YouTube Comments API. Comments, page by page.
Newest or top first, with likes and reply counts. We handle the proxies, blocks and platform changes.
YouTube Comments API at a glance
Returns the public top-level comments of a YouTube video, short or live replay, a page at a time, newest first or by YouTube's Top ranking. Each comment has its text, author handle and channel, posting time, likes, reply count, and whether it is pinned, hearted, edited or written by the creator. Newest first also takes since and until. Accepts any YouTube video link or an 11-character video ID.
GET /v1/youtube/comments
- 1 credit per page, $0.75–$1.97 per 1,000 pages
- 16 typed fields null when unknown
- 20 comments per page, newest first
urlis all it needs, e.g.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw
Send one request. Get up to 20 comments back.
Copy the request in your language, or hand it to your agent. Sign up for an API key and your first 100 credits are free.
$ npm install socialtapurl = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRwconst params = new URLSearchParams({
sort: "newest",
url: "jNQXAC9IVRw",
});
const res = await fetch(`https://socialtap.dev/v1/youtube/comments?${params}`, {
headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY ?? "" },
});
const body = await res.json();
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${body.error.code}: ${body.error.message}`);
const { data, page, meta } = body;
console.log(data, meta.credits_charged);import os
import requests
res = requests.get(
"https://socialtap.dev/v1/youtube/comments",
params={"sort": "newest", "url": "jNQXAC9IVRw"},
headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"]},
)
body = res.json()
if not res.ok:
raise RuntimeError(f"{body['error']['code']}: {body['error']['message']}")
data, page, meta = body["data"], body["page"], body["meta"]
print(data, meta["credits_charged"])require "json"
require "net/http"
uri = URI("https://socialtap.dev/v1/youtube/comments")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form('sort' => 'newest', 'url' => 'jNQXAC9IVRw')
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["x-api-key"] = ENV.fetch("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY")
res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.host, uri.port, use_ssl: uri.scheme == "https") { |http| http.request(req) }
body = JSON.parse(res.body)
raise "#{body["error"]["code"]}: #{body["error"]["message"]}" unless res.is_a?(Net::HTTPSuccess)
pp body["data"]
puts body["meta"]["credits_charged"]<?php
$query = http_build_query([
'sort' => 'newest',
'url' => 'jNQXAC9IVRw',
]);
$ch = curl_init('https://socialtap.dev/v1/youtube/comments?' . $query);
curl_setopt_array($ch, [
CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => ['x-api-key: ' . getenv('SOCIALTAP_API_KEY')],
]);
$body = json_decode(curl_exec($ch), true);
if (curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_RESPONSE_CODE) >= 400) {
throw new RuntimeException($body['error']['code'] . ': ' . $body['error']['message']);
}
print_r($body['data']);
echo $body['meta']['credits_charged'], PHP_EOL;package main
import (
"encoding/json"
"fmt"
"log"
"net/http"
"net/url"
"os"
)
func main() {
q := url.Values{}
q.Set("sort", "newest")
q.Set("url", "jNQXAC9IVRw")
req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://socialtap.dev/v1/youtube/comments?"+q.Encode(), nil)
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
req.Header.Set("x-api-key", os.Getenv("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"))
res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
defer res.Body.Close()
var body struct {
Data json.RawMessage `json:"data"`
Page json.RawMessage `json:"page"`
Meta map[string]any `json:"meta"`
Error *struct {
Code string `json:"code"`
Message string `json:"message"`
} `json:"error"`
}
if err := json.NewDecoder(res.Body).Decode(&body); err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
if body.Error != nil {
log.Fatalf("%s: %s", body.Error.Code, body.Error.Message)
}
fmt.Println(string(body.Data), body.Meta["credits_charged"])
}curl 'https://socialtap.dev/v1/youtube/comments?sort=newest&url=jNQXAC9IVRw' \
-H "x-api-key: $SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"{
"data": [
{
"approximate_fields": [
"published_at",
"metrics.like_count",
"metrics.reply_count"
],
"author": {
