Reddit Scraper - Pay Per Result

by SilentFlow

Only pay for what you get. No compute costs, no proxy fees, no surprises. Just results.

Why Pay Per Result?

Traditional Scraper	Pay Per Result
Pay for compute time	Pay only for data
Proxy costs extra	Proxies included
Failed runs cost money	No charge if it fails
Unpredictable costs	Know exactly what you'll pay

What you get

Every item includes full metadata:

Post

{
  "id": "t3_abc123",
  "parsedId": "abc123",
  "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/abc123/example_post/",
  "username": "dev_user",
  "userId": "t2_abc123",
  "title": "Example Post Title",
  "communityName": "r/programming",
  "parsedCommunityName": "programming",
  "body": "Post body text...",
  "html": null,
  "numberOfComments": 42,
  "upVotes": 256,
  "upVoteRatio": 0.95,
  "isVideo": false,
  "isAd": false,
  "over18": false,
  "flair": "Discussion",
  "link": "https://example.com/article",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/...",
  "videoUrl": "",
  "imageUrls": ["https://i.redd.it/abc123.jpg"],
  "createdAt": "2024-06-01T12:00:00Z",
  "scrapedAt": "2024-06-02T10:30:00Z",
  "dataType": "post"
}

Comment

{
  "id": "t1_xyz789",
  "parsedId": "xyz789",
  "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/abc123/example_post/xyz789/",
  "parentId": "t3_abc123",
  "postId": "abc123",
  "username": "commenter",
  "userId": "t2_xyz789",
  "category": "programming",
  "communityName": "r/programming",
  "body": "Great post!",
  "html": "<div class=\"md\"><p>Great post!</p></div>",
  "createdAt": "2024-06-01T13:00:00Z",
  "scrapedAt": "2024-06-02T10:30:00Z",
  "upVotes": 15,
  "numberOfreplies": 3,
  "dataType": "comment"
}

Community

{
  "id": "2fwo",
  "name": "t5_2fwo",
  "title": "Programming",
  "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/",
  "description": "Computer programming",
  "over18": false,
  "numberOfMembers": 5800000,
  "createdAt": "2006-01-25T00:00:00Z",
  "scrapedAt": "2024-06-02T10:30:00Z",
  "dataType": "community"
}

User

{
  "id": "abc123",
  "url": "https://www.reddit.com/user/dev_user/",
  "username": "dev_user",
  "description": "Software engineer and open source enthusiast",
  "postKarma": 15000,
  "commentKarma": 42000,
  "over18": false,
  "createdAt": "2020-01-15T00:00:00Z",
  "scrapedAt": "2024-06-02T10:30:00Z",
  "dataType": "user"
}

Input parameters

URL scraping

Parameter	Type	Description
startUrls	array	Reddit URL(s) to scrape (subreddits, posts, users, search pages)

Supported URL types:

• Subreddits: https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/
• Subreddit channels: https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/hot
• Posts: https://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/abc123/...
• Users: https://www.reddit.com/user/username
• User comments: https://www.reddit.com/user/username/comments/
• Search: https://www.reddit.com/search/?q=keyword
• Popular: https://www.reddit.com/r/popular/
• Leaderboards: https://www.reddit.com/subreddits/leaderboard/crypto/

Keyword search

Parameter	Type	Description
searches	array	Keywords to search on Reddit
searchCommunityName	string	Restrict search to a specific community
searchPosts	boolean	Search for posts (default: true)
searchComments	boolean	Search for comments (default: false)
searchCommunities	boolean	Search for communities (default: false)
searchUsers	boolean	Search for users (default: false)

Sorting & filtering

Parameter	Type	Default	Options
sort	string	new	relevance, hot, top, new, rising, comments
time	string	all	all, hour, day, week, month, year
includeNSFW	boolean	true	Include NSFW content
postDateLimit	string	-	Only posts after this date (YYYY-MM-DD)

Limits

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
maxItems	integer	10	Maximum total items to save
maxPostCount	integer	10	Maximum posts per page/subreddit
maxComments	integer	10	Maximum comments per post
maxCommunitiesCount	integer	2	Maximum communities to scrape
maxUserCount	integer	2	Maximum users to scrape

