Article
Best Twitter/X Scraper APIs in 2026: 5 Tools Compared
Honest comparison of the best Twitter/X scraping APIs in 2026. FetchLayer, ScrapeCreators, Apify, ScraperAPI, and Tweepy compared side by side.
Written by Alex P.
- twitter scraper
- X scraper
- API comparison
- web scraping
- twitter data
- twitter API alternative
Building something that needs Twitter/X data? You have several options — but they’re not all equal.
We compared five popular ways to pull Twitter/X data in 2026: from dedicated Twitter APIs to general scraping platforms to the official Python wrapper. Here’s what we found.
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Type | Endpoints | Free Tier | Pricing | MCP Support | Languages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FetchLayer | Twitter API | 10 | Yes | Pay-per-use | Yes | Any (REST) |
| ScrapeCreators | Multi-platform API | ~5 Twitter | 100 credits | Pay-per-use | No | Any (REST) |
| Apify | Scraping platform | Actor-based | Limited free | Per actor-run | No | Any (REST) |
| ScraperAPI | General scraping | Proxy-based | 5K credits | From $49/mo | No | Any (REST) |
| Tweepy | Official wrapper | X API endpoints | 500 posts/mo* | $100-$5K/mo | No | Python only |
* X’s free tier: 500 posts/month read limit, no meaningful search.
1. FetchLayer
FetchLayer is a dedicated Twitter/X scraping API with 10 endpoints covering search, tweet detail, replies, profiles, user tweets, followers, following, and verified followers.
What stands out:
- MCP server included — connect your AI IDE (Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code) to Twitter data with one config block. This is unique among Twitter scrapers.
- Official npm package — JavaScript and TypeScript developers can install
@fetchlayer/twitterinstead of wiring raw HTTP. Open source on GitHub. - 10 endpoints — covers the full surface: search (Top, Latest, People, Media, Lists), tweet detail, replies, user profiles (+ about profile), user tweets, user replies, followers, following, verified followers.
- Follower graph access — followers, following, and verified followers are included at no extra cost. On X’s official API, these require the $5,000/month Pro tier.
Pricing: Free tier included, no credit card. Pay-per-use for higher volumes.
Best for: Developers who want the most complete Twitter/X API without X’s pricing. Especially strong if you use AI coding tools or need follower graph data.
2. ScrapeCreators
ScrapeCreators offers Twitter/X endpoints alongside other social platforms (Reddit, TikTok, Instagram).
What stands out:
- Multi-platform coverage from one vendor
- Clean documentation
- 100 free credits to test
Pricing: 100 free credits, then paid plans.
Best for: Teams that need data from multiple social platforms and want one vendor.
Limitations: Fewer Twitter-specific endpoints. No MCP integration. Follower graph access may be limited.
3. Apify (Twitter Scrapers)
Apify is a web scraping platform where developers publish “actors” — individual scrapers you can run on-demand or on a schedule. Several Twitter/X actors are available on the marketplace.
What stands out:
- Marketplace model — pick the actor that fits your use case
- Built-in scheduling, storage, and webhooks
- Can run scrapers on Apify’s cloud infrastructure
Pricing: Limited free tier, then usage-based.
Best for: Teams that already use Apify for other scraping tasks.
Limitations: Each actor has different quality and maintenance levels. You’re dependent on the actor author. No native MCP support.
4. ScraperAPI
ScraperAPI is a general-purpose web scraping API. It handles proxies, CAPTCHAs, and rendering for any URL — including X/Twitter pages.
What stands out:
- Handles anti-bot detection well
- Works for any website, not just Twitter
- 5,000 free credits to start
Pricing: From $49/month for 100K credits.
Best for: Teams that need to scrape many different websites.
Limitations: Returns raw HTML — you still need to parse X’s DOM yourself. No structured JSON Twitter endpoints. Price is higher than dedicated Twitter APIs for equivalent Twitter-specific volume. X’s anti-bot detection makes HTML scraping particularly fragile here.
5. Tweepy (Official Python Wrapper)
Tweepy is the official Python wrapper for X’s API. It’s open source and widely used in the Python ecosystem.
What stands out:
- Direct access to X’s official API
- Well-documented, mature library
- Can do authenticated write actions (post, like, retweet)
Pricing: Free tier (500 posts/mo). $100/month Basic (10K posts/mo). $5,000/month Pro (1M posts/mo).
Best for: Python developers who already pay for X API access and need authenticated write actions.
Limitations:
- Python-only — no native support for JavaScript, Go, or other languages
- $100/month minimum for meaningful data access
- Follower graph requires Pro tier ($5K/mo)
- Complex OAuth setup — 4 keys to manage
- Rate limits per pricing tier — as low as 1 req/15s
- Search is recent-only on lower tiers
- No MCP support
Tweepy is a good library — the problem is the API it wraps. X’s pricing makes it impractical for most developers.
Detailed Feature Comparison
| Feature | FetchLayer | ScrapeCreators | Apify | ScraperAPI | Tweepy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keyword search | ✓ (5 products) | ✓ | Actor-dependent | ✗ (raw HTML) | ✓ (recent only) |
| Tweet detail | ✓ | ✓ | Actor-dependent | ✗ | ✓ |
| Replies | ✓ | ✓ | Actor-dependent | ✗ | ✓ |
| User profiles | ✓ | ✓ | Actor-dependent | ✗ | ✓ |
| User tweets | ✓ | ✓ | Actor-dependent | ✗ | ✓ |
| Followers | ✓ | ✗ | Actor-dependent | ✗ | Pro only ($5K/mo) |
| Following | ✓ | ✗ | Actor-dependent | ✗ | Pro only ($5K/mo) |
| Verified followers | ✓ | ✗ | Actor-dependent | ✗ | Pro only ($5K/mo) |
| MCP for AI IDEs | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| No X account needed | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Structured JSON | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ (raw HTML) | ✓ |
Our Recommendation
For most developers in 2026, a dedicated Twitter/X scraping API is the right choice. You get structured JSON without paying X’s enterprise pricing.
If you use AI coding tools (Cursor, Claude, VS Code), FetchLayer is the only option with native MCP support — your agent can call Twitter endpoints directly.
If you need multi-platform social data, ScrapeCreators covers more ground with one vendor.
If you already pay for X API Pro and need write access, Tweepy is the mature choice.
If you want the broader context behind these tradeoffs, start with these guides:
- How to Scrape Twitter/X in 2026 — practical breakdown of all working methods
- Twitter API Alternatives in 2026 — focused look at X’s pricing tiers and replacement options
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to scrape Twitter/X?
Scraping publicly available data is generally legal. Courts have upheld this in cases like hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn. All the tools in this comparison access only public data — the same tweets visible to any browser. For your specific use case, consult legal counsel.
Why not just use X’s API directly?
Because $100/month for 10K posts with strict rate limits and no follower access isn’t viable for most developers. The $5,000/month Pro tier works but prices out everyone except well-funded companies. Scraping APIs fill the gap.
What about the follower graph?
This is where X’s API is weakest at accessible price points. Followers, following, and verified followers are all Pro tier ($5K/month) or higher on the official API. FetchLayer includes all of these at no extra cost, which is a significant differentiator.
Which tool is cheapest?
Tweepy is free at 500 posts/month — but that’s barely functional. For real usage, FetchLayer and ScrapeCreators both offer free tiers. For production volumes, pricing depends on your specific usage pattern.
Can I switch between tools easily?
All the REST APIs (FetchLayer, ScrapeCreators, ScraperAPI) return JSON over HTTP, so switching is relatively straightforward — you’d change the endpoint URL and adapt to the response format.