Facebook Group Search Scraper

🚀 What is Facebook Group Search Scraper?

Facebook Group Search Scraper is an Apify Actor that finds Facebook groups for your keywords and reads each group's public page. Give it topics or group links and get one row per group: name, link, member count, privacy, creation date, categories, location and description. No Facebook login is needed.

• Keywords or links in one list: type a topic such as vegan baking to find facebook groups by topic, and a group link looks up that one group.
• Size and privacy filters: keep only groups above a minimum member count, or only public or only private ones.
• Rows appear while the run goes: watch the table fill, then export it.
• Four ready-made tables: overview, members and activity, about, and IDs and links.

💡 Already have group links and want the posts inside them? Use the Facebook group post scraper.

📊 What data can you extract from Facebook groups?

Every row describes one public group. The dataset has 15 fields, and a value the group page does not show stays null. The examples below are invented to show the shape of the data.

Field	Description	Example
id	Numeric group ID, so the Actor works as a facebook group id finder	100000000000001
name	Group name	Vegan Baking Friends (example)
url	Link to the group, handy when you want to find facebook group url values for a topic	https://www.facebook.com/groups/example-vegan-baking/
privacy	Public or Private as the group page shows it	Public
findable	Whether anyone can find the group in search	true
memberCount	Member count as a number; Facebook rounds large counts	12500
memberInfo	Member count as written on the page	12.5K members
postFrequency	Recent posting activity, only when the page shows it	3 new posts today
description	Group description text	Share plant-based cake recipes.
category	Group category tags	["Food"]
location	Group location, when one is set	null
createdAt	Creation date, ISO 8601 in UTC	2018-03-14T09:30:00Z
hasJoinQuestions	Whether joining means answering questions	true
profilePictureUri	Link to the group picture	https://example.com/group-picture.jpg
keyword	The keyword or link that produced the row	vegan baking

The rows describe groups and not people, so this facebook group data extractor gives you group details only. Each row is facebook group metadata, not posts. The facebook group member count sits in memberCount and memberInfo, but the member list is not extracted. The facebook group category is in category. The facebook group privacy label is in privacy. The createdAt field holds the facebook group creation date. The url field turns a topic search into a facebook group url finder. Paste one group link and the Actor works as a facebook group details scraper for that single group.

💡 Use cases for Facebook group data

• Community research: run a handful of topics and read name, description and memberCount for facebook community research. Sort the table by size and you can start community mapping around one subject.
• Audience and market research: compare category and description across groups for facebook audience research on where people talk about your topic. The same table supports facebook group market research before you launch a product.
• Niche discovery: search narrow topics to uncover facebook niche groups that a broad search buries. Add a longer phrase and you can find facebook groups in my niche, such as sourdough starter instead of baking.
• Lead generation: use the list as the first step of facebook group lead generation, to see which communities your buyers gather in. The Actor returns groups, not people or contact details.
• Marketing: set minMembers to shortlist facebook groups for marketing, and read findable and hasJoinQuestions to see how open each one is.
• Competitor and brand watch: search competitor and brand names for competitor community research. Repeat the run on a schedule and compare memberCount for simple brand community monitoring.
• Large and active groups: use minMembers to find large facebook groups. Sort the export to see facebook groups by member count. Read postFrequency where the page shows it to find active facebook groups.
• Group lists: export the dataset to build a facebook groups list for your team. Setting privacy to public keeps a public facebook groups list. The rows are a good base for your own facebook group directory. Type a topic to find communities on facebook, then read privacy and createdAt to sort new groups from long-running ones.

🛠️ How to scrape Facebook groups

1. Create an Apify account and open Facebook Group Search Scraper in the Apify Store.
2. Enter keywords or group links in Keywords or group URLs, one per line. This is how you search facebook groups by keyword. A single link works as a quick facebook group lookup.
3. Set Maximum groups per entry. The default is 20, and 0 means as many as can be found.
4. Optional: set Minimum members and Group privacy to keep only the groups you need.
5. Leave Include full group details on for all fields, or switch it off for a faster run with only the link and name.
6. Click Start and watch the log while rows arrive in the Output tab.
7. Download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML. Pick CSV to export facebook groups to csv. Pick Excel to move facebook groups to excel.

