Reddit Comment Scraper

Reddit Comment Scraper creates a structured dataset of comments collected from Reddit post pages. Each dataset item represents one comment and can include author, body text, score, reply depth, parent and post identifiers, timestamps, and permalinks. Query the source with post IDs or post URLs (searchQueries, postIds, or startUrls). Control the per-post limit with maxComments, and retrieve records through the Apify Dataset API or export them as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or another supported format.

Dataset at a glance

Property	Value
Source	reddit.com public post comment threads
Record unit	One Reddit comment
Input methods	Post IDs or URLs (searchQueries), post IDs (postIds), or post URLs (startUrls)
Main identifiers	id, comment URL (fullUrl), parent post (postId)
Delivery	Apify Dataset and API
Export formats	JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, HTML (Apify dataset exports)
Update model	Fresh records per Actor run
Pricing	$3 / 1,000 comments; Actor start $0.00005

Coverage and available records

The Actor collects public comments from one or more Reddit posts. Provide at least one of searchQueries, postIds, or startUrls.

• Post IDs or URLs: searchQueries accepts a bare post ID (1vcvjb9) or a full post URL. Preferred for agent-style input.
• Post IDs: postIds accepts bare IDs; post URLs are built automatically.
• Post URLs: startUrls accepts reddit.com post URLs or redd.it short links.

Record types and limits:

• Comment records are always collected: identifiers, author, body, score, depth, subreddit, parent post fields, timestamps, and state flags.
• Sort: sortBy selects Reddit's comment sort (confidence / Best, top, new, controversial, old, qa, live). Default is confidence.
• Result cap: maxComments limits comments per post (0 means unlimited per post). maxItems is an alias used only when maxComments is omitted. Three posts with maxComments: 10 can return up to 30 comments.

Known exclusions: content Reddit only shows after login is not collected; deleted or removed comments may have empty body or [deleted] authors; each run captures thread state at run time (no historical snapshots). A Reddit account is not an input.

Data dictionary

Field names below match dataset record JSON properties exactly. Values come from Reddit. sourceUrl and sourceQuery record the seed that produced the comment.

Field	Type	Nullable	Description	Example
id	string	No	Comment identifier; recommended deduplication key	l8c2m3
name	string	Yes	Reddit fullname (t1_ + comment id)	t1_l8c2m3
parentId	string	Yes	Parent fullname (post t3_… or comment t1_…)	t3_1vcvjb9
postId	string	Yes	Parent post identifier	1vcvjb9
postTitle	string	Yes	Parent post title	I think people seriously underestimate how easy...
postUrl	string	Yes	Parent post URL	https://www.reddit.com/r/AI_Agents/comments/1vcvjb9/i_think_people_seriously_underestimate_how_easy/
sourceUrl	string	Yes	Seed URL used for the run	Same as postUrl
sourceQuery	string	Yes	Seed ID or URL as supplied	Same as postUrl
subreddit	string	Yes	Subreddit name without r/	AI_Agents
subredditNamePrefixed	string	Yes	Subreddit with r/ prefix	r/AI_Agents
author	string	Yes	Comment author username	reddit_user_123
body	string	Yes	Comment text	This is a really underrated workflow...
score	number	Yes	Vote score	214
ups	number	Yes	Ups count as returned by Reddit	214
depth	number	Yes	Reply depth (0 = top-level)	0
createdAt	string	Yes	Created timestamp (ISO 8601)	2026-08-07T14:32:10+00:00
editedAt	string	Yes	Last-edited timestamp, or null if never edited	null
permalink	string	Yes	Site-relative permalink	/r/AI_Agents/comments/1vcvjb9/.../l8c2m3/
fullUrl	string	Yes	Absolute comment URL; secondary key	https://www.reddit.com/r/AI_Agents/comments/1vcvjb9/.../l8c2m3/
url	string	Yes	Absolute comment URL (same role as fullUrl)	Same as fullUrl
isSubmitter	boolean	Yes	Whether the author is the original poster	false
distinguished	string	Yes	Mod / admin distinction, or empty	""
stickied	boolean	Yes	Whether the comment is stickied	false
gilded	number	Yes	Gilding count	0
controversiality	number	Yes	Reddit controversiality flag	0
scoreHidden	boolean	Yes	Whether score is hidden	false
collapsed	boolean	Yes	Whether the comment is collapsed	false
locked	boolean	Yes	Whether the comment is locked	false
archived	boolean	Yes	Whether the comment is archived	false

Example dataset record

Top-level comment from post 1vcvjb9 with sortBy confidence.

