# Coursera Scraper | Courses Specializations and Reviews (`parseforge/coursera-scraper`) Actor Scrape course catalogs from Coursera including title, partner university, instructors, ratings, enrollment counts, skills, duration, price, and full descriptions. Track specializations, certificates, and degree programs for education analytics, lead generation, and market research. - **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/coursera-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community) - **Categories:** Education, For creators, Lead generation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $19.00 / 1,000 results 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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ![ParseForge Banner](https://github.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/blob/ad35ccc13ddd068b9d6cba33f323962e39aed5b2/banner.jpg?raw=true) ## 🎓 Coursera Scraper > 🚀 **Export Coursera course listings to CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML in seconds.** Search by topic, filter by difficulty, and collect ratings, skills, and partner info - no login required. > 🕒 **Last updated:** 2026-05-21 - **📊 12 fields** per record - **Thousands of courses** - **Global coverage** The Coursera Scraper pulls live course data directly from Coursera's internal search API. Each record contains the course name, partner institution, difficulty level, star rating, review count, estimated duration, covered skills, and a direct URL. Results are available instantly as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML. The dataset covers Coursera's full catalog - individual courses, specializations, and professional certificates - from partners including Google, IBM, Meta, Stanford, MIT, and hundreds of universities worldwide. **Target Audience / Use Cases** | Who | Why | |-----|-----| | EdTech researchers | Analyze course offerings, pricing trends, and skill demand | | Career coaches | Match learning paths to in-demand skills | | HR & talent teams | Benchmark employee upskilling options | | Content creators | Discover popular topics and course formats | | Data scientists | Build recommendation systems or skill-gap models | | Students | Compare courses across providers and institutions | ### 📋 What the Coursera Scraper does - Searches Coursera's catalog by keyword (e.g. "python", "machine learning", "project management") - Filters results by difficulty (beginner, intermediate, advanced, mixed) - Filters by language (english, spanish, french, etc.) - Collects up to 1,000,000 courses per run for paid users - Returns structured records with ratings, skills, duration, partner name, and more - Exports to CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML - no coding required > 💡 **Why it matters:** Coursera hosts thousands of courses from top universities and companies. Manually browsing and comparing them is time-consuming. This scraper automates bulk discovery so you can analyze the full catalog programmatically. ### 🎬 Full Demo 🚧 Coming soon ### ⚙️ Input | Field | Type | Description | Default | |-------|------|-------------|---------| | `searchQuery` | string | Topic or keyword to search for | `python` | | `maxItems` | integer | Max courses to collect (1-1,000,000) | `10` | | `difficulty` | enum | Filter: beginner, intermediate, advanced, mixed | All levels | | `language` | string | Filter by language (e.g. english, spanish) | All languages | **Example - search for data science courses:** ```json { "searchQuery": "data science", "maxItems": 100, "difficulty": "beginner" } ```` **Example - find advanced machine learning in Spanish:** ```json { "searchQuery": "machine learning", "maxItems": 50, "difficulty": "advanced", "language": "spanish" } ``` > ⚠️ **Good to Know:** Free users are limited to 10 courses per run. [Upgrade to a paid plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 courses. ### 📊 Output Each course record contains: | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | 🖼️ `imageUrl` | string | Course thumbnail image | | 🆔 `id` | string | Unique Coursera course/specialization ID | | 📚 `name` | string | Course or specialization title | | 🔗 `slug` | string | URL slug | | 🏫 `partnerName` | string | University or institution name | | 📝 `description` | string | Course tagline/description | | 📊 `difficulty` | string | beginner, intermediate, advanced, or mixed | | ⭐ `rating` | number | Average rating out of 5 | | 💬 `reviewCount` | integer | Total number of ratings | | ⏱️ `duration` | string | Estimated duration range | | 🛠️ `skills` | array | Skills covered in the course | | 🌐 `url` | string | Full course URL on Coursera | | 🕒 `scrapedAt` | string | ISO timestamp of data collection | | ❌ `error` | string | Error message (if applicable) | **Sample records (from a real run):** ```json [ { "imageUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/coursera-course-photos/fc/c1b8dfbac740999b6256aca490de43/Python-Image.jpg", "id": "course~ejOz7RDUEei99hK0xs-tsg", "name": "Python for Data Science, AI & Development", "slug": "python-for-applied-data-science-ai", "partnerName": "IBM", "description": null, "difficulty": "beginner", "rating": 4.62, "reviewCount": 43559, "duration": "1-3 months", "skills": ["Python Programming", "NumPy", "Data