Alibaba Supplier Scraper | Product & Reverse Image Search

Find your next Alibaba supplier—from a product name, a photo, or a manufacturer search.

Build a clean, deduplicated shortlist with product links, displayed prices, MOQs, ratings, and verification signals. Keep suppliers that meet your criteria, skip companies you already have, and see which searches completed or failed.

This Alibaba scraper supports product keywords, reverse image search, and Alibaba's dedicated supplier search. It groups accepted matches by supplier, so one company found through several searches stays in one row with its matching products and source inputs.

Use it for supplier discovery, product sourcing, procurement, private-label research, Amazon FBA, Shopify, dropshipping, and competitor research. Export results to the Apify Dataset, JSON, CSV, Excel, API workflows, or MCP-connected AI clients.

Why choose this Actor?

Many Alibaba tools are built around individual product pages. This Actor is built for the earlier sourcing stage: finding promising suppliers and understanding why they matched your search.

Sourcing need	How this Actor helps
Find companies, not duplicate listings	Returns one primary row per unique supplier and retains all matched products
Start with only a product photo	Runs Alibaba reverse image search from uploads or public image URLs
Search manufacturers directly	Searches Alibaba's Manufacturers section with dedicated supplier keywords
Compare several sourcing ideas	Applies separate supplier and page limits to every keyword or image
Trace every result	Preserves matched keywords, images, products, ranks, and source links
Build a usable shortlist quickly	Normalizes prices and MOQs and exposes supplier verification, ratings, location, and factory signals when displayed
Apply your sourcing criteria	Optionally keep Verified Suppliers, set a minimum supplier rating, or limit product MOQ
Find additional suppliers next time	Exclude company IDs or storefront URLs from an earlier export
Understand incomplete runs	View per-input outcomes and download the last saved page-level recovery snapshot
Automate the workflow	Provides structured schemas for Apify API, tasks, webhooks, and MCP clients

Best fit: supplier discovery and shortlisting from Alibaba search results. The Actor extracts publicly displayed product and supplier-card data; it does not claim to provide a full paid verification report or every field from every product detail page.

Key features

• Three discovery modes — keyword product search, image product search, and supplier search
• Unique supplier results — reduce repeated companies across multiple product listings
• Reverse image search — upload files or use public product image URLs
• Manufacturer search — query Alibaba's supplier directory directly
• Batch inputs — process up to 20 keywords, supplier queries, or images in one run
• Per-input limits — each keyword or image receives its own supplier and page target
• Cross-input matching — retain every search input and product connected to a supplier
• Normalized sourcing fields — parse displayed price ranges, currencies, and MOQs
• Supplier signals — capture verification, factory status, ratings, location, years, staff, factory area, response time, and capabilities when available
• Flexible exports — Apify Dataset plus optional combined or per-input CSV files
• Optional shortlist filters — verified badge, supplier rating, and product MOQ; all off by default
• Repeat-run exclusions — skip suppliers you already know without using up the supplier target
• Run summaries and recovery — inspect rejection reasons, failed inputs, and saved page-level results
• Failure diagnostics — save HTML and screenshots when Alibaba returns an unusable page

🚀 Quick start

1. Open the Actor in Apify Console.
2. Choose Keyword product search, Image product search, or Supplier search.
3. Add the matching keywords, images, or supplier queries.
4. Start with 10 suppliers and 1 page per input.
5. Keep Use Apify Proxy enabled for more reliable access.
6. Optionally enable Verified suppliers only or another shortlist filter.
7. Run the Actor and open Supplier results in the Output tab. Check Run summary if the result count is lower than expected.

For larger batches, increase the Actor Timeout under Run options, or enable No timeout.

Image product search and Supplier search default to 50 suppliers and up to 50 pages per input. The Actor stops sooner when it reaches the supplier target or no further page is available.

Search modes

1. Keyword product search

Search ordinary Alibaba product listings and return the unique suppliers behind them.

{
  "searchMode": "keyword",
  "searchTerms": [
    "portable blender USB rechargeable",
    "stainless steel glass shower hinge"
  ],
  "maxUniqueSuppliersPerKeyword": 10,
  "maxPagesText": 1,
  "useApifyProxy": true
}

Use specific phrases containing the product, material, feature, or intended use. Each keyword is processed independently, so the first keyword cannot consume the limit for later searches.

2. Image product search

Use Alibaba reverse image search when the product name is unknown or visual similarity matters.