{
  "id": "l8c2m3",
  "name": "t1_l8c2m3",
  "parentId": "t3_1vcvjb9",
  "postId": "1vcvjb9",
  "postTitle": "I think people seriously underestimate how easy...",
  "postUrl": "https://www.reddit.com/r/AI_Agents/comments/1vcvjb9/i_think_people_seriously_underestimate_how_easy/",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.reddit.com/r/AI_Agents/comments/1vcvjb9/i_think_people_seriously_underestimate_how_easy/",
  "sourceQuery": "https://www.reddit.com/r/AI_Agents/comments/1vcvjb9/i_think_people_seriously_underestimate_how_easy/",
  "subreddit": "AI_Agents",
  "subredditNamePrefixed": "r/AI_Agents",
  "author": "reddit_user_123",
  "body": "This is a really underrated workflow. I've been using agents like this for weeks and the difference is night and day.",
  "score": 214,
  "ups": 214,
  "depth": 0,
  "createdAt": "2026-08-07T14:32:10+00:00",
  "editedAt": null,
  "permalink": "/r/AI_Agents/comments/1vcvjb9/i_think_people_seriously_underestimate_how_easy/l8c2m3/",
  "fullUrl": "https://www.reddit.com/r/AI_Agents/comments/1vcvjb9/i_think_people_seriously_underestimate_how_easy/l8c2m3/",
  "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/AI_Agents/comments/1vcvjb9/i_think_people_seriously_underestimate_how_easy/l8c2m3/",
  "isSubmitter": false,
  "distinguished": "",
  "stickied": false,
  "gilded": 0,
  "controversiality": 0,
  "scoreHidden": false,
  "collapsed": false,
  "locked": false,
  "archived": false
}

The record above was produced with this input:

{
  "searchQueries": ["1vcvjb9"],
  "maxComments": 100,
  "sortBy": "confidence"
}

Query and input reference

Input	Type	Required	Default	Accepted values	Description
searchQueries	array (string)	No*	— (prefill 1vcvjb9)	Post IDs or post URLs	Preferred seed list; IDs and URLs are resolved automatically
postIds	array (string)	No*	—	Bare post IDs	Alternative seed list; URLs are built automatically
startUrls	array (requestListSources)	No*	—	reddit.com or redd.it post URLs	URL seed list
maxComments	integer	No	0	0 or any positive integer	Maximum comments per post; 0 = unlimited (console prefill 100)
maxItems	integer	No	0	0 or any positive integer	Alias for maxComments when maxComments is omitted
sortBy	string	No	confidence	confidence, top, new, controversial, old, qa, live	Reddit comment sort
proxyConfiguration	object	No	Apify proxy, RESIDENTIAL	Apify proxy groups or custom proxies	Residential proxies are recommended; datacenter IPs are often blocked

* Provide searchQueries, postIds, and/or startUrls — at least one source is required.

Minimal request:

{ "searchQueries": ["1vcvjb9"] }

Advanced request (URL seeds, capped, sorted by new):

{
  "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/AI_Agents/comments/1vcvjb9/i_think_people_seriously_underestimate_how_easy/" }],
  "maxComments": 10,
  "sortBy": "new",
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"] }
}

Retrieve the data through the API

Records are delivered through the Apify Actor and Dataset APIs — not an official Reddit API.

1. Start the Actor with a JSON input (console or API).
2. Wait for the run to finish, or use a synchronous endpoint if you want the response inline.
3. Retrieve items from the run's default dataset.
4. Paginate or export the dataset.