Analysis"], "url": "https://www.coursera.org/learn/python-for-applied-data-science-ai", "scrapedAt": "2026-05-22T00:34:40.954Z" }, { "imageUrl": "https://d2j5ihb19pt1hq.cloudfront.net/sdp_page/s12n_logos/python.jpg", "id": "s12n~F-h1g0w7EeWeOApO_l5R1w", "name": "Python for Everybody", "slug": "python", "partnerName": "University of Michigan", "description": "Learn to Program and Analyze Data with Python", "difficulty": "beginner", "rating": 4.82, "reviewCount": 280204, "duration": "3-6 months", "skills": ["Database Design", "Data Processing", "Debugging", "Web Scraping", "Python Programming"], "url": "https://www.coursera.org/specializations/python", "scrapedAt": "2026-05-22T00:34:40.954Z" }, { "imageUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/coursera-course-photos/a1/fd9a9b0f404af6842d49aad8cf141a/Andrew-WA-Thompson-699-1-.jpg", "id": "course~8D3R5HiaEeioIg7r4jw_PA", "name": "Crash Course on Python", "slug": "python-crash-course", "partnerName": "Google", "description": null, "difficulty": "beginner", "rating": 4.77, "reviewCount": 40429, "duration": "1-3 months", "skills": ["Python Programming", "Computer Programming", "Computational Thinking", "Data Structures"], "url": "https://www.coursera.org/learn/python-crash-course", "scrapedAt": "2026-05-22T00:34:40.954Z" } ] ``` ### ✨ Why choose this Actor | Feature | Detail | |---------|--------| | 🚀 Real-time data | Live API - not cached snapshots | | 🌐 No login required | Public catalog data only | | ⚡ Fast | 24 courses per request, paginated automatically | | 🔍 Flexible search | Any keyword supported by Coursera's search engine | | 🎛️ Filter-ready | Difficulty and language filters built-in | | 📤 Multi-format export | CSV, Excel, JSON, XML out of the box | | 🔒 No API key needed | Uses Coursera's public search endpoint | ### 📈 How it compares to alternatives | Feature | This Actor | Manual browsing | Other scrapers | |---------|------------|-----------------|----------------| | Bulk export | ✅ Up to 1M | ❌ | Varies | | Search by keyword | ✅ | ✅ | Varies | | Difficulty filter | ✅ | ✅ | Rarely | | Language filter | ✅ | ✅ | Rarely | | Structured output | ✅ JSON/CSV | ❌ | Varies | | No login needed | ✅ | ✅ | Varies | | Real-time data | ✅ | ✅ | Varies | ### 🚀 How to use 1. [Create a free Apify account](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) - includes $5 free credit 2. Go to the [Coursera Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/coursera-scraper) page 3. Click **Try for free** 4. Enter your search query and optional filters 5. Click **Start** and wait a few seconds 6. Download results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML ### 💼 Business use cases #### EdTech Market Research Track which topics Coursera is prioritizing, which institutions are adding new courses, and how rating distributions shift over time. Build a competitive intelligence dataset updated weekly. #### Skill Gap Analysis Extract the `skills` array from hundreds of courses in a domain to identify the most commonly taught competencies. Compare against job postings to find skill gaps in the market. #### Learning Path Automation Programmatically build curated course lists for employee onboarding or upskilling programs. Filter by difficulty to create progressive learning paths (beginner - intermediate - advanced). #### Academic Research Analyze the global landscape of online education - which countries' universities are producing the most courses, which difficulty levels dominate, and how course ratings correlate with partner prestige. ### 🔌 Automating Coursera Scraper Integrate with your existing workflows: - **Make (formerly Integromat)** - trigger scraper runs on a schedule, pipe results to Google Sheets - **Zapier** - connect to Slack, Airtable, or Notion when new courses are found - **Apify Scheduler** - run daily/weekly and store results in Apify Dataset - **REST API** - call from any language using the Apify API - **Webhooks** - get notified when a run completes ### 🌟 Beyond business use cases #### Research Academic studies on MOOCs, online learning effectiveness, and the evolution of skill demand in the digital economy. #### Creative projects Build a "course discovery" newsletter that sends weekly recommendations based on trending topics and high-rated new arrivals. #### Non-profit Help underserved communities find free or affordable courses by filtering for free-audit eligible content. #### Experimentation Train recommendation models, build NLP pipelines on course descriptions, or cluster courses by skill similarity. ### 🤖 Ask an AI assistant about this scraper You can ask an AI assistant: "How do I use the Coursera Scraper to find beginner Python courses with more than 10,000 reviews?" - and get a ready-to-use input JSON in seconds. ### ❓ Frequently Asked Questions **❓ Does this require a Coursera account?** No. The scraper uses Coursera's public search API - no login or account required. **❓ How many courses can I scrape?** Free users get 10 courses per run. Paid users can collect up to 1,000,000 courses. **❓ Can I filter by topic/category?** Yes - use the `searchQuery` field with any keyword. Coursera's search engine handles the rest. **❓ Does it scrape individual course pages?