In Apify Console, upload local images under Product images. API and MCP clients can provide direct public image URLs:

{
  "searchMode": "image",
  "imageUrls": [
    "https://example.com/reference-product-1.jpg",
    "https://example.com/reference-product-2.jpg"
  ],
  "maxUniqueSuppliersPerImage": 50,
  "maxPagesImage": 50,
  "skipFailedImages": true,
  "useApifyProxy": true
}

Uploaded files and public URLs share a combined limit of 20 images per run. Every image is searched separately and receives its own supplier limit.

For better matches:

• Center one product in the image.
• Crop out large text, borders, and unrelated objects.
• Avoid collages, blurry images, and busy lifestyle scenes.
• Use image URLs that open without a login, cookies, or expiring authorization.

3. Supplier search

Search Alibaba's Manufacturers section directly when you already know the factory or supplier type you need.

{
  "searchMode": "supplier",
  "supplierSearchTerms": [
    "shower hardware manufacturer",
    "portable blender factory"
  ],
  "maxUniqueSuppliersPerSupplierKeyword": 50,
  "maxPagesSupplier": 50,
  "useApifyProxy": true
}

Alibaba may display company names, profile links, factory status, supplier type, ratings, location, years on Alibaba, staff count, factory area, response time, capabilities, and product previews.

🎯 Build a more useful shortlist

All filters are off by default. Enable only the criteria you need:

Setting	What it keeps	Available modes
Verified suppliers only	Cards showing Alibaba's Verified Supplier badge	All three
Minimum supplier rating	A displayed supplier rating at or above your threshold, out of 5	All three
Maximum MOQ (pieces)	Product offers whose minimum order is no higher than your limit	Keyword and image product search

These filters check returned cards; they do not activate Alibaba's own website filters. Missing evidence does not pass. A Verified Supplier badge does not necessarily identify a manufacturer and is not an independent quality guarantee.

Example: search up to two pages for up to 10 verified suppliers with a rating of at least 4.5 and a displayed MOQ of no more than 100 pieces:

{
  "searchMode": "keyword",
  "searchTerms": ["portable blender USB rechargeable"],
  "maxUniqueSuppliersPerKeyword": 10,
  "maxPagesText": 2,
  "verifiedSuppliersOnly": true,
  "minSupplierRating": 4.5,
  "maxMoq": 100,
  "useApifyProxy": true,
  "saveCsvFile": true
}

Set a numeric filter to 0 to disable it. MOQ comparisons accept pieces/pcs/units only—not kilograms, sets, or missing units. Supplier-search cards do not supply product MOQ, so maxMoq must stay 0 in Supplier search.

Filters do not guarantee a full shortlist: the Actor stops at your page or supplier limit. Rejected cards do not consume the supplier allowance, and rejected product offers are not added to matched_products. Increase the page limit or relax a filter if needed.

Avoid suppliers you already have

Paste company_id values into Skip supplier IDs you already have, or vendor_profile_url values into Skip supplier profile URLs you already have. You can use either list or both.

• Storefront URLs such as https://example.en.alibaba.com/company_profile.html exclude that company regardless of path or tracking parameters. This is an illustrative URL; use real values from your export.
• Product URLs and company names are not valid exclusions. If a card lacks the ID or profile URL you supplied, that exclusion cannot match it.
• Exclusions apply before supplier limits and dataset writes. No automatic history is kept between runs: include your saved list in each new run.

Input reference

Input	Default	Description
searchMode	keyword	Choose keyword, image, or supplier
searchTerms	glass shower hinge	Product keywords, up to 20
maxUniqueSuppliersPerKeyword	10	Unique suppliers retained separately for each product keyword
maxPagesText	1	Product-result pages processed per keyword
supplierSearchTerms	—	Manufacturer or supplier queries, up to 20
maxUniqueSuppliersPerSupplierKeyword	50	Supplier cards retained separately for each supplier query
maxPagesSupplier	50	Maximum manufacturer-result pages processed per supplier query
uploadedImages	—	Product images uploaded in Apify Console
imageUrls	—	Direct public HTTP or HTTPS image URLs
maxUniqueSuppliersPerImage	50	Unique suppliers retained separately for each image
maxPagesImage	50	Maximum image-result pages processed per image
verifiedSuppliersOnly	false	Require a visible Alibaba Verified Supplier badge
minSupplierRating	0	Minimum displayed supplier rating, 0–5; 0 disables the filter
maxMoq	0	Maximum MOQ in pieces/units for product searches; 0 disables the filter
excludeSupplierIds	—	Numeric company_id strings from earlier exports, up to 10,000
excludeSupplierUrls	—	Alibaba company storefront URLs to skip, up to 10,000
useApifyProxy	true	Use Apify Proxy for more reliable Alibaba access
skipFailedImages	true	Continue when one image cannot be downloaded or searched
failOnNoResults	false	Strict mode: stop on a search error or fail on an empty run; total search failures always fail
saveCsvFile	false	Save named CSV files in the default key-value store
csvOutputMode	combined	Choose combined, separate, or both
csvFilename	alibaba_results.csv	Filename for the combined CSV export

