# Goodreads Reviews Scraper (`parseforge/goodreads-reviews-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes Goodreads book reviews by book ID or direct URL. Returns each review as a flat row with reviewer name, star rating, full text, and date.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/goodreads-reviews-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, SEO tools
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 51 total users, 3 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 2 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars

## Pricing

from $8.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner-v4.webp)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### Goodreads Reviews Scraper

**Scrape Goodreads book reviews by book ID or direct URL, up to a million per run.** Every review returns the rating, reviewer name, full text, and date. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Goodreads has no official public API for reviews, and the retired API required developer keys and had strict limits. This actor reads the public review pages directly, filtered by star rating or sort order when you use a book ID, and returns each match in one fixed schema.

| Who uses it | What they scrape Goodreads for |
|---|---|
| Authors and publishers | Monitor reader sentiment and rating distributions for a new release. |
| Book marketers | Collect social proof quotes and identify influential reviewers for outreach. |
| Literary researchers | Analyze review language and trends across a genre or time period. |
| Data analysts | Build datasets of reader opinions for sentiment analysis or recommendation models. |

### What it does

This Actor collects Goodreads book reviews by book ID or direct URL and returns each one as a flat row.

- ⭐ **Rating filter:** pull only 1-star rants or 5-star raves by setting the rating field.
- 📅 **Sort control:** order reviews by default, rating, or date added when scraping by book ID.
- 🔗 **Direct URL mode:** paste any Goodreads reviews page URL and the actor follows its filters exactly.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

### What you can do with Goodreads data

**📈 Track reader sentiment over time.**

An author scrapes reviews for their latest book sorted by date added every month to see how reader opinions shift after launch.

**📚 Build a review dataset for analysis.**

A data scientist scrapes 50,000 reviews across a genre by book ID, filters for 1- and 5-star ratings, and trains a sentiment classifier on the text.

**📣 Find authentic quotes for marketing.**

A publisher scrapes 4- and 5-star reviews for a backlist title, filters by rating, and pulls compelling reader quotes for social media ads.

**🔍 Audit review authenticity.**

A researcher scrapes all reviews for a suspiciously popular book, sorts by date, and examines patterns in reviewer accounts and text similarity.

### Why choose this scraper

|  | What you get |
|---|---|
| **Reviewer name and profile URL** | Know who wrote each review and link back to their Goodreads profile. |
| **Star rating** | Quantitative sentiment at a glance, filterable before scraping. |
| **Full review text** | The complete body of the review, ready for NLP or manual reading. |
| **Review date** | Track how opinions change over time or focus on a specific period. |

### How it compares

This actor focuses exclusively on reviews with a clean input model, while other Goodreads scrapers on Apify often bundle books, ISBNs, or search into one tool.

| Feature | ParseForge | Goodreads Review Scraper 📚 | Goodreads Books, ISBN & Reviews Scraper API | 📚 Goodreads Book Scraper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scrapes reviews only | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| Filter reviews by star rating | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Sort reviews by date or rating | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Direct reviews URL input | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Scrapes book metadata | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | Yes |
| ISBN lookup | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | Not listed |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor from a book ID with optional rating and sort filters, or from a direct reviews URL, and filters run as each review is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "bookId": "4671"
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
  "maxItems": 200,
  "bookId": "4671"
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.012 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $1.20 |
| 1,000 results | $12.00 |
| 10,000 results | $120.00 |