Python example:

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR-APIFY-TOKEN")

run_input = {
    "searchQueries": ["1vcvjb9"],
    "maxComments": 100,
    "sortBy": "confidence",
}

run = client.actor("datascrapers/reddit-comment-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item["id"], item["author"], item["score"])

Apify generates ready-to-run Python, JavaScript, and cURL examples on the Actor's API tab. Do not put a real API token in shared code or URLs.

Data quality and record handling

• Thread structure: parentId and depth preserve reply relationships. A reply is a separate dataset item, not a nested array.
• Source changes: Reddit page structure and values can change; unreadable fields are omitted or returned empty rather than fabricated.
• Deduplication: within a run, comments are identified by id. Across runs, records are appended. Use id as the stable key.
• Failures: one failed post does not stop the run. Residential proxies are recommended; datacenter IPs are often blocked.
• Normalization: timestamps are ISO 8601. Scores and flags come from Reddit.

Export and pipeline examples

Destination	Recommended method	Typical use
PostgreSQL / Supabase	Dataset API poll or webhook consumer	Store threads for sentiment and research
Google Sheets	Apify Google Sheets integration	Share short comment extracts
NLP / LLM pipelines	Dataset API JSON export	Training or RAG corpora
S3 / cloud storage	Scheduled export via Apify scheduler + integration	Archival of discussion snapshots

Pricing and cost examples

The Actor uses pay-per-event pricing. Each run also charges a one-time Actor start. Residential proxies are recommended. Proxy and compute are billed by your Apify plan. Comment charges may be tiered on Apify paid plans.

Event	Trigger	Rate
Actor start	Once per run	$0.00005
dataset-item (Comment)	Each comment written to the dataset	$0.003 / comment ($3 / 1,000)

Example costs (Actor start negligible; plan-tier discounts not applied):

Records	Configuration	Estimated base cost
1,000	Comments	$3.00
10,000	Comments	$30.00

Estimates depend on the verified pricing model and the number of comments collected.

Limitations and responsible data use

• The Actor collects publicly accessible Reddit comments only.
• Field availability depends on what Reddit renders at run time; deleted comments and hidden scores can produce empty or placeholder values.
• The Actor does not provide historical snapshots unless you store them yourself.
• Large runs should use residential proxies; without them, coverage may degrade.
• You are responsible for compliance with Reddit's terms of service, applicable privacy law, and any contractual obligations before using the data.

Dataset questions

What does one dataset item represent?

One Reddit comment. Replies are separate items linked by parentId and depth.

Which field should I use as a unique identifier?

id is the recommended deduplication key. fullUrl is a reasonable secondary key. Use postId to group comments from the same thread.

Are fields nullable or conditional?

Yes. editedAt is null when the comment was never edited. body and author can be empty or placeholder values for deleted comments. Other flags follow what Reddit returns.

Can I retrieve the records as CSV or JSON?

Yes. The dataset can be exported as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or HTML from the Apify Console, and queried through the Dataset API.

Does the Actor return historical data?

No. Each run captures the thread at run time. To track new comments, schedule repeated runs and store the outputs yourself.

What counts as a billable result?

Two pay-per-event charges apply: Actor start once per run ($0.00005) and a dataset-item charge for every comment ($0.003, or $3 per 1,000).

Related datasets from Data Scrapers

• Reddit Scraper — Broader Reddit records that can be joined to these comments through post identifiers.
• Instagram Comment Scraper — Instagram comments for the same social-listening pipelines.
• TikTok Comment Scraper — TikTok comments for cross-platform discussion analysis.
• YouTube Comment Scraper — YouTube comments that pair with Reddit threads on the same topics.
• Twitter/X Profile Scraper — Profile-level social records for accounts discussed in Reddit threads.

Data Scrapers support

Need an additional field, record type, or export workflow? Contact Data Scrapers at stardustspotlight@gmail.com. Include a sample source URL, required fields, expected record volume, and preferred delivery format.