LurkAPI is the best TikTok scraper overall: a creator's latest 1,000 videos cost $0.06 ($0.03 on the Scale pack), results come back in 0.61 s, and the same key reads comments, search, transcripts and TikTok Shop. ScrapeCreators fits jobs that re-read the same pages, Apify no-code runs, Bright Data big batches of links, and yt-dlp a free video download.
The best TikTok scrapers at a glance
| Service | Best for | What it covers | Price per 1,000 videos | Speed | Free to start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LurkAPI | Every TikTok job | Profiles, videos, comments, search, hashtags, sounds, transcripts, Shop, ads | $0.06 to $0.03 | 0.61 s (median) | 100 credits, then 25 a day, no card |
| ScrapeCreators | Re-reading the same pages | Profiles, videos, comments, transcripts | $1.88 to $0.99 per 1,000 requests | 3.12 s average | 100 credits |
| Social Fetch | A fixed monthly bill | Profiles, transcripts, TikTok Shop | $14 to $1.65 per 1,000 requests | About 3.2 s average | 100 credits, no card |
| EnsembleData | A steady daily volume | Profiles, posts, comments, hashtags, search | $0.22, on a fully used $100 monthly plan | Not published | 50 units a day |
| Apify (clockworks) | No-code runs | Videos, comments, video files, transcripts | $3.70 (Free plan) to $1.70 (Business) | Not published | $5 of usage a month |
| Bright Data | Big batches of links | Videos and comments, by link | $1.50, or $1.30 on a $499 monthly plan | Batch job | 5,000 records a month |
| yt-dlp | Downloading videos | Videos, files, captions, a creator's video list | Free | 200 videos in 8.6 s | Open source |
| TikTokApi | Single videos in Python | One video's details | Free | Not published | Open source |
1. LurkAPI: the best TikTok scraper overall
LurkAPI turns TikTok's public pages into clean JSON: send a handle, a link or a keyword and get the data back in one request.
- Covers: Profiles, videos, comments, search, hashtags, sounds, transcripts, TikTok Shop and ads: 17 endpoints.
- Price: 1 credit a call: $0.90 per 1,000 calls on the Starter pack, $0.45 on Scale. That's $0.06 to $0.03 per 1,000 videos.
- Speed: 0.61 s for a creator's latest videos (median).
- Best for: Any TikTok job, from one transcript to every competitor's videos each week.
Why it's #1
- Cheapest of the paid services: 1,000 videos cost $0.06, or $0.03 on the Scale pack. The next lowest per-video price here is EnsembleData's $0.22, and only if you use its whole $100 monthly plan.
- Fastest: 0.61 s for a creator's latest videos. ScrapeCreators, the next fastest that publishes a number, averages 3.12 s.
curl "https://api.lurkapi.com/v3/tiktok/profile/videos?handle=duolingo" \
-H "x-api-key: $LURK_KEY"Try it on any creator:
GET/v3/tiktok/profile/videos
1 credit per requestRun it to see live data here.
2. ScrapeCreators: best for re-reading the same pages
ScrapeCreators is a social media data API that bills per request. LurkAPI uses the same paths, so switching is a new base URL and key.
- Covers: Profiles, videos, comments and transcripts.
- Price: $1.88 per 1,000 requests, $0.99 on its $497 pack.
- Speed: 3.12 s on average.
- Best for: Re-reading the same pages, since cached results are free.
- Limits: The smallest pack is $47.
- Compared with LurkAPI: LurkAPI costs $0.90 to $0.45 per 1,000 requests and answers in 0.61 s.
3. Social Fetch: best for a fixed monthly bill
Social Fetch is a social media data API sold as credit packs or monthly plans.
- Covers: Profiles, transcripts and TikTok Shop.
- Price: $14 per 1,000 requests on its smallest pack, $1.65 on its largest.
- Speed: About 3.2 s on average.
- Best for: A fixed monthly bill.
- Limits: A monthly plan's unused credits reset each month.
- Compared with LurkAPI: LurkAPI costs $0.90 to $0.45 per 1,000 requests, under every Social Fetch price, and answers in 0.61 s.
4. EnsembleData: best for a steady daily volume
EnsembleData sells a daily allowance of request units on a monthly plan.
- Covers: Profiles, posts, comments, hashtags and search.
- Price: $0.22 per 1,000 videos on its $100 monthly plan, if you use every day's units.
- Speed: Not published.
- Best for: The same volume every day.
- Limits: Units you don't use by midnight UTC are gone.
- Compared with LurkAPI: 1,000 videos cost $0.06 on LurkAPI's $9 pack, with nothing to use up.
5. Apify: best for no-code runs
Apify is a marketplace of ready-made scrapers you run from a form. These prices are for clockworks' TikTok Scraper.
- Covers: Videos, comments, video files and transcripts.
- Price: $3.70 per 1,000 videos on the Free plan, $1.70 on Business ($999 a month).
- Speed: Not published.
- Best for: Scheduled runs with no code.
- Limits: It bills per video.
- Compared with LurkAPI: The same 1,000 videos cost $0.06 to $0.03 on LurkAPI.
6. Bright Data: best for big batches of links
Bright Data's TikTok Scraper API takes a list of links and returns the data as a batch job.
- Covers: Videos and comments, by link.
- Price: $1.50 per 1,000 videos, $1.30 on its $499 monthly plan.
- Speed: Runs as a batch job.
- Best for: Up to 5,000 links in one call.
- Limits: It bills per record.
- Compared with LurkAPI: The same 1,000 videos cost $0.06 to $0.03 on LurkAPI, answered live.
7. yt-dlp: best for downloading videos for free
yt-dlp is the free, open-source video downloader, and it reads TikTok too.
- Covers: Videos and their files, captions, and a creator's video list.
- Price: Free. You run it and keep it updated.
- Speed: 200 of a creator's videos in 8.6 s.
- Best for: Downloading TikTok videos.
- Limits: No comments, search or hashtags.
- Compared with LurkAPI: LurkAPI's 100 free credits read 1,500 videos, comments and search included, with nothing to maintain.
8. TikTokApi: best for single videos in Python
TikTokApi is an unofficial Python library for TikTok, with 77,735 downloads a month.
- Covers: One video's details.
- Price: Free.
- Speed: Not published.
- Best for: Reading single videos from Python.
- Limits: Profiles, video lists, hashtags and comments come back as “TikTok returned an empty response” from a server.
- Compared with LurkAPI: Those lists cost 1 credit a call on LurkAPI, from the same Python script.
Which TikTok scraper for which job
- Videos from the creators you track: LurkAPI, because 1,000 videos cost $0.06.
- Comments, search and hashtags: LurkAPI, because every page is 1 credit.
- Transcripts: LurkAPI, from $0.90 per 1,000.
- No-code schedules: Apify.
- Follower lists: an Apify scraper with your own TikTok session cookie, since TikTok hides them from logged-out visitors.
- Your own account's videos inside your app: TikTok's Display API (more on TikTok's APIs).
- One video, once: our free TikTok video downloader.
For anything else, run your own job on 100 free credits: that's 1,500 videos, and you see the JSON before you pay.
