2 min read
Is there a Snapchat API? (2026)
Snap publishes several official APIs. They cover ads, embeds and a subset of public profile data, so which one you need depends on the question.
Blog
Writing
Comparisons, pricing arithmetic, and notes on things that were harder than they should have been. Newest first.
3 min read
Is the YouTube API free? Quota limits (2026)
The YouTube Data API is free. Its quota is the price, and in June 2026 the quota changed shape: search now has an allowance of its own.
3 min read
Is there a free Instagram API? (2026)
Meta's own Instagram API is free to call. What it costs you is reach: which accounts it can see, how many hashtags, and how long approval takes.
3 min read
The cheapest TikTok API (2026)
TikTok has a free official route for approved researchers and none for everyone else. Where the rest of the market prices, and the sums for three real jobs.
5 min read
The best Instagram data APIs (2026)
Five providers, what each one is actually best at, and the three numbers that decide it. Short, because the answer is short.
4 min read
The cheapest YouTube API (2026)
YouTube is the one platform here with a real official API, and it is free. The honest question is where its quota stops and what it costs after that.
3 min read
The cheapest Instagram API (2026)
The cheapest provider changes with the job you are running. Three real jobs, three different answers, and the arithmetic for each.
3 min read
Instagram data API pricing compared (2026)
Five providers normalised to dollars per thousand results, plus the two costs that never appear in a comparison table.
3 min read
The cheapest social media data APIs, ranked
Ranked on real cost per thousand results rather than headline rate — which moves several providers a long way from where their pricing page puts them.
3 min read
Why a failed scrape should cost you nothing
Per-request and per-result billing diverge exactly where your data is hardest to get. The arithmetic, and how to tell which one you are on.
3 min read
TikTok data API pricing compared (2026)
What TikTok data costs across five providers, and why TikTok specifically punishes per-request billing harder than any other platform.
3 min read
Instagram Graph API vs third-party APIs
Meta's API is free and covers almost nothing you probably want. What it does cover, what App Review really costs, and when to use each.
3 min read
How to get Instagram comments with an API
One POST, one poll, and a page of comments with the author and counts already pulled out. Plus the three things that make comment pulls go wrong.