YouTube Channel Stats Scraper (No API Key) — Invidious / yewtu Instances (Apify Actor)

Scrape public YouTube channel data fast and at scale — without the official YouTube Data API.
This Apify Actor pulls channel metadata from Invidious/yewtu-compatible instances, and (by default) enriches missing public stats from the official YouTube /about page (no API key required).

Perfect for influencer research, competitor tracking, channel monitoring, and YouTube growth analytics workflows.

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✅ What you can scrape (public data)

For each channel input, this Actor can return:

• Channel identity: channel_id, handle, name, description
• Public stats: subscriber_count, video_count, view_count, joined_date_text
• Trust signals: verified
• Media: avatar_url, banner_url, channel_url
• Provenance: from_instance (which instance was used)

Note: YouTube does not expose total watch-hours publicly (without creator access/API), so this Actor cannot scrape “watch hours”.

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Common use cases (SEO keywords)

• YouTube channel scraper for subscriber count / view count
• Influencer discovery & creator vetting
• Track competitor channels (growth monitoring)
• Build lead lists for sponsorship outreach
• Automate dashboards (export JSON/CSV via Apify dataset)
• Content intelligence & channel profiling

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How it works

1. Uses a built-in pool of Invidious / yewtu-compatible instances (no setup needed).
2. Resolves channel inputs (ID/URL/handle/name) via Invidious search when possible.
3. Optionally enriches missing public stats from YouTube’s official /about page (no API key).

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Input

Configure in Apify using: .actor/input_schema.json

Provide one or more values in channels[]:

• Channel ID (recommended): UC...
• Channel URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC...
• Handle: @handle or handle (best-effort resolution)
• Channel name: Some Channel Name (best-effort resolution)

Example input

{
  "channels": [
    "UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw",
    "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC...",
    "@veritasium",
    "Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell"
  ]
}

You do not need to add or manage instance URLs — the Actor handles that internally.

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Output

Dataset (main output)

One dataset item per input channel.
Export easily to JSON/CSV/Excel from Apify.

Typical fields

• channel_id, handle, name, description
• subscriber_count, video_count, view_count, joined_date_text
• verified, channel_url, avatar_url, banner_url
• from_instance

Key-value store (run summary)

• OUTPUT: run metadata + totals + warnings
  (No item list here — use the dataset for results.)

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Notes on resolution & reliability

• Handle/name resolution uses Invidious search when available.
• Falls back to official YouTube search/lookup when needed.
• Public stats can vary slightly depending on what each source exposes at scrape time.

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Tips for best results

• Use channel IDs whenever possible for the most reliable matching.
• For large runs: reduce concurrency / add delays if you hit intermittent instance failures.
• If you’re monitoring channels over time, store runs in a dataset and compare snapshots.

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Limitations

• No private creator metrics (watch time, revenue, audience retention, etc.)
• Results depend on public availability and instance uptime
• Some channels may hide or restrict certain public fields

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Disclaimer

Use responsibly and comply with applicable platform terms and local laws. This Actor only targets publicly accessible channel information.