The Best YouTube Scrapers of 2025: Cheap & Premium

Is It Legal to Scrape YouTube?

It’s no secret that websites aren’t fond of web scrapers. There are numerous good reasons for that – they overload the servers, collect personal data and other valuable information.

In a nutshell, web scraping YouTube is legal. The same rules for automated data collection apply to any other website. You can scrape data that’s not behind a login and not a subject of intellectual property rights. There are more guidelines to consider, so it’s best to discuss a specific use case with a lawyer just to be sure you comply with them all.

How Does YouTube Identify Scrapers?

YouTube uses several methods to identify users and detect potential bots:

IP address monitoring: YouTube tracks the number of requests coming from a single IP address. If you exceed the allowed number, you’ll encounter YouTube Error 429, which can disrupt your scraper. Persistent requests can lead to your IP address being banned. To avoid this, assign a new IP address to each request so YouTube sees them as coming from different users. Also, poor IP quality can result in slower performance, higher rates of CAPTCHA challenges, or outright blocks, so it’s important to use high-quality proxies
User-Agent string analysis: The user-agent string, which is part of your browser fingerprint, is another way YouTube checks for bots. Scrapers often use outdated or generic user-agent strings, which can be easily flagged.
Behavior patterns. YouTube uses machine learning algorithms to analyze user behavior patterns, distinguishing between human and bot activity. For example, human browsing is more chaotic, while bots tend to follow more predictable patterns.
JavaScript execution: YouTube also monitors whether the browser executes JavaScript before loading the page. Automated scripts often bypass this step, signaling to the platform that the user may not be real.

Other factors that can reveal your identity include cookies and inconsistencies in browser parameters.

Types of YouTube Scrapers

YouTube is a popular web scraping target, so you won’t lack tools to choose from. The type of scraper you get depends on different factors such as price, difficulty setting up and using, or the scope of your project. Usually, they’re divided into:

No-code tools. If you don’t have web scraping skills, you can either use pre-made templates that work by simply clicking on elements or buy pre-scraped and maintained YouTube datasets. Usually, dedicated YouTube scrapers are ideal for smaller tasks, but they are less customizable.
Web scraping API or proxy APIs are third-party tools that take care of most of the web scraping process. You simply send a request to the API with a few lines of code, and while it opens and extracts information, it also handles proxies and unblocking mechanisms. Most providers offer different pricing plans, so you can easily scale up or down when needed. The major difference between web scraping API and proxy API is that the latter integrates as a proxy server.
Custom-built scrapers. This is the most advanced way to go about YouTube web scraping. You can build a scraper using web scraping libraries (such as the open source yt-dlp), but you’ll have to handle each step on your own: crawling, managing website blocks, as well as cleaning the data.

The Best YouTube Scrapers in 2025

1. Oxylabs

Premium YouTube scraper with AI-friendly features.

9.3/10 ★

Use the code proxyway35 to get 35% off your first purchase.

Pricing model: successful requests or traffic
Pricing structure: subscription
Support: 24/7 via live chat, dedicated account manager
Free trial: 7-day trial with 5K results
Pricing: starts from $49 for 24,500 results ($2/1K results)

Oxylabs is an enterprise-oriented provider with a reliable web scraping infrastructure. It offers a web scraping API with dedicated endpoints for YouTube, as well as YouTube datasets.

There are five endpoints to choose from: search results, video metadata, transcripts, video download, and AI eligibility. The latter is useful for companies training AI models, as it shows if the video permits such use.

The dataset contains over 4 million videos in 720p, with higher fidelity available upon request. They were all reportedly scraped with consent.

You can set the API to download data in real time or get results in batches. A single batch request accepts up to 5,000 video IDs. Delivery to cloud storage is available.

Oxylabs charges for successful requests or, in the case of video downloads, traffic used. There’s a free trial to test drive the service. Additional perks include 24/7 customer support, extensive documentation, and a simple user interface.

For more information and performance tests, read our Oxylabs review.

2. Bright Data

Multiple YouTube scrapers with a great platform.

9.3/10 ★

Add up to $500 to your account and get double the amount.

Pricing model: based on successful requests
Pricing structure: PAYG, subscription
Support: 24/7 support via chat or email
Free trial: 7-day trial for companies
Pricing:

– YouTube datasets: $500 for 200K records ($2.5/1K)
– Web Scraper API: $1.5/1K records

Bright Data has one of the strongest web scraping infrastructures. The provider offers multiple tools that work well with YouTube. You can get a general-purpose web scraper, pre-scraped YouTube datasets, or API with dedicated endpoints for YouTube.

If you’re looking for a no-code solution, go with Bright Data’s YouTube datasets. The provider allows you to choose between two options: getting a pre-made dataset or customizing one using different filters. You can retrieve data in your preferred format (CSV, JSON, Excel) and storage (AWS, Google Drive, Google Cloud Storage).

Bright Data’s web scrapers have dedicated endpoints for profiles, comments, and video posts. The tools have a no-code interface, or they can integrate as an API.

A major concern about Bright Data is steep subscription price – the plans start from $500.

For more information and performance tests, read our Bright Data review.

2. Decodo (formerly Smartproxy)

Affordable and performant YouTube scrapers.

