countryCode": "USA", "lookupMode": "Category", "fetchFullProfile": false, "resultsLimit": 5, "timeoutSeconds": 45 } ``` # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "searchTerm": "HVAC Contractors", "searchArea": "Austin, TX", "resultsLimit": 5, "timeoutSeconds": 45 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("data_api/bbb-scraper-cheap").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "searchTerm": "HVAC Contractors", "searchArea": "Austin, TX", "resultsLimit": 5, "timeoutSeconds": 45, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("data_api/bbb-scraper-cheap").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "searchTerm": "HVAC Contractors", "searchArea": "Austin, TX", "resultsLimit": 5, "timeoutSeconds": 45 }' | apify call data_api/bbb-scraper-cheap --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=data_api/bbb-scraper-cheap", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "BBB Scraper (Cheap)", "description": "Scrapes BBB business listings, ratings, contact details, and complaint records from bbb.org so you can build lead lists or check a company's standing before working with them.", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "cDNBz3OnlR98FmvVW" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/data_api~bbb-scraper-cheap/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-data_api-bbb-scraper-cheap", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/data_api~bbb-scraper-cheap/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-data_api-bbb-scraper-cheap", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/data_api~bbb-scraper-cheap/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-data_api-bbb-scraper-cheap", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "searchTerm", "searchArea" ], "properties": { "searchTerm": { "title": "Search term", "type": "string", "description": "What to look up on BBB — an industry, a keyword, or a specific company name (for example \"Plumbers\", \"Auto Repair\", or \"Acme Roofing\")." }, "searchArea": { "title": "Search area", "type": "string", "description": "Where to search. Pass a city with its state, or just a ZIP code — for instance \"Austin, TX\", \"Seattle, WA\", or \"60614\"." }, "countryCode": { "title": "Country", "enum": [ "USA", "CAN" ], "type": "string", "description": "Which BBB region to query.", "default": "USA" }, "lookupMode": { "title": "Lookup mode", "enum": [ "Category", "Name", "Phone" ], "type": "string", "description": "Tells BBB how to read your search term.", "default": "Category" }, "fetchFullProfile": { "title": "Open each company profile", "type": "boolean", "description": "When on, the scraper opens every company's BBB page to gather the deeper fields: website, legal structure, accreditation date, management, complaint totals, customer rating, and more. Turn it off for quicker runs when the listing-level basics are enough.", "default": false }, "resultsLimit": { "title": "Results limit", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 1000, "type": "integer", "description": "Greatest number of company records to gather in a single run.", "default": 50 }, "timeoutSeconds": { "title": "Timeout (seconds)", "minimum": 5, "maximum": 180, "type": "integer", "description": "How long to wait on each request before it times out. Raise it if you hit frequent timeouts.", "default": 45 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```