📺YouTube scraper
YouTube Scraper API for Developers
Channels, videos, Shorts, comments, transcripts, and trending data via one API. No 10,000-quota-units-per-day cap. No OAuth dance. Transcripts included.
The official YouTube Data API v3 caps you at 10,000 quota units per day, and search alone costs 100 units per call (so you get 100 searches per day, total). It also does not return video transcripts at all. CreatorCrawl reads the same public YouTube data plus transcripts under simple pay-as-you-go credits. No quota math, no commercial review, no OAuth flow for read-only access.
What you get
No quota math
The official API gives you 10,000 units per day. Search costs 100 units, so you get 100 searches per day. CreatorCrawl charges 1 credit per call. The Starter tier (5,000 credits, $29) is 50 days of YouTube searches at the official rate.
Transcripts the official API does not have
YouTube Data API v3 does not expose video transcripts at all. CreatorCrawl returns plain-text transcripts and timestamped segments for any video with captions.
Channel, video, comment, search, and trending data
Pull channel stats, channel videos, channel Shorts, video metadata, video comments, playlists, search results, and trending Shorts. Ten endpoints covering 95% of YouTube read use cases.
Native MCP for AI agents
Every YouTube endpoint is exposed as an MCP tool. Your Claude or Cursor agent reads YouTube channels and transcripts in natural language without writing HTTP code.
Code example
Pass your API key in the x-api-key header. Get structured JSON back.
# Get a YouTube channel
curl "https://creatorcrawl.com/api/youtube/channel?handle=mrbeast" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
# Get a video transcript
curl "https://creatorcrawl.com/api/youtube/video/transcript?url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
# Search YouTube
curl "https://creatorcrawl.com/api/youtube/search?query=tiktok+api+tutorial" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"How it works
Sign up for 250 free credits
No credit card required, no Google Cloud Console setup, no quota application. Your API key is generated instantly.
Pass a channel or video URL
Pass a YouTube URL or handle. Get back structured JSON in 2 seconds with channel stats, video metadata, or comment threads.
Get transcripts the official API hides
Pass a video URL to the transcript endpoint. Get the full plain-text transcript plus timestamped segments. Perfect for AI summarization and content repurposing.
Scale without quota math
No 10K-unit daily cap. No commercial review. Process tens of thousands of videos per hour with concurrent requests.
Endpoints
Every endpoint below is part of the CreatorCrawl YouTube API and is also exposed as a native MCP tool.
GETChannel/youtube/channelGETChannel Videos/youtube/channel/videosGETChannel Shorts/youtube/channel/shortsGETVideo/youtube/videoGETVideo Transcript/youtube/video/transcriptGETVideo Comments/youtube/video/commentsGETSearch/youtube/searchGETTrending Shorts/youtube/shorts/trendingFrequently asked questions
How is this different from the YouTube Data API v3?
The official API caps you at 10,000 quota units per day and search costs 100 units per call (so you get 100 searches per day, total). It does not return video transcripts. CreatorCrawl reads the same public data plus transcripts, with no quota math or daily cap, billed per call.
Can I get YouTube transcripts via the API?
Yes. CreatorCrawl returns plain-text transcripts plus timestamped segments for any video with captions. The official YouTube Data API does not expose transcripts at all, which is why projects building AI summarization or video indexing tooling end up using third-party scrapers.
Do I need OAuth or a Google Cloud project?
No. CreatorCrawl uses your CreatorCrawl API key. No Google OAuth flow, no Google Cloud Console setup, no quota application, no commercial review.
What about rate limits?
CreatorCrawl has no rate limits. Run as many concurrent requests as your application needs. Customers regularly process tens of thousands of YouTube URLs per hour.
Is scraping YouTube legal?
Reading publicly available YouTube data is generally considered legal. Specifics depend on jurisdiction and use case. Review YouTube Terms of Service and applicable copyright rules against your downstream use before going live.