# Yelp Scraper — Leads, Reviews & Contacts (`sleek_waveform/yelp-scraper`) Actor

Extract Yelp business listings: phone, website, address, reviews, ratings, hours, categories. Build B2B lead lists and monitor competitors.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/sleek\_waveform/yelp-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Daniel Dimitrov](https://apify.com/sleek_waveform) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation
- **Stats:** 16 total users, 4 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $4.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

The **Yelp Scraper** extracts business listings, contact info, reviews, ratings, and operating hours from [Yelp](https://www.yelp.com) — no Yelp Fusion API key, no coding, no subscriptions. Enter search terms and locations (or paste direct business URLs) and the Yelp Scraper returns a clean, deduplicated dataset of every matching business in JSON, CSV, or Excel. Built for B2B lead generation, local-SEO research, competitor analysis, and review monitoring.

This Apify Actor scrapes Yelp pages using a fast HTTP-only crawler with residential proxy support, automatic retries, and global result deduplication so the same business is never billed twice.

### Features of the Yelp Scraper

- **Search Yelp by keyword + location** — any city, state, or ZIP code
- **Direct Yelp business URL scraping** — paste URLs and skip search
- **Full business details** — name, phone, website, address, rating, review count, categories, price range, hours, amenities, "About the Business"
- **Extract Yelp reviews** — rating, date, text, author, friend count, photo count, useful/funny/cool votes
- **Sort reviews** — newest, oldest, highest rating, lowest rating, or Yelp Elite only
- **Pagination handled automatically** — respects your `maxResults` cap across pages
- **Business deduplication** — the same Yelp business is never returned twice across searches
- **Residential proxy rotation** — Yelp blocks datacenter IPs; residential is the default
- **Webhook notifications** — optional POST to your endpoint when the run completes
- **Export** — JSON, CSV, Excel, HTML, or XML via Apify datasets

### Why use this Yelp Scraper

Yelp has no free public API for bulk data. The official [Yelp Fusion API](https://fusion.yelp.com/) costs from $229/month, caps you at 500 calls/day on the lowest paid tier, and returns truncated review text. This Yelp Scraper solves all four problems:

| Yelp data problem | How the Yelp Scraper handles it |
|---|---|
| No free Yelp API | Pay-per-result — no subscription, no minimum |
| Fusion API returns 3-review snippets | Extract up to 50 full reviews per business |
| Yelp blocks datacenter IPs | Residential proxy group enabled by default |
| Duplicate results across search terms | Global deduplication keyed by canonical URL |
| Geographic limits on Fusion API | Scrape any Yelp domain: `.com`, `.ie`, `.co.uk`, `.ca`, more |

### How to use the Yelp Scraper (tutorial)

#### Step 1 — Open the Actor

Click **Try for free** on this page to open the Yelp Scraper in the [Apify Console](https://console.apify.com/).

#### Step 2 — Enter search terms

Type what you're looking for in **Search Terms** — for example `restaurants`, `plumbers`, `dentists`, `hair salons`. Add one or more.

#### Step 3 — Enter locations

Add cities, states, or ZIPs in **Locations** — for example `San Francisco, CA`, `94105`, `Manhattan NY`, `Austin, TX`.

#### Step 4 — (Optional) Paste direct URLs

If you already have Yelp business URLs, paste them into **Start URLs** to skip the search step entirely.

#### Step 5 — Set limits and start

Set **Max Results per Search** (default 50), **Max Reviews per Business** (default 5), and click **Start**. Results stream into the dataset as they scrape. Export from the **Dataset** tab in the format you need.

