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Free YouTube Tool
Free YouTube Comment Downloader
Export comments from any public YouTube video to Excel, CSV, or JSON. Download replies, likes, and timestamps in seconds.
Want in-browser export on YouTube? Install the Chrome extension.
Why download
Why Download YouTube Comments?
YouTube comments contain unfiltered audience feedback: objections, feature requests, content ideas, and the exact language your market uses. Downloading them turns scroll-and-forget noise into structured, searchable data.
Content
Audience research
Download comments to discover recurring questions, pain points, and language your audience uses. Turn comment themes into content topics that already have demand.
Marketing
Content ideas
Questions that appear in 10+ comments are topics your audience is actively searching for. Download, sort by frequency, and you have a content calendar.
Marketing
Competitor analysis
Download comments from competitor videos to see what their audience praises, complains about, and wishes existed. This is research no SEO tool can give you.
Research
Sentiment tracking
Download comments from the same video over time to track how audience sentiment shifts after product launches, pricing changes, or feature updates.
Community
Giveaway picking
Download the full comment list and use it to fairly select winners for giveaways and contests. Every comment is timestamped and attributed.
How it works
Download YouTube Comments in 3 Steps
1
Paste your YouTube video URL
Copy the URL of any public YouTube video, Short, or live stream and paste it into the input above.
2
Choose your export format and options
Pick CSV, Excel, JSON, or plain text. Toggle reply threads on or off. Set a comment limit if you only need a sample.
3
Download your comments file
Click download and get a structured file with every comment, reply, like count, and timestamp ready for analysis.
Export fields
What Data Gets Exported With Each Comment
Every download includes the full set of fields below. Structured, consistent, and ready for spreadsheets or data analysis tools.
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Username
The display name of the commenter, with optional anonymisation for research exports.
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Comment text
The full comment body with line breaks and emoji preserved. No truncation.
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Timestamp
ISO 8601 publish date so you can sort chronologically or filter by recency.
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Like count
Number of likes on the comment, useful for ranking by community agreement.
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Reply count
How many replies sit beneath the comment, signalling discussion depth.
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Profile link
Direct link to the commenter's YouTube channel for follow-up research.
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Thread structure
Whether the row is a top-level comment or a reply, plus the parent author for context.
Formats
Export Formats Explained: Excel vs CSV vs JSON vs TXT
Choose the format that fits your workflow. Each one includes the same data fields, just structured differently.
Excel (.xlsx)
Quick analysis and sharing
Opens directly in Excel or Google Sheets. Best when you want to sort, filter, and pivot without any setup. Share a single file with your team and they can read it immediately.
CSV (.csv)
Databases and data pipelines
The universal interchange format. Import into SQL databases, Python, R, or any analytics tool. Lightweight, no formatting overhead, and compatible with everything.
JSON (.json)
Automation and APIs
Structured key-value pairs ready for scripting, API integrations, or feeding into language models. Preserves nested reply threads as objects.
Plain text (.txt)
Skimming and quick reads
Flat text dump of every comment. Best for fast manual reading, pasting into documents, or feeding raw text into AI tools for summarisation.
Compatibility
Downloading Comments From YouTube Shorts and Live Streams
The comment downloader works with every public YouTube content type that has a comment section.
Standard videos
Full support. Paste any public video URL and download every comment and reply thread. This is the primary use case and works with any video length.
Full support
YouTube Shorts
Shorts use the same comment system as standard videos. Paste the Shorts URL exactly as it appears and the downloader extracts comments the same way.
Full support
Live streams
Archived live stream recordings with a standard comment section are supported. Real-time live chat replay is not currently available, but archived comments can be downloaded.
Archived comments
After the download
How to Analyze YouTube Comments After Downloading
The download is step one. Here is what to do with the file once you have it.
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Sort by likes
Open the CSV or Excel file and sort the like count column descending. The highest-liked comments represent the opinions the community agrees with most. These are your strongest signals.
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Filter by keyword
Use Ctrl+F or a spreadsheet filter to find comments containing specific terms: your product name, a competitor, a feature, or a pain point. Instant qualitative research.
