# YouTube Channel Scraper - Stats and Video List (`parseforge/youtube-channel-scraper`) Actor

Scrape YouTube channels by URL, @handle or channel ID. Returns subscribers, total views, video count, join date, country, description, links and verification, plus the latest uploads with title, views, duration and publish date. No API key needed. Export to CSV, Excel, JSON or XML.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/youtube-channel-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, Social media, Lead generation
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 17 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.50 / 1,000 result items

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)

### YouTube Channel Scraper - Stats and Video List

**Scrape YouTube channels by URL, @handle or channel ID.** Each channel comes back as one row with its subscriber count, total views, video count, join date, country, description, links and verification badge, plus a list of its latest uploads with title, views, duration and publish date. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel or XML.

The official YouTube Data API needs a Google Cloud project, an API key and a daily quota. This Actor reads the same public channel data that youtube.com shows, so there is nothing to register.

| Who uses it | What they get from it |
|---|---|
| Influencer marketers | Subscriber counts, verification, country and business-email availability for a creator shortlist. |
| Content strategists | The latest uploads of competitor channels, with views and publish dates, to see what is working now. |
| Analysts | Total views, video counts and average views per video across many channels, tracked run after run. |
| Data journalists | Channel metadata and upload history for stories on creators and platform trends. |

### What it does

- 📊 **Channel stats:** subscribers (`subscribers`, plus the text YouTube shows in `subscriberCountText`), total views, video count, average views per video, join date and country.
- 🪪 **Channel profile:** name, @handle, channel ID, description, keywords, external links, avatar and banner images, RSS feed URL, verification badge, family-safe flag and whether a business email is available.
- 📹 **Latest videos:** up to 100 recent uploads per channel in the `videos` list (30 by default), each with `videoId`, `title`, `videoUrl`, `viewCount`, `viewCountText`, `publishedTimeText`, `publishedDate`, `durationSeconds`, `durationText` and `thumbnailUrl`.
- 🔗 **Any channel format:** `https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast`, `@MrBeast`, `https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA`, a bare `UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA`, and legacy `/c/` and `/user/` links. Two inputs that point to the same channel are returned and charged once.

Each row has 30 fields. Channels that fail (for example a handle that does not exist) come back as a row with an `error` message and are not charged.

### Good to know about the numbers

- **Subscribers are rounded by YouTube.** YouTube shows "518M subscribers" to everyone, so `subscribers` is 518,000,000. Nobody outside the channel can see the exact figure.
- **Total views and video count are exact**, as shown on the channel's About panel.
- **Video views and dates:** the newest uploads (about 15, from the channel RSS feed) get exact view counts and exact publish timestamps (`publishedDateIsApproximate: false`). Older uploads carry the rounded view count YouTube displays ("4.2 million views") and a date worked out from "3 months ago" (`publishedDateIsApproximate: true`).
- **The video list covers regular uploads** (the channel's Videos tab), not Shorts or live streams.

### Configure the run

| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| `startUrls` | Channel URLs, @handles or channel IDs, one per line. |
| `maxItems` | Maximum number of channels in the run (one row per channel). |
| `maxVideosPerChannel` | How many of the latest uploads to include per channel, 0 to 100. Default 30. Set 0 for channel stats only. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | Apify datacenter proxy by default, which works for YouTube. |

Example input:

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
    "@mkbhd",
    "UCsXVk37bltHxD1rDPwtNM8Q"
  ],
  "maxVideosPerChannel": 30
}
```

Example row (shortened, with one of the 30 videos):

```json
{
  "type": "channel",
  "channelName": "MrBeast",
  "handle": "@MrBeast",
  "channelId": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
  "isVerified": true,
  "subscribers": 518000000,
  "subscriberCountText": "518M subscribers",
  "totalViews": 140853133713,
  "videoCount": 1003,
  "avgViewsPerVideo": 140431838,
  "country": "United States",
  "joinedDate": "2012-02-19",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
  "videosCollected": 30,
  "videos": [
    {
      "videoId": "v9QtM6qnG50",
      "title": "I Built A City To Save Kids From Illegal Labor",
      "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9QtM6qnG50",
      "viewCount": 65695011,
      "viewCountText": "65 million views",
      "publishedTimeText": "6 days ago",
      "publishedDate": "2026-09-19T16:00:01.000Z",
      "publishedDateIsApproximate": false,
      "durationSeconds": 1143,
      "durationText": "19:03"
    }
  ],
  "error": null
}
```

### Pricing

Pay per channel: one result is one channel row, including its video list. There is no start fee, and failed channels are not charged.

| Apify plan | Price per 1,000 channels |
|---|---|
| Free | $1.30 |
| Bronze | $1.00 |
| Silver | $0.80 |
| Gold and above | $0.50 |

For example, 100 channels with 30 videos each cost $0.13 on the Free plan. Platform usage is included in the price. New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

### Free users

Free-plan runs are capped at 100 channels per run. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to remove the cap.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [YouTube Channel Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/youtube-channel-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Paste your channels into **YouTube channels** and 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 YouTube channel data 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/youtube-channel-scraper"
```

Then ask it in plain language to look up a list of channels.

### Next step

Every row carries the channel's `handle` and the `videoUrl` and `videoId` of each video in `videos`, so the other ParseForge YouTube Actors can take it from here:

- [YouTube Scraper - Search, Channels and Playlists](https://apify.com/parseforge/youtube-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp): put the `channelUrl` column in `startUrls` to collect more than the latest 100 uploads of a channel, or search YouTube by keyword.
- [YouTube Comments Scraper - Replies and Likes](https://apify.com/parseforge/youtube-comments-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp): put the `videoUrl` values from `videos` in `startUrls` to get the comments on each video.
- [YouTube Transcript Scraper - Timestamps, SRT and Metadata](https://apify.com/parseforge/youtube-transcript-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp): put the `videoUrl` values from `videos` in `startUrls`, or the `videoId` values in `videoIds`, to get the captions of each video.
- [YouTube Shorts Scraper - 35 Fields Per Short](https://apify.com/parseforge/youtube-shorts-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp): put the `channelUrl` column in `channels` to get the channel's Shorts, which this Actor does not list. Use the `@handle` links: the Shorts Scraper does not read `/channel/UC...` links yet, and `channelUrl` is only a `/channel/` link for the rare channel without a handle.

