--- title: "How to Scrape Google Play Reviews | Scrape.ly" description: "Scrape Google Play reviews for any Android app: stars, text, dates, app versions and helpful votes. A real run, its cost, and API, Python and MCP code." url: https://scrape.ly/blog/scrape-google-play-reviews markdown: https://scrape.ly/blog/scrape-google-play-reviews.md --- [Tutorials](https://scrape.ly/blog/category/tutorials.md) # How to Scrape Google Play Reviews: Ratings, Text, App Versions and App Data Scrape Google Play reviews for any Android app by package name or store link: stars, text, date, app version and helpful votes, with star, language, keyword and date filters. No-code steps, curl, Python, Node.js and MCP, plus a real run from 27 October 2026 and its exact cost. [Querystone Actor publisher on the Scrape.ly Store](https://scrape.ly/blog/author/querystone.md) - Published Oct 27, 2026 - Reading time 9 min read ![Pixel-art robot with an orange >\_ on its terminal head pulls a review slip with gold rating squares out of a phone showing the four-colour Google Play logo above an app tile and rows of star ratings, and drops it into a crate](https://scrape.ly/media/scrape-google-play-reviews.png?w=1080) To scrape Google Play reviews, give a ready-made Actor an app's package name (such as `com.whatsapp`) or its Play Store link, and it returns one row per review: stars, text, date, the app version the reviewer used and helpful votes. On Scrape.ly that's a preset and one click, or one API call, with no Google login and no developer account. This guide covers the fields you get, the no-code steps, the same job in curl, Python, Node.js and through an AI agent, a real run from 27 October 2026 (the ten newest WhatsApp reviews), its log and exact cost, and how to add the app listing itself: installs, rating histogram, version and developer. ## What data you can get from Google Play The [Google Play Reviews Scraper](https://scrape.ly/store/querystone/google-play-reviews-scraper.md) returns one row per review: | Field | What it holds | | ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `reviewId` | Unique review ID | | `rating` | Stars, 1 to 5 | | `body` | The full review text | | `reviewer`, `userImage` | The reviewer's display name and profile picture link | | `date`, `timestamp` | Review date (UTC) and Unix time | | `appId`, `appVersion` | The package and the app version the reviewer used, when Google shows it | | `helpfulCounts` | "Helpful" votes from other users | | `language`, `reviewedIn` | The language code you requested | | `position` | Order in the returned list | For the listing itself, the companion [Google Play Scraper](https://scrape.ly/store/querystone/google-play-scraper.md) reads app pages, keyword searches and similar-app lists: title, install band, score, rating count, the 1-to-5-star histogram, price and in-app purchase range, current version, release notes, last update and developer details. It doesn't return review text, so the two Actors work as a pair: one for what users say, one for what the store page says. ## How to scrape Google Play reviews without code 1. Open the Google Play Reviews Scraper in the Scrape.ly Store. 2. Pick the [Newest WhatsApp reviews](https://scrape.ly/store/querystone/google-play-reviews-scraper/presets/sort-newest.md) preset. It fills in this input: ```json { "appIdOrUrl": "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.whatsapp", "maxReviews": 10, "sortBy": "newest", "deviceType": "mobile", "recentDays": 0, "uniqueOnly": true } ``` 3. Replace the link with your app's store link or package name and click **Start**. Our run took 4 seconds. 4. Open the dataset and export it as JSON, CSV or Excel. The input fields that matter most: - `appIdOrUrl`: a package name such as `com.whatsapp`, or the full `play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=…` link. You find the package after `id=` in any app's store URL. - `maxReviews`: how many reviews to save. `-1` reads until the reviews run out. - `sortBy`: `newest` for monitoring, `mostRelevant` for what shoppers see first, `rating` to order by stars. - `rating` or `ratingFilter`: keep only certain star ratings, for example `[1, 2]` for complaints. - `language`: one or more codes such as `["en", "de", "fr"]`; each is requested separately. - `keywords`, `appVersion`, `recentDays`, `endDate`: keep reviews that mention a word, came from a given release or fall inside a date window. - `deviceType`: `mobile`, `tablet` or `chromebook`. Each device has its own review list. - `pagesToScrape`: 5 pages of 100 by default. Set it to `-1` together with `maxReviews: -1` for more than 500 reviews. The [rating filter preset](https://scrape.ly/store/querystone/google-play-reviews-scraper/presets/package-rating-filter.md) shows star filtering by package name, and the [tablet preset](https://scrape.ly/store/querystone/google-play-reviews-scraper/presets/tablet-device.md) reads the tablet list. Scrape.ly Store Google Play