YouTube Search Scraper: Videos, Views, Likes, Descriptions

A YouTube search scraper and video details extractor in one Actor. Search YouTube by keyword with date, length, sort and type filters, and get each result's video details: title, channel, views, likes, comment count, description, publish date and length. Or give it video URLs or IDs and get the same details for each. Plain HTTP, no browser, no login, no cookies from any account and no YouTube API key or quota.

It costs $0.0003 per search result and $0.0008 per video with details ($0.30 per 1,000 results, $0.80 per 1,000 detailed videos), with no start fee and no separate platform charge. Videos that are unavailable are never billed.

What does YouTube Search Scraper do?

It returns what a visitor sees on YouTube, as rows in an Apify dataset you can download as JSON, CSV or Excel or read through the API. Typical uses:

• Keyword and topic research: search a keyword and see which videos rank, with views, age, length and channel. Add uploadDate: "month" to see what is working now.
• Competitor and channel monitoring: search a brand or product name every day on a schedule and send new videos to Slack, a sheet or a CRM.
• Trending topic lists: uploadDate: "today" with sortBy: "viewCount" gives a daily list of the most-watched new videos on a topic.
• Influencer discovery: resultType: "channel" returns channels for a keyword with handle and subscriber count. Pass the channel URLs to YouTube Channel Email & Influencer Contacts Finder to get public emails.
• Video metadata for a list of links: put URLs or IDs in videoUrls and get views, likes, comment count, description with full links, hashtags, exact publish date and channel subscribers.
• Live stream discovery: resultType: "live" lists streams that are on now with viewers watching.
• AI agents and datasets: feed fresh YouTube search results into an agent, a RAG pipeline or an analysis notebook.

If you used the YouTube Data API for search, this Actor needs no API key, project or quota, and a search costs a fraction of a cent.

Input

Field	Meaning
searchQueries	Search mode. Keywords as typed in the YouTube search box. Up to maxResults results per keyword in YouTube's order for the chosen sort and filters.
videoUrls / videoIds	Details mode. Watch, youtu.be, Shorts or live URLs, or 11-character video IDs. One details row per video. Private, removed or unavailable videos are skipped and not charged.
maxResults	Results per keyword, default 50, up to 500. YouTube ends very long result lists at roughly 500 to 600 results.
includeDetails	Default off. Adds likes, comment count, full description, exact publish date, hashtags and channel subscribers to every search result, for one extra request each. A row with details is charged the details price instead of the search price, never both.
sortBy	relevance (default), uploadDate or viewCount. YouTube applies its sort loosely to the top of the results, so pair uploadDate with the Upload date filter when you need recent videos.
uploadDate	any (default), hour, today, week, month or year.
duration	any (default), short (under 3 minutes), medium (3 to 20 minutes) or long (over 20 minutes).
resultType	video (default), channel, playlist or live (streams on now).
country, language	Localize the results (US, GB, DE, JP...; en, de, pt-BR...). Use en if you want publishedAt estimated from the age text. Video details are always read in English.
maxConcurrency, requestDelaySecs	Politeness controls. Default 4 requests at once, at least 0.25 s between request starts.
proxyConfiguration	Optional, off by default.

With no input at all, the Actor runs a built-in example (3 search results and 1 video's details) and says so in the run's status message. If you already call another YouTube Actor, these input names are also accepted: startUrls, searchTerms, queries, keywords, maxItems, maxVideos, countryCode, languageCode.

