The main multi-platform data APIs and publishing APIs, compared on the networks they cover, how they charge and how you connect. Each network’s official API is explained alongside.
An editorial comparison of what each vendor publishes, checked 25 Sept 2026. Monocrawl is ours and listed first. How we compared
What are you building?
Public profiles, posts and comments from several networks, in a product or pipelineA multi-platform data API. They differ most in which networks they list and how they charge.
An AI agent that looks things up across networksAn option with its own MCP server, so the agent can call it directly.
Posting and scheduling for accounts you or your users connectA publishing API, or the network’s own API. Publishing APIs post for accounts that connect, and read little or nothing from other accounts.
Audience data that creators agree to sharePhyllo, which pairs public data with data creators agree to share through their own login.
10options compared
7with an MCP server
7free to start
31sources, checked 25 Sept 2026
Three routes
Each network’s own API covers one network, on its own terms. Multi-platform data APIs read public data from several networks with one key. Publishing APIs post for accounts that connect.
Each network’s own API
Monocrawl and the vendors below
Ayrshare and Outstand
What they return
Which networks each option lists public data for on its own pages, and how you connect.
| Networks | Connect | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Option | TikTok | YouTube | X | Threads | REST API | MCP server | Sources | |||||
| MonocrawlOur product | Our API | |||||||||||
| ApifyScraper marketplace | 12345 | |||||||||||
| Bright DataSocial media scraper APIs | 6789 | |||||||||||
| Data365Social data API | – | – | – | 101112 | ||||||||
| EnsembleDataSocial data API | – | – | – | – | 131415 | |||||||
| PhylloCreator data API | – | – | – | 1617181920 | ||||||||
| SociaVaultSocial data API | 212223 | |||||||||||
| XpozAgent data tool | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2425 | |||||
| AyrsharePublishing API | – | – | – | – | 26272829 | |||||||
| OutstandPublishing API | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3031 | ||
Pricing
A request, a result, a record and a unit are not the same size, and allowances reset on different schedules. Price your own workload with each vendor.
One key and one response format across 70+ platforms, with monitors for alerts.
Monthly plans
$19 a month for Starter, including $19 of usage
Each scraper sets its own rate, such as per 1,000 results.
Worth knowingEach network has its own scrapers in its store, many published and priced by community developers.
$5 of usage a month
$1.50 per 1,000 records, pay as you go
$499 a month includes 384,000 records.
Worth knowingIts API docs list ten social platforms, with one endpoint per data type and input method.
5,000 records a month
€300 a month for one network
500,000 credits included. Three networks are €850 a month.
Worth knowingSold by the number of networks: one on Basic, three on Standard and up to seven on Custom.
14-day trial, on request
$100 a month for 1,500 units a day
Units reset daily at 00:00 UTC.
Worth knowingEvery plan includes all eight of its platforms, on one allowance of units a day.
50 units a day
Quote priced for your use
Its signup page lists a Startup plan at $399 a month.
Worth knowingPairs public data with data creators agree to share through their own login.
Sandbox on signup
$29 for 6,000 credits, one time
Most calls cost 1 credit.
Worth knowingCredits never expire and work on every platform, including ad libraries and TikTok Shop.
50 credits
$20 a month for 7,500 credits
A search costs 2 to 12 credits, depending on the network.
Worth knowingBuilt for AI agents, and charges per search rather than per result.
500 credits, once
$149 a month for one social profile
Launch, which adds public profile lookups, is $299 a month for up to 10 profiles.
Worth knowingBuilt to post, schedule and moderate comments for accounts your users link.
28-day trial, no card
$19 a month, including 3,000 posts
Then $0.007 a post, up to 10,000.
Worth knowingBuilt to publish and schedule; its own facts page says it does not offer social listening.
No free tier
Try a call
The same kind of request on Instagram, TikTok and X, in cURL, TypeScript or Python, with each recorded response. No login on any network.
GET /v1/instagram/profilecurl "https://www.monocrawl.com/v1/instagram/profile?handle=gymshark" \
-H "x-api-key: mn_your_key_here"
Gymshark
@gymshark
Selected public fields from the recorded response. Live values will differ.
TikTok profile1 credit
Instagram posts1 credit
YouTube comments1 credit
X post search1 credit
Reddit search1 credit
Facebook page posts2 credits
LinkedIn company page5 credits
Threads posts1 credit2.1sMedian response in our benchmark. 22 September 2026 catalogue benchmark. Median of recorded endpoint timings across 636 operations with a successful HTTP response. Includes network time; individual requests vary.
Questions
Not from the networks themselves: each runs its own API, with its own access rules, limits and review. Multi-platform data APIs put several networks behind one key, but coverage differs, so check the table for the networks you need.
A data API reads public profiles, posts and comments, including from accounts you don’t own. A publishing API, such as Ayrshare or Outstand, posts and schedules for accounts that you or your users connect. Outstand’s own facts page says it does not offer social listening, and Ayrshare looks up public profiles on six networks from its Launch plan.
Most data APIs let you start free: Monocrawl gives 1,000 credits every month, Bright Data 5,000 records a month, Apify $5 of usage a month, EnsembleData 50 units a day, Xpoz 500 credits once and SociaVault 50 credits. Data365 offers a 14-day trial on request, and Ayrshare a 28-day trial of its Launch plan.
Yes, one network at a time, each on its own terms. For accounts you don’t manage, access varies: Instagram’s API returns basic data on other professional accounts only, X charges $0.005 for each post it returns, and TikTok’s Research API is for qualified researchers.
For reading data, Monocrawl, Apify, Bright Data, SociaVault and Xpoz publish their own MCP servers, so assistants such as Claude or Cursor can call them directly. Ayrshare and Outstand publish MCP servers for posting to connected accounts. Phyllo has you add its endpoints to your own MCP server.
Units differ: a request, a result, a record, a search and a unit are not the same size, and Data365 prices by the number of networks. Price your own workload, such as a number of profiles or posts a month on each network, with each vendor.
Method
What’s includedEach network’s official API as one route, plus a selection of widely used multi-platform data APIs and publishing APIs that publish their pricing or offer a trial and come up across social media API searches and comparison lists.
What we comparedWhich networks each vendor lists public data for, plus pricing, free allowance and access, read on its own pages. A network counts when the vendor’s own pages list public data for it. “Best” here means worth comparing, not a ranking from tests: we have not run their APIs.
About MonocrawlMonocrawl is our product and is listed first. Its details come from our live plans and catalogue.
1,000 free credits every month. No card required.
Start free