Facebook Reels Scraper

Extract public Facebook Reels from page/profile Reels tabs, usernames, and direct reel URLs. The Actor returns structured rows with reel URLs, IDs, visible play counts, owner/page metadata, and diagnostics for inputs that Facebook does not expose publicly.

Use it for social media research, creator monitoring, competitor content tracking, and repeatable exports to CSV, JSON, Excel, API, or automation workflows.

At a glance

• Primary job: Collect public Facebook Reels URLs and visible metrics from one or more public pages/profiles.
• Input: Public Facebook page URLs, /reels/ URLs, direct /reel/<id> URLs, or usernames.
• Output: One dataset row per reel, plus explicit diagnostic rows for invalid, blocked, private, or empty inputs.
• Best for: Brand monitoring, competitor short-form research, influencer discovery, content planning, and reporting.

Common workflows

• Monitor a brand page: Schedule a run for a public Facebook page Reels tab and export newly seen reel URLs and play counts.
• Analyze competitors: Add several public page/profile Reels URLs, cap results per profile, and compare visible play counts in a spreadsheet.
• Check direct reels: Submit direct facebook.com/reel/<id> URLs to normalize IDs and keep a consistent dataset shape.
• Automate reporting: Trigger runs through the Apify API, webhooks, or MCP and send dataset rows to BI tools or a database.

Input recipes

• Small smoke test: startUrls: [{ "url": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/" }], maxItems: 3, maxReelsPerProfile: 3.
• Direct reel metadata: startUrls: [{ "url": "https://www.facebook.com/reel/3292750537522330/" }], maxItems: 1.
• Username convenience mode: usernames: ["9GAGCute", "Cristiano"], maxItems: 20, maxReelsPerProfile: 10.
• Monitoring run: Use one public page URL, keep maxReelsPerProfile low, and schedule daily or weekly runs to compare fresh datasets.

What data can you extract?

Field	Description
inputUrl	Original URL or username submitted by the user.
normalizedUrl	Canonical Facebook URL processed by the Actor.
sourceType	profile_reels, direct_reel, username, or unknown.
status	ok, invalid_url, no_reels_found, blocked_or_empty, private_or_unavailable, unsupported_or_changed, or failed.
reelId	Facebook reel ID when available.
reelUrl	Canonical public reel URL.
postUrl	Public post/reel URL for the same item.
text	Public reel caption/text when exposed in the rendered page.
timestamp	Public timestamp when exposed.
ownerName	Visible owner/page name.
ownerUrl	Owner/page URL used for extraction.
playCount	Visible reel play count, normalized to a number.
likeCount	Like count when available publicly.
commentCount	Comment count when available publicly.
shareCount	Share count when available publicly.
durationSeconds	Duration when available publicly.
thumbnailUrl	Thumbnail URL when exposed publicly.
videoUrl	Best-effort public video URL when exposed; not guaranteed archival media.
pageName	Visible page/profile name.
pageUrl	Page/profile URL.
pageId	Page ID when exposed publicly.
followerCount	Visible follower count, normalized to a number.
likesCount	Visible page like count, normalized to a number.
category	Page category when visible.
missingFields	Optional fields not exposed for this row.
error	Diagnostic message for non-ok rows.

Input configuration

Setting	JSON key	Use it for	Example
Facebook URLs	startUrls	Public page/profile URLs, /reels/ tabs, and direct reel URLs.	https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/
Facebook usernames	usernames	Conveniently convert public usernames to Reels tab URLs.	9GAGCute
Maximum reels	maxItems	Cap saved reel result rows and control spend.	20
Maximum reels per profile	maxReelsPerProfile	Prevent one profile from consuming the whole run limit.	10
Include page/profile metadata	includePageProfileMetadata	Add visible page name, URL, followers, and likes when available.	true
Proxy configuration	proxyConfiguration	Use Apify Proxy; residential proxies are recommended for Facebook.	{ "useApifyProxy": true }

Example input

{
  "startUrls": [
    { "url": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/" },
    { "url": "https://www.facebook.com/reel/3292750537522330/" }
  ],
  "usernames": ["Cristiano"],
  "maxItems": 20,
  "maxReelsPerProfile": 10,
  "includePageProfileMetadata": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
  }
}

