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Methods, tools and honest comparisons for getting social media data.

Best Social Media MCP Servers for Claude, Cursor and CodexThe MCP servers that give Claude Code, Cursor and Codex real social media data: hosted and open-source options, costs, limits and a safety checklist.Social Media Monitoring APIs: Official, Tools and Data APIsHow to monitor social media through an API: official platform APIs, listening tools with APIs, and data APIs, with real limits, prices and a cost formula.Brand Monitoring Tools Compared, From Free to PaidBrand monitoring tools compared: Google Alerts, Awario, Brand24, Mention, official APIs and a DIY setup. Prices, coverage, and a mention priority formula.Influencer Discovery Tools: Marketplaces, Databases and APIsCompare influencer discovery tools: TikTok One, Meta's creator marketplace, Modash, Heepsy, HypeAuditor and APIs. Prices, limits and a vetting method.Best Influencer Email Finders, and How to Use Them LegallyInfluencer email finders compared, from free bio checks to Modash, Heepsy and Hunter, plus the GDPR and CAN-SPAM rules for contacting creators by email.Web Scraping APIs Compared: ScraperAPI, Zyte, Firecrawl and MoreScraperAPI, ScrapingBee, Zyte, Oxylabs, Bright Data and Firecrawl compared on price, credit rules and output, plus when a social media API is the better tool.Pay-As-You-Go Social Media API: Why Non-Expiring Credits MatterMonthly plans that reset unused credits raise your real cost per call. The math, which data APIs expire credits, and when a subscription is still cheaper.API Caching: Why Free Cache Hits Cut Your Scraping CostsRepeat requests are a large share of scraping bills. How to measure them, set TTLs by data type, build a cache key, and why free cache hits matter.Is Web Scraping Legal? What the Big Court Cases Actually SayWhat hiQ v. LinkedIn, Van Buren, Meta v. Bright Data and X v. Bright Data say about scraping public data, plus GDPR. Linked sources. Not legal advice.Common Web Scraping Mistakes That Quietly Ruin Your DataThe scraping mistakes that break datasets: bad pagination, unsafe ids, ignored rate limits, schema drift and sampling bias, with a checklist and code.Why Not Build Your Own Social Scrapers With Puppeteer or SeleniumBuilding TikTok or Instagram scrapers with Puppeteer or Selenium looks cheap. A cost model for build and upkeep, and when building is still the right call.ScraperAPI Alternatives: Six Options and When Each One FitsScraperAPI alternatives compared from vendor pricing pages: ScrapingBee, Zyte, Oxylabs, Bright Data, Firecrawl, Scrapy and a social API, plus a test plan.Supadata Alternatives for Video Transcripts: APIs and Free ToolsSupadata alternatives for YouTube, TikTok and Instagram transcripts: youtube-transcript-api, yt-dlp, Whisper, AssemblyAI and multi-platform APIs, with limits.Can Firecrawl Scrape Social Media? What It Can and Cannot DoWhat Firecrawl's own docs say about LinkedIn, YouTube and unsupported sites, how to test your URLs, and how to pair Firecrawl with a social data API.Social Media Data in 2026: API Pricing and Access TrendsWhat changed in social media data access by late 2026: X pay-per-use, research-only programs, the EU DSA portal, tighter quotas, open protocols and AI agents.Social Listening on a Budget: API, Spreadsheet and AI AgentBuild social listening for about $10 a month with a data API, Google Sheets and an AI agent. Apps Script code, cost math, quotas and a weekly summary prompt.Best TikTok scrapers and APIs in 2026: 7 options comparedSeven ways to get TikTok data in 2026, from TikTok's official APIs and open-source libraries to paid scrapers, with prices, limits and who each one suits.Best TikTok profile scrapers: followers, likes and bios at scaleCompare ways to pull TikTok profile data (followers, likes, bio, video count) for one account or thousands, plus a script to enrich a list of handles.Best TikTok hashtag scrapers, and how to judge a hashtagWays to pull TikTok hashtag data (total views, video counts, top videos), from TikTok's own tools to paid APIs, plus a simple method to score a hashtag.Best TikTok transcript APIs: captions vs speech-to-textTwo ways to get the words spoken in a TikTok video: read its caption track or run speech-to-text. Tools, trade-offs, Whisper model sizes and code.TikTok comment scrapers, and what to do with the commentsHow to pull comments and replies from TikTok videos, which tools do it, and a simple method to turn comments into questions, objections and buying signals.How to export a TikTok account's followers listTikTok has no export button for followers. How to get your own list through your data download, and how to export a public account's followers with an API.TikTok analytics tools for brands and creators, comparedTikTok Studio, social suites, TikTok-only trackers and