Best YouTube Shorts Comments APIs in 2025

Building applications that extract comments from YouTube Shorts? You've likely discovered that handling this reliably at scale presents unique challenges. Shorts use different UI patterns than regular videos, employ sophisticated anti-scraping measures, and require specialized parsing logic for their mobile-first interface.

This is where dedicated YouTube Shorts comments APIs become essential. Instead of wrestling with headless browsers and maintaining fragile scrapers, you get consistent, structured comment data through straightforward API calls.

Let's explore the leading YouTube Shorts comments APIs in 2025 to help you make the right choice.

1. SocialKit YouTube Shorts Comments API

Full transparency - I'm leading with our solution because SocialKit's YouTube Comments API was specifically designed to handle the complexities of extracting comment data from both YouTube Shorts and regular videos.

Key Features:

• Native Shorts support: Automatically detects and processes YouTube Shorts comments
• Works with regular videos too: Single API for all YouTube content types
• Smart sorting options: Retrieve comments by top (highest engagement) or new (chronological)
• Complete metadata: Author names, profile images, like counts, reply counts, and timestamps
• High-volume extraction: Pull up to 100 comments per API request
• Enterprise reliability: Automatic retry logic and comprehensive error handling
• Developer-friendly JSON: Clean, consistent response structure
• Full YouTube suite: Integrates with our YouTube Transcript API, YouTube Summarizer API, and YouTube Stats API
• Live data: Comments pulled directly from YouTube in real-time

Try it free: YouTube Comments Analyzer Tool

Pricing:

• Free tier: 20 API requests monthly
• Basic: $13/month for 2,000 requests (~$6.5 per 1,000)
• Pro: $27/month for 10,000 requests
• Growth: $39/month for 20,000 requests
• Ultimate: $79/month for 50,000 requests

Best for: Developers building engagement analysis tools, content creators monitoring Short performance, social media managers tracking audience sentiment, and researchers analyzing short-form video discussions.

2. ScrapeCreators.com

ScrapeCreators provides a comprehensive social media API platform emphasizing metrics and analytics. Their YouTube Shorts comments capability fits into their broader multi-platform offering.

Key Features:

• Cross-platform support: YouTube Shorts comments alongside Instagram, TikTok, etc.
• Metrics-focused: Built for data-driven social media analysis
• Flexible billing: Pay-per-use model without monthly contracts
• Multi-network coverage: Extract data from various social platforms
• Analytics integration: Designed for comprehensive social insights

Pricing:

• Free trial: 100 credits (one-time offer)
• Pay-per-use: $10 buys 5,000 credits (no subscription)

Pros:

• Commitment-free pay-per-use pricing
• Useful for multi-platform social media projects
• Strong focus on analytics and metrics
• Flexible usage without monthly fees

Best for: Social media teams requiring cross-platform data extraction with sporadic YouTube Shorts comment needs.

3. BrightData

BrightData operates as a massive web scraping and proxy infrastructure provider. Their YouTube Shorts comments API represents just one feature in their extensive data collection platform - though YouTube isn't their specialty, which reflects in their pricing structure.

Key Features:

• Enterprise-scale infrastructure: Built on large-scale scraping operations
• Broad data offering: YouTube Shorts comments among hundreds of data sources
• Extensive proxy networks: Backed by global infrastructure
• Multiple format options: Various output formats available

Pricing: (Significantly expensive)

• 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% discount available with code: APIS25

Pros:

• Proven enterprise infrastructure
• Comprehensive data platform
• Multiple tiers for scaling needs

Cons:

• Extremely costly relative to specialized alternatives
• YouTube Shorts not their core focus
• Steep minimum commitments for better rates
• Unnecessary for most Shorts comment use cases

Best for: Enterprise organizations requiring YouTube Shorts comments as part of massive multi-source data operations with substantial budgets.

Pricing Breakdown

*Based on $10 for 5,000 credits calculation

Feature Comparison

Which API Should You Choose?

For Developers and Growing Projects

Choose SocialKit when you need:

• Reliable YouTube Shorts comment extraction at scale
• Support for both Shorts and regular videos
• Flexible sorting (top comments vs newest comments)
• Complete YouTube API ecosystem (transcripts, summaries, stats)
• Affordable pricing with recurring free tier
• Dedicated support for YouTube-specific issues
• Try it free: YouTube Comments Analyzer

For Small Multi-Platform Projects

Consider ScrapeCreators when you need:

• Social media APIs across multiple platforms
• Pay-as-you-go flexibility
• Social media analytics emphasis
• Occasional Shorts comment extraction

For Enterprise (Large Budgets Only)

BrightData might work when you have:

• Massive data requirements spanning many sources
• Enterprise budgets ($1000+ monthly minimums)
• Need for extensive web scraping beyond social platforms
• Established enterprise data provider relationships

Getting Started

The smart approach is testing with your real-world data. Here's your roadmap:

1. Test the Free Options

Leverage free tiers to validate data quality and reliability with your actual YouTube Shorts URLs.

2. Match Your Volume

• Low volume (< 1,000/month): SocialKit free tier or ScrapeCreators pay-per-use
• Medium volume (1,000-10,000/month): SocialKit Basic or Pro plans
• High volume (10,000+/month): SocialKit Growth, Ultimate, or custom enterprise

3. Validate Comment Quality

Different APIs extract different metadata. Verify:

• Reply count accuracy
• Profile image availability
• Sorting functionality (top vs chronological)
• YouTube Shorts specific compatibility

DIY Approach: Build Your Own Scraper

Want to understand how YouTube Shorts comment extraction works under the hood? Check our detailed guides:

• How to Scrape YouTube Shorts Comments With Puppeteer: Complete walkthrough for Shorts-specific extraction
• How to Scrape YouTube Comments With Puppeteer: Comprehensive guide for regular videos
• SocialKit YouTube Comments API Introduction: Deep dive into API capabilities

These tutorials cover everything from setup to advanced patterns like infinite scrolling, dynamic loading, and bypassing anti-bot detection.

Ready to Extract YouTube Shorts Comments?

Start with free tiers and test with your actual Shorts URLs. Most developers discover that specialized YouTube APIs like SocialKit deliver superior value and reliability compared to general-purpose scraping platforms.

Want to try SocialKit's YouTube Shorts Comments API? Get started with 20 free monthly requests. No credit card required.

Complete YouTube & YouTube Shorts Toolkit

Explore our full suite of YouTube Shorts APIs:

• YouTube Comments API: Extract and analyze Shorts comments
• YouTube Transcript API: Get timestamped Shorts transcripts
• YouTube Summarizer API: AI-powered Shorts summaries
• YouTube Stats API: Access Shorts engagement metrics

Free Tools

Try before you integrate:

• YouTube Comments Analyzer: Analyze Shorts comments for free
• YouTube Video Summarizer: Free Shorts summarizer
• YouTube Transcript Extractor: Free transcript extraction

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