YouTube Channel Scraper - Subscribers, Views & Links

Rocketyard’s YouTube Channel Scraper returns the public profile of YouTube channels with their latest uploads and returns one clean record per channel: channel id, handle, name, description, subscriber count, subscriber count text and more. It runs on the Apify platform, so you can start it from the Apify Console, the REST API, an AI agent or a no-code tool.

Run it on Apify$0.70 per 1,000 channels, no subscription. You run it with your own Apify account, and Apify handles billing.

Who it’s for

• Influencer marketing agencies and brands vetting creators
• Marketers tracking competitor channels
• Developers and analysts building creator databases
• Researchers studying YouTube channels

What you can do with it

• Turn a list of channels into a spreadsheet of subscribers, views, video counts, countries and links
• Track channel growth and new uploads every week
• Vet creators before a campaign by their latest videos’ views

How it works

YouTube embeds each channel’s data in the HTML of its public About and Videos pages. The Actor fetches those two pages over plain HTTP, without a browser, login or cookies, and reads the embedded data: subscriber, video and total view counts, the join date and country, the description, the links the channel publishes, its avatar and banner, and its latest uploads with views, duration and age. For more than the 30 uploads the Videos page holds, and for the Shorts, it asks YouTube’s browse endpoint for the next pages: the same logged-out request a channel tab sends as you scroll, with a random pause of 300 to 800 ms between requests. It does not check robots.txt, and YouTube’s robots.txt disallows the /youtubei/ path of that endpoint. A channel that cannot be read gets an error item that says why, and is not charged.

Example output

A real record from a test run on youtube.com on 2026-11-11. Fields the page didn’t publish are left out here; the Actor returns them as null.

{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@Google",
  "type": "Channel",
  "channelId": "UCK8sQmJBp8GCxrOtXWBpyEA",
  "handle": "@Google",
  "name": "Google",
  "description": "Here to help. \n\nReimagining how AI can make your life better and help you explore your creativity, connect with the world, and discover new possibilities. Browse our latest product demos, unboxings, developer roundtables, podcasts, tips, tricks and more. Subscribe for the latest product updates,…",
  "subscriberCount": 14700000,
  "subscriberCountText": "14.7M subscribers",
  "videoCount": 2796,
  "viewCount": 6754103660,
  "joinedDate": "2005-09-18",
  "isVerified": true,
  "isFamilySafe": true,
  "avatarUrl": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/bAseQlKvNmjdLQrvYWm_q3QDp8C8YKyYI-nYJewgOkPi0JU1_3X9oFgjrEdzkOlXzLGFxFbnsw=s900-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
  "bannerUrl": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/H9gGqPJUwNvqOwEZBewLZiW_gV2nFdeQOugRyKv1qclCvIH4ucb6E5z5zYUOZJE4Z2E0KcS6=w2560-fcrop64=1,00005a57ffffa5a8-k-c0xffffffff-no-nd-rj",
  "keywords": [
    "Google",
    "Technology",
    "Science",
    "Android",
    "Google app",
    "Google Doodles",
    "Google Gemini",
    "Gemini AI",
    "Google AI",
    "Google Chrome",
    "Google Search",
    "YouTube",
    "Google Play Store",
    "AI",
    "Artificial Intelligence",
    "Tech",
    "Innovation",
    "Machine Learning",
    "Quantum Computing",
    "Google I/O",
    "Made by Google",
    "Google Doodle",
    "Team Google",
    "Explained",
    "How-to",

Fields

Field	Description	Filled in latest test
channelId	Channel ID (UC…)	100%
handle	Handle (@name)	100%
name	Channel name	100%
description	Full channel description	100%
subscriberCount	Subscribers as a number, from the count YouTube displays (rounded for large channels)	100%
subscriberCountText	Subscribers as YouTube displays them (“14.7M subscribers”)	100%
videoCount	Number of public videos (exact)	100%
viewCount	Total channel views (exact)	100%
joinedDate	Date the channel was created (YYYY-MM-DD)	100%
country	Country the channel set, when public	0%
isVerified	true when the channel has a verified badge	100%
isFamilySafe	YouTube family-safe flag	100%
avatarUrl	Largest avatar image	100%
bannerUrl	Largest banner image	100%
keywords	Channel keywords	100%
links	Links the channel publishes (title and URL)	100%
videos	Latest uploads, newest first (up to 1,000): ID, URL, title, views, age and duration	100%
shorts	With Include Shorts only: the channel’s Shorts, newest first, in the same shape: ID, /shorts/ URL, title, views and thumbnail (no length or age on Shorts)	0%
url	the page the record came from	100%
scrapedAt	ISO timestamp of the extraction	100%

