# Reddit Scraper for Leads: Buying Intent Posts & Comments (`fayoussef/reddit-lead-finder`) Actor

Scrape Reddit posts and comments for buying intent: people asking for a tool, a recommendation, or an alternative to your competitor. Every lead is scored 0-100, budget mentions are extracted, and scheduled runs surface only leads you have not seen before. No login, no API key, no LLM cost.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/fayoussef/reddit-lead-finder.md
- **Developed by:** [Youssef Farhan](https://apify.com/fayoussef) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Social media, Automation
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$1.90 / 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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

### What does Reddit Lead Finder do?

**Reddit Lead Finder is a Reddit scraper built for lead generation.** It scans Reddit **posts and comments** for **buying intent**: people saying *"looking for a tool"*, *"can anyone recommend"*, *"alternative to \[your competitor]"*, *"willing to pay"*. Every lead is scored **0 to 100**, budget mentions are extracted, and you get a clean, deduplicated lead list you can export or pipe into your CRM. No Reddit login, no Reddit API key, no LLM costs.

Because it runs on Apify, you get everything a lead-gen workflow needs out of the box: **REST API, scheduling, webhooks, integrations (Zapier, Make, Google Sheets, Slack), proxy rotation, and run monitoring**.

### Why use Reddit Lead Finder?

- **Find customers on Reddit before your competitors do.** Reddit is where people ask for product recommendations with real intent to buy, a single well-timed reply can win a customer.
- **Steal competitor churn.** Add competitor brand names and catch every *"cheaper alternative to X"* and *"cancelling my subscription"* thread the moment it appears.
- **Hands-free lead alerts.** Turn on *Only new leads*, schedule the actor daily, and get only leads you've never seen before, the actor remembers every lead across runs.
- **Comments included.** The highest-intent messages hide in comment threads ("I need exactly this, any suggestions?"). Most Reddit lead tools only read post titles, this one opens the busiest on-topic threads and scans the comments too.
- **Filter promoters out automatically.** Founders posting "I built a tool…" are not leads. The scoring engine detects self-promotion and drops it.

### How to find leads on Reddit: tutorial

1. Enter **keywords** describing what you sell, in your customers' words (e.g. `email marketing tool`, `bookkeeping service`).
2. Optionally add **competitor names** (e.g. `Mailchimp`) and **subreddits** to focus on.
3. Click **Start**. The actor searches Reddit, scores every post and comment for buying intent, and pushes leads to the dataset.
4. Open the **Output** tab, leads are sorted by intent score. Export as **JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML**, or fetch them via API.
5. (Optional) Create a **Schedule** with *Only new leads* enabled for a daily lead alert.

### Input

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| `keywords` | Reddit searches to run, your product category in plain words |
| `competitors` | Brand names; catches "alternative to X" and complaint threads |
| `subreddits` | Limit the hunt to specific communities (optional) |
| `timeRange` | day / week / month / year / all, fresh leads convert best |
| `includeComments` | Also scan comments of busy on-topic threads (recommended) |
| `minIntentScore` | Quality bar 0-100; raise to 50+ for only hot leads |
| `onlyNewLeads` | Scheduled-run mode: only leads never returned before |

```json
{
    "keywords": ["email marketing tool"],
    "competitors": ["Mailchimp"],
    "timeRange": "week",
    "includeComments": true
}
```

### Output

Every lead is one dataset item, download as JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML:

```json
{
    "intentScore": 78,
    "intentLabel": "seeking-alternative",
    "matchedSignals": ["seeking alternative", "price complaint"],
    "budgetMention": "$50/mo",
    "sourceType": "post",
    "title": "Mailchimp got too expensive, what should I switch to?",
    "text": "Running a 5k-subscriber list for my bakery, happy to pay up to $50/mo…",
    "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/smallbusiness/comments/…",
    "author": "bakery_owner_42",
    "subreddit": "smallbusiness",
    "upvotes": 14,
    "numComments": 23,
    "createdAt": "2026-07-15T09:12:00+00:00",
    "competitor": "Mailchimp",
    "isNew": true
}
```