APIs: what each analytics option shows, what it costs, and the formulas to build your own report.TikTok competitor analysis: a 7-step method and the tools for itA repeatable TikTok competitor analysis: which accounts to pick, what to pull, the benchmark table, content tagging, ads and Shop, plus the tools that help.TikTok sound analytics: how to track trending soundsHow to spot and track trending TikTok sounds: what data a sound has, a daily snapshot method for growth, the tools that help, and the business music rule.How to research competitors' TikTok ads with the Ad LibraryWhere to find competitors' TikTok ads: the Commercial Content Library and API, Creative Center Top Ads, their limits, and a method to log and learn from ads.TikTok Shop API: product, shop and review dataThe official TikTok Shop API is for sellers and their apps. How to get public TikTok Shop data instead: products, store catalogs, search, reviews and showcases.How to tell if a TikTok video is an ad: is_ad and other signalsThe signals that mark a TikTok video as paid or sponsored: the is_ad flag, Paid partnership labels, caption tags, ad library entries, and a scoring checklist.TikTok creator region: how to find which country a creator is inTikTok profiles do not show a location. The signals that do: account region, audience country, language and content, how reliable each is, and the privacy line.TikTok slideshow images: how to get photo mode posts via APITikTok photo mode posts are image carousels with a sound. How to detect them, get every image URL from an API, download them in order, and the rights to respect.How to track TikTok Shop product sales signals over timeA method to estimate TikTok Shop sales from public data: daily snapshots of sold counts, prices and reviews, the math for units and revenue, and its limits.Instagram scraping APIs compared: price, data and limitsSeven ways to get Instagram data compared: Graph API, instaloader, Bright Data, EnsembleData, HikerAPI, Data365 and ScrapeIO. Prices, coverage, catches.Instagram public data API: what you can get without the Graph APIWhat public Instagram data you can read without Meta's Graph API: profiles, reels, plays, comments and transcripts. What stays private, and how to call it.How to scrape Instagram data: 3 methods and honest tradeoffsThree ways to collect Instagram data: the Graph API, instaloader, or a hosted API. What each can read, what it costs you, and the legal points to check.Instagram comments API: pull and analyze comments on any postHow to get comments and replies from any public Instagram post or reel by API, page through them, and turn them into questions, objections and themes.Best Instagram hashtag scrapers and APIs in 2026Instagram hashtag scrapers compared: the official API and its 30-tag limit, instaloader, Bright Data, EnsembleData, HikerAPI and ScrapeIO, with a method.Best Instagram transcript APIs: turn reels into textWays to transcribe Instagram reels: Whisper on your machine, OpenAI's transcription API, Supadata and ScrapeIO. Per-minute prices, limits and a pipeline.Instagram analytics tools compared: native, SaaS and APIInstagram analytics tools compared: Insights, Metricool, Iconosquare, Later, Sprout Social and Hootsuite, or your own via API. Prices and history limits.Instagram competitor analysis: a method and the tools for itA step-by-step method for Instagram competitor analysis: picking rivals, the metrics to compare, reading posts and comments, and tools that track rivals.Instagram bio analysis: links, categories and niches at scaleHow to analyze Instagram bios across thousands of accounts: link domains, categories, niche words and business signals, without collecting contact data.Why Instagram play counts are missing or differentWhy Instagram reel plays come back null, zero or different across tools: the 2025 switch from plays to views, photos without plays, paid views and timing.Reel hooks: study the first 3 seconds of top reels with transcriptsA repeatable way to study Instagram reel hooks: pull top reels, transcribe them, extract the opening line, and compare hook types against plays. With code.Instagram reels research with an AI agent (MCP and skills)Run Instagram reels research from Claude Code, Cursor or Codex: connect an MCP server, add skills, and use prompts that return sourced numbers you can check.Instagram similar accounts: build lookalike creator listsUse Instagram's similar-account suggestions to build lookalike creator lists: picking seeds, expanding, scoring overlap and filtering by size and engagement.YouTube API options in 2026: the Data API and alternativesWhat the official YouTube Data API v3 gives you in 2026, where its quota and caption rules stop you, and alternatives for search, transcripts and bulk data.Best YouTube scrapers in 2026: 8 options comparedEight ways to get YouTube data in 2026, from