# YouTube Comments Scraper ($0.10/1K comments) (`mathtec/youtube-comments-scraper`) Actor

Scrape YouTube video comments, Top or Newest, with optional replies: text, author and channel id, likes, reply count, publish time, pinned and creator-heart flags, video title. No login. Failed and empty videos are free.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/mathtec/youtube-comments-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Adam Rudd](https://apify.com/mathtec) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, Social media, Automation
- **Stats:** 3 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.10 / 1,000 comments

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## YouTube Comments Scraper (replies, likes, pinned, hearted)

Get the **comments of YouTube videos**, Top or Newest first, optionally **with replies**. You don't need a login,
cookies or a YouTube API key.

- **Input:** video links (`watch?v=`, `youtu.be/`, `/shorts/`, `/live/`) or 11-character video ids.
- **Comment fields:** `commentId`, `commentUrl`, `text`, `author` (@handle), `authorChannelId`, `authorChannelUrl`,
  `authorIsChannelOwner`, `authorAvatarUrl`, `likes` (YouTube rounds large counts, e.g. 10K, and `likesIsApprox` says
  when it has), `likesText`, `replyCount`, `publishedTimeText` (e.g. `7 days ago`), `isEdited`, `isPinned`, `isHearted`
  (hearted by the video's creator), `hasImage` (the comment has an image or GIF attached; its `text` may be empty), `rank`
  (position within the video).
- **Replies:** with `includeReplies` on, each comment's replies follow it with `isReply: true` and `parentId` set to the
  comment they answer.
- **Video fields (every row):** `videoId`, `videoUrl`, `videoTitle`, `videoChannelName`, `videoChannelUrl`.
- **Failures are free:** a video with no comments or with comments turned off returns an `empty` row. A video that does
  not exist returns a `failed` row, and a link that is not a video returns a `rejected` row. Each of these says why and
  is not charged.

### Input

| Field | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| `videos` | *(required)* | video links or ids |
| `maxCommentsPerVideo` | `100` | rows per video, replies included; `0` = all |
| `sort` | `top` | `top` or `newest` |
| `includeReplies` | `false` | add the replies under each comment |
| `includeVideoTitle` | `true` | video title and channel on every row |

### Output example

```json
{
  "input": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiCgcUTL9_Q",
  "status": "ok",
  "videoId": "NiCgcUTL9_Q",
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiCgcUTL9_Q",
  "videoTitle": "...",
  "videoChannelName": "Veritasium",
  "rank": 2,
  "commentId": "UgxJh5sXrazQCqlqEIh4AaABAg",
  "commentUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiCgcUTL9_Q&lc=UgxJh5sXrazQCqlqEIh4AaABAg",
  "text": "...",
  "author": "@someone",
  "authorChannelId": "UC...",
  "authorIsChannelOwner": false,
  "likes": 10000,
  "likesIsApprox": true,
  "likesText": "10K",
  "replyCount": 91,
  "publishedTimeText": "7 days ago",
  "isEdited": false,
  "isReply": false,
  "parentId": null,
  "isPinned": false,
  "isHearted": false
}
```

### Pricing

You pay one price per returned comment or reply (see the Pricing tab). Empty, failed and rejected rows are free. The
run stops when it reaches your maximum charge.

### What it does not do (yet)

- **No exact dates.** YouTube shows relative times such as `7 days ago`.
- **No total comment count** for the video.
- **No date filter.**
- **Channel links are not accepted.** To get comments for a channel's videos, list the videos first with our
  [YouTube Channel Scraper](https://apify.com/mathtec/youtube-channel-scraper).

For transcripts, use [YouTube Transcript](https://apify.com/mathtec/youtube-transcript).

### Responsible use

Comments contain personal data (names, handles, avatars). You are responsible for how you use the data, including
data-protection law and YouTube's terms.

# Actor input Schema

## `videos` (type: `array`):

Video links (watch?v=, youtu.be/, /shorts/, /live/) or 11-character video ids. One dataset row per comment (and per reply when replies are on).

## `maxCommentsPerVideo` (type: `integer`):

Rows taken from each video, counting replies when they are on. 0 = all comments.

## `sort` (type: `string`):

YouTube's comment order.

## `includeReplies` (type: `boolean`):

Also return the replies under each comment, right after it (isReply true, parentId set). Replies count towards the maximum per video.

## `includeVideoTitle` (type: `boolean`):

Add the video's title and channel name to every row.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "videos": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
  ],
  "maxCommentsPerVideo": 100,
  "sort": "top",
  "includeReplies": false,
  "includeVideoTitle": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Dataset items: input, status (ok | empty | failed | rejected), rank, videoId, videoUrl, videoTitle, videoChannelName, videoChannelUrl, commentId, commentUrl, text, author, authorChannelId, authorChannelUrl, authorIsChannelOwner, authorAvatarUrl, likes, likesIsApprox, likesText, replyCount, publishedTimeText, isEdited, isReply, parentId, isPinned, isHearted, hasImage (an image or GIF attached; text may then be empty); error when not ok.

# 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 = {
    "videos": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("mathtec/youtube-comments-scraper").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 = { "videos": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("mathtec/youtube-comments-scraper").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 '{
  "videos": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
  ]
}' |
apify call mathtec/youtube-comments-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,mathtec/youtube-comments-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

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/pr4lYaEtZhTrjKmKl/builds/J1G3vllEUdFq5ErgO/openapi.json