YouTube Hashtag Scraper

YouTube Hashtag Scraper

Scrape YouTube videos and Shorts from any hashtag page, up to a million per run. Each result includes the video title, view count, channel name, subscriber count, and direct URL. No API key or quota limits. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

YouTube's official API requires OAuth, has daily quotas, and limits the depth of results you can pull from hashtag feeds. This YouTube Hashtag Scraper reads the public hashtag pages directly, letting you collect video and Shorts metadata for any list of hashtags you provide. You get a clean, flat dataset of every video found, filtered by content type, with no rate limits to manage.

Who uses it	What they scrape YouTube for
Content strategists	Discovering trending video formats and topics within a niche.
Market researchers	Analyzing the competitive landscape for a specific content category.
Social media managers	Finding relevant videos and creators to engage with or share.
Data analysts	Building a dataset of video performance metrics tied to specific hashtags.

What it does

This Actor collects video and Shorts metadata from YouTube hashtag pages and returns each result as a flat row with video title, view count, channel name, subscriber count, and URL.

• 🏷️ Bulk hashtag input: Provide a list of hashtags like 'gaming', 'cooking', or 'ai' and scrape each one in a single run.
• 🎬 Content type filter: Choose to collect all content, only standard videos, or only Shorts from a hashtag page.
• 📊 Scalable collection: Set a maximum number of videos to collect per hashtag, from a single sample to a million.

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

What you can do with YouTube data

📈 Monitor content trends.

A content strategist scrapes the #ai hashtag weekly to track which video styles and topics are gaining the most views and engagement.

🔍 Find niche creators.

A brand manager scrapes the #sustainablefashion hashtag to identify up-and-coming YouTube channels for potential sponsorship deals.

📊 Benchmark performance.

A market researcher scrapes a competitor's branded hashtag to analyze the average views and subscriber counts of channels using it.

🎬 Build a Shorts dataset.

A data analyst scrapes the #comedy Shorts feed to compile a large dataset for training a video virality prediction model.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key required	Access public YouTube hashtag data without registering an app or managing OAuth tokens.
No rate limits	Scrape thousands of videos without worrying about daily quota restrictions.
Structured output	Get a consistent, flat schema for every video, ready for analysis in any spreadsheet or database.

How it compares

This Actor is purpose-built for scraping hashtag pages, a feature not directly offered by general YouTube scrapers that focus on channels, individual videos, or search queries.

Feature	ParseForge	YouTube Scraper	Fast YouTube Channel Scraper	YouTube Comments Scraper
Scrapes hashtag pages	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Filters by Shorts, Videos, or All	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Bulk hashtag input	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Scrapes channel info	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not listed
Scrapes video metadata	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not listed
Scrapes comments	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	Yes

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a list of hashtag keywords, and filter results by content type as each video is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
  "keywords": [
    "funny"
  ],
  "maxItems": 10,
  "contentType": "ALL"
}

A larger pull:

{
  "keywords": [
    "funny"
  ],
  "maxItems": 200,
  "contentType": "ALL"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.01599 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$1.60
1,000 results	$15.99
10,000 results	$159.90

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 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 YouTube Hashtag 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 YouTube 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/youtube-hashtag-scraper"

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

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results for a hashtag?

First, check that the hashtag exists on YouTube and has public videos. Also, ensure you typed the keyword without the # symbol. If the 'Content Type' filter is set to 'Shorts only', a hashtag with only standard videos will return an empty dataset.

The run is taking a very long time.

Scraping a large number of videos per hashtag will take time. Reduce the 'Maximum videos per hashtag' number for a faster test run. The Actor is designed to be respectful, so it adds small delays between requests.

I'm getting fewer results than my 'Maximum videos per hashtag' setting.

The Actor can only collect videos that are publicly listed on the hashtag page. If the hashtag has fewer total videos than your set maximum, you will receive all of them.

The subscriber count is missing for some channels.

This can happen if the channel has chosen to hide its subscriber count. In these cases, the field will be empty in your output.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need a YouTube API key to use this scraper?	No. This Actor accesses public YouTube hashtag pages directly, so you do not need to register an application or manage any API credentials.
What data can I get from a YouTube hashtag search?	Each result row includes the video title, URL, view count, the channel name, and its subscriber count. The exact fields are listed in the sample output on this page.
Can I scrape YouTube Shorts with this Actor?	Yes. Use the 'Content Type' filter and select 'Shorts only' to collect only Shorts from the specified hashtag pages.
How many hashtags can I scrape at once?	You can provide a list of as many hashtags as you need. The Actor will process each one sequentially in a single run.
Is there a limit to how many videos I can scrape?	You set the limit yourself with the 'Maximum videos per hashtag' input, up to 1,000,000. There are no platform-imposed quotas on the Actor itself.
How do I format the hashtag input?	Enter the keywords without the # symbol, one per line in the input field. For example, type 'gaming' instead of '#gaming'.
Can I get the full video description or comments?	This Actor focuses on video and channel metadata from the hashtag page. For full descriptions or comments, you would need a dedicated video or comments scraper.
What format is the data exported in?	You can export your dataset in JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML format directly from the Apify platform.
Does this scraper work for any YouTube hashtag?	Yes, it works for any public hashtag page on YouTube. If a hashtag has no results, the dataset for that keyword will be empty.
Can I schedule this Actor to run automatically?	Yes, you can set up a recurring schedule in Apify to run the Actor daily, weekly, or at any custom interval to track hashtags over time.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection 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, 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.