A field is filled when the source publishes it. The Actor never guesses a value: a missing field comes back as null. “Filled in latest test” is the share of records from the latest test run (youtube.com) that had the field; other sources publish more or less.

Pricing

You pay $0.70 per 1,000 channels, plus a start fee of $0.00005 per run. Channels that cannot be read produce an error item, which is not charged.

Channels	Cost
1,000	$0.70
10,000	$7.00
100,000	$70.00

Set maxItems or the run’s Maximum cost per run in Apify to cap spending.

API

Call it from any language with the Apify REST API, or with Apify’s JavaScript and Python clients. You need an Apify API token.

curl -s -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/rocketyard~youtube-channel-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"startUrls":[{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/@Google"}],"channels":["@NASA"],"maxVideosPerChannel":30}'

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('rocketyard/youtube-channel-scraper').call({"startUrls":[{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/@Google"}],"channels":["@NASA"],"maxVideosPerChannel":30});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();

from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient("<APIFY_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("rocketyard/youtube-channel-scraper").call(run_input={"startUrls":[{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/@Google"}],"channels":["@NASA"],"maxVideosPerChannel":30})
items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items

The synchronous endpoint returns the records directly. For long crawls, start the run asynchronously and read the dataset when it finishes.

MCP

Apify’s MCP server exposes this Actor as a tool to Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients. Open this Actor’s MCP setup page for setup steps per client, or connect it with this URL:

https://mcp.apify.com?tools=rocketyard/youtube-channel-scraper

Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=rocketyard/youtube-channel-scraper"

Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json) and other clients that read an mcpServers config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": { "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=rocketyard/youtube-channel-scraper" }
  }
}

On first use your browser opens so you can sign in to Apify. Then ask the agent, for example: “Turn a list of channels into a spreadsheet of subscribers, views, video counts, countries and links”. The tool returns JSON records, and the runs are billed to that Apify account at $0.70 per 1,000 channels.

Automation

n8n, Make and Zapier all connect to Apify. Each example below uses Actor rocketyard/youtube-channel-scraper with this input:

{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@Google"
    }
  ],
  "channels": [
    "@NASA"
  ],
  "maxVideosPerChannel": 30
}

n8n

Copy this workflow and paste it onto an n8n canvas. It runs the Actor every morning through an HTTP Request node and returns the records as n8n items.

{
  "name": "YouTube Channel Scraper daily",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {
        "rule": {
          "interval": [
            {
              "field": "days",
              "daysInterval": 1,
              "triggerAtHour": 7
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "id": "c1f6a2d0-4a57-4b5e-9d7a-0a1b2c3d4e01",
      "name": "Every day at 07:00",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1.2,
      "position": [
        0,
        0
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "method": "POST",
        "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/rocketyard~youtube-channel-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items",
        "authentication": "genericCredentialType",
        "genericAuthType": "httpBearerAuth",
        "sendBody": true,
        "specifyBody": "json",
        "jsonBody": "{\n  \"startUrls\": [\n    {\n      \"url\": \"https://www.youtube.com/@Google\"\n    }\n  ],\n  \"channels\": [\n    \"@NASA\"\n  ],\n  \"maxVideosPerChannel\": 30\n}",
        "options": {
          "timeout": 300000
        }
      },
      "id": "c1f6a2d0-4a57-4b5e-9d7a-0a1b2c3d4e02",
      "name": "Run YouTube Channel Scraper",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "typeVersion": 4.2,
      "position": [
        260,
        0
      ],
      "credentials": {
        "httpBearerAuth": {
          "name": "Apify API token"
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "Every day at 07:00": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Run YouTube Channel Scraper",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  },
  "settings": {}
}

Then open the HTTP Request node and create an HTTP Bearer Auth credential named Apify API token, with your token from Apify Console as the bearer token. The token stays in n8n’s credential store; the workflow only names the credential. Change the input in the node’s JSON body to your own.