9.3/10 ★

Try with a 7-day free trial.

Pricing model: based on successful requests
Pricing structure: subscription
Support: 24/7 support via chat or email
Free trial: 14-day money-back option or 7-day trial
Pricing:
– Site Unblocker: $34 for 15K requests ($2.25/1K requests) or $28 for 2GB ($14/1GB)
– Web Scraping API: Core subscription starts from $29 for 100K requests ($0.29/1K); Advanced subscription – $50/25K requests ($2/1K)

Decodo is our favorite choice when it comes to affordable, well-maintained products and the best customer service. The provider has two options capable of scraping YouTube: the proxy-like Site Unblocker and a web scraping API.

Site Unblocker is a web scraper that integrates as a proxy server. Decodo is one of the few providers to offer two pricing options: pay for successful requests or traffic.

Web Scraping API uses the standard API interface and comes in two forms: Core and Advanced. The former features like JavaScript rendering, data parsing, or premium proxies, though it’s very cheap. The Advanced plan unlocks the full functionality, including endpoints for YouTube metadata and transcripts.

Decodo provides an API playground for live testing, allowing you to build requests, view their output, and download code snippets. Moreover, it offers detailed GitHub code examples and a Postman collection to facilitate easier integration.

For more information and performance tests, read our Decodo review.

4. Nimbleway

AI-based YouTube scraper.

8.7/10 ★

Pricing model: based on successful requests
Pricing structure: PAYG, subscription
Support: live chat on the dashboard, email, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Discord
Free trial: available
Pricing: $3/1K requests

Like some other providers on this list, Nimbleway offers a scraper API with dedicated endpoints for YouTube.

What sets this provider apart from its competition is its use of AI trained on HTML structures to collect data from YouTube. With natural language instructions, you can create schemas that automatically correct errors.

Nimble API supports three delivery methods: real-time where data is returned immediately; cloud where data is delivered to your cloud storage; and push/pull where data is stored on Nimble’s servers and can be downloaded via a provided URL. You can use batch requests and handle up to 1,000 tasks at once.

Nimbleway uses a credit-based pricing model, placing it in the higher price range. You can choose from pay-as-you-go or monthly plans.

For more information and performance tests, read our Nimbleway review.

5. Zyte

Efficient general-purpose scraper with dynamic pricing.

8.8/10 ★

Geolocation: 150+ locations
Pricing model: based on optional features
Pricing structure: PAYG, subscription
Support: available via asynchronous contact method
Free trial: trial for $5 available

Pricing: custom

Zyte offers a general-purpose web scraper that is fully capable of targeting YouTube.

The tool primarily integrates as an HTTP API. There’s also proxy-like integration, but you won’t get some features like screenshots or sessions. While the API doesn’t return structured data by default, it provides the tools to build a parser by yourself.

Zyte’s API automatically selects the location based on the page. You can create sessions, toggle JavaScript, and otherwise modify the parameters. The provider has a dashboard playground that automatically generates code snippets based on your chosen features.

Zyte imposes a limit of 500 requests per minute by default, with an option to increase it upon request. The provider uses a unique pricing model that dynamically calculates the cost of requests based on factors like website difficulty, residential proxies, JavaScript rendering, and more.

For more information and performance tests, read our Zyte API review.

6. ScraperAPI

YouTube scraper for developers.

Pricing model: based on successful requests and optional features
Pricing structure: subscription
Support: available via email
Free trial: 1,000 free credits/month or 7-day free trial
Pricing: Starts from $49/100,000 API credits

ScraperAPI is another general-purpose scraper that you can use with YouTube.

The API is versatile in terms of integration. You can choose between these methods: a proxy server, library/SDK, and two APIs (open connection and asynchronous).

ScraperAPI focuses on developers. It supports programming languages like Python, PHP, NodeJS, Ruby, and Java. The documentation comes with neat and detailed instructions on how to set up the API with each language.

All plans include automatic proxy rotation, retries, and session support. For an additional fee, you can access features like precise geo-targeting and dedicated support. You can get a free plan with 5,000 API credits for 7 days to test the tool.

Similar to Zyte’s product, the provider uses a credit-based system. Rendering JavaScript or using premium proxies costs extra. What’s more, ScraperAPI doesn’t offer a parser for Youtube.

7. Apify

No-code YouTube Scraper.

Pricing model: based on usage
Pricing structure: subscription
Free trial: a free plan with $5 platform credits is available
Pricing: monthly plans starting from $49 with $49 platform credits and 30 shared datacenter proxies.

Apify is a well-established provider focusing on no-code web scraping. It offers a YouTube template with a point-and-click interface. Advanced users can customize the template by modifying its code or request a new one if needed.

You can scrape various YouTube data points like channel videos, subtitles, playlists, streams, search results, and more. The scraper can extract up to 20 thousand videos per URL.

Apify offers two web scraping methods: either by URL or search term. The results will appear as a dataset that you can find in the provider’s dashboard. You can also download the output in formats like JSON, CSV, and Excel. Besides that, the provider supports scheduling and notifications when the YouTube scraper is done.

The provider uses a credit-based pricing system. If you’re serious about your YouTube project, you might need residential proxies that cost $10/GB extra. Otherwise, datacenter IPs are included with each plan.