### Troubleshooting

**A channel came back with "Channel not found or unavailable".**

The handle or ID does not exist, or the channel was removed or terminated. Open the link in a browser to check. Handles are the part after `@` in the channel URL, which is not always the channel's display name.

**`videos` is empty for a channel.**

The channel has no regular uploads (only Shorts or live streams), or `maxVideosPerChannel` is 0.

**Why does a video have `publishedDateIsApproximate: true`?**

YouTube shows older uploads as "3 months ago" on the channel page. The date is worked out from that text. The newest uploads get their exact date from the channel RSS feed.

**The run ended as FAILED.**

That happens only when every channel in the run failed, so the problem is visible instead of hiding behind a green status. The dataset still holds one row per channel with the `error` message, and nothing was charged.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need a YouTube API key? | No. The Actor reads public channel data, so no API key or OAuth is needed. |
| Which channel formats are supported? | `@handle`, `/@handle` URLs, `/channel/UC...` URLs, bare `UC...` IDs, and legacy `/c/` and `/user/` URLs. |
| How many videos per channel? | Up to 100 of the latest uploads, set with `maxVideosPerChannel`. For a channel's full history use YouTube Scraper. |
| Is the subscriber count exact? | It is the figure YouTube displays, which YouTube rounds (for example 21.3M). |
| Do private or unlisted videos appear? | No. Only public uploads on the channel's Videos tab. |
| Am I charged for channels that fail? | No. Error rows are free, and a duplicate of a channel already in the run is skipped. |
| Can I export to Google Sheets? | Yes, through Apify's Google Sheets integration, or download a CSV and import it. |

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 YouTube (Google 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

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Channel URLs, @handles or channel IDs, one per line. Accepted: https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast, @MrBeast, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA, UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA, and legacy /c/ and /user/ links. Each channel becomes one result row.

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

How many channels to scrape in this run (one result row per channel). Free-plan runs are capped at 100.

## `maxVideosPerChannel` (type: `integer`):

How many of the latest uploads to include in each channel row (the videos list), up to 100. Set 0 to get channel stats only. The latest ~15 uploads get exact publish dates and view counts from the channel RSS feed; older ones carry YouTube rounded view counts and approximate dates.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings. The default Apify datacenter proxy works for YouTube; change it only if you see blocks.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@PewDiePie",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@tseries",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@cocomelon",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@SETIndia",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@KidsDianaShow",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@LikeNastyaofficial",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@5minutecraftsyoutube",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@zeemusiccompany",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@justinbieber",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@edsheeran",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@BLACKPINK",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@arianagrande",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@taylorswift",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@eminem",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@marvel",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@warnerbros",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@NetflixFamily",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@kurzgesagt",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@Linustechtips",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@unboxtherapy",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@mrwhosetheboss",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@TheVerge",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@BuzzFeedVideo",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@Vox",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@NASA"
  ],
  "maxItems": 10,
  "maxVideosPerChannel": 30,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

# 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 = {
    "startUrls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@PewDiePie",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@tseries",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@cocomelon",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@SETIndia",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@KidsDianaShow",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@LikeNastyaofficial",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@5minutecraftsyoutube",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@zeemusiccompany",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@justinbieber",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@edsheeran",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@BLACKPINK",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@arianagrande",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@taylorswift",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@eminem",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@marvel",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@warnerbros",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@NetflixFamily",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@kurzgesagt",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@Linustechtips",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@unboxtherapy",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@mrwhosetheboss",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@TheVerge",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@BuzzFeedVideo",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@Vox",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@NASA"
    ],
    "maxItems": 10,
    "maxVideosPerChannel": 30,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/youtube-channel-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 = {
    "startUrls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@PewDiePie",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@tseries",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@cocomelon",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@SETIndia",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@KidsDianaShow",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@LikeNastyaofficial",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@5minutecraftsyoutube",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@zeemusiccompany",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@justinbieber",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@edsheeran",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@BLACKPINK",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@arianagrande",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@taylorswift",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@eminem",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@marvel",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@warnerbros",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@NetflixFamily",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@kurzgesagt",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@Linustechtips",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@unboxtherapy",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@mrwhosetheboss",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@TheVerge",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@BuzzFeedVideo",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@Vox",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@NASA",
    ],
    "maxItems": 10,
    "maxVideosPerChannel": 30,
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/youtube-channel-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 '{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@PewDiePie",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@tseries",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@cocomelon",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@SETIndia",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@KidsDianaShow",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@LikeNastyaofficial",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@5minutecraftsyoutube",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@zeemusiccompany",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@justinbieber",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@edsheeran",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@BLACKPINK",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@arianagrande",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@taylorswift",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@eminem",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@marvel",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@warnerbros",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@NetflixFamily",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@kurzgesagt",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@Linustechtips",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@unboxtherapy",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@mrwhosetheboss",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@TheVerge",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@BuzzFeedVideo",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@Vox",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@NASA"
  ],
  "maxItems": 10,
  "maxVideosPerChannel": 30,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call parseforge/youtube-channel-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/youtube-channel-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/f49R2bhMlJeY4ndbJ/builds/lFpFhcSMIzFZzYVIF/openapi.json