Reddit Posts, Comments & Subreddit Analytics Scraper

Use this Apify Actor to collect public Reddit posts, comments, search results, and subreddit analytics in structured JSON. It accepts subreddit URLs or names, a search query across Reddit, or direct post URLs, and each returned record represents one Reddit item: a post, a comment, or subreddit analytics. Useful fields include author, subreddit, score, upvote ratio, comment count, post type, media URLs, subscriber counts, active users, and timestamps, so the output can support AI workflows, research, monitoring, and reporting. This Actor is available through Apify and can also be called through Apify MCP.

Best fit and connected workflows

This Actor fits workflows that need public Reddit data in a clean dataset rather than page HTML. It is well suited for:

• subreddit-level research with subredditUrls
• broad topic monitoring with searchQuery
• thread extraction from a specific Reddit post with postUrls
• post-only scraping or post-plus-comment collection
• subreddit analytics snapshots for audience size and activity context

If you are building an AI workflow, the dataset structure makes it easy to filter by type and route posts, comments, and subreddit analytics into different downstream steps.

Practical scenario

Maya, a product manager, wants to understand how users discuss a new feature in r/Python. She starts with the subreddit name, sets includeComments to true, and limits comment depth so the output stays easy to review. The returned records include post titles, scores, comment bodies, authors, and the subreddit analytics record. Maya uses the post scores and comment threads to decide which discussions to bring into a weekly review, then shares the result set with her team for follow-up reading.

Input fields

Field	Type	Purpose
subredditUrls	array of strings	Scrape posts from one or more subreddit URLs or names.
searchQuery	string	Search across all of Reddit by keyword or phrase.
withinSubreddit	string	Restrict a search to one subreddit.
postUrls	array of strings	Extract specific posts with their full comment threads.
maxPosts	integer	Maximum number of posts to return.
maxCommentsPerPost	integer	Maximum number of comments to extract for each post.
commentDepthLimit	integer	Maximum nesting depth for comment extraction.
postDateLimit	string	Ignore posts created before a given ISO 8601 date or datetime.
includeComments	boolean	Include full comment threads for each post.
includeSubredditAnalytics	boolean	Include subreddit metadata such as subscribers and active users.
sortBy	string	Sort results by hot, new, top, rising, comments, or relevance.
timeFilter	string	Apply a time window for top or search results.
includeNsfw	boolean	Include posts marked as NSFW.

Focused JSON input example

{
  "subredditUrls": [
    "https://reddit.com/r/MachineLearning"
  ],
  "maxPosts": 10,
  "includeComments": true,
  "maxCommentsPerPost": 5,
  "commentDepthLimit": 2,
  "includeSubredditAnalytics": true,
  "sortBy": "hot",
  "timeFilter": "week",
  "includeNsfw": false
}

Output fields

The dataset can include three record types: post, comment, and subreddit_analytics. Filter on the type field to separate them.

Field	Type	Meaning
type	string	Record type discriminator.
id	string or null	Reddit item ID.
title	string or null	Post title.
body	string or null	Post body or comment text.
author	string	Author username.
subreddit	string or null	Subreddit name for posts and comments.
subreddit_subscribers	integer or null	Subscriber count at scrape time.
score	integer or null	Net score.
upvote_ratio	number or null	Upvote ratio for posts.
num_comments	integer or null	Comment count for posts.
url	string or null	Direct Reddit URL for the record.
external_url	string or null	External link target for link posts.
media_urls	array or null	Image or video URLs attached to the post.
flair	string or null	Post flair label.
awards_count	integer	Awards received.
post_type	string or null	text, link, image, or video.
is_nsfw	boolean	NSFW flag.
is_spoiler	boolean	Spoiler flag.
is_stickied	boolean	Sticky/pinned flag.
post_id	string or null	Parent post ID for comments.
parent_id	string or null	Parent comment or post ID for comments.
depth	integer or null	Comment nesting depth.
is_submitter	boolean or null	Whether the commenter is the original post author.
name	string or null	Subreddit display name for analytics records.
description	string or null	Subreddit description for analytics records.
subscribers	integer or null	Total subscribers for analytics records.
active_users	integer or null	Currently active users for analytics records.
nsfw	boolean or null	NSFW flag for the subreddit.
subreddit_type	string or null	Subreddit visibility type.
icon_url	string or null	Subreddit icon URL.
banner_url	string or null	Subreddit banner URL.
created_at	string	Original Reddit creation timestamp.
source_url	string	Reddit JSON API URL used to extract the record.
scraped_at	string	Timestamp when the Actor extracted the record.

