Best YouTube API in 2026: pricing compared
YouTube Data API (Google) is first for YouTube channels in the Datacircle benchmark. ScrapeUnblocker is first for YouTube channel videos. YouTube Data API (Google) is free for YouTube channels. ScrapeUnblocker costs $0.0056 per 1,000 videos. We score 60 YouTube API providers. 33 of them offer both YouTube channel and channel video APIs. Below, each kind of YouTube data has a line. Each line names the provider we score highest and what that provider's plan costs.
YouTube API comparison and alternatives: the best provider for each kind of data
| YouTube data | Our #1 provider | Price of our #1 provider | Overall score | Tested on | Our #2 and #3 providers | Cheapest plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube channel API | YouTube Data API (Google) | free, $0 per 1,000 channels | 90.9 | 29 October 2026 | Litescrape (84.9), TrueScrape (81.0) | Zapi's Rp129,000 (about $7) monthly plan is the cheapest paid plan per 1,000 channels in our ranking: $0.036. |
| YouTube channel video API | ScrapeUnblocker | $0.0056 per 1,000 videos | 85.5 | 7 November 2026 | YouTube Data API (Google) (83.9), EveryInfra (70.0) | We rank 318 plans by price. TranscriptYT's $3 monthly plan is the cheapest paid plan per 1,000 videos, with no charge per call. You get as many videos as TranscriptYT's rate limit allows. |
Top YouTube API providers compared: their rank on each of our 2 rankings
Each provider below is in the top 3 of at least one of our 2 YouTube API rankings.
YouTube Data API (Google): ranked on 2 of our 2 YouTube API rankings
- YouTube channel API: #1 of 45 providers, Overall score 90.9, $0.00 per 1,000 channels.
- YouTube channel video API: #2 of 48 providers, Overall score 83.9, $0.00 per 1,000 videos.
ScrapeUnblocker: ranked on 1 of our 2 YouTube API rankings
- YouTube channel video API: #1 of 48 providers, Overall score 85.5, $0.0056 per 1,000 videos.
EveryInfra: ranked on 2 of our 2 YouTube API rankings
- YouTube channel video API: #3 of 48 providers, Overall score 70.0, $0.011 per 1,000 videos.
- YouTube channel API: #5 of 45 providers, Overall score 77.3, $0.56 per 1,000 channels.
Litescrape: ranked on 2 of our 2 YouTube API rankings
- YouTube channel API: #2 of 45 providers, Overall score 84.9, $0.15 per 1,000 channels.
- YouTube channel video API: #29 of 48 providers, Overall score 39.9.
TrueScrape: ranked on 2 of our 2 YouTube API rankings
- YouTube channel API: #3 of 45 providers, Overall score 81.0, $0.80 per 1,000 channels.
- YouTube channel video API: #28 of 48 providers, Overall score 41.3.
Top YouTube channel API providers by score
| Rank | Provider and plan | Overall score | Accuracy score | Median answer time | $ per 1,000 channels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | YouTube Data API (Google), free (alternatives) · developers.google.com | 90.9 | 75 | under 0.1 s | $0.00 |
| 2 | Litescrape, top-up from $10 (alternatives) · litescrape.com | 84.9 | 87 | 1.3 s | $0.15 |
| 3 | TrueScrape, $500 pack (alternatives) · truescrape.com | 81.0 | 96 | 0.38 s | $0.80 |
| 4 | lobstr.io, $500 monthly, Team (alternatives) · lobstr.io | 79.8 | 92 | 10 s | $0.50 |
| 5 | EveryInfra, $10 pack (alternatives) · everyinfra.com | 77.3 | 79 | 8.6 s | $0.56 |
| 6 | Crawlora, $499 monthly (alternatives) · crawlora.net | 74.9 | 72 | 4.0 s | $0.30 |
| 7 | Stophy, top-up from $500 (alternatives) · stophy.dev | 73.9 | 84 | 0.25 s | $1.20 |
| 8 | Scrappa, $10 pack (alternatives) · scrappa.co | 72.4 | 56 | 1.2 s | $0.30 |
| 9 | Refetcher, top-up (alternatives) · refetcher.com | 72.0 | 74 | 6.2 s | $0.90 |
| 10 | Omkar Cloud, $48 monthly (alternatives) · omkar.cloud | 70.8 | 95 | 0.21 s | $0.48 |
Top YouTube channel video API providers by score
| Rank | Provider and plan | Overall score | Accuracy score | Median answer time | $ per 1,000 videos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ScrapeUnblocker, pay as you go (alternatives) · scrapeunblocker.com | 85.5 | 94 | 0.98 s | $0.0056 |
