YouTube stats API

YouTube Video Stats API

Views, likes and comment counts for a public YouTube video or Short. Send a public URL and get the fields in the same terms the platform uses.

Input: Public YouTube post URL. Returns: one object, in YouTube's own field names. Price: 1 credit per call; failed reads are free.

Try this API Read reference

GET /v1/youtube/stats Public YouTube post URL · One object

Recorded response

GET /v1/youtube/stats

URL url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wq3VHsL_bE

Each call1 credit

Retrieval failurefree

{
  "success": true,
  "available": true,
  "creditsCharged": 1,
  "data": {
    "title": "Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launch",
    "channelName": "NASA",
    "views": 1264904,
    "likes": 25105,
    "fetchedAt": "2026-09-02T06:55:51Z"
  }
}

Key fields shown · full response below

See it in action

Try it with a sample URL.

The snippets use the production endpoint. Replace the sample URL with your own public target before running them.

Try this API live Try the free tool

Pick a sample input

Start from a valid shape, then replace the sample value with your public target.

Selected NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wq3VHsL_bE Open

Preview the request

Use a server-side key and send parameters as query values.

GET https://api.sourcevine.io/v1/youtube/stats

curl -G 'https://api.sourcevine.io/v1/youtube/stats' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer sv_live_...' \
  --data-urlencode 'url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wq3VHsL_bE'

const params = new URLSearchParams({
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wq3VHsL_bE",
});

const res = await fetch('https://api.sourcevine.io/v1/youtube/stats?' + params, {
  headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer sv_live_...' },
});

const body = await res.json();
console.log(body.data);

import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://api.sourcevine.io/v1/youtube/stats",
    params={"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wq3VHsL_bE"},
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer sv_live_..."},
)

body = r.json()
print(body["data"])

Replays the recorded response. Nothing leaves your browser.

Read the response

Every success includes availability, a fetch timestamp and billing context.

GET /v1/youtube/stats Not run

Hit Show sample response to see the response.

A real YouTube Video Stats API response, recorded against the public target above.

available 1 credit recorded

Likes25,105

Cost1 credit

{
  "data": {
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wq3VHsL_bE",
    "likes": 25105,
    "title": "Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launch",
    "views": 1264904,
    "cached": false,
    "videoId": "9wq3VHsL_bE",
    "comments": null,
    "fetchedAt": "2026-09-02T06:55:51Z",
    "channelName": "NASA",
    "contentType": "video",
    "publishedAt": "2026-08-30T05:29:47-07:00",
    "cacheAgeSeconds": null,
    "sourceTimestamp": null
  },
  "success": true,
  "available": true
}

Ship it anywhere

Use this API from code, no-code tools, MCP clients and agents.

We build and maintain theseFirst-party surfaces, versioned with the API.

HTTP Any backend, worker or cron job MCP Available as a tool in npx @sourcevine/mcp

Works anywhere that can make an HTTP requestNo plugin to install, and none to wait for.

Make HTTP → Make a request Zapier Webhooks by Zapier → Custom Request n8n HTTP Request node Agents Scoped reads for a tool-using model

Response

Response fields.

Each response includes typed availability, a fetch timestamp, and only the public fields this API promises.

Field	Type	Meaning
url	string	Canonical public post URL.
videoId	string	Platform post or video id.
title	string \| null	Public text after contact-detail scrubbing.
views	integer \| null	Absent where the platform does not publish it.
likes	integer \| null	Public like count when available.
comments	integer \| null	Platform-native engagement field.
fetchedAt	ISO datetime	When Sourcevine read the public page.
sourceTimestamp	ISO datetime \| null	The platform timestamp when it is available.
cached	boolean	True when this answer repeats an identical request made moments earlier.
cacheAgeSeconds	integer	Seconds since the reading was taken.
channelName	string
contentType	string
publishedAt	string

Request flow

How a request is handled.

01 Send a public URL
Send a public YouTube post URL. Sourcevine resolves ids, validates the resource type and returns a typed response.
02 Checked
A URL of the wrong kind or platform is refused with a 400 before any fetch, and not charged.
03 Read
The public data is read when you call. An identical request moments earlier is answered again, free.
04 Typed availability
Deleted, private and unsupported resources return explicit statuses, so clients can stop retrying facts about the world.
05 JSON back
YouTube names stay intact, so your code reads subscriberCount instead of reverse-engineering a generic schema.

fetchedAtcreditsChargedavailable

Every response carries fetchedAt and the platform timestamp, so you know how old a reading is before you act on it. YouTube Video Stats API fits recurring stats checks in dashboards, spreadsheets, workflows and agents.

Boundaries

What this API does not return.

No contact or bio fields
Bios, email addresses, phone numbers, postal addresses and messenger handles are outside the response contract.
No private data
Private accounts, restricted content and unavailable resources return typed availability instead of guessed data.
No comment bodies
Stats APIs return public engagement counts. They do not return individual comments or commenter identities.

Use cases

Where teams use YouTube Video Stats API.

Campaign reporting

Refresh public post metrics for the same URL set throughout a campaign.

Content benchmarking

Compare engagement fields in each platform’s own vocabulary.

Alerting

Watch a public post cross a view, comment or save threshold.

Data QA

Use typed availability and provenance to keep stale or private links out of reports.

Pricing

1 credit per call, and nothing for a failed read.

The response and X-Credits-Charged header tell you what happened, including when it is zero.

Charged1 credit

AnsweredThe public data came back.
Not found or privateThe lookup was made, and that is the answer. The response says which.
Empty resultThe lookup was made and found nothing to return, such as an account with no posts.

Not charged0 credits

Failure on our sideA timeout or a read we could not complete.
Unsupported URLThe wrong kind of URL: refused before any fetch.
Cache hitAn identical request moments earlier, answered again.

FAQ

Common questions.

What does YouTube Video Stats API return?

Views, likes and comment counts for a public YouTube video or Short.

How is it billed?

A call costs 1 credit, including an empty result. Retrieval failures are not charged.

What happens when the resource is private or deleted?

The request returns available=false with a typed availability status. Not-found and private results are charged like any lookup; unsupported URLs and retrieval failures are not.

Does Sourcevine return contact data?

No. Bios, emails, phone numbers, postal addresses and private or restricted content are outside the public response contract.

Do I need to log in to YouTube?

No. Your integration authenticates with a Sourcevine API key. You do not need to supply YouTube credentials or a session.