What data you get

Each dataset row represents one unique Alibaba supplier. If several searches find the same supplier, matched_search_inputs and matched_products preserve the accepted matches. With filters enabled, these fields contain only matches that passed your criteria.

Product and offer fields

• Product title, ID, canonical URL, and primary image
• Displayed price plus normalized minimum price, maximum price, and currency
• Displayed MOQ plus normalized quantity and unit
• Sold count, selling points, reorder rate, sponsored status, and match rank when shown

Supplier and factory fields

• Company name, company ID, profile URL, logo, and contact link
• Verified Supplier and factory/manufacturer flags
• Supplier type, rating, review count, country or region, and years on Alibaba
• Staff count, factory area, response time, online revenue, and factory capabilities when displayed

Search attribution

• First matching keyword, supplier query, or image filename
• Search type: keyword, image, or supplier
• Every input that matched the supplier
• Every retained product match, including its source input and rank

Example result

Illustrative output—not a live supplier recommendation. Field availability depends on search mode and what Alibaba displays.

{
  "search_input": "portable blender",
  "search_type": "keyword",
  "matched_search_inputs": ["portable blender", "blender-reference.jpg"],
  "vendor_name": "Shenzhen Example Appliance Co., Ltd.",
  "vendor_profile_url": "https://example.en.alibaba.com/",
  "verified_supplier": true,
  "is_factory": true,
  "supplier_type": "Custom Manufacturer",
  "supplier_rating": 4.8,
  "supplier_from": "CN",
  "years_in_business": "6 YRS",
  "name": "Portable USB Rechargeable Blender",
  "product_url": "https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/example_1600000000000.html",
  "product_image_url": "https://s.alicdn.com/example.jpg",
  "price": "US$3.80-6.50",
  "price_min": 3.8,
  "price_max": 6.5,
  "currency": "USD",
  "min_order": "100 pieces",
  "moq_quantity": 100,
  "moq_unit": "pieces",
  "matched_products": [
    {
      "search_input": "portable blender",
      "search_type": "keyword",
      "match_rank": 1,
      "name": "Portable USB Rechargeable Blender",
      "product_url": "https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/example_1600000000000.html"
    }
  ]
}

The Actor reports what Alibaba publicly displays during the run. Missing values remain empty rather than being guessed.

Dataset and CSV exports

Final supplier rows are written to the default Apify Dataset after search collection and cross-input aggregation. Download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, and other supported formats. An interrupted run may have an empty or incomplete dataset; check its recovery snapshot below.

Enable saveCsvFile to also create named files in the default key-value store:

• Combined — one CSV for the complete run
• Separate — one CSV per product keyword, supplier keyword, or image
• Both — combined and separate files

{
  "searchMode": "keyword",
  "searchTerms": ["magnetic phone car holder", "foldable phone stand"],
  "maxUniqueSuppliersPerKeyword": 15,
  "saveCsvFile": true,
  "csvOutputMode": "both",
  "csvFilename": "phone-accessory-suppliers.csv"
}

Run summary and recovery

Open these links in the run's Output tab, or find the records under Storage → Key-value store:

Record	What you can check
RUN_SUMMARY.json	Run outcome; each input's status, pages processed, retained suppliers, and rejected-card reasons
PARTIAL_RESULTS.json	A snapshot containing supplier rows and their summary, saved after each processed page

Outcomes distinguish completed, partial, no_matches, filtered_out, and failed. For example, a batch that retains suppliers from one image but encounters a block on another is partial when strict mode is off. Search errors with no retained suppliers cause the Actor to fail, rather than reporting an empty success. A valid search with no matches—or with every card filtered out—can still finish successfully when strict mode is off.

Recovery is manual, not automatic resume. A hard timeout can leave the snapshot marked running, with the current page missing. Compare it with the run's actual Apify status. Snapshots overwrite a key-value record rather than append dataset rows, so they do not create duplicate dataset-item events. dataset_rows_written counts acknowledged writes; if a response is lost, verify the dataset before retrying or importing a snapshot.