#### Call the Yelp Scraper from code

JavaScript:

```javascript
const { ApifyClient } = require('apify-client');
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });

const run = await client.actor('YOUR_USERNAME/yelp-scraper').call({
  searchTerms: ['restaurants'],
  locations: ['San Francisco, CA'],
  maxResults: 50,
  maxReviewsPerBusiness: 5,
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
```

Python:

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient('YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN')

run = client.actor('YOUR_USERNAME/yelp-scraper').call(run_input={
    'searchTerms': ['plumbers'],
    'locations': ['Austin, TX'],
    'maxResults': 100,
})
items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items
```

CLI:

```bash
apify call YOUR_USERNAME/yelp-scraper -i '{"searchTerms":["coffee"],"locations":["Seattle, WA"]}'
```

### Pricing — how much does the Yelp Scraper cost

The Yelp Scraper is priced per result (pay-per-event). You pay only for each business returned — reviews on each business are free.

| Tier | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | First results free | Quality check |
| Pay-per-result | ~$4.00 / 1,000 businesses | Ongoing scraping, any volume |

Residential proxy bandwidth and Apify platform compute are included. No monthly fee, no setup cost, no per-seat pricing.

#### Rough volume examples (at $4.00 / 1,000 businesses)

| Job | Businesses | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| 50 restaurants in one city | 50 | ~$0.20 |
| 500 plumbers across Texas | 500 | ~$2.00 |
| 5,000 dentists across a state | 5,000 | ~$20 |
| 50,000 nationwide leads | 50,000 | ~$200 |

### Input

Open the **Input** tab on the Actor page for the interactive form. Main fields:

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `searchTerms` | string\[] | — | What to search for (`restaurants`, `plumbers`, `dentists`) |
| `locations` | string\[] | — | Cities, states, or ZIPs (`San Francisco, CA`, `94105`) |
| `startUrls` | string\[] | — | Direct Yelp business URLs — skips search |
| `maxResults` | integer | `50` | Max businesses per search term/location pair |
| `maxReviewsPerBusiness` | integer | `5` | Max reviews per business (0 to skip reviews) |
| `reviewSortBy` | string | `newest` | `newest`, `oldest`, `highest_rating`, `lowest_rating`, `elites` |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | Residential | Proxy config — residential strongly recommended |
| `webhookUrl` | string | — | Optional POST on run completion |

### Output example

The Yelp Scraper returns one record per business. Reviews are nested inside each business record.

```json
{
  "businessName": "Desnudo Coffee",
  "phone": "(424) 400-1857",
  "address": "2505 Webberville Rd, Austin, TX, 78702",
  "website": "http://www.desnudocoffee.com",
  "rating": 4.7,
  "reviewCount": 331,
  "categories": ["Coffee Roasteries"],
  "priceRange": "$$",
  "hours": {
    "Monday": "7:00 AM - 2:00 PM",
    "Tuesday": "7:00 AM - 2:00 PM",
    "Wednesday": "7:00 AM - 2:00 PM",
    "Thursday": "7:00 AM - 2:00 PM",
    "Friday": "7:00 AM - 2:00 PM",
    "Saturday": "7:30 AM - 2:30 PM",
    "Sunday": "7:30 AM - 2:30 PM"
  },
  "mapUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=30.263001,-97.713647",
  "amenities": [
    "Offers delivery",
    "Offers take-out",
    "Wheelchair accessible",
    "Accepts credit cards",
    "Good for working",
    "Street parking",
    "Covered outdoor seating",
    "Bike parking"
  ],
  "about": "Charming coffee trailer in East Austin with farm-to-trailer brews and vibrant music.",
  "url": "https://www.yelp.com/biz/desnudo-coffee-austin",
  "reviews": [
    {
      "rating": 5,
      "date": "2026-04-14",
      "text": "Wonderful coffee shop run by the sweetest brothers...",
      "author": "Shannon S.",
      "authorFriendCount": 0,
      "authorPhotoCount": 4,
      "usefulCount": 0,
      "funnyCount": 0,
      "coolCount": 0
    }
  ],
  "scrapedAt": "2026-04-24T04:14:34.238Z"
}
```

#### Output preview (CSV)

| businessName | phone | address | website | rating | reviewCount | categories | priceRange |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desnudo Coffee | (424) 400-1857 | 2505 Webberville Rd, Austin, TX | desnudocoffee.com | 4.7 | 331 | Coffee Roasteries | $$ |

### Use cases for the Yelp Scraper

- **B2B lead generation** — pull prospect lists with verified phone numbers, websites, and addresses for any industry in any city
- **Competitor analysis** — monitor rival businesses' Yelp ratings, review counts, and category tags over time
- **Review monitoring** — track customer sentiment; sort by `lowest_rating` for reputation management alerts
- **Local SEO research** — analyze category saturation, average ratings, and price ranges in a given market
- **Sales outreach** — power cold email and cold call lists with enriched business data
- **Market research** — segment local markets by category density, review volume, or rating distribution

### Integrations

The Yelp Scraper dataset connects to:

- **Zapier, Make, n8n** — trigger workflows when a run finishes (use `webhookUrl`)
- **Google Sheets, Airtable, HubSpot, Salesforce** — through official [Apify integrations](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations)
- **Webhooks, REST API, JS/Python clients** — programmatic control via the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2)

### Schedule Yelp Scraper runs

Open the Actor page, click **Schedule**, and pick a cron interval. Use scheduled runs to refresh lead lists weekly, alert on new negative reviews daily, or run monthly competitor scans. See the [Apify Schedules docs](https://docs.apify.com/platform/schedules).