"avatar_url": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/i8RqA9tYqbbnOi4mlnYEY7IR3kXAoDqQbM_5Sfzw7OjTubiGsOaTdlrIZmj-I0q0Vup68eqs=s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
"display_name": null,
"id": "UCC5NfQ6Mf0dq_eEwv4P_hWA",
"is_verified": true,
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC5NfQ6Mf0dq_eEwv4P_hWA",
"username": "SanDiegoZoo"
},
"edited_at": null,
"id": "UgzuC3zzpRZkjc5Qzsd4AaABAg",
"is_by_post_author": false,
"is_edited": false,
"is_liked_by_author": true,
"is_pinned": true,
"metrics": {
"like_count": 4800000,
"reply_count": 1000
},
"parent_id": null,
"platform": "youtube",
"platform_specific": {},
"post_id": "jNQXAC9IVRw",
"published_at": "2020-10-26T18:59:19Z",
"text": "We're so honored that the first ever YouTube video was filmed here!",
"unknown_fields": [],
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw&lc=UgzuC3zzpRZkjc5Qzsd4AaABAg"
},
{
"approximate_fields": [
"published_at"
],
"author": {
"avatar_url": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/U9zdJRwdpo6WwsenxMf6AyMyRMBTWoKsyAWCnJXdbPbNKh-YNEWP3AQRgFto91lckyGCBYENnaw=s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
"display_name": null,
"id": "UCjoZE_5A9tO470CK3G6U7dg",
"is_verified": false,
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjoZE_5A9tO470CK3G6U7dg",
"username": "CTwGary"
},
"edited_at": null,
"id": "UgxHbErLhWMUy5GlFnp4AaABAg",
"is_by_post_author": false,
"is_edited": false,
"is_liked_by_author": false,
"is_pinned": false,
"metrics": {
"like_count": 0,
"reply_count": 0
},
"parent_id": null,
"platform": "youtube",
"platform_specific": {},
"post_id": "jNQXAC9IVRw",
"published_at": "2026-10-26T18:58:19Z",
"text": "I can’t believe it, but it’s 21 years old now",
"unknown_fields": [],
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw&lc=UgxHbErLhWMUy5GlFnp4AaABAg"
},
{
"approximate_fields": [
"published_at"
],
"author": {
"avatar_url": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/Ar50xvd1O4GCXVttK6DgX0Y0cuhBl2b_HUFQjh-gajKbmS-qjuNAHOT5fw_RX_DS5gzfphkcKAI=s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
"display_name": null,
"id": "UCFgjcRO4y8XFQL7E8_TcLlg",
"is_verified": false,
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFgjcRO4y8XFQL7E8_TcLlg",
"username": "Nihal-poke"
},
"edited_at": null,
"id": "UgzLOxwwIAUe0jUI4RR4AaABAg",
"is_by_post_author": false,
"is_edited": false,
"is_liked_by_author": false,
"is_pinned": false,
"metrics": {
"like_count": 0,
"reply_count": 0
},
"parent_id": null,
"platform": "youtube",
"platform_specific": {},
"post_id": "jNQXAC9IVRw",
"published_at": "2026-10-26T18:58:19Z",
"text": "I watch this video many times 😭",
"unknown_fields": [],
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw&lc=UgzLOxwwIAUe0jUI4RR4AaABAg"
}
],
"page": {
"has_more": true,
"next_cursor": "c1.EXAMPLE_CURSOR",
"next_cursor_expires_at": "2026-10-26T12:00:00Z",
"end_reason": null
},
"meta": {
"request_id": "req_3f9c2a7d1e8b4c6a9f0e2d4b6a8c0e1f",
"platform": "youtube",
"source": "api",
"is_cached": false,
"credits_charged": 1,
"latency_ms": 316,
"fetched_at": "2026-10-25T12:00:00Z",
"input": {
"kind": "video",
"id": "jNQXAC9IVRw",
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"
},
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"client_request_id": null,
"warnings": []
}
}import { SocialTap } from "socialtap";
const client = new SocialTap(); // apiKey defaults to process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY
const res = await client.youtube.comments.list({ url: "jNQXAC9IVRw", sort: "newest" });
console.log(res.data);
console.log(res.credits.charged, res.meta.request_id);import java.net.URI;
import java.net.URLEncoder;
import java.net.http.HttpClient;
import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
import java.net.http.HttpResponse;
import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
String query = "sort=" + encode("newest")
+ "&url=" + encode("jNQXAC9IVRw");
HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
.uri(URI.create("https://socialtap.dev/v1/youtube/comments?" + query))
.header("x-api-key", System.getenv("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"))
.GET()
.build();
HttpResponse<String> response = HttpClient.newHttpClient()
.send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());
// An error is {"error": {"code", "message", ...}}; success is {data, meta}, meta.credits_charged its price.