Reviews Scraper Public reviews of any Android app by package name or store link: stars, text, date, app version and helpful votes, with star, language, keyword, version and date filters. [Try it free](https://scrape.ly/store/querystone/google-play-reviews-scraper.md) [Browse the Store](https://scrape.ly/store.md) ## How to scrape Google Play reviews with the API Create a token under **Settings → API & Integrations** in the dashboard and store it as `SCRAPELY_TOKEN`. A run of a few hundred reviews finishes in seconds, well inside the synchronous endpoint's 45-second wait: ```shell curl -X POST "https://api.scrape.ly/v2/actors/querystone~google-play-reviews-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items" -H "Authorization: Bearer $SCRAPELY_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"appIdOrUrl": "com.whatsapp", "maxReviews": 200, "sortBy": "newest", "ratingFilter": [1, 2]}' ``` Add `?format=csv` to the URL to get a CSV back. For a full history (the README puts a 10,000-review run at about 100 seconds), start the run asynchronously instead: `POST /v2/actors/querystone~google-play-reviews-scraper/runs`, poll `/v2/actor-runs/RUN_ID?waitForFinish=60` until `SUCCEEDED`, then read `/v2/actor-runs/RUN_ID/dataset/items?format=csv`. The [API docs](https://scrape.ly/docs/api-actors.md) cover the full flow. In Python (`pip install scrapely-client-python`), this release check pulls the last week's 1- and 2-star reviews and counts them per app version, so you see at a glance whether the newest build made things worse: ```python import os from collections import Counter from scrapely_client import ScrapelyClient client = ScrapelyClient(os.environ["SCRAPELY_TOKEN"], api_url="https://api.scrape.ly") run = client.actor("querystone/google-play-reviews-scraper").call( run_input={ "appIdOrUrl": "com.whatsapp", "maxReviews": 500, "sortBy": "newest", "ratingFilter": [1, 2], "recentDays": 7, } ) per_version = Counter() for r in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items(): per_version[r.get("appVersion") or "unknown"] += 1 for version, n in per_version.most_common(): print(version, n) ``` In JavaScript or Node.js (`npm install scrapely-client`), compare the newest reviews of two rival apps in one script: ```javascript import { ScrapelyClient } from 'scrapely-client'; const client = new ScrapelyClient({ token: process.env.SCRAPELY_TOKEN, baseUrl: 'https://api.scrape.ly' }); for (const app of ['com.whatsapp', 'org.telegram.messenger']) { const run = await client.actor('querystone/google-play-reviews-scraper').call({ appIdOrUrl: app, maxReviews: 100, sortBy: 'newest', }); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); const avg = items.reduce((s, r) => s + r.rating, 0) items.length; console.log(app, items.length, avg.toFixed(2)); } ``` The [Google Play API](https://scrape.ly/api/google-play-api.md) page shows these Actors as a ready-made API, and the [Python client](https://scrape.ly/docs/client-python.md) docs cover paging through large datasets. ### With an AI agent (MCP) Scrape.ly runs a hosted MCP server at `https://mcp.scrape.ly`. In Cursor, add it to `~/.cursor/mcp.json`: ```json { "mcpServers": { "scrapely": { "url": "https://mcp.scrape.ly", "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" } } } } ``` In Claude Code, run `claude mcp add --transport http scrapely https://mcp.scrape.ly`, then `/mcp` to sign in with OAuth. Then ask: "Use scrapely to get the 300 newest 1-star Google Play reviews of com.whatsapp and group the complaints by topic, with the app version for each group." The [MCP docs](https://scrape.ly/docs/mcp.md) list ChatGPT, VS Code, Windsurf and the other clients. ## A real run: WhatsApp's newest reviews We ran the preset as-is on 27 October 2026. It saved 10 reviews in 4.1 seconds. Reviewers are private people, so we show them as `[reviewer 1]` to `[reviewer 5]`; one review whose entire text looked like a person's name is withheld: | Reviewer | Stars | Date | Review text | App version | Helpful | | ------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | ------- | | \[reviewer 1] | 5 | 2026-10-26 | \[withheld] | 2.26.41.77 | 0 | | \[reviewer 2] | 2 | 2026-10-26 | the apps always lagging, and there is no available update… | — | 0 | | \[reviewer 3] | 4 | 2026-10-26 | 🇵🇰 | 2.26.40.76 | 0 | | \[reviewer 4] | 5 | 2026-10-26 | WhatsApp doesn't open with my mobile number, it's showing " Not following terms of service… | 2.26.41.77 | 0 | | \[reviewer 5] | 1 | 2026-10-26 | very good | — | 0 | ```plaintext 20261027T15:59:18.386Z [Scrapely] Container started (setup 1.0 s) 20261027T15:59:19.663Z [scrapely.actor] INFO Reading public reviews for com.whatsapp. limit=10 sort=newest device=mobile languages=en proxy=datacenter 20261027T15:59:20.949Z [scrapely.actor] INFO Review transport http. 20261027T15:59:20.949Z [scrapely.actor] INFO Saved 10 reviews. datacenter_bytes=7471 residential_bytes=0 20261027T15:59:20.949Z [scrapely.actor] INFO [Status message]: Saved 10 reviews for com.whatsapp. 