Example output

{
  "inputUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/",
  "normalizedUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/",
  "sourceType": "profile_reels",
  "status": "ok",
  "reelId": "27749977914588421",
  "reelUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/reel/27749977914588421/",
  "postUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/reel/27749977914588421/",
  "text": null,
  "timestamp": null,
  "ownerName": "9GAG Cute",
  "ownerUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/",
  "playCount": 58000,
  "likeCount": null,
  "commentCount": null,
  "shareCount": null,
  "durationSeconds": null,
  "thumbnailUrl": null,
  "videoUrl": null,
  "pageName": "9GAG Cute",
  "pageUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/",
  "pageId": null,
  "followerCount": 3700000,
  "likesCount": null,
  "category": null,
  "missingFields": [],
  "error": null
}

Pricing

This Actor uses pay-per-event pricing. The final platform pricing is configured with volume-discount tiers:

Event	Free	Bronze	Silver	Gold	Platinum	Diamond	Charged when
Run start	$0.005	$0.005	$0.005	$0.005	$0.005	$0.005	Once when the Actor starts.
Reel result	$0.00575	$0.005	$0.0039	$0.003	$0.002	$0.0014	Each successful row with status: "ok"; invalid/blocked diagnostics are not charged as reel results.

Higher Apify subscription tiers get additional volume discounts. Pricing was benchmarked against direct Facebook Reels competitors before QA handoff.

Tips for best results

• Use public pages only: This Actor does not accept cookies or scrape private/logged-in data.
• Start small: Test with maxItems: 3 to confirm a page exposes public Reels in your run environment.
• Prefer Reels tabs: URLs ending in /reels/ are the most direct input for profile/page scraping.
• Expect optional fields: Facebook does not expose every metric on every surface; unavailable fields stay null and appear in missingFields when relevant.
• Use proxies in cloud: Facebook can vary responses by IP. Residential Apify Proxy is recommended for production runs.

API usage

Node.js:

import { ApifyClient } from "apify-client";

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor("fetch_cat/facebook-reels-scraper").call({
  startUrls: [{ url: "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/" }],
  maxItems: 3,
  maxReelsPerProfile: 3
});
console.log(run.defaultDatasetId);

Python:

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("fetch_cat/facebook-reels-scraper").call(run_input={
    "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/" }],
    "maxItems": 3,
    "maxReelsPerProfile": 3,
})
print(run["defaultDatasetId"])

cURL:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fetch_cat~facebook-reels-scraper/runs?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"startUrls":[{"url":"https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/"}],"maxItems":3,"maxReelsPerProfile":3}'

MCP and AI agents

Use this Actor from MCP-compatible tools through the official Apify MCP Server.

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=fetch_cat/facebook-reels-scraper"

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=fetch_cat/facebook-reels-scraper"
    }
  }
}

Example prompt: "Run Facebook Reels Scraper for this public Facebook page URL with maxItems 5 and summarize the reel URLs and visible play counts."

Limits and caveats

• Public data only: No account login, cookies, private profiles, private groups, or access-token scraping.
• Facebook changes often: Public markup and visibility can change. Non-empty public smoke tests are part of QA.
• Metrics are best effort: Play counts are usually visible on Reels tabs; likes, comments, shares, video URLs, and timestamps may be absent.
• No video archiving guarantee: videoUrl is populated only if Facebook exposes a stable public URL in the same page context.
• Diagnostics are explicit: Invalid or blocked inputs produce status rows instead of silently returning an empty dataset.

Legality and responsible use

Process only data you are allowed to access. Follow Facebook's terms, Apify's terms, robots and platform restrictions, and all applicable privacy and data-protection laws. Do not use this Actor to bypass access controls or collect private personal data.

Related actors

• Facebook Ads Library Scraper
• Facebook Pages Scraper
• TikTok Profile Scraper

FAQ

Does this Actor require Facebook login?

No. It is public-only and intentionally does not accept cookies, sessions, passwords, or access tokens.

Why are some fields empty?

Facebook does not expose every field on every public page or reel. The Actor leaves unavailable fields as null instead of guessing.

Will blocked or invalid inputs be charged as reel results?

No. The Actor only charges the item event for successful status: "ok" reel rows.

Can I export results?

Yes. Apify datasets support JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, RSS, and API access.

Support

Open an issue from the Actor page if a run fails or output looks wrong. Include the run ID or run URL, input JSON, expected output, actual output, and a reproducible public URL.