### Data fields

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `intentScore` | 0-100 buying-intent score |
| `intentLabel` | buying-signal · seeking-alternative · recommendation-request · pain-point · question |
| `matchedSignals` | The exact intent phrases detected |
| `budgetMention` | Money amount found in the text, if any |
| `sourceType` | post or comment |
| `title` / `text` / `url` | The thread, the lead's own words, and a direct permalink |
| `author` / `authorUrl` | Reddit username and profile link |
| `subreddit`, `upvotes`, `numComments`, `createdAt` | Context and engagement |
| `competitor` | Competitor name mentioned, if any |
| `isNew` | True if this lead was never returned in a previous run |

### How much does it cost to find leads on Reddit?

You pay per lead returned, a filtered, scored lead, not a raw post. A typical weekly run over 2-3 keywords returns 50-150 leads. Free-plan users are capped at **25 leads and 1 search page per query**; subscribe to an [Apify plan](https://apify.com/pricing?fpr=youssef) to unlock full depth.

### Tips for better leads

- Use **specific keywords** ("crm for realtors" beats "crm").
- Add 2-5 **competitors**: alternative-seekers are the hottest leads.
- Raise `minIntentScore` to 50+ if you only want to reply to a handful of threads per day.
- Reply helpfully on Reddit; accounts that only drop links get banned by moderators.

### Can I call this Actor from an AI agent?

Yes. Reddit Lead Finder works with the **Apify MCP server**, so Claude, ChatGPT, or any MCP-enabled agent can run it and read the scored leads directly. The dataset schema is fully typed for agent consumption.

### FAQ

**Is scraping Reddit legal?** The actor only reads publicly available posts and comments, no login, no private data. You are responsible for using the output in compliance with applicable laws and Reddit's terms.

**Does it need a Reddit API key?** No. It uses Reddit's public JSON endpoints.

**Why residential proxies?** Reddit blocks datacenter IPs. The default configuration uses Apify residential proxies and works out of the box.

**How is this different from a plain Reddit scraper?** A scraper gives you every post containing a keyword. This actor gives you only the posts and comments where someone is *ready to buy*, scored, labeled, deduplicated across runs, and promoter-free.

**Found an issue or need a custom feature?** Open a ticket in the **Issues** tab, or reach out for a custom solution at **youssefarhan24@gmail.com**. Got a site you want scraped? [Suggest it here](https://automationbyexperts.com/apify).

# Actor input Schema

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

What you sell, in your customers' words — e.g. `email marketing tool`, `CRM for real estate`, `video editing service`. Each keyword becomes a Reddit search.

## `competitors` (type: `array`):

Brand names of your competitors — e.g. `Mailchimp`, `HubSpot`. The actor hunts for people asking for alternatives or complaining about them: the hottest leads you can get.

## `subreddits` (type: `array`):

Limit the search to specific subreddits, without the `r/` prefix — e.g. `smallbusiness`, `Entrepreneur`, `SaaS`. Leave empty to search all of Reddit.

## `timeRange` (type: `string`):

Fresh leads convert best — `Past week` is the sweet spot for a scheduled run.

## `includeComments` (type: `boolean`):

Open the busiest on-topic threads and scan their comments too. Comments hide the best leads ("I'm looking for exactly this, any recommendations?") and most tools miss them.

## `minIntentScore` (type: `integer`):

Only keep leads scoring at least this. 30 = balanced. Raise to 50+ for only strong buying signals (budget mentions, 'willing to pay', 'alternative to X').

## `maxLeads` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many leads. Free plan is capped at 25.

## `onlyNewLeads` (type: `boolean`):

The actor remembers every lead it has ever returned to you. Turn this on in a daily/weekly schedule to only get leads you haven't seen before — a hands-free lead alert.

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

Residential proxies are recommended — Reddit blocks datacenter IPs.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "email marketing tool"
  ],
  "timeRange": "week",
  "includeComments": true,
  "minIntentScore": 30,
  "maxLeads": 100,
  "onlyNewLeads": false,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `leads` (type: `string`):

All scored leads — posts and comments with buying intent, sorted by intent score.

# 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 = {
    "keywords": [
        "email marketing tool"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ]
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("fayoussef/reddit-lead-finder").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 = {
    "keywords": ["email marketing tool"],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("fayoussef/reddit-lead-finder").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "keywords": [
    "email marketing tool"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}' |
apify call fayoussef/reddit-lead-finder --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,fayoussef/reddit-lead-finder"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/r9XHFcy7pGNxCPbIw/builds/membgYp7S2bCacpH2/openapi.json