the free Data API and yt-dlp to paid scrapers and APIs, with prices, limits and what each one does best.Best YouTube search scrapers and APIs for 2026How to pull YouTube search results in code: the Data API's 100 daily searches, yt-dlp, SerpApi, Bright Data and ScrapeIO, with filters, costs and a method.Best YouTube Shorts scrapers: how to get Shorts dataThe YouTube Data API has no field that marks a video as a Short. Here is how to identify and pull Shorts data with free tools, paid scrapers and a per-call API.Best YouTube playlist scrapers and how to export a playlistHow to export every video in a YouTube playlist with titles, views and dates: the Data API, yt-dlp and a per-call API, with quota math and code samples.How to get all videos from a YouTube channelThree ways to list every video a YouTube channel has uploaded: the uploads playlist in the Data API, yt-dlp, and a per-call API. With code and quota math.YouTube comment scrapers: 5 ways to export commentsFive ways to export YouTube comments and replies: the Data API, yt-dlp, Bright Data, a per-call API and manual export, with limits, costs and sample code.YouTube comment analysis: a method and the toolsA step-by-step method to analyze YouTube comments: sampling, cleaning, sentiment, themes, questions and an engagement score, with free tools and sample code.YouTube competitor analysis: a repeatable method and toolsHow to analyze YouTube competitors: pick the set, pull uploads and stats, score outliers, compare formats and cadence, and track monthly. Formulas included.YouTube video transcripts: the complete guide for 2026Every way to get a YouTube transcript in 2026: the built-in panel, the official captions API and its limits, yt-dlp, open-source libraries and APIs.How to get YouTube transcripts in Node.jsWorking Node.js code to fetch YouTube transcripts: the youtube-transcript package, why the official API cannot do it, and a production version with an API.Best Twitter (X) scrapers and APIs in 2026, comparedThe main ways to get X (Twitter) data in 2026: the official pay-per-use API, X-only APIs, bulk scrapers, open source and ScrapeIO, with prices.Best Twitter profile scrapers for X profile dataHow to look up X (Twitter) profiles in bulk: followers, bio, post counts and recent posts. Costs per 10,000 profiles and a vetting checklist.Best Twitter search scrapers, with X search operatorsHow to search X (Twitter) posts in code: the official search endpoints and their operators, X-only APIs, and a query cookbook for monitoring and research.How to scrape an X (Twitter) threadHow to collect a full X thread in order: the conversation_id method in the official API, and a reply-walking method that works with any post and replies API.X API vs scraping in 2026: costs and tradeoffsWhat the official X API costs in 2026 under pay-per-use, what building a scraper really costs, and when a third-party data API is the middle path.Is scraping X (Twitter) legal? What the cases sayWhat US courts have said about scraping X and other platforms: X Corp v. Bright Data, X v. CCDH, Meta v. Bright Data, hiQ and Van Buren. Not legal advice.Facebook Post Scrapers: 5 Ways to Get Public Page PostsThe five real ways to collect public Facebook Page posts in 2026: Graph API, Meta Content Library, open source, manual export and hosted APIs, with limits.Facebook Profile and Page Scrapers: What You Can Actually ReadWhat public data you can get from a Facebook Page or profile, what the Graph API allows, and a simple method to track follower growth across many Pages.Facebook Reels Scrapers: Views, Captions and TranscriptsHow to collect public Facebook Reels data: what the official API allows, when yt-dlp is enough, and a simple outlier method to find a Page's best reels.Facebook Comments API: Read Public Comments on Any PostWhat the Graph API comments edge allows, its limits on Page posts you don't manage, and a method to turn public Facebook comments into customer questions.Facebook Groups API After 2024: Reading Public GroupsMeta removed the Groups API in April 2024. What is left for public Facebook groups, how to study them responsibly, and a method to track group topics.Facebook Event Scrapers: Collect Public Events by City or PageThe Graph API limits event access to Marketing Partners. Here is how to collect public Facebook events by city, keyword or Page, and keep a clean calendar.Facebook Marketplace API: Is There One, and What to UseMeta has no public API for reading Marketplace listings. Here is what exists, how to search listings by location and price, and a method for price research.Facebook Marketplace Alerts: Get Notified of New ListingsBuild your own Facebook Marketplace alert in about 40 lines of Python: poll a search, remember what you have seen, and get a Slack or phone ping for new items.Export Facebook Marketplace Listings to CSV (Step by Step)How