Skip options

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
skipComments	boolean	false	Skip comment extraction
skipUserPosts	boolean	false	Skip user post extraction
skipCommunity	boolean	false	Skip community info extraction

Advanced

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
scrollTimeout	integer	40	Request timeout in seconds
debugMode	boolean	false	Enable detailed logging
proxy	object	residential	Proxy configuration (useApifyProxy, apifyProxyGroups)

Pricing

Item	Cost
Per result (post, comment, community, or user)	$0.003
Failed runs (no results)	Free
Platform compute	Included

$3 per 1,000 results. Volume discounts available for higher tiers.

Example costs:

• 100 posts = $0.30
• 50 posts + 200 comments = $0.75
• 1,000 posts + 5,000 comments = $18.00

Examples

Scrape a subreddit

{
  "startUrls": [{"url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/"}],
  "maxItems": 50,
  "maxPostCount": 20,
  "maxComments": 10,
  "sort": "hot"
}

Search for a keyword

{
  "searches": ["machine learning"],
  "searchPosts": true,
  "searchCommunities": true,
  "sort": "top",
  "time": "month",
  "maxItems": 100
}

Scrape a specific post with comments

{
  "startUrls": [{"url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/lp1hi4/is_webscraping_a_good_skill_to_learn/"}],
  "maxComments": 50
}

Integrations

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN")

run = client.actor("silentflow/reddit-scraper-ppr").call(run_input={
    "startUrls": [{"url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/"}],
    "maxItems": 50,
    "maxPostCount": 20,
    "maxComments": 10,
    "sort": "hot"
})

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    if item["dataType"] == "post":
        print(f"[{item['upVotes']}] {item['title']}")

JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_API_TOKEN' });

const run = await client.actor('silentflow/reddit-scraper-ppr').call({
    searches: ['web scraping'],
    searchPosts: true,
    sort: 'top',
    time: 'week',
    maxItems: 100
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach(item => {
    if (item.dataType === 'post') {
        console.log(`[${item.upVotes}] ${item.title}`);
    }
});

Tips for best results

1. Use maxItems wisely: Only request what you need - you pay per result
2. Apply filters: Use skipComments or searchCommunityName to reduce unnecessary results
3. Be specific: Target specific subreddits instead of broad searches
4. Test first: Try with maxItems: 5 to verify your setup before large scrapes

FAQ

Q: How does Pay Per Result billing work? A: You are charged $0.003 for each item (post, comment, community, or user) that is successfully scraped and saved to the dataset. If the scraper finds no results, you are not charged.

Q: Is there a minimum charge? A: No. You only pay for actual results. A run with zero results costs nothing.

Q: Can I set a budget limit? A: Yes, use the maxItems parameter to control exactly how many results (and thus your maximum cost) per run.

Q: What's the difference from the standard version? A: The standard version charges based on Apify platform compute usage. PPR charges per result instead, making costs more predictable.

Q: What if the run fails? A: You pay nothing. Failed runs don't charge you.

Q: Are proxy costs included? A: Yes! Residential proxies are included in the per-result price.

When to use PPR vs Standard

Use PPR when...	Use Standard when...
You need predictable costs	You're scraping thousands of items
You want guaranteed results	You have Apify compute credits
You're testing or prototyping	You're running scheduled jobs
Budget is per-result focused	Budget is time-based

Data fields

Category	Fields
Identity	id, parsedId, url, username, userId
Content	title, body, html, flair
Community	communityName, parsedCommunityName, category
Engagement	upVotes, upVoteRatio, numberOfComments, numberOfreplies
Media	imageUrls, videoUrl, thumbnailUrl, link
Flags	isVideo, isAd, over18
Meta	createdAt, scrapedAt, dataType

Support

Need help? We're here for you:

• Bug reports: Open an issue on the actor page
• Questions: Message us via Apify console
• Feature requests: Let us know what you need
• Custom solutions: Contact us for enterprise integrations or high-volume needs

Check out our other scrapers: SilentFlow on Apify

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Remember: You only pay for results. No results = no charge.