Search with filters and details:

{
  "searchQueries": ["web scraping tutorial", "python data analysis"],
  "maxResults": 50,
  "uploadDate": "month",
  "duration": "medium",
  "includeDetails": true
}

Details for a list of videos:

{
  "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "https://youtu.be/QObMUbtzEqw"],
  "videoIds": ["_uQrJ0TkZlc"]
}

Channels for a keyword:

{
  "searchQueries": ["home workout"],
  "resultType": "channel",
  "maxResults": 40
}

Output

A search row with includeDetails on:

{
  "type": "video",
  "videoId": "_uQrJ0TkZlc",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uQrJ0TkZlc",
  "title": "Python Full Course for Beginners",
  "channelName": "Programming with Mosh",
  "channelId": "UCWv7vMbMWH4-V0ZXdmDpPBA",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@programmingwithmosh",
  "channelHandle": "@programmingwithmosh",
  "channelVerified": true,
  "channelSubscribers": 5170000,
  "viewCount": 49389646,
  "viewCountText": "49,389,646 views",
  "likeCount": 1273634,
  "commentCount": 62000,
  "publishedText": "7y ago",
  "publishedAt": "2019-02-18",
  "publishedApprox": false,
  "durationSeconds": 22447,
  "durationText": "6:14:07",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_uQrJ0TkZlc/hqdefault.jpg",
  "descriptionSnippet": "Learn Python for AI, machine learning, and web development with this beginner-friendly course! Get 6 months of PyCharm ...",
  "description": "Learn Python for AI, machine learning, and web development with this beginner-friendly course! ...",
  "hashtags": ["#Python", "#AI", "#MachineLearning"],
  "isLive": false,
  "isShort": false,
  "badges": ["CC"],
  "rank": 1,
  "query": "python tutorial",
  "inputType": "search",
  "filters": null,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-21T08:00:00Z"
}

Field notes:

• viewCount is exact for every video. For a live stream it is the viewers watching now.
• likeCount is exact when YouTube shows the full number. commentCount and channelSubscribers are YouTube's public numbers, rounded for large values (2.4M comments is 2400000).
• publishedAt is exact (a date) in details rows. In search rows without details it is estimated from the age text ("7y ago") and publishedApprox is true.
• durationSeconds comes from search results. Videos read only by URL or ID have no length, because YouTube's public watch data does not include it.
• Channel rows carry channelName, channelHandle, channelSubscribers and descriptionSnippet. Playlist rows carry playlistId, title, channelName and videoCount.
• Every row has scrapedAt and the keyword (query) or the URL or ID (inputUrl) it came from.

How much does it cost?

Row	Price
Search result (video, channel, playlist or live)	$0.0003
Video with details (search result with includeDetails, or a URL or ID)	$0.0008

Worked examples:

• 1 keyword, 100 results: 100 x $0.0003 = $0.03.
• 20 keywords, 50 results each: 1,000 x $0.0003 = $0.30.
• 20 keywords, 50 results each, with details: 1,000 x $0.0008 = $0.80.
• 1,000 video URLs: 1,000 x $0.0008 = $0.80. A video that is unavailable is not charged.
• A daily monitor of 5 brand names, 20 newest results each: 100 rows a day, about $3 a month without details.

Set Max charge per run in the run options and the Actor stops at that limit and keeps what it has.

Limits

• YouTube ends very long result lists at roughly 500 to 600 results per keyword, so maxResults is capped at 500. Use several related keywords for wider coverage.
• Search results are YouTube's own for the chosen filters. They can differ a little between countries and over time. Results shelves (Shorts shelves, ads, suggested topics) are not returned.
• duration, uploadDate and sortBy apply to video and live searches. YouTube ignores the date and length filters for channel and playlist results.
• No captions, subtitles or video downloads: this Actor reads titles, counts and descriptions only. For transcripts use YouTube Transcript Scraper.
• Pace and volume: the Actor keeps to 4 requests at once with a short pause between requests and backs off when YouTube answers 429. Very heavy runs from one IP can still be rate limited. Lower maxConcurrency, raise requestDelaySecs or turn on a proxy.
• Videos that are private, removed, age-restricted or region-locked return no details row and are not charged.

