# Reddit Post Search Scraper | $2.5/1K Posts (`ethereal_wool/reddit-post-search`) Actor

Extract Reddit post search data — url, commentCount, and more. Scrape by keyword, URL or ID. Export to JSON, CSV & Excel, use the API, schedule runs and integrate. No code required.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/ethereal\_wool/reddit-post-search.md
- **Developed by:** [Jackie Chen](https://apify.com/ethereal_wool) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Marketing
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$2.50 / 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.

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

## Reddit Post Search Scraper

![reddit-post-search](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/48FFrfZnw5XqzUC1C/records/reddit-post-search__hero)

Search **Reddit** posts by keyword and get clean, structured data for each result:
title, body text, score, upvote ratio, comment count, subreddit, author, post URL,
and flags such as NSFW / locked / archived / stickied. You can also switch the
search type to subreddits, users or comments.

> **Unofficial.** This Actor is not affiliated with, authorized, or endorsed by
> Reddit, Inc. It is an independent tool that retrieves publicly available data via
> a third-party API. Use it in compliance with Reddit's terms and all applicable
> laws; you are responsible for how you use the retrieved data.

### What it does

- **Keyword post search** — give one or more queries; the Actor paginates Reddit's
  search results for each (following the `after` cursor) and returns the matching posts.
- **Other search types** — set `searchType` to `sr` (subreddits), `user`, or `comment`.
  The Actor extracts the post records present in the result set.

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `searchKeywords` | string[] | `["AskReddit"]` | Search queries. Each is paginated independently. Can be a topic, phrase, or subreddit name. |
| `searchType` | enum | `post` | `post` / `sr` / `user` / `comment`. |
| `maxItems` | integer | `50` | Max total posts across all queries. |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "searchKeywords": ["mechanical keyboard", "AskReddit"],
  "searchType": "post",
  "maxItems": 100
}
````

### Output

One dataset item per post:

