Best YouTube Comments APIs in 2025

If you're building applications that need to extract comments from YouTube videos, you've probably realized that managing this reliably at scale is more complex than it appears. YouTube's dynamic interface, anti-bot measures, and the need to handle both regular videos and YouTube Shorts adds significant complexity.

That's where YouTube video comments APIs and YouTube Shorts comments APIs come in. Instead of managing headless browsers and building your own scraper, you can get reliable, structured comment data through simple API requests.

Let's dive into the top YouTube comments APIs in 2025 and find the perfect fit for your project.

1. SocialKit YouTube Comments API

I'll be upfront - I'm starting with our own API because I built SocialKit's YouTube Comments API to solve the exact pain points developers face when extracting YouTube comment data.

Key Features:

• YouTube & YouTube Shorts support: Seamlessly handles both regular videos and Shorts
• Flexible sorting: Get comments by top (most popular) or new (most recent)
• Rich metadata: Author details, avatars, likes, reply counts, and positioning
• High volume support: Extract up to 100 comments per request
• High reliability: Built-in retry logic and robust error handling
• Clean JSON responses: Well-structured data that's developer-friendly
• Comprehensive ecosystem: Works alongside our YouTube Transcript API, YouTube Summarizer API, and YouTube Details API
• Real-time data: Comments retrieved directly from YouTube

Pricing:

• Free tier: 20 requests per month
• Starter: $13/month for 2,000 requests ($6.5 per 1,000 requests)
• Scale: Higher volume plans available

Best for: Developers building comment analysis tools, community managers monitoring engagement, researchers conducting sentiment analysis, and businesses tracking competitor discussions.

2. ScrapeCreators.com

ScrapeCreators offers a comprehensive suite of social media APIs with a focus on analytics and metrics. Their YouTube comments API is part of a broader social media data extraction platform.

Key Features:

• Multi-platform approach: YouTube comments alongside other social media APIs
• Analytics focus: Strong emphasis on metrics and engagement data
• Pay-per-use flexibility: No monthly commitments required
• Various social platforms: Broader social media data extraction capabilities
• Stats integration: Good for comprehensive social media analytics

Pricing:

• Free trial: 100 credits (one-time, not monthly)
• Pay-per-use: $10 for 5,000 credits (no monthly subscription required)

Pros:

• No monthly commitments with pay-per-use model
• Good for projects needing multiple social media APIs
• Focus on comprehensive social media analytics
• Flexible pricing structure

Best for: Businesses needing social media analytics across multiple platforms with occasional comment extraction needs.

3. BrightData

BrightData is primarily known as a web scraping and proxy service provider, but they've expanded into structured data APIs. Their YouTube comments API is part of a much larger web scraping infrastructure - YouTube comments isn't their main focus, and this shows in their pricing.

Key Features:

• Enterprise infrastructure: Built on large-scale web scraping platform
• Part of broader offering: YouTube comments is one of many data sources
• Established infrastructure: Backed by extensive proxy networks
• Various data formats: Multiple output options available

Pricing: (They're expensive as hell)

• Pay as you go: $1.5 per 1,000 records
• Growth: $1.3 → $0.98 per 1,000 records ($499/month minimum)
• Business: $1.1 → $0.83 per 1,000 records ($999/month minimum)
• Premium: $1.0 → $0.75 per 1,000 records ($1,999/month minimum)

Note: 25% OFF with coupon code: APIS25

Pros:

• Established enterprise infrastructure
• Part of comprehensive data platform
• Multiple pricing tiers for different scales

Cons:

• Extremely expensive compared to specialized solutions
• YouTube comments is not their primary focus
• High minimum commitments on better-priced plans
• Overkill for most comment extraction needs

Best for: Large enterprises that need YouTube comments as part of massive, multi-source data operations and have substantial budgets.

Pricing Comparison

*Calculated based on $10 for 5,000 credits

Feature Comparison

Use Case Recommendations

For Developers and Startups

Choose SocialKit if you need:

• Reliable, high-volume comment extraction
• Both YouTube and YouTube Shorts support
• Flexible sorting options (top/new comments)
• Additional YouTube APIs (transcripts, summaries)
• Reasonable pricing with monthly free tier
• Dedicated YouTube API support

For Small Projects with Mixed Needs

Consider ScrapeCreators if you need:

• Multiple social media APIs beyond YouTube
• Pay-per-use flexibility without commitments
• Focus on social media analytics
• Occasional comment extraction needs

For Large Enterprises (Budget No Object)

BrightData might work if you have:

• Massive data needs across multiple sources
• Enterprise-level budgets ($1000+ monthly minimums)
• Need for comprehensive web scraping beyond social media
• Existing relationships with enterprise data providers

Getting Started with YouTube Comments

The best way to choose is to test with your actual use case. Here's how to get started:

1. Try the Free Tiers

Most APIs offer some form of trial. Test with your actual YouTube URLs to see which provides the best data quality and reliability.

2. Consider Your Volume

• Low volume (< 1,000/month): SocialKit's free tier or ScrapeCreators pay-per-use
• Medium volume (1,000-10,000/month): SocialKit subscription plans
• High volume (10,000+/month): SocialKit scale plans or enterprise solutions

3. Test Comment Quality

Not all APIs extract the same metadata. Test for:

• Reply counts accuracy
• Avatar URL availability
• Sorting functionality (top vs new)
• YouTube Shorts compatibility

Learn More: DIY YouTube Comments Extraction

If you want to understand how YouTube comments extraction works under the hood, check out our detailed tutorials:

• How to Scrape YouTube Comments With Puppeteer: Complete guide for regular YouTube videos
• How to Scrape YouTube Shorts Comments With Puppeteer: Specialized approach for YouTube Shorts
• SocialKit YouTube Comments API Introduction: Deep dive into our API features

Ready to Extract YouTube Comments?

Start with the free tiers and test with your actual data. Most developers find that specialized YouTube APIs like SocialKit provide better value and reliability than general-purpose scraping services.

If you want to try SocialKit's YouTube Comments API, you can get started with 20 free requests per month. No credit card required.

Want to Learn How to Scrape YouTube Comments?

If you prefer to build your own solution or want to understand how comment extraction works, check out our step-by-step tutorials:

• How to Scrape YouTube Comments With Puppeteer: Complete guide for extracting comments from regular YouTube videos with sorting, scrolling, and metadata extraction
• How to Scrape YouTube Shorts Comments With Puppeteer: Specialized approach for YouTube Shorts with dynamic loading and mobile-optimized selectors

These tutorials cover everything from basic setup to advanced techniques like infinite scrolling, comment sorting, and handling YouTube's anti-bot measures.

Complete YouTube Data Suite

YouTube Comments API: Extract comments with sorting and metadata

YouTube Transcript API: Get timestamped video transcripts

YouTube Summarizer API: AI-powered video summaries

Happy coding, and may your comment extraction be forever reliable! 🚀