to get Facebook Marketplace search results into a CSV or Excel file: a manual route for small jobs and a Python script that flattens listings into columns.Facebook Analytics Tools Compared: Native, Paid and APIFacebook analytics tools compared from vendor pages: Meta's own insights, Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Metricool, Socialinsider, Fanpage Karma, Rival IQ and APIs.Facebook Competitor Analysis: A Method and the Tools for ItA step-by-step Facebook competitor analysis: which public metrics to pull, a scorecard template, how to read competitors' ads, and the tools that automate it.Meta Ad Library API: What It Covers and What It Leaves OutWhat the official Meta Ad Library API returns, which ads and fields are missing outside the EU and politics, and how to research competitors' ads anyway.Ad Library APIs Compared: Meta, Google, LinkedIn and TikTokMeta, Google, LinkedIn and TikTok ad libraries compared from their own docs: what the website shows, who gets API access, regions covered and how long ads stay.Google Ads Transparency Center Scrapers: A Practical GuideWhat Google's Ads Transparency Center shows, where Google offers official API access, and a weekly routine to track a competitor's Search and YouTube ads.LinkedIn Ad Library Scrapers: Research B2B Ads in BulkWhat LinkedIn's Ad Library includes, its EU-only details, and a method to study competitors' B2B ads: messages, formats, offers and how long they run.Best LinkedIn Scrapers in 2026: Public Data and the Real RulesAn honest guide to LinkedIn scrapers: what LinkedIn's terms say, the hiQ and Proxycurl cases, official API limits, and which tools read only public data.LinkedIn Company Page Scrapers: What Public Data to CollectWhat LinkedIn's official API returns for company pages you don't admin, which public fields matter, and a method to track follower growth and posting.LinkedIn Post Scrapers: Collect Public Posts by URL or KeywordLinkedIn's Posts API only reads posts you or your Page wrote. How to collect public LinkedIn posts by URL, keyword or company, and analyze what makes them work.LinkedIn Competitor Analysis: Tools and a Repeatable MethodHow to benchmark competitors on LinkedIn: LinkedIn's own competitor analytics, paid tools from vendor pages, and a scorecard you can build from public data.Best Reddit Scrapers in 2026: Libraries, Archives and APIsCompare Reddit scrapers for 2026: PRAW, Arctic Shift, gallery-dl, Bright Data, EnsembleData, Data365 and ScrapeIO, with prices, limits and a checklist to pick.Reddit Comment Scrapers: How to Get Full Comment ThreadsHow to scrape Reddit comments without losing replies: comment trees, load-more stubs, PRAW, datasets and APIs, plus Python code to flatten a thread into rows.Reddit Keyword Monitoring Tools Compared (2026 Prices)Reddit keyword monitoring tools compared with real prices: F5Bot, KWatch.io, Syften, Octolens and Brand24, plus a DIY alert script and a budget formula.GummySearch Alternatives After Its 2025 ShutdownGummySearch closed on 30 November 2025. Here is what happened, which tools cover its jobs today, and a DIY workflow for Reddit audience research with an API.Threads API in 2026: Official Limits vs AlternativesWhat Meta's Threads API can do in 2026: publishing quotas, keyword search, profile discovery limits, and when a third-party Threads data API fits better.Best Threads Scrapers in 2026: APIs and Datasets ComparedThe best ways to scrape Threads in 2026: Meta's official API, Bright Data, EnsembleData, Data365 and ScrapeIO, with prices, fields and a sampling method.Bluesky Scrapers and the Free AT Protocol API (2026)How to get Bluesky data in 2026: the free public AT Protocol API, rate limits, search auth, the firehose and Jetstream, Python code, and when to pay for an API.Pinterest API Options in 2026: Official v5 vs Data APIsWhat Pinterest's v5 API can read, its trial and standard rate limits, the beta search and trends endpoints, and your options for public pin and board data.Best Pinterest Scrapers in 2026: Free Tools and APIsCompare Pinterest scrapers for 2026: gallery-dl, yt-dlp, the official v5 API, Bright Data and ScrapeIO. What each collects, prices, and three research recipes.Pinterest Analytics Tools: Native, Paid and API OptionsPinterest analytics tools compared: Pinterest Analytics, Trends, Tailwind, Sprout Social and the v5 API, plus formulas for your own pins and competitor pins.Snapchat Scrapers for Public Profiles and SpotlightHow to get Snapchat public profile and Spotlight data in 2026: Snap's allowlist-only Public Profile API, Bright Data, EnsembleData, yt-dlp and ScrapeIO.How to Scrape Public Telegram Channels in 2026Three ways to collect posts from public Telegram channels: the t.me/s web preview, MTProto clients like Telethon, and bots, with code, limits and account risks.Truth Social API Options in 2026: What Exists