Use with Python

# pip install apify-client
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("datagleaner/youtube-search-scraper").call(run_input={
    "searchQueries": ["web scraping tutorial"],
    "maxResults": 20,          # at most 20 x $0.0003 = $0.006
    "uploadDate": "month",
})
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item["rank"], item["title"], item["viewCount"], item["channelName"])

Use with JavaScript / Node.js

// npm install apify-client
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('datagleaner/youtube-search-scraper').call({
    videoUrls: ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ'],
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
for (const item of items) {
    console.log(item.title, item.viewCount, item.likeCount, item.commentCount);
}

Use it from n8n, Make, Zapier or an AI agent

Actor ID: datagleaner/youtube-search-scraper

Minimal input:

{
  "searchQueries": ["web scraping tutorial"],
  "maxResults": 20
}

Each tool below runs this Actor with your own Apify API token.

• n8n: add the Apify node (@apify/n8n-nodes-apify). On n8n Cloud you install it from the community node registry. Choose Run an Actor and get dataset, set Actor to datagleaner/youtube-search-scraper and paste the input above. Add a second step with YouTube Channel Email & Influencer Contacts Finder to turn the channelUrl values into public emails.

• Make: use the Apify app's Run an Actor module, then Get Dataset Items to read the results. Watch Actor Runs can trigger a scenario when a run finishes.

• Zapier: use the Apify action Run Actor, then the search Fetch dataset items. The trigger Finished Actor run starts a Zap when a run ends.

• AI agents (MCP): connect to https://mcp.apify.com?tools=datagleaner/youtube-search-scraper. In Claude Code:

    claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=datagleaner/youtube-search-scraper"
  

  Then run /mcp to sign in to Apify in your browser. Then ask in plain words, for example: "Search YouTube for 'standing desk review' uploaded this month, take the 30 most viewed videos and give me a table with title, channel, views, likes and publish date."

• LangChain (Python):

# pip install langchain-apify, then set APIFY_TOKEN in your environment
import json
from langchain_apify import ApifyActorsTool
tool = ApifyActorsTool("datagleaner/youtube-search-scraper")
result = tool.invoke({"run_input": json.loads('{"searchQueries": ["web scraping tutorial"], "maxResults": 10}')})

FAQ

How do I scrape YouTube search results? Put your keywords in searchQueries and set maxResults. Each result becomes a row with title, channel, views, age and length. Turn on includeDetails to add likes, comment count and the full description.

How do I get the views, likes and description of a list of videos? Paste the URLs or IDs into videoUrls or videoIds. Each video returns one row with exact views, likes, comment count, description with full links, hashtags, publish date and channel subscribers.

Do I need a YouTube API key or a Google login? No. The Actor reads the same public pages and data a logged-out visitor's browser loads, so there is no quota, key or account.

Can I filter by upload date, length or sort by views? Yes: uploadDate (hour, today, week, month, year), duration (short, medium, long) and sortBy (relevance, uploadDate, viewCount).

Can it search for channels, playlists or live streams? Yes, with resultType set to channel, playlist or live.

How many results can I get for one keyword? Up to 500. YouTube stops a result list at roughly 500 to 600 results, so use several related keywords for more.

Is the publish date exact? In details rows, yes: it is the date shown on the video page. In search rows without details it is estimated from the age text and flagged with publishedApprox.

Does it download videos or captions? No. It returns metadata only. For transcripts see YouTube Transcript Scraper.

What happens if I enter an empty input? It runs a small built-in example (3 search results and 1 video's details) and tells you in the status message.

Related Actors

• YouTube Channel Email & Influencer Contacts Finder: public emails, websites and socials for the channels you find. Run it on the channelUrl values from this Actor.
• YouTube Shorts & Channel Scraper: go from a channel you found here to its full video, Shorts and live list with views, plus subscribers, country and join date.
• YouTube Comments Scraper: the comments and replies of the videos you find here, top or newest, with authors, likes and an optional keyword filter. Give it this run's dataset ID or the videoId values.
• YouTube Transcript Scraper: captions and transcripts as text or SRT for the videos you find here.
• Website Contact Details Scraper: emails, phones and social profiles from a channel's own website.

Responsible use

This Actor reads public pages only and collects no personal data beyond what YouTube shows publicly, such as channel names and handles. You are responsible for lawful use of the data, including YouTube's terms of service, copyright and any privacy rules that apply to how you use it. Keep volumes reasonable so you do not burden the site.