# Google Play Books Search & Price Scraper (`rainminer/google-play-books-scraper`) Actor

Extract books from public Google Play Books search. Each row includes the title, price, star rating, cover image, and store link. Built for publishers, pricing teams, and researchers comparing ebook shelves. No login. Export JSON or CSV, schedule a check, and pull results through the Apify API.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/rainminer/google-play-books-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [rainminer](https://apify.com/rainminer) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.49 / 1,000 books

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

## Google Play Books Scraper

Extract **ebook listings** from public Google Play Books search. Publishers, pricing teams, and researchers use it to see which titles rank for a query, what they cost, and how they are rated, with the cover and the store link.

Give the Actor a search URL such as `https://play.google.com/store/search?q=history&c=books&hl=en&gl=us`. The `c=books` part matters: this Actor reads the books shelf, not the app shelf. No Google login is required.

### What can this Google Play Books scraper do?

- Read a public Play Books search page.
- Capture title, price, star rating, cover, and the book id.
- Keep the search query on every row so batched keywords stay labeled.
- Limit rows per search with `maxItems`.
- Run several keyword URLs in one Actor run.
- Export JSON, CSV, or Excel and schedule a repeat through Apify.

Play returns the first results page for a query, which is enough for a top-of-shelf check and is more than ten books on a normal keyword. `hl` and `gl` choose language and country, which also changes currency.

### What data can you extract?

| Field | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| title | Book title shown in search |
| price | Price text as Play shows it, including Free |
| rating | Star rating when Play prints one |
| imageUrl | Cover image |
| bookId | Play book id |
| url | Book page on Google Play |
| searchQuery | The `q` parameter from your start URL |

### How to scrape Google Play Books

1. Search for a topic on Google Play and copy the URL. It should contain `c=books`.
2. Paste that URL into **Start URLs**. Add more keyword URLs if you want a set.
3. Set **Maximum items**. The default is 5 for a cheap test. Raise it to keep the whole first page.
4. Start the run and download the dataset.

Use one URL per keyword. The query is stored on each row, so you can filter later.

### Use cases

- Check ebook prices for a keyword in a given country.
- See which titles occupy the first Play Books results.
- Compare ratings across competing titles.
- Collect covers for a catalog review.
- Monitor a brand name or author query on a schedule.
- Spot free editions sitting next to paid ones.
- Build a sheet of book ids for a later pass.
- Review a non-English storefront by changing `hl` and `gl`.
- Hand rows to a pricing workbook.
- Sample a category before commissioning a deeper metadata project.

### Pricing

You pay per book exported. Keep `maxItems` small while you test a keyword. Platform usage is separate when the listing is billed as pay per event plus usage.

### FAQ

**Does this need a Google login?** No. Public search pages are enough.

**Why did my URL get skipped?** The link must be a `play.google.com` search with `c=books` and a `q` keyword.

**Are audiobooks included?** Only when Play places them on that books search page.

### Image Credit

No site screenshot is used.

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Google Play Books search URLs, for example https://play.google.com/store/search?q=history\&c=books\&hl=en\&gl=us.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of books to return per start URL.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings. Leave disabled unless Google Play blocks your IP.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://play.google.com/store/search?q=history&c=books&hl=en&gl=us"
    }
  ],
  "maxItems": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "startUrls": [
        {
            "url": "https://play.google.com/store/search?q=history&c=books&hl=en&gl=us"
        }
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": false
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("rainminer/google-play-books-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 = {
    "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://play.google.com/store/search?q=history&c=books&hl=en&gl=us" }],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("rainminer/google-play-books-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 '{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://play.google.com/store/search?q=history&c=books&hl=en&gl=us"
    }
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}' |
apify call rainminer/google-play-books-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,rainminer/google-play-books-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/D6ccHUBCcOCyrcbPI/builds/51UTRE59EfiWKUlK9/openapi.json