20261027T15:59:21.617Z [Scrapely] Container state: status=exited exitCode=0 oomKilled=false ``` What the ten rows show: - **Stars don't always match the text.** Two of the ten were 1-star reviews whose whole text was "very good" and "good". If you chart the average rating, you miss that; if you run sentiment on `body`, you catch it. For an alert on bad reviews, check both. - **A 5-star review can be a support ticket.** Reviewer 4 gave five stars and described a blocked account. Filtering only on low stars would drop it, which is why a keyword filter (`keywords: ["not open", "banned", "blocked"]`) is worth adding next to the star filter. - **Versions show the rollout.** Six reviews came from 2.26.41.77, two from the older 2.26.40.76, and two had no version at all. Grouping by `appVersion`, as in the Python script, shows how fast a release reaches users and whether its reviews are worse. - **`language`** **is what you asked for, not what was written.** We requested English, and one review was Hindi in Latin script. Detect the language of `body` yourself if that matters for your analysis. - **Reviews are short and very fresh.** All ten were posted within three minutes of each other on 26 October (UTC), and half were under ten characters. A big app needs hundreds of reviews per day before patterns appear; at this price that's not a problem. The whole job used 7.5 KB of datacenter proxy traffic over plain HTTP, with no browser. Review data is that light, which is what keeps the per-review price so low. ## What it costs The Actor charges one event, platform usage (compute and proxy) included. Price checked on the Store page on 27 October 2026: **$0.000028 per review**, which is $0.028 per 1,000 reviews. **Our run:** 10 × $0.000028 = $0.00028 at list price. **At scale:** 10,000 reviews cost 10,000 × $0.000028 = $0.28. The Free plan's $5 of monthly usage credit covers well over a hundred thousand reviews at list price. Adding app listings with the Google Play Scraper is just as cheap, so a weekly snapshot of your app and five competitors costs a fraction of a cent. ## What to watch out for - **Default page limit.** The Actor reads 5 pages of 100 reviews unless you change `pagesToScrape`. For a full history, set both `maxReviews` and `pagesToScrape` to `-1`. - **Each device and language is its own list.** Tablet and Chromebook reviews don't show up in the mobile list, and each language code is a separate request. Run the lists you need and merge them on `reviewId`. - **Empty versions.** `appVersion` is only filled when Google shows it; two of our ten rows had none. Treat it as a strong signal, not a complete one. - **No rows isn't an error.** An unknown package, or filters nothing matches, gives a successful run with an empty dataset. Check the item count in your pipeline. - **Store changes.** Google can change the Play Store at any time. The Actor is maintained by its publisher, and a failed run in your schedule is your signal rather than silently wrong data. - **Names in text.** Reviews sometimes name the reviewer, a friend or a support agent. Remove names before you publish or share excerpts, as we did above. Google's own route is the Google Play Developer API's Reply to Reviews endpoint. Its [documentation](https://developers.google.com/android-publisher/reply-to-reviews) says it lets you "view user feedback for your app", and notes: "You can retrieve only the reviews that users have created or modified within the last week." That's the right tool for replying to your own app's reviews from a support system. For competitor apps, for history beyond seven days, or for apps you don't publish, the Actor is the way in. ## Is it legal to scrape Google Play reviews? The Actor reads only the public reviews that any visitor to an app's Play Store page can see, without logging in. Google's [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) (effective July 30, 2026, read on 27 October 2026) prohibit "using automated means to access content from any of our services in violation of the machine-readable instructions on our web pages (for example, robots.txt files that disallow crawling, training, or other activities)". Read those terms and the site's robots.txt before a commercial project; our [web scraping best practices](https://scrape.ly/blog/web-scraping-best-practices.md) explain how to read one. Reviews are personal data: a display name, a profile picture and a review history can identify a person, so the GDPR and similar laws apply once you store them. Keep only the fields you need (often `rating`, `body`, `date` and `appVersion` are enough), pseudonymise reviewers in anything you publish, and don't republish review text at scale. Our guide to [whether web scraping is legal](https://scrape.ly/blog/is-web-scraping-legal.md) covers the basics, including the GDPR. This is not legal advice; for a commercial project, ask a lawyer about your case. ## Why Scrape.ly for Google Play reviews - **No developer account, any app.