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Feed into ChatGPT or Claude
Paste the comment text column into an AI tool and ask it to summarise themes, extract feature requests, or identify the top 5 objections. Turns hundreds of comments into actionable insights in seconds.
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Basic sentiment analysis
Use a simple positive/negative/neutral classifier on the comment text. Even a basic keyword-based approach reveals whether the overall tone is supportive, critical, or mixed.
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Find content ideas
Look for comments that start with questions: "How do I...", "Can you...", "What about...". Each question is a potential blog post, video topic, or FAQ entry with proven demand.
Comparison
YouTube Comment Downloader vs YouTube Data API
Two ways to get YouTube comment data. This tool is the fastest path to a downloadable file. The official API gives you sanctioned access with hard limits and requires engineering resources.
| TubeHarvest | YouTube Data API | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | Under 30 seconds | 15–30 minutes |
| Coding required | None | API integration code |
| API key needed | No | Yes (Google Cloud) |
| Daily quota | No quota on paid plans | 10,000 units/day |
| Reply threads | Included by default | Separate endpoint |
| Export formats | Excel, CSV, JSON, TXT | JSON only (raw) |
| Pagination handling | Automatic | Manual page tokens |
| Best for | Speed and ease | Custom integrations |
For most users, TubeHarvest gets you from URL to download in under a minute. Use the official API when your project requires sanctioned access and you have engineering resources to manage the integration.
When you need more
When 250 comments is not enough.
The free tool downloads one video per day. TubeHarvest unlocks unlimited downloads, channel-level batch exports, and ZIP files with full metadata.
- ✓ Download unlimited comments per video with Local or Cloud
- ✓ Batch download entire channels and playlists with Cloud Pro
- ✓ Export to Excel, CSV, JSON, or TXT with full metadata
- ✓ Anonymize exports by default for safe internal sharing
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about downloading YouTube comments.
How do I download comments from a YouTube video?
Paste any public YouTube video URL into the tool above and click Download comments. The free tier exports up to 250 comments with full metadata as a CSV. No sign-up, no API key, and no code required.
Can I download YouTube comments to Excel?
Yes. TubeHarvest supports direct Excel (.xlsx) export. The file opens in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet app with columns for author, comment text, likes, timestamps, reply depth, and more.
Can I download comments from YouTube Shorts?
Yes. Shorts use the same comment system as standard YouTube videos. Paste the Shorts URL and the tool extracts comments exactly the same way.
Can I download comments from a YouTube live stream?
You can download comments from archived live stream recordings that have a standard comment section. Real-time live chat replay is not currently supported.
Does this tool download reply threads?
Yes. The downloader extracts both top-level comments and their reply threads. Each row is tagged as a comment or reply, with the parent author identified so you can reconstruct full conversations.
Can I download comments from private or unlisted videos?
No. The tool only accesses publicly available comments. Private videos and unlisted videos with restricted comment visibility cannot be accessed.
Is there a limit to how many comments I can download?
The free tool on this page exports up to 250 comments per video per day. TubeHarvest Local and Cloud remove that cap, letting you download every comment on a video regardless of thread length.
What data is included in the exported file?
Each export includes username, comment text, like count, reply count, published timestamp, author channel URL, comment type (top-level or reply), and author verification status.
Is it legal to download YouTube comments?
Downloading publicly available YouTube comments for personal research, academic analysis, or business intelligence is generally permissible. TubeHarvest only accesses public data and includes anonymisation by default.
Can I download comments from an entire YouTube channel?
Yes. TubeHarvest Cloud Pro supports batch downloads. Paste a channel URL, select the videos you want, and download comments from all of them. Each video gets its own file inside a ZIP.
Do I need a YouTube API key to use this tool?
No. TubeHarvest handles the extraction without requiring your own API credentials. You skip the Google Cloud setup, quota management, and OAuth configuration entirely.
Can I filter comments before downloading?
The free tool downloads all public comments. TubeHarvest paid plans let you sort by likes, filter by keyword, and exclude reply threads before exporting so you get exactly the data you need.
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