YouTube Data API quota limits, and an alternative
The YouTube Data API v3 is free and solid, until you hit the quota. Every project gets 10,000 units a day. Most reads cost 1 unit, but search.list costs enough that you get about 100 searches a day. Invalid requests still cost at least one unit. More quota means a compliance audit. source
Side by side
| YouTube Data API v3 | ScrapeIO | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily limit | 10,000 units, about 100 searches | No daily cap; 300 requests a minute per key |
| More capacity | Compliance audit and quota extension form | Buy a credit pack |
| Failed requests | Cost at least 1 unit | Not charged. Cached repeats, private and not-found answers are free too |
| Transcripts | Captions download needs OAuth from the video owner | Any public video with captions, 1 credit |
| Shorts, community posts, hashtags | Partial | Dedicated endpoints |
| Price | Free within quota | Packs: $47 for 25,000 credits ($1.88 per 1K) or $497 for 500,000 ($0.99 per 1K). Most calls cost 1 credit; list calls return a page of items |
| Other platforms | YouTube only | 33 platforms: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X, Facebook, Reddit, LinkedIn, Threads, Pinterest and more |
When the Data API is the better choice
If you stay under the quota, it is free and official, with stable schemas. Many teams use both: the Data API for routine reads, and ScrapeIO for search-heavy jobs, transcripts, and the same fields across TikTok and Instagram.
See every YouTube endpoint on the YouTube API page.
Sources
Prices and limits checked on 7 November 2026 from each vendor's own pages. They change; follow the source links before you decide.
- https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/getting-started
- https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/guides/quota_and_compliance_audits
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