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

### Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [Goodreads Reviews Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/goodreads-reviews-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) for JavaScript and Python.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Goodreads through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/goodreads-reviews-scraper"
```

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check that the book ID is correct and that the book has reviews. If you are using a rating filter, try removing it. Some books have no reviews at the selected star level. Also confirm you are not mixing book ID and start URL inputs.

**The actor returns fewer reviews than the max items I set.**

The actor stops when it runs out of review pages. If a book has only 200 reviews and you set max items to 500, you will get 200. This is expected behavior.

**I get an error when using a start URL.**

Make sure the URL points directly to a reviews page, like goodreads.com/book/show/4671.The_Great_Gatsby/reviews. A URL to the book's main page without /reviews will not work. Also, do not set bookId, sort, or rating when using startUrl.

**The sort or rating filter is not working.**

These filters only work when you provide a book ID. If you are using a start URL, the filters in the URL take precedence and the actor input fields for sort and rating are ignored.

**Some reviews are missing text.**

Goodreads allows ratings without text. If a user leaves a star rating but no written review, the review text field will be empty. This is not a scraping error.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need a Goodreads account or API key? | No. This actor reads the public review pages that anyone can view in a browser. No login, no API key, and no developer registration are required. |
| Can I scrape reviews from multiple books in one run? | One run handles one book ID or one direct URL. To scrape multiple books, run the actor once per book ID, either manually or by calling the API in a loop. |
| What is the difference between using a book ID and a start URL? | Book ID mode lets you set the sort order and rating filter in the actor input. Start URL mode follows whatever filters are already in the URL you paste, and the sort and rating inputs are ignored. |
| How do I find a Goodreads book ID? | Open the book's main page on Goodreads. The URL looks like goodreads.com/book/show/4671.The_Great_Gatsby. The number after /show/ is the book ID. For the example, it is 4671. |
| Can I filter reviews by language or spoiler tags? | The actor does not have built-in language or spoiler filters. You can apply those filters manually in a Goodreads URL and then use the start URL mode to scrape the pre-filtered page. |
| What format does the data export to? | You can export your dataset to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML directly from the Apify run detail page. |
| Is there a limit on how many reviews I can scrape? | Free accounts are limited to 10 reviews per run as a preview. Paid accounts can scrape up to 1,000,000 reviews per run. |
| Does this actor handle pagination automatically? | Yes. It follows the pagination links on the reviews page until it reaches your max items limit or there are no more pages. |
| Can I get the reviewer's follower count or other profile details? | This actor focuses on the review content itself: reviewer name, profile URL, rating, text, and date. It does not scrape the reviewer's full profile page. |
| What happens if Goodreads blocks my IP? | Apify runs on a pool of datacenter IPs and can use residential proxies if you configure them. If you encounter blocks, adding proxies in the actor's advanced settings usually resolves it. |

### Related actors

Browse the full [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) for more scrapers.

🆘 **Need help?** Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ **Disclaimer.** This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Goodreads, LLC. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrl` (type: `string`):

Goodreads book reviews URL to start scraping from. Use this for direct URL access. Cannot be used together with bookId, sort, or rating. When using startUrl, all filters must be included in the URL itself. Example: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4671.The_Great_Gatsby/reviews

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000

## `bookId` (type: `string`):

Goodreads book ID to scrape reviews from. Cannot be used together with startUrl. Example: 4671

## `sort` (type: `string`):

Sort reviews by: default (default order), rating (by rating), or date_added (by date). Only works with bookId, not with startUrl. Cannot be used together with startUrl.

## `rating` (type: `integer`):

Filter reviews by rating (1-5 stars). Only works with bookId, not with startUrl. Cannot be used together with startUrl.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrl": "https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4671.The_Great_Gatsby/reviews",
  "maxItems": 10,
  "bookId": "4671",
  "sort": "default"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

Overview view of reviews with key fields displayed in a table format

## `reviews` (type: `string`):

Complete dataset with all scraped reviews including book information, reviewer details, ratings, review text, and metadata

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 10,
    "bookId": "4671"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/goodreads-reviews-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "maxItems": 10,
    "bookId": "4671",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/goodreads-reviews-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "bookId": "4671"
}' |
apify call parseforge/goodreads-reviews-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/goodreads-reviews-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/DsoRI3DO67SLRJnYY/builds/9JwHcGRYzahkdn6xF/openapi.json