Here’s How to Scrape Reddit in 2 Different Yet Effective Ways

It’s a no-brainer that Reddit’s user-generated data has immense value, so much so that Google and OpenAI use it to train their large Language Models (LLMs).

But how to scrape Reddit and leverage its value without breaking a sweat and your bank?

Whether you're a seasoned coder or someone who does not know the complex world of programming, there's a method tailored just for you.

In this blog, you will learn how to scrape Reddit using two easy ways and get the wealth of information Reddit has to offer.

But before getting into the nitty-gritty of how to scrape Reddit, let’s have a quick rundown of the different ways of scraping Reddit.

Different Ways To Scrape Reddit

People scrape Reddit in a lot of ways. Each of these methods has its pros and cons.

Some of them are as easy as a walk in the park, requiring no technical skills, while others are difficult and need moderate to high programming know-how.

Let’s briefly introduce you to each of the ways to scrape data from Reddit.

Scraping Reddit Manually

This is possibly the easiest and most straightforward approach to scraping Reddit or any other platform. It requires no expertise of any sort, just the ability to copy and paste data into a spreadsheet.

Media such as photos and profile pictures can be easily downloaded from the platform, while videos can be extracted using third-party video downloading websites.

In addition, you’ll be able to check each data point and make sure that only correct and relevant data makes it to the spreadsheet.

However, since the entire process is manual, it’ll take you plenty of time if your requirements are big. Moreover, manual Reddit scraping also increases the chances of human errors.

Scrape Reddit using its API

Reddit provides its API to let developers build apps and other products around the Reddit platform. You can also use this API for scraping data from Reddit. But to do that, you must have moderate coding skills.

Then there are other restrictive rules set by Reddit that you must abide by to use the API. On top of that, after the 2023 Reddit Controversy, the API comes with a fee and only remains free for moderation tools developers or academic purposes.

Build Custom Reddit Scraper

Your next option is to scrape Reddit without API by building a custom Reddit scraper from scratch. This method is difficult as it requires advanced programming skills, but it’s highly promising if you manage to do it.

This method lets you customize the scraper to extract any type of data that other ready-made scrapers may not be able to extract. Moreover, you can write scripts to scale up the scraping tasks according to your needs.

However, developing a custom Reddit scraper is no easy feat and is cost-intensive and time-consuming.

Use No-Code Reddit Scraper

Don’t have a coding background? No biggie. There are loads of click & scrape tools that require no programming.

These tools come in the form of user-friendly software or browser extensions and let you scrape data from Reddit within a matter of minutes after a few mouse clicks only.

The real bright side is that most of these tools have a free plan that often suffices most users.

How to Scrape Data From Reddit Using Code and No-Code?

Now, without further ado, let's get down to business and discover how to scrape Reddit using a no-code Reddit Scraper and a Python Library.

Scrape Reddit Using Parsehub (No Code)

Manually scraping data from Reddit can take forever. While finding posts, opening them, waiting for them to load, and then manually copying and pasting the data to the spreadsheet is doable, it is still counterproductive, especially when dealing with hundreds of posts.

Let automatic web scrapers handle this job for you. These tools let you automatically scrape almost every type of data from Reddit, including usernames, links, post titles, dates, images, and comments, to name a few.

Some of the leading no-code Reddit scraping tools include ParseHub, Apify, and Octoparse.

As stated earlier, scraping Reddit using a no-code tool is a piece of cake, yet you need some guidance to get started.

So, let’s learn how to scrape Reddit using ParseHub.

• Download ParseHub: Head over to the official ParseHub website and choose the appropriate download option for your operating system. The setup will download. Run the setup, and it’ll install ParseHub within a few minutes.

• Create Account: If you’re using ParseHub for the first time, you’ll have to sign up and create an account. The process is super quick. Just enter your name, email, and password, and you’ll be logged into your new account.

• Start New Project: On the home screen, click the New Project button.
  
  

• On the new screen, paste the subreddit’s link you want to scrape. We’ll recommend you use Reddit’s older layout as it works best for scraping purposes.

