Substack Posts Scraper: Archive, Reactions, Comments

Collect the posts of any Substack publication: title, subtitle, date, link, paywall flag, reactions, comments, word count and section. Paste publication addresses. Optional post text.

• Pay per result row: the platform usage of the run is included, and a run that finds nothing has no result charges.
• No login, no cookies, no account on Substack: public pages only.
• Export to JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML, or read the rows through the Apify API.
• Start it from the Console, on a schedule, through the API, or as a tool for agents over MCP.
• Tested every day on its example input, with the rows checked, and repaired when a check fails.

What you can use it for

• Newsletter research: list every post of a publication with reactions and comments.
• Sponsorship scouting: compare how much engagement newsletters in your niche get.
• Content analysis: see which topics and post lengths earn the most reactions.
• Archives: keep the full text of the newsletters you follow (optional post text).

What you get

Every result is one row in the run's dataset. Download it as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML, or read it through the Apify API. The main fields:

Field	Meaning
title	Post
subtitle	Subtitle
date	Published
audience	Audience
reactions	Reactions
comments	Comments
wordCount	Words
section	Section
url	Link

Example row:

{
  "postId": 220372011,
  "publication": "on.substack.com",
  "title": "You told us you wanted more control over your feed. Here is the dial.",
  "subtitle": "New content preferences let you see more or less video, mute keywords, prioritize longform, and more",
  "date": "2026-10-14T16:35:21.909Z",
  "url": "https://on.substack.com/p/you-told-us-you-wanted-more-control",
  "audience": "free",
  "postType": "newsletter",
  "reactions": 1114,
  "comments": 0,
  "restacks": 164,
  "wordCount": 490,
  "section": "Product",
  "coverImage": "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4LM4!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd5dfcb1-aa68-4352-acd8-9dae73702657_2048x1196.png"
}

How to use it

1. Open the Input tab (or call the actor through the API, see below).
2. Fill in Publications; the form opens with a working example.
3. Set Maximum results to cap the size and the cost of the run.
4. Click Start. Rows appear on the Output tab while the run works.
5. Download the dataset, or connect it to Google Sheets, Make, Zapier, n8n or a webhook.

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
publications	array	yes	Publication addresses such as https://on.substack.com or https://www.lennysnewsletter.com, or just the name before .substack.com (on). A link to one of its posts also works.
maxPostsPerPublication	integer	no	How many posts to collect from each publication. Default: 50.
sortBy	select	no	Order in which the posts are read. Allowed: new, top. Default: "new".
keyword	string	no	Optional word or phrase: only posts that match it inside the publication are returned.
postsAfter	string	no	Optional date as YYYY-MM-DD. Older posts are skipped; with newest first the run stops at the first older post.
includeBody	boolean	no	Add the text of each post as read by a logged-out visitor. This needs one extra request per post. Paid posts give their free preview only. Default: false.
maxItems	integer	no	The run stops after this many result rows. It also caps what one run can cost. Default: 100.
proxyConfiguration	object	no	Leave as is: the run starts on the cheapest network the site accepts and switches to Apify Proxy automatically when the site blocks it. Pick proxy groups here only to force one specific network.

Example input:

{
  "publications": [
    "on.substack.com"
  ],
  "maxItems": 20
}

Pricing

You pay per result row in the dataset (the current price per 1,000 results is on the Pricing tab). A run that finds nothing produces no rows and no result charges. Set Maximum results to cap what a single run can cost.

Limits and notes

• Works for any publication, including those on their own domain. Use the address the publication is read at; a name.substack.com address of a publication that moved to its own domain does not work.
• Author names, profiles, handles and photos are not collected.
• Audience is free, paid or founding. Reactions are the heart count shown on the post.
• With post text switched on, each post costs one more request, so the run is slower. For paid posts only the free preview that a visitor sees is returned, and bodyIsPreview is true.
• Posts that Substack's feed does not list are not returned.
• Only publicly visible data is collected. No login, no paywalled content, no personal contact details.
• The actor reads only pages that the site's robots.txt leaves open to automated access.
• Sites change their pages from time to time. The actor is checked automatically and repaired when a check fails.
• Each run sends one short usage record to the developer: the Actor and run IDs, the number of results, whether the run succeeded (and if not, the kind of error, such as "blocked" or "input problem"), whether the account is on a paid Apify plan, how the run was started (for example from the Console, the API or a schedule) and a one-way fingerprint of the account (a hash, not the account ID), so that repeat runs of one account count once. It contains nothing from your input or results.

Run it through the API

Python, with the apify-client package:

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("v0iddo/substack-scraper").call(run_input={"publications": ["on.substack.com"], "maxItems": 20})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

JavaScript, with the apify-client package:

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>' });
const run = await client.actor('v0iddo/substack-scraper').call({"publications": ["on.substack.com"], "maxItems": 20});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

One HTTP call that waits for the run and returns the rows (for runs that finish within 5 minutes):

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/v0iddo~substack-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"publications": ["on.substack.com"], "maxItems": 20}'

Use it from an agent (MCP)

Claude, Cursor, VS Code and other MCP clients can call this actor as a tool through the Apify MCP server. Add it to the client's MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=v0iddo/substack-scraper",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then ask, for example: "List the 20 most recent posts of this Substack with reactions and comments."

FAQ

Do I need an account on Substack, cookies or an API key?

No. The actor reads only what every visitor of Substack can see, without logging in. You only need an Apify account to start it.

How many results can one run return?

Up to 50,000 rows per run. Without a limit it stops at 100. Set Maximum results to the number you need; large jobs can also be split into several runs or scheduled.

How am I charged?

Per result row in the dataset, at the price on the Pricing tab for your Apify plan. The platform usage of the run is included in that price. A run that finds nothing produces no rows and no result charges, and your spending limit for a run is always respected.

Why did my run return no results?

The status message of the run says why: nothing matched the input, the input was not a page the actor understands, the page is closed to automated access by robots.txt, or the site refused every network the actor tried. Check the input against the example above and run it again with a small limit.

Can I run it on a schedule?

Yes. Save your input as a task and add a schedule in the Apify Console (daily, hourly or with a cron expression). Each run gets its own dataset, so you keep a history.

Which formats can I export?

JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, HTML table and RSS from the Output tab or the API. Integrations send the rows to Google Sheets, Slack, Make, Zapier, n8n or a webhook.

Is collecting this data allowed?

The actor collects only what Substack publishes to every visitor, without a login, and it reads only pages that robots.txt leaves open. Public data can still be personal data under laws such as the GDPR, and sites have their own terms: make sure your use of the data follows the rules that apply to you.

What happens when Substack changes its pages?

Automated tests run the actor every day on the example input and check the rows, not only that the run finished. When a check fails, the actor is repaired and rebuilt; the build history on this page shows each update.

Something is missing or wrong. Where do I report it?

Open an issue on the Issues tab of this actor with the run link. Requests for a new field are welcome too.

Related actors

• News Article Extractor: Full Text from Links and RSS
• Substack Scraper: Newsletter Posts by Publication
• Medium Scraper