and What WorksIs there a Truth Social API? What we found in 2026: no public developer program, the open-source truthbrush client, a data API, and a monitoring recipe.Twitch API Guide: Profiles, Clips and VODs (2026)Pull Twitch profiles, clips, VODs and schedules with the Helix API: tokens, rate limits, the 1,000-clip pagination cap and how to work around it in Python.Twitch VOD Transcription: Tools, Costs and a WorkflowHow to transcribe Twitch VODs: get the audio, transcribe with Whisper, faster-whisper, AssemblyAI or Deepgram, compare costs, and turn transcripts into clips.Spotify Web API in 2026: Limits, Changes and Scraper OptionsWhat changed in Spotify's Web API through 2026: Development Mode limits, removed endpoints and fields, Extended Quota rules, Developer Terms and data options.SoundCloud Scrapers and the Official API: 2026 GuideHow to get SoundCloud data in 2026: the official API's auth and rate limits, what its terms allow, yt-dlp and scdl, and the metrics for scouting artists.How to Scrape Linktree and Link-in-Bio Pages (2026)How to extract links from Linktree and other link-in-bio pages: the embedded page JSON, locked links and other edge cases, a Python classifier, and an API.Is the TikTok API free? Prices, limits and approval (2026)TikTok's official APIs list no fee, but each one has a gate. What the Display, Research, Commercial Content and Data Portability APIs read, and who gets in.Is the Instagram API free? Prices, limits and approval (2026)Meta lists no per-call fee for the Instagram API, but it only serves professional accounts. App Review, Business Verification, limits and what it can't read.Is the YouTube API free? Prices, limits and approval (2026)Yes: the YouTube Data API has no fee, only quota. What 10,000 units a day buys, the 100-search cap, caption rules, audits and when to look elsewhere.Is the X (Twitter) API free? Prices, limits and approval (2026)No: the X API is pay-per-use with no free tier, from $0.005 per post read. Signup credits, the 3 million cap, rate limits and a cost formula for your job.Is the Facebook API free? Prices, limits and approval (2026)Meta lists no per-call fee for the Graph API, but public Page data needs App Review and Business Verification. Limits, the Ad Library API and research access.Is the LinkedIn API free? Prices, limits and approval (2026)LinkedIn lists no API price, but almost every API needs approval and none reads arbitrary profiles. Open permissions, tiers, the 500-call limit and what's left.Is the Threads API free? Prices, limits and approval (2026)Meta lists no fee for the Threads API. What works without App Review, what needs it, the daily limits on search and profile lookups, and the research route.Is the Google Search API free? Prices, limits and options (2026)Google's Custom Search JSON API is closed to new customers and ends January 1, 2027. What is still free, what each Google option costs, and what to use now.Is the Pinterest API free? Prices, limits and approval (2026)The Pinterest API has no fee, but needs a business account, app review and a demo video for Standard access. Limits, what it reads, and rules on stored data.Is the Snapchat API free? Prices, limits and approval (2026)Snap lists no fee for its APIs, but the Public Profile API is allowlist only. What each Snapchat API reads, how to get access, rate limits and alternatives.Is the Twitch API free? Prices, limits and access (2026)The Twitch API is free with a registered app and 2FA. Token types, the points rate limit, which data needs a broadcaster's token, and a monitoring budget.Is the Spotify API free? Prices, limits and approval (2026)The Spotify Web API has no fee, but Development Mode needs Premium, caps search at 10 results and drops popularity. Extended Quota needs 250k monthly users.Is the SoundCloud API free? Prices, limits and terms (2026)SoundCloud's API is free for now, its terms say. How to get credentials, the minute, search and stream limits, token caps, and the rules on scraping and AI.Is the Telegram API free? Bot API, MTProto and limits (2026)Both Telegram APIs are free. What the Bot API and the MTProto API can read, how to get access, the limits that matter, paid broadcasts, and the terms on AI use.Is the Bluesky API free? Keys, rate limits and rules (2026)Bluesky's API is free and its public endpoints need no key. Hosts, rate limits per IP and per account, the firehose, the developer rules, and when to pay.Is the Apple Music API free? Prices, limits and access (2026)The Apple Music API has no per-call fee but needs a $99 a year Apple Developer membership. The free iTunes Search API, Apple Music Feed, limits and fields.Is the Rumble API free? What exists and what it returns (2026)Rumble's only official API is a free Live Stream API for your own account. What it returns, what Rumble's terms say about automation, and other options.