Best Twitter search scrapers, with X search operators
Search is the most useful way into X data. A good query finds brand mentions, customer complaints, launch reactions and expert takes in seconds. This post covers the tools that search X in code and the operators that make queries precise.
The tools
| Tool | Time range | Price |
|---|---|---|
| X API recent search | Last 7 days, up to 100 posts per request | $0.005 per post read |
| X API full-archive search | Back to 2006, up to 500 per request | Same per-post price |
| SocialData | Search endpoint | $0.20 per 1,000 items |
| TwitterAPI.io | Search endpoint | $0.15 per 1,000 tweets |
| ScrapeIO | Top and Latest results | 1 credit per page |
Recent search is open to all developers; full-archive is available to pay-per-use and Enterprise customers. X Post reads cost $0.005 each, with a 3 million post cap per month on pay-per-use. pricing SocialData and TwitterAPI.io prices are from their own pages. SocialData TwitterAPI.io
Operators from X's own docs
These are documented for the X API's search endpoints. operator reference
| Operator | Matches |
|---|---|
"exact phrase" | The exact phrase |
from:nasa | Posts by an account |
to:nasa | Replies to an account |
@nasa | Posts mentioning an account |
#launch, $TSLA | Hashtag, cashtag |
url:example.com | Posts linking to a URL |
conversation_id:ID | Every post in a thread |
is:reply, is:quote, is:retweet | Post type (use with - to exclude) |
has:media, has:links, has:images | Posts with media or links |
lang:en | Language, BCP 47 codes |
min_likes:100, min_replies:, min_reposts: | Engagement thresholds |
OR, -, ( ) | Either, exclude, group |
Two rules trip people up. Operators such as is:reply, has:media and lang: cannot stand alone; they need a keyword or another standalone operator. And X's docs note that the web search names min_faves: and min_retweets: are not valid in the API; use min_likes: and min_reposts: there. source Query length is 512 characters for self-serve recent search and 1,024 for full archive. source
Tools that search the X website accept the website's names, such as min_faves:. Check each vendor's docs for which names it supports.
A query cookbook
- Brand mentions without your own posts:
(acme OR "acme app") -from:acme -is:retweet lang:en - Complaints:
acme (broken OR refund OR "doesn't work" OR support) -is:retweet - Competitor launch reactions:
url:competitor.com/launch -from:competitor - Expert takes only:
"vector database" is:verified -is:reply(withis:verifiedin the API) - Viral posts on a topic:
"remote work" min_likes:1000 -is:retweet(usemin_faves:on the website) - Questions people ask:
"how do i" acme ?, then filter results for a question mark.
Building a query step by step
Say you want reactions to a product called Acme Notes:
- Start broad:
"acme notes". Read 50 results. - Remove noise you saw:
"acme notes" -from:acmenotes -is:retweet. - Add the other ways people write it:
("acme notes" OR acmenotes OR #acmenotes) -from:acmenotes -is:retweet. - Pick a language if you only read one: add
lang:en. - Split into two saved queries, one with
is:replyand one with-is:reply. Original posts and replies tell different stories.
Running searches as monitoring
- Write 3 to 5 queries, from narrow to broad.
- Run them on a schedule with "Latest" ranking and store post IDs.
- Skip IDs you have seen. On the X API, repeat reads in a UTC day are deduplicated anyway. source
- Alert on volume spikes, not on single posts.
- Review the queries monthly. New nicknames, hashtags and misspellings appear, and old ones fade. Keep a short log of each change so you can explain jumps in your charts.
Doing it with ScrapeIO
The X search API takes a query with X search operators and a type of top or latest. The X Top results API returns X's Top tab for a keyword, and the X trends API shows what is trending in a country.
curl "https://scrapeio.com/v1/twitter/search?query=acme%20-is:retweet&type=latest" -H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY"Sources
Checked on 8 November 2026 from each vendor's own pages. Prices and limits change; follow the links before you decide.
- https://docs.x.com/x-api/posts/search/introduction
- https://docs.x.com/x-api/getting-started/pricing
- https://docs.x.com/x-api/posts/search/integrate/operators
- https://docs.socialdata.tools/getting-started/pricing/
- https://twitterapi.io/pricing
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