```javascript
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
await client.schedules().create({
  actions: [{
    type: 'RUN_ACTOR',
    actorId: 'YOUR_USERNAME/yelp-scraper',
    runInput: { body: JSON.stringify({ searchTerms: ['restaurants'], locations: ['San Francisco, CA'] }) },
  }],
  cronExpression: '0 9 * * 1',
});
```

### Other Apify Actors you may like

- **Threads Scraper — Posts, Profiles & Metrics** — scrape Meta Threads profiles, posts, hashtags, and search with engagement metrics
- **Google Maps Scraper** — extract business leads straight from Google Maps
- **Yellow Pages Scraper** — alternative local-business data source
- **Instagram Scraper** — pull profiles and posts for social-lead enrichment
- **LinkedIn People Scraper** — decision-maker contact data for B2B outreach

### FAQ

#### Is scraping Yelp legal?

The Yelp Scraper only extracts **publicly available data** from business listing pages — the same data a visitor sees without logging in. It does not access private messages, Yelp-for-Business dashboards, or data behind authentication. Always comply with [Yelp's Terms of Service](https://terms.yelp.com/tos/en_us/) and applicable data-protection laws.

#### Yelp Fusion API vs Yelp Scraper — which should I use?

The [Yelp Fusion API](https://fusion.yelp.com/) starts at **$229/month**, limits you to 500 requests/day on the lowest paid tier, and returns only 3 truncated review snippets per business. The Yelp Scraper is pay-per-result (no monthly fee), has no daily cap, and extracts **full review text** up to 50 reviews per business. For anything beyond a light hobby project, the scraper is cheaper and more complete.

#### Do I need a Yelp account or API key?

No. The Yelp Scraper works without any Yelp account, developer key, or sign-up. Just enter search terms or URLs and run.

#### Can I scrape all reviews for a Yelp business?

Yes. Set `maxReviewsPerBusiness` up to 50 per business. Use `reviewSortBy: "lowest_rating"` to surface negative reviews first for reputation monitoring.

#### How do I avoid getting blocked by Yelp?

Yelp has aggressive bot detection. The Yelp Scraper enables **residential proxy rotation** by default, which is the only reliable way to scrape Yelp at scale. Datacenter proxies will produce 403 errors.

#### How do I scrape Yelp reviews without coding?

Open the Yelp Scraper in the Apify Console, enter search terms and locations, set `maxReviewsPerBusiness` to the number of reviews you want, and click **Start**. No code required.

#### Can the Yelp Scraper scrape non-US Yelp sites?

Yes. The scraper handles any Yelp domain — `.com`, `.ca`, `.co.uk`, `.ie`, `.fr`, and more. Just paste URLs from the target country into `startUrls`, or use location terms recognized by that country's Yelp.

#### How do I export Yelp results as CSV or Excel?

After the run finishes, open the **Dataset** tab and click **Export**. Choose JSON, CSV, Excel, HTML, or XML. The dataset includes preset views (Business Overview, B2B Leads Export, Full Details + Reviews).

#### Can I schedule the Yelp Scraper to run automatically?

Yes. Use **Schedules** in the Apify Console to run the Yelp Scraper on any cron expression — daily, weekly, monthly, or custom. See the code example above.

#### How much does it cost to scrape 10,000 Yelp businesses?

At $4.00 per 1,000 businesses, scraping 10,000 Yelp listings costs **~$40**. Reviews extracted for those businesses are included in the per-business price.

### Troubleshooting

#### 403 Forbidden errors

- Confirm `proxyConfiguration` is set to the `RESIDENTIAL` group (default)
- Datacenter proxies will not work against Yelp

#### Empty review arrays

- Yelp occasionally A/B-tests review layouts; lower `maxReviewsPerBusiness` to 5–10 and retry
