Subreddit Posts Search Scraper

What is Subreddit Posts Search Scraper?

Subreddit Posts Search Scraper returns one dataset row per Reddit post that matches your keyword inside the subreddits you choose. Each row has the title, author, subreddit, score, comment count, post type, flair, flags, creation time and permalink. Researchers, marketers, founders and AI agents use it to find what a specific community says about a topic, with no Reddit account or API key.

Why researchers use it

• Search inside chosen communities. Look for layoffs in cscareerquestions, or index funds in personalfinance.
• Several subreddits at once. One job searches every subreddit you list and removes duplicates.
• Sort and time window. relevance, new, top, comments or hot, from the last hour to all time.
• Work-safe by default. Adult-marked posts stay out unless you turn on includeNsfw.
• Clean rows. One validated row per post with its permalink and creation time.

How to use it

New posts about layoffs in two career communities this week:

{
  "searchQuery": "layoffs",
  "subreddits": ["cscareerquestions", "technology"],
  "sortBy": "new",
  "timeFilter": "week",
  "maxResults": 25
}

The best-voted index-fund discussions this year:

{
  "searchQuery": "index funds",
  "subreddits": ["r/personalfinance"],
  "sortBy": "top",
  "timeFilter": "year",
  "maxResults": 50
}

Input	What it controls
searchQuery	Keyword or phrase to find
subreddits	Communities to search, with or without r/
sortBy	relevance (default), new, top, comments or hot
timeFilter	hour, day, week, month (default), year or all
maxResults	Total unique posts across all subreddits (default 25)
includeNsfw	Keep adult-marked posts (default off)

Output: Reddit post data you receive

A real row (author shown with an example username):

{
  "type": "subreddit_post_search_result",
  "redditId": "t3_1wvwguu",
  "title": "What is the Morale/Environment like at Big Layoff Companies like Meta & Oracle Right Now???",
  "body": null,
  "author": "u/example_user",
  "subreddit": "r/cscareerquestions",
  "score": 2,
  "commentCount": 0,
  "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/comments/1wvwguu/what_is_the_moraleenvironment_like_at_big_layoff/",
  "externalUrl": null,
  "flair": null,
  "postType": "link",
  "isNsfw": false,
  "isSpoiler": false,
  "isStickied": false,
  "createdAt": "2026-10-02T15:17:09.000Z",
  "searchQuery": "layoffs",
  "searchedSubreddit": "r/cscareerquestions",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-02T15:19:25.278Z"
}

Field	What it contains
title, body, url, externalUrl	The post, its text when Reddit shows it, and any linked page
subreddit, author, flair, postType	Where it was posted and by whom
score, commentCount, upvoteRatio, awardsCount	Engagement
isNsfw, isSpoiler, isStickied	Post flags
createdAt	When it was posted
searchQuery, searchedSubreddit, redditId	Which search found it and Reddit's ID

OUTPUT reports the outcome (COMPLETE, PARTIAL, VALID_EMPTY) and the number of posts saved.

Example workflow: voice-of-customer research

A product manager at a budgeting app wants to hear how people talk about their category. They search budget app in personalfinance, povertyfinance and Frugal with timeFilter set to year and sortBy set to top, then read the titles for recurring complaints and feature requests. They continue with Reddit Posts & Comments Scraper on the best threads to read the full comment discussions.

Pricing

This Actor uses Pay per event. Apify platform usage is included in the event price. You pay a small start event and one event per post saved. The live Pricing tab on this page shows the current price.

• 2 subreddits, maxResults 25 = up to 25 post events.
• Duplicate posts across subreddits are removed before they are charged.
• maxResults is the cost ceiling for the whole job.

Reddit research with AI agents (MCP)

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

What have people in r/smallbusiness said about payroll software in the last month? Give me the top ten posts.

Agent checklist:

1. Put the topic in searchQuery and the communities in subreddits.
2. Use sortBy: "top" and a timeFilter that matches "last month" or "this year".
3. Keep maxResults close to the number requested.
4. Read rows with get-dataset-items and cite each post's url.

API example

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/khadinakbar~subreddit-posts-search-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"searchQuery": "payroll software", "subreddits": ["smallbusiness"], "sortBy": "top", "timeFilter": "month", "maxResults": 10}'

Related Reddit tools from the same developer

Your next step	Use	Why
When you then want the comment threads	Reddit Posts & Comments Scraper	Posts with nested comments
When you search all of Reddit instead of chosen subreddits	Reddit Posts Search Scraper	Site-wide keyword search
When you want what is trending in a community	Reddit Trends Scraper	Hot, rising and top posts ranked by momentum
When you research the people posting	Reddit User Profile Scraper	Karma, account age and post history

Best results

Starting situation	Helpful action	Expected outcome
Recent opinions	Use sortBy: "new" with timeFilter: "week"	The latest posts on the topic
The strongest discussions	Use sortBy: "top" with timeFilter: "year"	Highly voted threads
Many communities	List them all in subreddits	One combined, de-duplicated dataset
A narrow phrase	Put it in quotes inside searchQuery	Closer matches

Builder's note

I found that most Reddit research starts from a handful of communities rather than all of Reddit, so the input takes a keyword plus a subreddit list and searches each one. I learned that the same post often matches in more than one search, so rows are de-duplicated by Reddit ID before they are saved and charged.

FAQ

Do I need a Reddit account or API key?

No. The Actor reads public Reddit search results.

Does it return comments?

It returns posts with commentCount. Use Reddit Posts & Comments Scraper for comment text.

Why is body empty on some posts?

Link and image posts have no text body; text posts include it when Reddit shows it in search.

Can I search private subreddits?

The Actor searches public communities only.

How far back can it search?

Up to the full history Reddit's search offers with timeFilter: "all".

Responsible use

This Actor collects public Reddit posts. Use the data for research, respect people's privacy and follow Reddit's terms and the laws that apply to you. Read Apify's guide on whether web scraping is legal for more context. Reddit is a trademark of Reddit, Inc. This independent Actor is not affiliated with, associated with, or endorsed by Reddit. For questions or bugs, open a ticket in the Issues tab.