💰 How much does it cost to scrape Facebook groups?

The Actor uses pay-per-event pricing. You pay for each group row saved to the dataset, plus a small start fee.

Plan tier	Price per 1,000 groups	Arithmetic
Free	$2.50	1,000 x $0.0025
Bronze	$2.30	1,000 x $0.0023
Silver	$2.20	1,000 x $0.0022
Gold and above	$2.10	1,000 x $0.0021

• Result (main_result): charged once for every group row saved to the dataset.
• Actor Start (apify-actor-start): $0.00005 per event, charged when a run starts, one event per GB of memory with a minimum of one. The Actor is configured with 1,024 MB (1 GB), so the start fee is $0.00005 per run.

Worked example: 200 groups at the Gold tier cost 200 x $0.0021 = $0.42, plus $0.00005 for the start. Apify platform usage (compute) is billed on top of the events above. Pages that cannot be read are not saved and not charged. If you set a maximum spend per run, the run stops cleanly and keeps the rows already saved. Check the Pricing tab for current rates.

⬇️ Input

Only urls is required. The example below searches one topic, keeps public groups with at least 1,000 members and saves up to 3 groups.

{
  "urls": ["vegan baking"],
  "maxItems": 3,
  "minMembers": 1000,
  "privacy": "public",
  "includeDetails": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true }
}

Field	Meaning
urls	Keywords or Facebook group links, one per entry. Required. A link must look like https://www.facebook.com/groups/name. Duplicates are removed.
maxItems	Maximum groups per entry, default 20. 0 means as many as can be found.
minMembers	Skip groups with fewer members, default 0. The check uses the rounded count Facebook shows.
privacy	any (default), public or private.
includeDetails	Default on. Off returns only the link and the name when one is available; setting minMembers or a privacy filter switches it back on.
proxyConfiguration	Optional proxy settings.

For links you already have, this facebook group extractor returns the same 15 fields as a keyword search. If Facebook blocks a request, the Actor retries and may switch to a proxy automatically, even when you leave the proxy option off. Proxy traffic counts as platform usage.

⬆️ Output

Rows are saved to the default dataset as they are found. In the Output tab they appear in four tables: overview, members and activity, about, and IDs and links. A run summary record holds the totals: groups saved, charged, failed, skipped, duration and the stop reason (completed or spend).

Export formats: JSON, CSV, Excel, XML and HTML. The next sample is fictional and shows one row from the input above.

{
  "id": "100000000000001",
  "name": "Vegan Baking Friends (example)",
  "url": "https://www.facebook.com/groups/example-vegan-baking/",
  "privacy": "Public",
  "findable": true,
  "memberCount": 12500,
  "memberInfo": "12.5K members",
  "postFrequency": "3 new posts today",
  "description": "Share plant-based cake recipes.",
  "category": ["Food"],
  "location": null,
  "createdAt": "2018-03-14T09:30:00Z",
  "hasJoinQuestions": true,
  "profilePictureUri": "https://example.com/group-picture.jpg",
  "keyword": "vegan baking"
}

⚠️ Limitations and error handling

• Public pages only: the Actor reads what any visitor can see. A group marked Private can still show up with the details its public page offers, but its members are never listed. It lists public Facebook groups only.
• Not every group is found: a keyword search checks up to 300 candidate groups per entry. The log then says how many were reachable, for example "only 12 of 20 reachable".
• Counts are rounded: Facebook rounds large member counts, so minMembers compares against the rounded number.
• Empty fields: postFrequency, location and other values stay null when the group page does not show them.
• Fast mode: with includeDetails off, only the link and the name are filled, and the name can be null.
• Blocked requests: a failed request is tried up to 3 times. After 8 rate-limited group pages in a row the entry stops, and if no group was saved the run ends with "No groups saved - access was blocked. Try again later."
• Input problems: an empty urls list, or a Facebook link that is not a group link, stops the run with a clear message.
• Repeated groups: if the same group is found by more than one keyword or link in one run, it is saved and charged once per entry.
• Spend limit: when your maximum spend per run is reached, the run stops cleanly with the rows saved so far.