** The official API covers your own apps and the last week. The Actor reads any public app's reviews, as far back as the list goes. - **Filters built in.** Stars, languages, keywords, app versions, devices and date windows are input fields, so a scheduled run returns exactly the reviews you'd otherwise filter by hand. - **Reviews and listings together.** The same token runs the review Actor and the Google Play Scraper for installs, rating histogram and release notes, plus [G2 reviews](https://scrape.ly/blog/scrape-g2-reviews.md), [Trustpilot reviews](https://scrape.ly/blog/scrape-trustpilot-reviews.md), [Google Maps reviews](https://scrape.ly/blog/scrape-google-maps-reviews.md) and [TikTok comments](https://scrape.ly/blog/scrape-tiktok-comments.md) for the rest of your brand's footprint. - **Ready for monitoring and agents.** Schedules send new 1-star reviews to Slack, Sheets or a webhook; our [review monitoring](https://scrape.ly/blog/review-monitoring.md) guide shows the full setup, and the hosted MCP server puts it all in front of your AI agent. ## FAQ ### Can you scrape Google Play reviews for free? Yes. The Free plan includes $5 of usage credit every month with no credit card, and at $0.028 per 1,000 reviews that covers far more reviews than most projects need. ### How do I get all reviews of an app? Set `maxReviews` and `pagesToScrape` to `-1`. The Actor then reads until Google's list runs out. Run the tablet and Chromebook lists and other languages separately if you need them, and merge on `reviewId`. ### Can I get only new reviews every day? Yes. Use `sortBy: "newest"` with `recentDays: 1`, save the input and schedule it daily. Each run then saves only the reviews from the last day. ### Does the scraper return developer replies? No. The documented output covers the review itself: stars, text, date, version, helpful votes and reviewer. To reply to reviews of your own app, use the Google Play Developer API. ### Can I scrape app details like installs and ratings too? Yes, with the [Google Play Scraper](https://scrape.ly/store/querystone/google-play-scraper.md). It returns the install band, score, rating count, star histogram, version, release notes and developer details for any app, plus keyword searches and similar-app lists. ### Can I scrape Google Play reviews with Python? Yes. Install `scrapely-client-python` and call `querystone/google-play-reviews-scraper`, as in the release-check script above. The scraping runs in the cloud, so you don't manage proxies or Google's internal review endpoint. Scrape.ly Store Start with the WhatsApp preset Run the newest-reviews preset as-is or paste your own app. Stars, text, dates, versions and helpful votes at $0.028 per 1,000 reviews, platform usage included. [Try it free](https://scrape.ly/store/querystone/google-play-reviews-scraper.md) [Browse the Store](https://scrape.ly/store.md) About the author [Querystone](https://scrape.ly/blog/author/querystone.md) Actor publisher on the Scrape.ly Store Search results, AI answers, web pages and market feeds as structured data. For SEO teams, developers and AI builders, plus finance, crypto and sports data for analysts. A Scrapely studio. - [Website](https://scrape.ly/users/querystone.md) Keep reading ## More in Tutorials - [![Pixel-art robot with an orange >\_ on its terminal head lifts a yellow price tag off a shopping results page headed by the four-colour Google Shopping bag and two product tiles, and drops it into a crate of price tags](https://scrape.ly/media/scrape-google-shopping.png?w=750)](https://scrape.ly/blog/scrape-google-shopping.md) ### [How to Scrape Google Shopping: Prices, Sellers and Ratings in Seconds](https://scrape.ly/blog/scrape-google-shopping.md) [Scrape Google Shopping by search or results URL and get product title, price, seller, rating, review count and position as clean rows, for any country. 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No-code steps, curl, Python, Node.js and MCP, a real run and what IMDb's terms say.](https://scrape.ly/blog/scrape-imdb.md) - [![Pixel-art robot with an orange >\_ on its terminal head pulls a fare card with a blue plane and price off a departure board topped with the blue Google Flights logo, and drops it into a crate](https://scrape.ly/media/scrape-google-flights.png?w=750)](https://scrape.ly/blog/scrape-google-flights.md) ### [How to Scrape Google Flights: Fares, Airlines, Stops and Price History](https://scrape.ly/blog/scrape-google-flights.md) [Scrape Google Flights for any route and date and get every itinerary as JSON: fare, airline, flight numbers, times, stops, layovers, aircraft, legroom and carbon, plus Google's price insights. No-code steps, API and MCP code, and a real run that cost two cents.](https://scrape.ly/blog/scrape-google-flights.md) ## The internet is full of data. Start owning yours. 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