# Substack Newsletter Scraper (`spry_frame/substack-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Substack newsletter listings by category or keyword — name, description, subscriber pricing, domain, language, podcast status, and more. No login required.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/spry\_frame/substack-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [COSENT GROUP](https://apify.com/spry_frame) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.20 / 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.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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

## Substack Newsletter Scraper

Scrape Substack newsletter listings by category — technology, finance, business, health, politics, and 26 more. Returns newsletter name, URL, description, pricing, subscriber benefits, podcast status, and more. No login or API key required.

### Use Cases

- **Newsletter operators** — competitive research on who's publishing in your niche, what they charge, and how they position their free vs. paid tiers
- **Advertisers & sponsors** — build a targeted list of newsletters to approach for sponsorship deals in your vertical
- **PR & media agencies** — find the right journalist or creator newsletters to pitch stories to
- **Investors** — track the creator economy, monitor newsletter growth across categories
- **Sales teams** — identify newsletters to partner with or advertise in for lead generation
- **Researchers** — analyze the Substack ecosystem, pricing trends, and content distribution

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `mode` | String | `category`: browse newsletters by category. `search`: filter across all categories by keyword. |
| `categories` | Array | Category slugs to scrape. See full list below. Leave empty to scrape all 31 categories. |
| `keywords` | String | Keyword to filter newsletters by name or description (search mode only). |
| `maxResults` | Integer | Max newsletters to return. `0` = no limit. Default: `100`. |

#### Valid Category Slugs

`technology` · `business` · `finance` · `culture` · `science` · `us-politics` · `world-politics` · `health-politics` · `health` · `news` · `sports` · `food` · `music` · `faith` · `climate` · `literature` · `fiction` · `design` · `travel` · `parenting` · `philosophy` · `comics` · `international` · `crypto` · `history` · `humor` · `education` · `film-and-tv` · `home-garden` · `art` · `fashionandbeauty`

### Output

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `name` | Newsletter name |
| `subdomain` | Substack subdomain (e.g. `bytebytego`) |
| `url` | Full URL — custom domain if available, otherwise `subdomain.substack.com` |
| `customDomain` | Custom domain if the newsletter uses one |
| `description` | Newsletter tagline / hero description |
| `authorId` | Substack internal author ID |
| `category` | Category name |
| `language` | Primary language |
| `paymentsEnabled` | Whether paid subscriptions are active (`Yes`/`No`) |
| `monthlyPrice` | Monthly paid subscription price in USD |
| `freeSubscriptionBenefits` | What free subscribers receive |
| `paidSubscriptionBenefits` | What paid subscribers receive |
| `podcastEnabled` | Whether a podcast is published (`Yes`/`No`) |
| `communityEnabled` | Whether comments/community is active (`Yes`/`No`) |
| `logoUrl` | Newsletter logo image URL |
| `createdAt` | Date the newsletter was created |
| `scrapedAt` | Timestamp when this record was collected |

### Example Inputs

**Top technology and finance newsletters:**

```json
{
  "mode": "category",
  "categories": ["technology", "finance"],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

**All newsletters across every category:**

```json
{
  "mode": "category",
  "categories": [],
  "maxResults": 0
}
```

**Find newsletters about personal finance:**

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "keywords": "personal finance",
  "maxResults": 50
}
```

### Notes

- Substack has thousands of public newsletters discoverable without a login
- Results are ordered by Substack's internal ranking (most prominent newsletters first)
- The `search` mode works by filtering category browse results against your keyword — it covers all 31 categories
- A 200ms delay between requests is applied to stay within respectful usage limits

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

category: browse all newsletters in selected categories. search: find newsletters matching a keyword.

## `categories` (type: `array`):

Category slugs to scrape. Valid values: technology, business, finance, culture, science, us-politics, world-politics, health-politics, health, news, sports, food, music, faith, climate, literature, fiction, design, travel, parenting, philosophy, comics, international, crypto, history, humor, education, film-and-tv, home-garden, art, fashionandbeauty. Leave empty to scrape all categories.

## `keywords` (type: `string`):

Search term to find newsletters by name or description (e.g. 'artificial intelligence', 'personal finance', 'parenting'). Used in search mode.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of newsletters to return per category. 0 = no limit.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "category",
  "categories": [
    "technology"
  ],
  "keywords": "",
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `name` (type: `string`):

Name of the Substack newsletter.

## `subdomain` (type: `string`):

Substack subdomain (e.g. 'bytebytego' for bytebytego.substack.com).

## `url` (type: `string`):

Full URL to the newsletter.

## `customDomain` (type: `string`):

Custom domain if the newsletter uses one (e.g. blog.bytebytego.com).

## `description` (type: `string`):

Newsletter tagline or hero description.

## `authorId` (type: `string`):

Substack internal author/publication ID.

## `category` (type: `string`):

Substack category this newsletter appears in.

## `language` (type: `string`):

Primary language of the newsletter.

## `paymentsEnabled` (type: `string`):

Whether the newsletter has paid subscription tiers enabled.

## `monthlyPrice` (type: `string`):

Monthly paid subscription price in USD.

## `freeSubscriptionBenefits` (type: `string`):

What free subscribers receive.

## `paidSubscriptionBenefits` (type: `string`):

What paid subscribers receive.

## `podcastEnabled` (type: `string`):

Whether the newsletter also publishes a podcast.

## `communityEnabled` (type: `string`):

Whether the newsletter has a community/comments section enabled.

## `logoUrl` (type: `string`):

URL of the newsletter logo.

## `createdAt` (type: `string`):

Date the newsletter was created on Substack.

## `scrapedAt` (type: `string`):

ISO timestamp when this record was collected.

# 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 = {
    "categories": [
        "technology"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("spry_frame/substack-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 = { "categories": ["technology"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("spry_frame/substack-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 '{
  "categories": [
    "technology"
  ]
}' |
apify call spry_frame/substack-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,spry_frame/substack-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/XmsbIJMRyjz8rORoc/builds/rMmWFr4LzWUFZg3w2/openapi.json