Illustrative output record

{
  "type": "post",
  "id": "t3_abc123",
  "title": "Python libraries for machine learning discussion in 2026",
  "body": "I've been using scikit-learn and comparing other libraries...",
  "author": "u/john_doe",
  "subreddit": "r/MachineLearning",
  "subreddit_subscribers": 2840000,
  "score": 1482,
  "upvote_ratio": 0.94,
  "num_comments": 73,
  "url": "https://reddit.com/r/MachineLearning/comments/abc123/python_libraries_discussion/",
  "external_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.12345",
  "media_urls": [
    "https://i.redd.it/example.jpg"
  ],
  "flair": "Research Paper",
  "awards_count": 5,
  "post_type": "text",
  "is_nsfw": false,
  "is_spoiler": false,
  "is_stickied": false,
  "created_at": "2026-03-20T14:22:00.000Z",
  "source_url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/MachineLearning.json?sort=hot&limit=100",
  "scraped_at": "2026-03-28T14:30:00.000Z"
}

How it works

This Actor uses owner-managed provider-backed access to read public Reddit data. It works across three modes: subreddit scraping, Reddit search, and specific post URL extraction. The output is structured as JSON and written to the default dataset, with OUTPUT and RUN_SUMMARY records also stored in the key-value store for diagnostics and execution summaries.

The dataset schema is designed for downstream filtering by type, so posts, comments, and subreddit analytics can be processed separately or together.

Pricing

Reddit Posts, Comments & Subreddit Analytics Scraper uses Pay per event plus Apify platform usage. The primary billable event is Result found, which is charged for each extracted Reddit post, comment, or subreddit analytics record. There is also a one-time actor start event.

A simple event-count example: if a run returns one hundred posts and fifty comments, the Actor records one hundred fifty Result found events, plus the start event, and Apify platform usage is added on top. For current pricing details, check the live Pricing tab in the Apify console.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

This Actor is available through Apify MCP and is designed for tool use in AI-assisted workflows. It can be called by an agent that translates a natural-language request into the Actor input fields, then reads the dataset output back into the conversation.

Exact Actor identity: khadinakbar/reddit-posts-comments-scraper

Example agent prompt:

Find posts from r/MachineLearning about foundation models from the last month, include comments up to depth 2, and return subreddit analytics too.

Output interpretation:

• type = post identifies post records
• type = comment identifies comment records
• type = subreddit_analytics identifies subreddit metadata records
• use post_id and parent_id to reconstruct comment threads
• use scraped_at for freshness tracking
• use source_url for provenance and repeatable re-fetching

Scope and pagination guidance:

• use maxPosts to set the number of posts to collect
• use maxCommentsPerPost to control comment volume
• use commentDepthLimit to shape thread depth
• use postDateLimit to focus on recent content
• use includeComments and includeSubredditAnalytics to select which record types are included
• for broad searches, sortBy and timeFilter help narrow the result set

Apify API example

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({
  token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN,
});

const run = await client.actor('khadinakbar/reddit-posts-comments-scraper').call({
  searchQuery: 'artificial intelligence regulation',
  maxPosts: 20,
  sortBy: 'relevance',
  timeFilter: 'month',
  includeComments: true,
  maxCommentsPerPost: 10,
  includeSubredditAnalytics: true,
});

const items = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items.items.filter((item) => item.type === 'post'));

Best results and outcome guidance

Choose subredditUrls when you already know the community you want to inspect. Use searchQuery when you are tracking a topic across Reddit. Use postUrls when you need a specific thread with its comments. For comment-heavy threads, combine a moderate maxCommentsPerPost with commentDepthLimit to keep the output focused. For monitoring workflows, postDateLimit and sortBy: "new" or sortBy: "top" help keep result sets aligned with the time window you care about.

Continue the workflow

• Then use Reddit Scraper – Posts, Comments & Subreddits to extend Reddit Posts, Comments & Subreddit Analytics Scraper research with a complementary content contract.
• Then use Reddit Posts Search Scraper to extend Reddit Posts, Comments & Subreddit Analytics Scraper research with a complementary discovery contract.

Design note

I found that every dataset record is required to include type and scraped_at, which makes it straightforward to sort records by category and freshness in downstream workflows.

FAQ

How should I choose between subreddit URLs and search queries?
Use subredditUrls for a known community and searchQuery for a topic that spans Reddit.

Can I pull comments without posts?
This Actor is structured around post extraction with optional comment threads. Set includeComments to false for post-only runs, or use postUrls when you want a specific discussion thread.

How can I filter the dataset after the run?
Filter by type to separate post, comment, and subreddit_analytics records.

What is the difference between post_id and parent_id in comments?
post_id points to the parent post. parent_id points to the direct parent item, which can be a post or another comment.

When should I use withinSubreddit?
Use it together with searchQuery when you want a search limited to one subreddit.

Responsible use

This Actor is for public Reddit data. Use it in ways that respect Reddit content access, your rights and approvals, and the intended downstream use of the data. Review the returned records before redistribution, and use the is_nsfw, is_spoiler, and is_stickied fields as part of your own filtering and handling logic where relevant.

Reddit Posts, Comments & Subreddit Analytics Scraper is designed as a focused workflow.