Facebook Groups Search Scraper

What is Facebook Groups Search Scraper?

Facebook Groups Search Scraper finds Facebook groups for any topic or region and returns one row per group: group name, group URL and ID, the search snippet that describes it, and member-count and public/private hints when the snippet shows them. You type phrases like real estate investors or startup founders London, and the Actor searches Google's index of facebook.com/groups pages for you. Community managers, marketers, founders, researchers and AI agents use it to map the groups where their audience gathers, with no Facebook login or cookies.

Why people use it for community research

• Topic in, group list out. Each query returns a ranked list of real group URLs you can open or pass to other tools.
• Several topics in one run. Add as many phrases as you like; each row keeps its searchQuery and rank.
• Local discovery. countryCode localizes the search, so GB surfaces British groups and CA Canadian ones.
• Clean, unique rows. The same group found by two queries is saved once.
• Honest hints. memberCount and visibility are filled only when the search snippet states them, otherwise null.

How to use it

Find investor groups in two cities:

{
  "searchQueries": ["real estate investors Dallas", "real estate investors Houston"],
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 20,
  "countryCode": "US"
}

Find founder communities in the UK:

{
  "searchQueries": ["startup founders London"],
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 10,
  "countryCode": "GB"
}

Input	What it controls
searchQueries	Topics or phrases to search, one per entry. Required.
maxResultsPerQuery	Most groups to save per query, from 1 to 100 (default 20)
countryCode	Two-letter country for localized search, such as US, GB or CA (default US)
includeRawData	Add the original search result to each row for debugging (default off)

Already have the group URLs you want? Continue with Facebook Group Posts Scraper (linked below) to read what members post.

Output: Facebook group data you receive

A real row for the query real estate investors (the source field is left out here):

{
  "searchQuery": "real estate investors",
  "rank": 3,
  "groupName": "Real Estate Investors of Long Island (REILI)",
  "groupUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/groups/1549616069168021/",
  "groupId": "1549616069168021",
  "groupSlug": "1549616069168021",
  "description": "Real Estate Investors of Long Island (REILI) is a professional networking group that facilitates collaboration and resource sharing among real estate...",
  "memberCount": null,
  "visibility": null,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-01T00:03:50.190Z"
}

Field	What it contains
groupName, groupUrl	The group's name and its Facebook URL
groupId, groupSlug	The numeric ID or vanity name taken from the URL
description	The search snippet describing the group
memberCount, visibility	Member count and public/private label when the snippet shows them
searchQuery, rank	Which query found the group and its position in the results
scrapedAt	When the row was collected

OUTPUT in the default key-value store summarizes the run: outcome, groups found, queries processed and the event cost. A search with no matching groups finishes as VALID_EMPTY with no group charges.

Example workflow: picking groups for a product launch

A founder launching a budgeting app for freelancers searches freelancers, freelance designers and self-employed tips with maxResultsPerQuery set to 20. They read each description to drop groups that are only job boards, and keep the 15 most relevant URLs. Then they pass those group URLs to Facebook Group Posts Scraper to see what members talk about before writing their first post.

Pricing

This Actor uses Pay per event. Apify platform usage is included in the event price, so you pay one event per unique group saved plus one start event per run. The live Pricing tab on this page shows the current price.

• 2 queries × 20 groups = up to 40 group events + 1 start event.
• Searches with no matching groups cost only the start event.
• maxResultsPerQuery caps each query, so it doubles as a cost ceiling.

Group discovery with AI agents (MCP)

Connect this Actor to an AI agent through Apify MCP and ask in plain language:

Find 15 Facebook groups for home bakers in the United States. Return group name, URL and the snippet for each, note any member counts, and tell me the run outcome.

Agent checklist:

1. Turn the request into one to three short phrases in searchQueries.
2. Set countryCode when the user names a country.
3. Read rows with get-dataset-items, then read OUTPUT.outcome.
4. Treat memberCount and visibility as hints from the search snippet.

API example

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/khadinakbar~facebook-groups-search-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"searchQueries": ["home bakers"], "maxResultsPerQuery": 10, "countryCode": "US"}'

Related Facebook tools from the same developer

Your next step	Use	Why
When you then want what members post	Facebook Group Posts Scraper	Post text, authors and engagement by group URL
When you want the people active in a group	Facebook Group Members Scraper	Members seen in recent public posts and comments
When you search for posts on a topic	Facebook Post Search Scraper	Public posts that match your keywords
When you research brand pages	Facebook Page Scraper	Page profiles, contacts and recent posts

Best results

Starting situation	Helpful action	Expected outcome
A broad niche	Add a city or audience word, such as yoga teachers Austin	More focused groups
An international audience	Set countryCode for each country in separate runs	Local groups per market
Many related topics	Put each phrase in searchQueries in one run	One deduplicated list
A list for outreach	Read description before joining	Groups that match your purpose

Builder's note

I found that people looking for Facebook groups mostly need a reliable list of real group URLs to review, so each row keeps the URL, ID and the snippet that explains what the group is about. I learned that member counts only appear in some search snippets, so the Actor fills them when they are shown and leaves them null otherwise, rather than guessing.

FAQ

Do I need a Facebook account?

No. The Actor searches Google's public index of Facebook group pages, so it needs no login or cookies.

Does it return group members or posts?

It returns the groups themselves. Use Facebook Group Posts Scraper or Facebook Group Members Scraper for what happens inside a group.

Why is memberCount sometimes null?

The member count is only filled when the search snippet shows it. Open the groupUrl to see the current count on Facebook.

Can it find private groups?

It can list a private group when its name and description are publicly indexed. It reads only that public listing, not anything inside the group.

How do I search a specific country?

Set countryCode to a two-letter code such as GB, AU or IN, and add the city or region to the query for more local results.

Responsible use

This Actor collects publicly indexed information about Facebook groups. Use it for research and outreach that respects each group's rules and Facebook's terms, and post only where members welcome it. Read Apify's guide on whether web scraping is legal for more context. Facebook is a trademark of Meta Platforms, Inc. This independent Actor is not affiliated with, associated with, or endorsed by Facebook or Meta. For questions or bugs, open a ticket in the Issues tab.