- Some businesses genuinely have 0 reviews

#### Wrong country results

- Yelp may redirect US searches to a country version. Use `startUrls` with the exact Yelp URL to pin the result to one country

### Support

- Review the **Troubleshooting** section above
- Read the [Apify Actor development docs](https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development)
- Open an issue on GitHub or contact the developer through the Actor page

### Other sleek\_waveform Actors you might like

- **[Google Maps B2B Lead Scraper](https://apify.com/sleek_waveform/us-b2b-leads-google-maps)** — scrape US business leads from Google Maps with phone, email, and GPS. Pair with Yelp data to cross-reference review counts with Google Maps presence for a fuller lead picture.
- **[Contractor Lead Scraper](https://apify.com/sleek_waveform/construction-contractor-leads)** — extract licensed contractor leads from state licensing boards (CA, FL, TX, NY). Combine Yelp reviews with contractor license data to build enriched, verified lead lists.
- **[Threads Profile & Post Scraper](https://apify.com/sleek_waveform/threads-scraper)** — scrape Meta Threads posts and profiles. Many local businesses post on Threads — pair with Yelp reviews for a complete local business intelligence picture.

***

*Found this Actor useful? Leave a review on the Apify Store — it takes 30 seconds and helps other developers discover it.*

### License

MIT

# Actor input Schema

## `searchTerms` (type: `array`):

What to search for (e.g. restaurants, plumbers, dentists)

## `locations` (type: `array`):

Cities, states, or zip codes to search (e.g. San Francisco CA, 94105, Manhattan NY)

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Direct Yelp business page URLs to scrape (skips search). Add one URL per line.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of business results to extract per search term/location combination

## `maxReviewsPerBusiness` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of reviews to extract per business (0 to skip reviews)

## `reviewSortBy` (type: `string`):

How to sort reviews when extracting

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Residential proxies recommended for Yelp to avoid blocks. Datacenter proxies will get 403 errors.

## `webhookUrl` (type: `string`):

Optional URL to receive a POST notification when the run completes

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchTerms": [
    "restaurants"
  ],
  "locations": [
    "San Francisco, CA"
  ],
  "startUrls": [],
  "maxResults": 50,
  "maxReviewsPerBusiness": 5,
  "reviewSortBy": "newest",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `datasetUrl` (type: `string`):

Download the full dataset in JSON, CSV, or Excel.

## `consoleUrl` (type: `string`):

View the run results in the Apify Console.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchTerms": [
        "restaurants"
    ],
    "locations": [
        "San Francisco, CA"
    ],
    "startUrls": []
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("sleek_waveform/yelp-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "searchTerms": ["restaurants"],
    "locations": ["San Francisco, CA"],
    "startUrls": [],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("sleek_waveform/yelp-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchTerms": [
    "restaurants"
  ],
  "locations": [
    "San Francisco, CA"
  ],
  "startUrls": []
}' |
apify call sleek_waveform/yelp-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=sleek_waveform/yelp-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/lrZKNem8tXPx79DXK/builds/E6dqd2aq7bpJzpq4k/openapi.json