Collectors · Social & communities
YouTube comments scraper in Python
Public comments of YouTube videos, Top or newest first, with likes, replies and creator hearts. One POST from Python with videos, rows back as JSON with 18 fields, $0.00035 per delivered comment. No proxies or parsers to maintain.
First call
Install, call, read the rows.
pip install requestsimport os, requests
r = requests.post(
"https://api.quanticdata.io/v1/scraper/collectors/youtube_comments/run",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['QD_API_KEY']}"},
json={
"videos": ["dQw4w9WgXcQ"],
"max_results": 50,
},
timeout=120,
)
r.raise_for_status()
run = r.json()["payload"]
print(run["count"], "rows,", run["cost"]["usd"], "USD")
for row in run["results"]:
print(row.get("video_id"), row.get("video_url"), row.get("video_comment_count"), row.get("position"))The key comes from an environment variable, never from the code. The run answers in the same request when it finishes in time; payload.results holds the rows and payload.cost what they cost.
Request parameters
What the collector takes.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
videos | string[] | yes | Video ids, or watch, shorts and youtu.be URLs, one per line, up to 20. |
sort | string: top, newest | no (default top) | top (YouTube's default) or newest. |
country | string | no | ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code — proxy exit geo and Google locale (gl). Omit for the default pool. |
lang | string | no | Interface language (hl), e.g. en, it, de. |
max_results | integer | no (default 100) | How many comments to deliver at most (1–1000). You pay only for delivered comments. |
Response fields
18 fields per comment.
| Field | Type | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
video_id | string | 11-char video id. |
video_url | string | Watch URL. |
video_comment_count | integer, nullable | The video’s total comment count. |
position | integer | 1-based position in the video's list, in the requested order. |
comment_id | string | Comment id. |
url | string | Direct link to the comment. |
text | string | Comment text. |
author | string, nullable | Author handle (@…). |
author_channel_id | string, nullable | Author channel id (UC…). |
author_url | string, nullable | Author channel URL. |
author_is_verified | boolean | Verified author. |
author_is_creator | boolean | The author is the video's channel. |
published_label | string, nullable | How long ago it was posted, as YouTube prints it (6 years ago). |
edited | boolean | The comment was edited. |
likes | integer | Likes as YouTube shows them (106K → 106000). |
reply_count | integer | Replies to the comment. |
hearted_by_creator | boolean | The channel owner hearted the comment. |
rank | integer | 1-based delivery order across the run. |
Add ?format=csv to the runs endpoint to get the same rows as CSV.
Long runs
Run in the background, then poll.
A run that needs more time can go to the background: send "async": true, get 202 with the run id, and poll the runs endpoint until the status is done. Reading a run is free.
import os, time, requests
H = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['QD_API_KEY']}"}
r = requests.post("https://api.quanticdata.io/v1/scraper/collectors/youtube_comments/run", headers=H,
json={**{"videos":["dQw4w9WgXcQ"],"max_results":50}, "async": True}, timeout=30)
run_id = r.json()["payload"]["run_id"]
while True:
run = requests.get(f"https://api.quanticdata.io/v1/scraper/collectors/runs/{run_id}", headers=H, timeout=30).json()["payload"]
if run["status"] in ("done", "failed"):
break
time.sleep(5)
print(run["status"], run["count"])Errors
What can come back, and what is billed.
| Status | Meaning | Billed |
|---|---|---|
400 | The input does not match the collector (payload.errors) | No |
401 | Missing or wrong API key | No |
402 | Balance and free credit do not cover the run: top up | No |
422 | The input can never resolve; retrying the same input cannot help | No |
424 | The run failed at the source (blocked, timed out, layout changed); safe to retry | No |
429 | Rate limit or a per-account brake; wait for Retry-After | No |
Only delivered rows are billed: a run that delivers nothing costs nothing.
Price
$0.00035 per delivered comment.
| Rows | Cost |
|---|---|
| 1 | $0.00035 |
| 1,000 | $0.35 |
| 10,000 | $3.50 |
Up to 1000 comments per run; split larger jobs into several runs. The $2 free credit every month covers about 5,714 comments. No subscription; paid tiers lower the unit price. All collector prices: collector pricing.
Before you run it
Questions developers ask
Is there a free YouTube comments API?
Every account gets $2 of free usage each month, about 5,714 comments of this collector at $0.00035 each, with no card.
Do I have to handle proxies, retries or blocks?
No. The collector runs on our network and handles them; a run blocked at the source returns 424 and is not billed.
How many rows can one run return?
Up to 1000 comments per run (the max_results input, where the collector has one).
Can an AI agent run it?
Yes: the MCP server exposes it as the run_collector tool, with the same input and price. See the MCP server.
Run it on the free credit.
Create an API key, export it as QD_API_KEY and run the example. $0.00035 per delivered comment, no subscription.