Whether you're a marketer looking for audience insights, a researcher gathering qualitative data, or a content creator trying to understand your viewers — YouTube comments are a goldmine.
But manually scrolling through comments? Copying and pasting thousands of lines into a spreadsheet? That’s not only tedious, it’s just not scalable.
The good news: there are tools built exactly for this purpose.
In this post, you’ll discover 5 of the best tools to extract and download YouTube comments — including both free and paid options. We’ll compare features, ease of use, and even show you how one of them goes a step further with built-in sentiment analysis.
What to Look for in a YouTube Comment Downloader
Before diving into the tools themselves, let’s quickly cover what actually matters when choosing a YouTube comment scraper. Depending on your use case — whether you’re doing light content research or heavy-duty data analysis — some features will matter more than others.
Here are the key factors to consider:
Ease of Use
Not everyone’s a developer. The best tools are beginner-friendly and don’t require installing anything or using API keys.Export Options
Look for tools that let you download comments in structured formats like CSV or JSON, so you can work with the data easily in Excel, Google Sheets, or a database.Scalability
Some tools slow down or break on videos with thousands of comments. Make sure the tool can handle the volume you need.Sentiment Analysis (Bonus!)
Some tools — like SocialDataExtract.com — go a step further and include automatic sentiment tagging using AI models like TextBlob and VADER, right in the output file.Free vs Paid
If you only need a few extractions here and there, free tools may be fine. But for ongoing or professional use, a reliable paid tool is worth it.
The 5 Best YouTube Comment Scraper Tools (2025)
Let’s break down five of the most effective tools available today — covering free and paid options, ease of use, output formats, and standout features.
1. SocialDataExtract.com — Best for Speed, Simplicity & Sentiment Analysis
If you’re looking for the fastest way to extract YouTube comments — without needing any tech skills — SocialDataExtract.com is the go-to choice.
What it does:
Paste a YouTube video link or ID, click "Extract," and instantly get all public comments in structured format.What makes it special:
It includes automatic sentiment analysis using TextBlob and VADER, so you don’t just get raw comments — you get insights.Output: CSV and JSON, with sentiment tags built in.
Pros:
- No login or API key needed
- Works on desktop and mobile
- Clean UI and blazing-fast results
- Built-in sentiment scoring (👍 Huge for marketers and researchers)
Best for:
Marketers, product teams, researchers, content creators — anyone who wants to understand audience opinions quickly.Pricing:
Free for basic usage. Premium plans available for higher volume or frequent use.
2. YouTube Comment Exporter (by AppTweaks.net) — Good Free Alternative
A simple and functional tool if you just need a quick CSV export of comments from public YouTube videos.
Pros:
- Free
- No signup required
- Output is clean and Excel-ready
Cons:
- Limited comment depth on long threads
- No sentiment features
- Slower on videos with lots of comments
Best for:
Occasional users who want a basic export.
3. YT Comments Downloader (Chrome Extension) — Browser-Based and Basic
This Chrome plugin grabs visible comments on any YouTube video page.
Pros:
- Easy install
- Works directly in your browser
- Fast for low-volume needs
Cons:
- Doesn’t capture hidden or paginated comments
- No sentiment or structured output beyond basic CSV
- Possible privacy/security concerns
Best for:
Casual users or quick one-off extractions.
4. Apify YouTube Comment Scraper — Powerful, but More Technical
Apify is a developer-oriented platform with a YouTube comment extractor available as a ready-made “actor.”
Pros:
- Scalable for large extractions
- Fully customizable
- Includes thread replies
Cons:
- Requires registration and platform knowledge
- Limited free credits
- Not suitable for non-technical users
Best for:
Developers or advanced users who want full control.
5. Octoparse or Web Scraper.io — Flexible General-Purpose Scrapers
These no-code scraping tools can be configured to work with YouTube — but they’re not specialized.
Pros:
- Drag-and-drop interface
- High flexibility for scraping custom data
Cons:
- Requires setup time
- Less stable on dynamic pages like YouTube
- No native comment-specific features
Best for:
Power users who want to build custom scrapers for multiple platforms.
Bonus: Why Not Just Use the YouTube API?
If you're technical, you might be wondering — why not just use the official YouTube Data API?
While it's a valid option for developers, the API comes with a few limitations:
- API Key Required: You’ll need to register for access and set up credentials.
- Rate Limits: There’s a quota system, so you can only make a limited number of requests per day.
- Complex Setup: Pagination, threading, and data formatting take time and code to manage properly.
- No Sentiment Analysis: You’ll only get raw comment data — no extra insights unless you build them yourself.
For most people — especially marketers, researchers, or non-technical teams — tools like SocialDataExtract.com do all the heavy lifting for you, instantly and without the setup headache.
Comparison Table: YouTube Comment Download Tools
Here’s a quick breakdown of how the top 5 tools compare across the most important factors:
| Tool | Free Plan | Output Format | Ease of Use | Sentiment Analysis | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SocialDataExtract.com | ✅ | CSV / JSON | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ✅ (TextBlob + VADER) | Most users: marketers, researchers, creators |
| AppTweaks Exporter | ✅ | CSV | ⭐⭐⭐ | ❌ | Quick, one-off exports |
| YT Comments Downloader | ✅ | CSV | ⭐⭐ | ❌ | Casual users |
| Apify Scraper | ✅ (small) | JSON | ⭐⭐ | ❌ (manual setup) | Developers / tech-savvy |
| Octoparse / WebScraper | ✅ | Custom (CSV) | ⭐⭐ | ❌ | Power users with custom scraping needs |
✅ Tip: Sentiment analysis is a huge time-saver if you're looking for more than just raw comment data — and SocialDataExtract.com is the only one that includes it natively.
Conclusion: The Smart Way to Extract YouTube Comments
If you're serious about understanding your audience, tracking public sentiment, or gathering real user feedback — YouTube comments are a data source you can't ignore.
The good news? You don’t need to scrape manually or wrestle with APIs.
There are tools that make it fast, simple, and even insightful — especially if you're using one that offers sentiment analysis out of the box.
Among the five tools we reviewed, SocialDataExtract.com stands out as the easiest and most insightful option:
✅ No coding
✅ Instant download
✅ CSV/JSON output
✅ Built-in sentiment scoring using TextBlob + VADER
🚀 Ready to try it yourself?
Head over to SocialDataExtract.com and extract YouTube comments in seconds — complete with powerful audience sentiment insights.