Start small and check cost

Use one query, one page, and 10 suppliers for your first test. Check the Actor's current Pricing and run cost in Apify before increasing limits. Startup charges may apply even when filters remove every result. Excluded or rejected cards are not written as dataset results, but scanning more pages still uses resources. Recovery snapshots also use storage.

This update does not change pricing or remove your Apify Maximum cost per run setting. Filters are sourcing controls, not a spending cap.

API, automations, and MCP

Use the Actor with:

• Apify API and client libraries
• Scheduled Actor tasks
• Webhooks
• Make and Zapier
• MCP-compatible AI clients

The input and output schemas are machine-readable, making the Actor suitable for repeatable sourcing workflows and AI agents.

Example API input

{
  "searchMode": "keyword",
  "searchTerms": ["USB rechargeable portable blender"],
  "maxUniqueSuppliersPerKeyword": 25,
  "maxPagesText": 2,
  "useApifyProxy": true,
  "saveCsvFile": true
}

Example MCP prompt

Find up to 10 unique Alibaba suppliers for “USB rechargeable portable blender.” Use keyword search, two pages, and verifiedSuppliersOnly=true. Return supplier names, profile URLs, matching products, displayed prices, and MOQs. If fewer qualify, report the run summary instead of inventing results.

Multi-image MCP prompt

Reverse-search these three public product image URLs on Alibaba. Collect up to 10 unique suppliers per image, save separate CSV files, and identify suppliers appearing in more than one search.

An image attached directly to a chat works only when the MCP client exposes it as a public or temporary signed URL. You can always upload the file in Apify Console.

Common use cases

• Build a supplier shortlist for a new private-label product
• Find Alibaba listings and manufacturers from a competitor product photo
• Compare suppliers discovered by several product keywords
• Locate factories in Alibaba's Manufacturers directory
• Prepare sourcing data for procurement review or outreach
• Feed current Alibaba search data into spreadsheets, databases, and AI workflows
• Support Amazon FBA, Shopify, wholesale, and dropshipping research

Runtime and reliability

Alibaba may show traffic challenges, verification pages, or different layouts depending on the session and location.

For more reliable runs:

• Keep Apify Proxy enabled, especially for multi-image searches.
• Test one input before launching a large batch.
• Start with small page and supplier limits.
• Allow roughly 150 seconds per image plus startup and export time as an initial estimate.
• Increase the Apify run timeout for multiple images or larger page limits.
• Review saved diagnostics when a search produces no usable results.

A Timeout of 0 under Apify Run options means no platform time limit for supported run methods.

FAQ

Why can the final row count be lower than all limits added together?

The Actor deduplicates suppliers across inputs. One company found by several keywords or images appears once, with accepted matches retained in matched_search_inputs and matched_products. Filters, exclusions, page limits, and failed searches can also reduce the count; check RUN_SUMMARY.json to distinguish them.

Does each image or keyword have its own limit?

Yes. The per-keyword, per-image, and per-supplier-query limits are independent. One input cannot use another input's allocation.

Can I search several images in one run?

Yes. Add up to 20 uploaded images and public image URLs combined. Each image is processed separately.

Why are some fields empty?

Alibaba does not display every field on every result. The Actor preserves available values and does not invent missing data.

Does this replace supplier due diligence?

No. Verification badges and factory signals are useful for discovery, but buyers should independently review company documents, samples, certifications, contracts, and payment protections before purchasing.

Where is the CSV file?

The structured Dataset is always available. If saveCsvFile is enabled, open the run's Storage → Key-value store to download the named CSV files.

Limitations

• Alibaba may show captchas, verification pages, experiments, or incomplete supplier information.
• Not every listing exposes a profile URL, location, MOQ, rating, or factory details.
• The Actor focuses on search-result and supplier-card discovery rather than exhaustive product-page enrichment.
• Website changes may require selector maintenance.
• The Actor does not contact suppliers or verify business claims independently.

Support

For help, include the following in an Apify issue or email jcustombussiness@gmail.com:

• Actor run ID
• Search mode and sanitized input
• Expected and actual behavior
• Relevant log lines or saved diagnostic filenames

Remove private or signed image URLs before sharing input.

Responsible use

Use this Actor in compliance with Alibaba's terms, applicable laws, and Apify platform policies. Respect access controls, personal-data requirements, and reasonable request volumes.