• We will be scraping the NBA subreddit for demonstration.
  
  

• Press the start button, and the subreddit will load on the main screen.
  
  

• Select Relevant Data: Let's say we wish to scrape the titles and links of all posts. Click on the title of the first post on the page. The selected post title will turn green, and other post titles will turn yellow. Now select the second post title, and all titles will turn green, indicating that all have been selected.
  
  

• On the side panel, give an appropriate name to the selection i.e. posts.
  
  

• Make More Selections: Suppose we also want the date of each post. For this, click on the “+” symbol on the posts selection and choose Relative Select.
  
  

• Now click the first post’s title, and after that, click the time stamp of the post. The entire page starts looking like this.
  
  

• Rename the newly created selection to date.
  
  

• The date selection extracts the relevant timestamp, but we want the date and time of the post. So, click the “+” symbol next to the date selection, click Advanced to open the full menu, and select Extract.
  
  

• Open the dropdown next to Extract and select “title Attribute”.
  
  

• You will note that the selection is pulling the Dates and Times now.
  
  

• Repeat for More Data Types: Repeat the previous step for usernames, comments count, and upvotes.
  
  

• Add Pagination: The selections up till now only extract the data from the first page. To move to the next pages, click on the “+” symbol of the page selection and choose Select.
  
  

• Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on next.
  
  

• Click the “+” symbol on the next selection and choose Click.
  
  

• A pop-up appears asking if this is the next page button. Select Yes and enter the number of pages it should be clicked. We wrote 2, so in total, we will scrape 3 pages. Now press the Repeat Current Template button.
  
  

• The project is ready.
  
  

• Run the Project: Press the Get Data button.
  
  

• Select Run. Within a couple of minutes, the data will be ready. Choose your desired file format.
  
  

Scrape Reddit with Python (Code)

Knowing how to scrape Reddit using a no-code tool, you’d wonder why people resort to writing programming scripts for the same task.

The answer lies in the freedom that comes with this method.

Using a no-code Reddit scraper, you can only scrape the data types that it allows you to scrape. There can also be other limitations, such as page limits or post limits.

You may be able to bypass these limitations by upgrading to the premium plan. But that can put a dent in your wallet, and besides, if your scraping requirements are complex, no-code Reddit scrappers can’t help.

This is when you’ll have to turn to scrape Reddit with Python or other programming languages.

By scraping Reddit with Python, you will not only be able to extract any data and any number of pages, but you’ll also be doing so without paying a single penny. It’s only the case if you know coding yourself. Otherwise, you will have to hire a scraping expert.

So, let’s see how to scrape Reddit with Python:

1. Install Required Libraries: Make sure you have installed the necessary libraries, such as PRAW (Python Reddit API Wrapper) and Pandas.

2. Create Reddit App: Go to Reddit's website and create a new application. Obtain the client ID, client secret, username, and password.

3. Authenticate: Use the obtained credentials to authenticate with Reddit's API using PRAW.

4. Choose Subreddit: Specify the subreddit you want to scrape.

5. Scrape Data: Use PRAW to retrieve posts from the chosen subreddit i.e. specify the number of posts and desired attributes.

6. Store Data: Store the scraped data in a suitable format, such as a DataFrame using Pandas.

7. Analyze or Visualize: Analyze or visualize the scraped data as needed for your project or analysis.
   
   

For a deep understanding and code snippets for each step, head over to this detailed blog.

Secure Your Scraping Activity From Getting Blocked

According to Reddit’s user agreement, accessing the site through automation and scraping data from Reddit without prior consent is prohibited.

However, there isn’t much information about Reddit’s preventive measures against scraping, such as IP bans or account suspensions.

This might indicate Reddit’s lenient attitude towards scraping. But there are still chances that your scraper may run into obstacles such as CAPTCHA, rate limits, or suspensions.

This is what the AdsPower anti-detect browser is made to handle. AdsPower makes your scrapers appear like real users through anti-fingerprinting measures so that you can scrape data seamlessly.

Now that you know how to scrape Reddit with and without coding, sign up for free for AdsPower and scrape useful subreddits without interruptions.