A TikTok scraper exports comments, creator profiles, bio emails or engagement metrics to a file. TikTok exposes less than Instagram does: there is no follower list to export from any account but your own, so the useful lists are comments on a video, creators from creator search, and the creator behind every video in a video search, and the engagement numbers on their videos. The Mastros TikTok extension exports those from your own browser session on tiktok.com. Cloud actors do the same at scale for public data, and the TikTok Research API serves academic and non-profit researchers who qualify.
Best tools to scrape TikTok data for marketing research
| Tool | What it exports | Where it runs | Setup | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mastros TikTok extension | Comments on a video, creators from creator search and the creator behind every video in a video search, bio emails, engagement rate per video; CSV, JSON or JSONL (the CSV opens in Excel and Google Sheets) | Chrome on tiktok.com | Install, open a video or search | Free at launch (details) |
| TikTok Download your data | Your own account activity, followers, comments | TikTok settings | Built in, wait for the file | Free |
| Apify actors (third-party) | Videos, profiles, comments and search results for public accounts | Apify cloud | Apify account, choose an actor | Per result plus platform credit |
| Phantombuster | Profile and search data, followers of public accounts | Cloud | Account, session cookie for some flows | Monthly plans by execution time |
| TikTok Research API | Public videos, comments, user info at scale | TikTok's API | Application, approval for research use | Free for approved researchers |
The Research API is the only official large-scale route and it is not open to marketers. Everything else reads the public web page, either in your browser or in a cloud browser, which is why the numbers you get are the numbers TikTok shows on the page: views, likes, comments, shares, follower counts on profiles.
How to legally scrape TikTok for user engagement metrics
TikTok's Terms of Service prohibit collecting data with software without consent and TikTok enforces them by limiting accounts and blocking IPs. Reading the public data you can see, at the pace you could scroll it, from your own session, is the practice that stays within those limits; that is how Mastros works, and it never likes, follows, comments or messages. Engagement metrics on public videos are exactly what TikTok publishes to everyone; comments carry usernames, which are personal data where the commenter lives, so keep comment exports for analysis and moderation rather than for contact lists. Bio emails are contact details a creator chose to publish for business.
Step-by-step guide to extract TikTok comments using a scraper
- Open the video on tiktok.com in Chrome.
- Open the Mastros extension and choose comments.
- Run it. The extension expands and scrolls the comment thread, including replies, and collects username, text, likes and time.
- Download CSV, JSON or JSONL; the CSV opens in Excel and Google Sheets. Sort by likes for the comments that carried the thread, or filter by keyword for a product mention.
For a whole search or a set of videos you will not open one by one, an Apify actor takes a list of video URLs and returns all comments in one file.
Pricing comparison for popular TikTok data scraping platforms
Per result on Apify, where a comments run on a viral video can reach tens of thousands of rows and the price follows; per minute of execution on Phantombuster; free for approved research on the API; and free at launch for the Mastros TikTok extension, with plan details on the product page. Price the job, not the plan: one video's comments is a browser job, five hundred videos' comments is a cloud job.
Reviews of TikTok scrapers with API access
Apify shows each actor's user count, rating and last update, which is the review that matters for a third-party actor. The Research API has no reviews to read; it has an application form. The Mastros TikTok extension is newly listed on the Chrome Web Store and its reviews are just starting; the developer's Telegram, WhatsApp and LinkedIn extensions carry several years of store reviews.
FAQ
Can I export another creator's follower list on TikTok?
No. TikTok does not show follower lists for accounts other than your own to any tool. Comments, creators from search, and engagement numbers are the exportable lists.
What does a TikTok comments export contain?
Username, comment text, likes, time, and whether it is a reply, as displayed on the page.
Can I get emails from TikTok?
Only emails creators put in their bio. See TikTok email finder.
Does Mastros need my TikTok login?
No. It reads the tiktok.com tab you already have open in Chrome.
What is a good TikTok engagement rate?
It depends on account size and niche; see the TikTok engagement rate calculator for the formula and benchmarks.
Is the TikTok Research API available to businesses?
No. It is for academic and non-profit research applications that TikTok approves.