** No - the scraper uses the search API which returns rich metadata without needing to visit individual course pages. **❓ Why is the `description` field null for some courses?** Coursera's search API returns a tagline for courses. Some courses only have "Offered by X" as their tagline with no marketing description. The field is populated when a description is available. **❓ What does `difficulty` mean?** Coursera classifies courses as beginner, intermediate, advanced, or mixed (suitable for multiple levels). **❓ What format are skills returned in?** As a JSON array of strings, e.g. `["Python Programming", "Data Analysis", "NumPy"]`. **❓ How fresh is the data?** Data is fetched live from Coursera's API at run time - always up to date. **❓ Can I run this on a schedule?** Yes - use Apify Scheduler to run daily or weekly and accumulate a historical dataset. **❓ What's the difference between a course, specialization, and professional certificate?** All are included in results. The `id` field prefix indicates the type: `course~` for individual courses, `s12n~` for specializations and professional certificates. **❓ Is the rating field the same as Coursera's displayed rating?** Yes - `rating` is the average product rating shown on the Coursera platform (out of 5.0). **❓ Can I filter by language?** Yes - pass a language like `"english"`, `"spanish"`, or `"french"` in the `language` field. ### 🔌 Integrate with any app - Google Sheets - via Make or Zapier - Airtable - pipe structured course data - Notion - build a course knowledge base - Slack - post weekly course digests - PostgreSQL / BigQuery - store for long-term analysis - Power BI / Tableau - visualize skill trends - REST API - integrate directly with Apify API ### 🔗 Recommended Actors | Actor | Description | |-------|-------------| | [LinkedIn Jobs Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge) | Scrape job postings to match required skills with Coursera courses | | [GitHub Trending Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/github-trending-scraper) | Find trending repos to identify skills in demand | | [ProductHunt Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/producthunt-scraper) | Discover new EdTech products launched on ProductHunt | > 💡 **Pro Tip:** browse the complete [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge) for 80+ ready-to-use scrapers covering job boards, reviews, marketplaces, and more. *** **Disclaimer:** This actor is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Coursera. It accesses only publicly available data via Coursera's public search API, the same data visible to any anonymous visitor. Use in accordance with Coursera's Terms of Service and applicable laws. # Actor input Schema ## `searchQuery` (type: `string`): Search term to find courses (e.g. python, machine learning, data science) ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000 ## `difficulty` (type: `string`): Filter by difficulty level ## `language` (type: `string`): Filter by course language (e.g. english, spanish, french) ## Actor input object example ```json { "searchQuery": "python", "maxItems": 10 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "searchQuery": "python", "maxItems": 10 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("parseforge/coursera-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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "searchQuery": "python", "maxItems": 10, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("parseforge/coursera-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "searchQuery": "python", "maxItems": 10 }' | apify call parseforge/coursera-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/coursera-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Coursera Scraper | Courses Specializations and Reviews", "description": "Scrape course catalogs from Coursera including title, partner university, instructors, ratings, enrollment counts, skills, duration, price, and full descriptions. Track specializations, certificates, and degree programs for education analytics, lead generation, and market research.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "9jCJIwvQuAGXZ5C3z" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/parseforge~coursera-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-parseforge-coursera-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/parseforge~coursera-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-parseforge-coursera-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/parseforge~coursera-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-parseforge-coursera-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "searchQuery": { "title": "Search Query", "type": "string", "description": "Search term to find courses (e.g. python, machine learning, data science)" }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 1000000, "type": "integer", "description": "Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000" }, "difficulty": { "title": "Difficulty", "enum": [ "", "beginner", "intermediate", "advanced", "mixed" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter by difficulty level" }, "language": { "title": "Language", "type": "string", "description": "Filter by course language (e.g. english, spanish, french)" } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```