if (response.statusCode() >= 400) throw new RuntimeException(response.body());
System.out.println(response.body());
}
static String encode(String value) {
return URLEncoder.encode(value, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
}
}using System.Text.Json;
using var http = new HttpClient();
http.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("x-api-key", Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"));
var query = string.Join("&",
"sort=" + Uri.EscapeDataString("newest"),
"url=" + Uri.EscapeDataString("jNQXAC9IVRw"));
var res = await http.GetAsync("https://socialtap.dev/v1/youtube/comments?" + query);
using var body = JsonDocument.Parse(await res.Content.ReadAsStringAsync());
if (!res.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
var error = body.RootElement.GetProperty("error");
throw new Exception($"{error.GetProperty("code")}: {error.GetProperty("message")}");
}
Console.WriteLine(body.RootElement.GetProperty("data"));
Console.WriteLine(body.RootElement.GetProperty("meta").GetProperty("credits_charged"));// Cargo.toml: reqwest = { version = "0.12", features = ["blocking", "json"] }, serde_json = "1"
use std::env;
fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
let res = reqwest::blocking::Client::new()
.get("https://socialtap.dev/v1/youtube/comments")
.query(&[("sort", "newest"), ("url", "jNQXAC9IVRw")])
.header("x-api-key", env::var("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY")?)
.send()?;
let ok = res.status().is_success();
let body: serde_json::Value = res.json()?;
if !ok {
return Err(format!("{}: {}", body["error"]["code"], body["error"]["message"]).into());
}
println!("{} {}", body["data"], body["meta"]["credits_charged"]);
Ok(())
}200 OK · GET https://socialtap.dev/v1/youtube/commentsLong arrays and strings are shortened here. Real responses are complete.Docs One schema on 9 platforms.
The response reference lists every field, its type and when it is null. See the full schema.
Null means unknown
A field YouTube doesn't show is null, never zero or an empty string, so a real zero always means zero.
What it accepts
YouTube video URL (watch, youtu.be, shorts, live, embed, m./music. hosts) or an 11-character video ID.
Write one parser
YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and 6 more platforms answer in these fields, so the code that reads one reads them all.
platformstring- Platform ID (tiktok, youtube, …).
idstring- Platform-native comment ID (string; Reddit with its t1_ prefix).
post_idstring- ID of the post commented on (equals post.id).
parent_idstring- ID of the comment this replies to; null for top-level comments.
urlstring- Permalink, when the platform has one.
textstring- Comment body as plain text.
authorobject- The commenting account. An account the platform no longer names (a deleted account) has a null id and username and the platform's label as display_name (Reddit: [deleted]).
published_atstring- When the comment was posted, RFC 3339 UTC. Where the platform shows only a relative time ("3 weeks ago"), the latest time that label allows (the fetch time minus the stated amount), listed in approximate_fields.
Live data from 33 platforms.
What teams build with the YouTube Comments API.
Track sentiment on your videos and competitors'
Monitor new comments since a date
Find questions and feedback to answer
Build comment datasets for research
Good to know before you build.
- YouTube shows comment times as relative labels ("3 weeks ago"). published_at is the latest time the label allows and is listed in approximate_fields, so since and until are approximate to the label's unit.
- YouTube rounds like and reply counts above a thousand ("4.8K"), and approximate_fields lists them.
- Comments show the author's @handle, and author.display_name is null.
- The newest order includes comments YouTube's Top ranking holds back as potential spam.
- Videos with comments turned off and private videos return private_or_unavailable, and deleted videos not_found.
- Replies are not included. metrics.reply_count says how many a comment has.
1 credit per page. Failed requests are free.
Buy credits once and spend them on any endpoint, on any platform.
| Source | Price per successful page | Per 1,000 pages |
|---|---|---|
Platform API api | 1 credit | $0.75–$1.97 |
- Cache hits are free.
- Credits from packs and top-ups never expire.
- A monthly plan's credits are spent first, and what is left of them ends at each renewal.
- Prices exclude tax: sales tax is added at checkout where it applies.
- Outside the US, plans and packs are sold to businesses: checkout asks for your VAT, GST or other business tax ID.
Questions about the YouTube Comments API.
More in the API reference.
How much does the YouTube Comments API cost?
How do I get the next page?
Try it on a link you already have.
Paste it in the playground, or copy the request into your code.
- No credit card
- Failed requests are free
- Works on all 218 endpoints