YouTube Search Channels API

Search YouTube channels by keyword. Returns channel name, description, subscriber count, and thumbnail. Supports fetching multiple pages of results in a single API call.

Price: $0.005 per page

Free tier: 50 requests/month

Get API Key Documentation

Endpoint

GET /v1/youtube/channels

Parameters

query *

Search keyword (max 500 characters)

pages

Number of pages to fetch, 1-10 (default: 1)

Response fields

channels

Array of matching channels

channel_id

YouTube channel ID

title

Channel name

description

Channel description

subscriber_count

Subscriber count (e.g., 1.14K, 6.44M)

thumbnail

URL to channel avatar

url

Link to the channel

pages

Number of pages fetched

count

Total results returned

Example Request

curl "https://apidirect.io/v1/youtube/channels?query=AI&pages=1" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://apidirect.io/v1/youtube/channels",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    params={
        "query": "AI",
        "pages": 1
    }
)
print(response.json())

Example Response

{
  "channels": [
    {
      "channel_id": "UCLKPca3kwwd-B59HNr-_lvA",
      "title": "AI Engineer",
      "description": "Talks, workshops, events, and training for AI Engineers.",
      "subscriber_count": "377K",
      "thumbnail": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/.../photo.jpg",
      "url": "https://youtube.com/channel/UCLKPca3kwwd-B59HNr-_lvA"
    }
  ],
  "pages": 1,
  "count": 20
}

Frequently asked questions

What channel data is returned?

Each result includes channel ID, name, description, subscriber count, thumbnail URL, and a direct link to the channel page.

How is subscriber_count formatted?

Subscriber counts are returned as formatted strings (e.g., "1.14K", "6.44M", "530K"). Some channels may have null subscriber counts if the data is hidden.

How is this different from the YouTube Videos endpoint?

The Search Channels endpoint finds YouTube channels by keyword, while the Videos endpoint searches video content. Use Search Channels for discovering creators and channels related to a topic.

How does pricing work?

You only pay for successful requests. The YouTube Search Channels API costs $0.005 per page. There are no monthly fees or commitments. You get 50 free requests per endpoint every month.

Do I need a credit card to start?

No. You can sign up and use the free tier (50 requests/endpoint/month) without adding a payment method. You only need to add a card when you want to exceed the free tier.

Are there rate limits?

Yes, there's a concurrency limit of 3 simultaneous requests per endpoint per user. If you need more, just get in touch.