The node waits up to 300 seconds, which is also the limit of Apify’s synchronous endpoint. An input that yields nothing comes back as an item with an error field, which you can drop with a Filter node. Apify also publishes a community node, @apify/n8n-nodes-apify, with a Run an Actor and get dataset operation.

Make

1. Add Apify’s Run an Actor module and connect your Apify account.
2. Choose rocketyard/youtube-channel-scraper, paste the input above and set Run synchronously to Yes. Make limits how long a synchronous run can take, depending on your plan. For longer runs, start the scenario from Watch Actor Runs instead.
3. Add Get Dataset Items with the run’s default dataset ID.
4. Send the items wherever you need them, for example with Google Sheets Add a Row, mapping channelId, handle, name and description.

Zapier

1. Add Apify’s Run Actor action, connect your Apify account, choose rocketyard/youtube-channel-scraper and paste the input above.
2. Zapier stops synchronous runs after 30 seconds. For anything larger than a small run, let the run continue in the background and start a second Zap from the Finished Actor run trigger.
3. Add Fetch dataset items with the run’s dataset ID, then map channelId, handle, name and description into your app.
4. Test with a small input and check that the Zap handles every record before you turn it on.

Limits

• The video list holds up to 1,000 of the channel’s latest uploads, newest first; more than 1,000 are not offered, as the price is per channel. In our test on 2026-11-11, 1,000 videos and all 707 Shorts of @Google took 50 requests and 30 seconds.
• For one row per video instead of one per channel, export the dataset with ?unwind=videos (or ?unwind=shorts); each row then repeats its channel’s fields.
• The Shorts list (with Include Shorts) has no length or age: the Shorts tab shows neither, so durationSeconds and publishedText are empty on Shorts.
• Views in the lists are what the channel tabs show: exact below 1,000, rounded above (16K). If YouTube refuses one of the next pages, the record keeps the videos read until then.
• Subscriber counts are as YouTube displays them, rounded for large channels (14.7M). Video and total view counts are exact.
• Contact emails that some channels show only after a sign-in and a CAPTCHA are never collected.

FAQ

How much does it cost?

$0.70 per 1,000 channels plus $0.00005 per run, billed by Apify. 10,000 channels cost $7.00. There is no subscription, and you can cap any run with Maximum cost per run.

Your Apify plan sets your discount tier (Platinum and Diamond are enterprise tiers):

Tier	Per 1,000 channels
Free	$0.70
Bronze	$0.70
Silver	$0.56
Gold	$0.46
Platinum	$0.46
Diamond	$0.46

How do I call it from the API?

One request starts a run and returns its results, using your Apify API token:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/rocketyard~youtube-channel-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items" -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"startUrls":[{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/@Google"}],"channels":["@NASA"],"maxVideosPerChannel":30}'

What happens when a URL fails?

The dataset gets one free error item for it, with a code and the reason, and the other inputs in the run carry on. Error codes explains each code, whether a retry helps and what to do.

Which channels does it work on?

Any public YouTube channel: @handle URLs, /channel/UC… IDs, legacy /c/ and /user/ URLs, or just the handle or ID.

What happens when a field is missing?

The field comes back as null. The Actor reports what the source publishes and never fills in guesses.

Is it allowed to scrape this data?

The Actor reads what any logged-out visitor sees on a channel’s public pages, without logging in, without cookies and without bypassing consent or bot checks. It does not check robots.txt, and YouTube’s robots.txt disallows the /youtubei/ path of the endpoint the channel’s tabs load more videos from. It returns no comment text and no data about commenters or viewers. You are responsible for how you use the data under YouTube’s terms and the law (for example copyright and GDPR).

Can I use it from an AI agent?

Yes. Connect Apify’s MCP server as shown in MCP, and the agent can call the Actor as a tool.

Alternatives

See how it compares with other youtube channel scrapers on price, users and run success, from Apify Store data. Need a field or site behaviour that isn’t covered? Open an issue on the Actor page.