Per entry, the log ends with one status line: [ok], [partial], [empty] or [failed], with the number of groups saved and checked.

🔌 Integrating Facebook Group Search Scraper with other apps

Run the Actor through the Apify API, which makes it a facebook groups scraper api for your own code, on a schedule, or with a webhook that fires when a run finishes.

• Send the dataset to Google Sheets, Make or Zapier, or see all Apify integrations.
• Trigger your own code from a webhook when a run ends.
• AI agents can run the Actor through the hosted Apify MCP server, see the Apify MCP documentation.

🔗 Other Facebook and social media scrapers by data_wiki

Actor	What it extracts	When to use it
Posts, comments and listings from group links	Posts, comments, reactions, authors and Buy & Sell listings from group links you provide	You already know the groups and want what is inside them
Facebook comment extractor	Comments and replies from public posts, reels, videos and photos	You have post links and want full threads
Facebook Marketplace listing scraper	Marketplace listings from keywords, search, category or listing links	You track items for sale, not communities
Instagram reels by hashtag	Public Instagram reels found by hashtag or keyword	You run the same topic research on another platform

The scraped site is Facebook.

⚖️ Is it legal to scrape Facebook groups?

The Actor reads only information that any visitor can see and does not log in. Group names and descriptions can still contain personal details, so collect only what you need and follow privacy laws such as GDPR and CCPA, plus Facebook's terms. This is not legal advice. Read Apify's guides on the legality of web scraping and ethical scraping.

❓ FAQ

Is scraping Facebook groups legal?

The Actor collects public data only, but your use of it must respect privacy laws and Facebook's terms. See the legal section above, and ask a lawyer when in doubt.

Do I need a Facebook login?

No. The Actor needs no account, cookies or API key, and it never reads private content.

How much does it cost to run?

You pay per saved group, from $2.10 to $2.50 per 1,000 depending on your Apify plan tier, plus a start fee of $0.00005 per run. Apify platform usage (compute) is billed on top of the events above.

How many groups can I get?

As a facebook group search tool, it takes maxItems as the limit per keyword or link, and 0 means as many as can be found. A keyword search checks up to 300 candidate groups, so the number you get can be lower than the limit.

Which Facebook group Actor should I use?

Use this Actor when you start from a topic and want to discover groups: keywords or links in, one row per group out. If you want a facebook groups scraper that reads what is inside groups, use the group post and comment reader: it starts from group links and returns posts, comments, reactions or Buy & Sell listings. They can work together: find groups here, then read the ones you pick there.

What does a Facebook group search scraper return?

It returns one row per public group with the 15 fields listed above. Think of it as a facebook group finder for a topic. You get the member count (memberCount and memberInfo) but never the list of people.

Why are some fields empty?

The group page does not always show them. Location and post frequency are the most common empty values, and fast mode fills only the link and the name.

Why did the same group appear twice?

It was found by two different keywords or links in one run. Each entry saves its own row, so the group is charged once per entry. Use fewer overlapping keywords to avoid it.

Is there an API?

Yes, the Apify API runs the Actor and reads its dataset, see the API documentation. There is no official Facebook API involved.

Can I use this Actor through MCP?

Yes. AI agents can find the Actor, check its input and run it through the hosted Apify MCP server at https://mcp.apify.com. See the Apify MCP documentation.

💬 Your feedback

Found a bug or need another field? Open an issue on the Actor's Issues tab. Need a custom solution? Contact hello.datawiki@gmail.com.