Facebook Comments Scraper - Replies & Reactions

Facebook Comments Scraper

Scrape Facebook comments from any public post URL, up to a million per run. Each comment comes with its text, author, timestamp, likes, and its replies. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Facebook's official Graph API requires app review, page tokens, and strict rate limits. This reads the public comment feeds directly from post URLs, filters by count and replies, and returns each match in one fixed schema. No authentication needed for public posts.

Who uses it	What they scrape Facebook for
Social media managers	Monitor audience sentiment on competitor posts
Market researchers	Analyze public reaction to product launches
Journalists	Gather public opinion on breaking news stories
Data analysts	Build datasets for sentiment analysis models

What it does

This Actor collects Facebook comments from public post URLs and returns each one as a row, with the comment's replies nested in it when Include Replies is on.

• 💬 Comment extraction: Pulls top-level comments with text, author name, timestamp, and like count.
• 🔄 Reply threads: With Include Replies on, each comment's replies array holds its replies (text, author, timestamp, reactions and parentCommentId), including the nested replies Facebook shows. repliesCount gives Facebook's own total.
• 📊 Volume control: Set a global comment limit or a per-post cap to manage dataset size.
• 🔗 Multi-URL input: Feed it a list of post URLs from profiles, groups, or permalinks in one run.

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

What you can do with Facebook data

📈 Track campaign feedback.

A social media manager scrapes comments on a brand's launch post to gauge initial public reaction and adjust messaging.

🔍 Research competitor engagement.

A market analyst collects comments from a rival's top posts to compare sentiment and identify trending complaints.

📰 Archive public discourse.

A journalist scrapes comments on a viral news post to preserve public opinion before threads are deleted or hidden.

🧠 Train sentiment models.

A data scientist gathers thousands of comments across topics to build a labeled dataset for natural language processing.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API setup	Skip app registration, tokens, and review queues
Public data only	Scrapes what any logged-out user can see
Residential proxies	Built-in proxy support reduces blocks on Facebook
Structured output	Clean JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML with a consistent schema

How it compares

No other Store actor targets Facebook the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

	Facebook Comments Scraper	Build it in-house	By hand
Setup	Run it now, zero config	Days of engineering	None, but hours per pull
When Facebook changes	Maintained for you	You fix it	You re-learn the page
Proxies, retries, anti-bot	Built in	Your problem	Browser only
Output	Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export	Whatever you build	Copy-paste
Cost	Pay per result	Engineering time	Analyst hours

Configure the run

Drive the Actor from a list of Facebook post URLs, and set per-post comment limits so only the volume you need reaches your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.facebook.com/NASA/posts/pfbid02xjv7Q883ue9TVumoLk5NfGEgEbkGVf8o2iR9u6mJAdvjSZYoS5xGxHYZacvXRem5l"
    }
  ],
  "maxComments": 50,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}

A larger pull:

{
  "maxItems": 200,
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.facebook.com/NASA/posts/pfbid02xjv7Q883ue9TVumoLk5NfGEgEbkGVf8o2iR9u6mJAdvjSZYoS5xGxHYZacvXRem5l"
    }
  ],
  "maxComments": 50,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the Facebook Comments Scraper.
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 (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

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

claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/facebook-comments-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 post URLs are public and accessible without login. Private posts, deleted content, or incorrect URL formats will return zero comments. Try opening the URL in an incognito browser to verify.

Why does the run stop early with fewer comments than expected?

Facebook may hide comments behind 'View more' buttons or rate-limit requests. Increase the maxItems limit, use residential proxies, and ensure the post is still public. Some comments may be filtered by Facebook's own moderation.

Why does a comment have fewer replies than its repliesCount?

repliesCount is Facebook's total. Logged-out visitors are shown only part of some threads (replies from private profiles or hidden as less relevant), and the Actor returns exactly what Facebook shows. Max Replies Per Comment (default 100) also caps each thread. With Include Replies off, the replies array is always empty.

I'm getting blocked or seeing captchas. What should I do?

Switch to residential proxies in the proxy configuration. Datacenter IPs are easily detected by Facebook. If blocks persist, reduce concurrency or add delays between requests.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need a Facebook account or login to scrape comments?	No. This Actor scrapes public post comments that are visible to anyone without logging in. No Facebook account, app, or token is required.
Can I scrape comments from private groups or profiles?	No. Only public posts accessible without authentication are supported. Private groups, friends-only posts, and age-restricted content cannot be scraped.
How many comments can I scrape in one run?	Paid users can scrape up to 1,000,000 comments total. Free users are limited to 10 items for preview. You can also set a per-post cap with the maxComments field.
Does it scrape replies to comments?	Yes, when Include Replies is on. Each comment's replies array holds the replies Facebook shows to logged-out visitors, with the same fields as a comment plus parentCommentId. A row that comes back with at least one reply is billed one Engagement data event; rows without replies, and all rows when Include Replies is off, are not.
What URL formats are accepted?	Public post URLs in any common form: facebook.com/{page}/posts/pfbid..., facebook.com/{page}/posts/{id}, permalink.php?story_fbid=..., story.php?story_fbid=..., groups/{id}/posts/{id}, photo/?fbid=..., {page}/videos/{id}, reel/{id}, watch/?v={id}, and m.facebook.com links.
Why do I need residential proxies?	Facebook aggressively blocks datacenter IPs. Residential proxies are strongly recommended to maintain access and avoid captchas during large runs.
What data fields does each comment row include?	Each row returns the comment text, author name, timestamp, like count, reply count, and the replies themselves when enabled. The exact schema is shown in the dataset preview after a test run.
Can I export the data to Google Sheets?	You can export results as CSV or Excel from the Apify dataset tab, then import into Google Sheets. Direct integration is not built in.
Is this legal for scraping Facebook comments?	You are responsible for complying with Facebook's terms of service and local laws. This Actor only accesses publicly visible data. Consult legal counsel for your use case.
How do I scrape comments from multiple posts at once?	Add all post URLs to the startUrls array. The Actor processes each URL sequentially, applying the same comment limits and reply settings to every post.

Next step

Use these results as input for other ParseForge actors:

• Facebook Posts Scraper: find more posts from the same pages, then feed their URLs back here.
• Facebook Pages Scraper: get followers, category and contact details for the pages behind these comments.

🆘 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 Meta Platforms, Inc. 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.