| 2 | YouTube Data API (Google), free, Default quota (alternatives) · developers.google.com | 83.9 | 56 | 0.16 s | $0.00 |
| 3 | EveryInfra, $10 pack (alternatives) · everyinfra.com | 70.0 | 62 | 9.9 s | $0.011 |
| 4 | ReefAPI, $200 monthly, Enterprise monthly (alternatives) · reefapi.com | 69.7 | 62 | 2.7 s | $0.0067 |
| 5 | Influship, pay as you go, Usage-based credits (alternatives) · docs.influship.com | 65.8 | 67 | 2.2 s | $0.036 |
| 6 | Spidra, $249 monthly, Pro (alternatives) · spidra.io | 64.8 | 73 | 2.1 s | $0.033 |
| 7 | lobstr.io, $500 monthly, Team (alternatives) · lobstr.io | 64.6 | 73 | 9.6 s | $0.033 |
| 8 | YTAPI, $79 pack, Value (alternatives) · ytapi.dev | 62.8 | 50 | 0.33 s | $0.053 |
| 9 | Omkar Cloud, $48 monthly (alternatives) · omkar.cloud | 61.8 | 67 | 0.20 s | $0.016 |
| 10 | TranscriptAPI, $5 monthly, Monthly (alternatives) · transcriptapi.com | 61.8 | 47 | 2.2 s | $0.000039 |
How we tested
We test each kind of YouTube API separately. We rank each provider only against providers of the same kind.
| API | Providers tested | Inputs sent to each |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube channel API | 45 | up to 20 channels |
| YouTube channel video API | 49 | up to 19 channels |
Price and Accuracy weigh most in each plan's Overall score.
You may reuse this ranking under CC BY 4.0. Credit Datacircle with a link to this page.
Questions about YouTube APIs
What is a YouTube API?
We rank APIs for 2 kinds of YouTube data. A YouTube channel API takes a channel's handle, ID or URL, and returns the channel's details. A YouTube channel video API takes a channel's handle or ID and returns the channel's videos.
Our price sheets list 2,176 YouTube API plans.
What is the best YouTube API?
YouTube Data API (Google) is our #1 YouTube channel API. ScrapeUnblocker is our #1 YouTube channel video API.
We rank APIs for 2 kinds of YouTube data.
How much does the YouTube API cost?
YouTube Data API (Google) is our top-scored YouTube channel API. YouTube Data API (Google) is free. ScrapeUnblocker is our top-scored YouTube channel video API. ScrapeUnblocker costs $0.0056 per 1,000 videos.
We list 2,176 YouTube API plans on our 2 price sheets. We rank 872 of the 2,176 plans by price.
Is the YouTube API free?
Yes: Google's own YouTube API is free. Other providers offer YouTube channels and channel videos on a free plan too.
For YouTube channels, YouTube Data API (Google) has the best free plan in our benchmark, at 90.9 out of 100. For YouTube channel videos, YouTube Data API (Google) has the best free plan too, at 83.9 out of 100.
How do I use the YouTube API?
YouTube Data API (Google) is our #1 YouTube channel API. You call GET https:.
You send part and one of forHandle, id or forUsername. You can also send hl, maxResults and pageToken. Add the API key from your plan on developers.google.com. YouTube Data API's API docs explain each input. ScrapeUnblocker is our #1 YouTube channel video API. You send channel to POST https:. You can also send tab, proxy_ and limit. Add the API key from your plan on scrapeunblocker.com. ScrapeUnblocker's API docs explain each input.
Does Google have a YouTube API?
Yes: Google has a YouTube API. We list YouTube Data API's free plan with 2,174 other YouTube API plans.
YouTube Data API's free plan ranks first of 45 in our YouTube channel API benchmark. YouTube Data API's free plan ranks second of 48 in our YouTube channel video API benchmark.
How do I get access to the YouTube Data API?
Anyone with a Google Account can get a key. Create a Google Cloud project and turn on the YouTube Data API in that project.
The YouTube Data API docs are on developers.google.com.
Can I use YouTube API data?
Each provider's terms say what you can do with the data.
We rank 60 YouTube API providers. 57 of the 60 publish API terms. 53 of the 60 set no time limit on keeping the data. 57 of the 60 set conditions on how you use the data. Each plan's page shows what the provider's terms say about keeping and using the data.
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