```json
{
  "id": "t3_bawfcs",
  "postTitle": "What's the creepiest Ask Reddit thread you have come across?",
  "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bawfcs/...",
  "permalink": "/r/AskReddit/comments/bawfcs/...",
  "content": null,
  "domain": "self.AskReddit",
  "score": 41634,
  "upvoteRatio": 0.89,
  "commentCount": 6867,
  "createdAt": "2019-04-08T17:14:36.274000+0000",
  "subreddit": "r/AskReddit",
  "subredditSubscribers": 58734983,
  "author": "Semi_HadrOn",
  "isSelfPost": true,
  "isNsfw": false,
  "isLocked": false,
  "isArchived": true,
  "voteState": "NONE",
  "source": "search:AskReddit"
}
```

### Notes

- Data is sourced live; Reddit occasionally rate-limits, so the Actor retries
  transient blocks with exponential backoff.
- Post IDs are de-duplicated within a run.

### Quick start

1. Open the Actor and press **Run** — the default input works out of the box.
2. Adjust the input fields below to your target (keywords, IDs, or URLs) and set `maxItems` to cap spend.
3. Grab results from the **Dataset** tab as JSON / CSV / Excel, or pull them via the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) and MCP from your own code.

No proxies to configure, no cookies to paste, no login — the Actor handles everything server-side.

### Why teams switch to this Reddit scraper

Most Reddit scrapers on the market either run a full headless browser (slow,
fragile, frequent failed runs) or charge $15–20 per 1,000 posts. This Actor
calls a direct HTTP API — runs finish in seconds, the 30-day success rate stays
high, and you pay **$2.50 per 1,000 posts**, roughly an eighth of the typical
asking price. If you've been burned by failed runs or surprise compute charges
on other Reddit actors, this is the boring, dependable alternative.

### What people build with it

- **Brand & product monitoring** — search your brand name and product category
  daily; pipe new posts into Slack via Apify integrations to catch complaints
  and shout-outs early.
- **Pain-point mining for B2B leads** — search "how do I…", "alternative to…",
  "is there a tool…" in your niche and harvest the threads where buyers
  describe their problems in their own words.
- **LLM / RAG corpora** — collect topical discussions (titles + selftext +
  scores as quality weights) for fine-tuning or retrieval datasets.
- **Market research** — compare `score`, `upvoteRatio` and `commentCount`
  across keywords to size interest in features or trends before building.
- **Content ideation** — the highest-engagement questions in your niche are a
  ready-made editorial calendar.

### Tips for better results

- Each keyword in `searchKeywords` paginates independently — pass several
  narrow phrases instead of one broad one for wider coverage.
- `searchType: "comment"` finds posts via matching comments — useful when the
  conversation, not the title, contains your keyword.
- Combine with [Reddit Post Comments](https://apify.com/ethereal_wool/reddit-post-comments)
  to expand the top posts into full comment trees for sentiment analysis.

***

### Why this Actor

- **Direct API, no headless browser** — fast, stable runs with nothing to babysit.
- **No login, no cookies** — we never touch your accounts, so there's no ban risk.
- **Fresh, real-time data** — every run reads the source live, not a stale cache.
- **Pay per result** — you're billed only for the rows actually delivered.
- **Structured JSON** — export to CSV, Excel, or JSON, or pull straight from the API / MCP.

### Use cases

- Track trends, keywords, and hashtags as they emerge.
- Find top creators and viral content in any niche.
- Run competitor and category research at scale.
- Build content-idea pipelines and trend dashboards.

### FAQ

**Do I need an account, cookies, or to log in anywhere?**
No. The Actor talks to a fast, direct HTTP API server-side — you just provide inputs and run it.

**How am I billed?**
Pay-per-result: a fixed price per row returned, with no separate platform/compute charge. Caps like `maxItems` keep spend predictable.

**Can I run it on a schedule or call it from my app?**
Yes — use Apify Schedules, the REST API, the JavaScript / Python clients, or the MCP server. See the **API** tab.

**Is this affiliated with Reddit?**
No. It's an independent tool that collects publicly available data. Use it in line with the platform's terms and applicable law.

### More Reddit scrapers by us

- [**Reddit Subreddit Posts**](https://apify.com/ethereal_wool/reddit-subreddit-posts) — Posts from any subreddit · sort & time
- [**Reddit User Posts**](https://apify.com/ethereal_wool/reddit-user-posts) — A user's posts & comments history
- [**Reddit Post Comments**](https://apify.com/ethereal_wool/reddit-post-comments) — Full comment tree for a post

Browse the full fleet → **https://apify.com/ethereal\_wool**

# Actor input Schema

## `searchKeywords` (type: `array`):

Reddit search queries. Each query is searched and paginated independently. Can be a topic, phrase or a subreddit name (e.g. AskReddit, 'best mechanical keyboard').

## `searchType` (type: `string`):

What Reddit search returns. 'post' searches posts (default). 'sr' searches subreddits, 'user' searches users, 'comment' searches comments. This Actor extracts the post records present in the result.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum total number of posts to scrape across all queries.

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

Optional. Route the upstream API calls through an Apify Proxy to vary the source IP. Usually not needed.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchKeywords": [
    "AskReddit"
  ],
  "searchType": "post",
  "maxItems": 50,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# 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 = {
    "searchKeywords": [
        "AskReddit"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("ethereal_wool/reddit-post-search").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 = { "searchKeywords": ["AskReddit"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("ethereal_wool/reddit-post-search").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 '{
  "searchKeywords": [
    "AskReddit"
  ]
}' |
apify call ethereal_wool/reddit-post-search --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=ethereal_wool/reddit-post-search",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "Reddit Post Search Scraper | $2.5/1K Posts",
        "description": "Extract Reddit post search data — url, commentCount, and more. Scrape by keyword, URL or ID. Export to JSON, CSV & Excel, use the API, schedule runs and integrate. No code required.",
        "version": "0.1",
        "x-build-id": "6EhWxVlUe0DnDlILt"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/ethereal_wool~reddit-post-search/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-ethereal_wool-reddit-post-search",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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/ethereal_wool~reddit-post-search/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-ethereal_wool-reddit-post-search",
                "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/ethereal_wool~reddit-post-search/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-ethereal_wool-reddit-post-search",
                "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",
                "properties": {
                    "searchKeywords": {
                        "title": "Search keywords / queries",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Reddit search queries. Each query is searched and paginated independently. Can be a topic, phrase or a subreddit name (e.g. AskReddit, 'best mechanical keyboard').",
                        "default": [
                            "AskReddit"
                        ],
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        }
                    },
                    "searchType": {
                        "title": "Search type",
                        "enum": [
                            "post",
                            "sr",
                            "user",
                            "comment"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "What Reddit search returns. 'post' searches posts (default). 'sr' searches subreddits, 'user' searches users, 'comment' searches comments. This Actor extracts the post records present in the result.",
                        "default": "post"
                    },
                    "maxItems": {
                        "title": "Max posts",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 100000,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Maximum total number of posts to scrape across all queries.",
                        "default": 50
                    },
                    "proxyConfiguration": {
                        "title": "Proxy configuration",
                        "type": "object",
                        "description": "Optional. Route the upstream API calls through an Apify Proxy to vary the source IP. Usually not needed.",
                        "default": {
                            "useApifyProxy": false
                        }
                    }
                }
            },
            "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
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```