Apple App Store data API: the official API or an Apify Actor?
Apple App Store has an official API with limited access. 1 Apify Actor in this catalogue return Apple App Store data over HTTP too: send the input to Apify's run-sync endpoint with your token and get the records back as JSON, from $0.40 a run plus $0.99 per 1,000 results at Store prices (plus platform usage). One answers a single request directly in server mode.
Side by side
| iTunes Search API and App Store Connect API | Apify Actors (1) | |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Limited access | Apify API token (any account) |
| What you get | The iTunes Search API exposes app metadata and some storefront information. App Store Connect is for apps you manage. There is no open reviews API. | Rows defined by each Actor's published schema; up to 55 fields per record |
| Price | No per-call fee is published for the iTunes Search API. | From $0.40 a run plus $0.99 per 1,000 results (Store price, Free plan), plus platform usage |
| Limits | Rate limits apply; App Store Connect requires an Apple Developer account. | Synchronous calls wait up to 300 s; longer runs go asynchronous |
| Docs | iTunes Search API and App Store Connect API | Apify API: run-sync |
Official API facts checked 2026-11-09. Public app metadata only; not legal advice.
Which Actor for which job
All of them list $0.99 per 1,000 results on the Store, plus a start fee per run.
| Actor | Returns | Fields include | Call it |
|---|---|---|---|
| App Store Search, Lookup & Reviews Scraper | App metadata, chart rankings, and customer reviews from the iOS App Store, including privacy labels, version history, and… | id, name, developer | One request · Apify |
Call App Store Search, Lookup & Reviews Scraper
Server mode is on for this Actor (checked 2026-11-12): one request returns the results in the response. Set APIFY_TOKEN first; runs bill to that account.
curl (GET)
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
"https://nimbryxo-studio--app-store-search-lookup-and-reviews-scraper.apify.actor/?mode=search&searchTerms=calculator&maxItems=3&includeDetails=false&includeDeveloperResponses=false"curl (POST)
curl -X POST "https://nimbryxo-studio--app-store-search-lookup-and-reviews-scraper.apify.actor/" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"mode":"search","searchTerms":["calculator"],"maxItems":3,"includeDetails":false,"includeDeveloperResponses":false}'JavaScript
// Node 18+ or any runtime with fetch. One request = one lookup; results come back in the response.
const response = await fetch("https://nimbryxo-studio--app-store-search-lookup-and-reviews-scraper.apify.actor/", {
method: "POST",
headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.APIFY_TOKEN}`, "Content-Type": "application/json" },
body: JSON.stringify({
"mode": "search",
"searchTerms": [
"calculator"
],
"maxItems": 3,
"includeDetails": false,
"includeDeveloperResponses": false
}),
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`${response.status}: ${await response.text()}`);
const items = await response.json();
console.log(items.length, items[0]);Python
import os
import requests
# One request = one lookup; results come back in the response.
response = requests.post(
"https://nimbryxo-studio--app-store-search-lookup-and-reviews-scraper.apify.actor/",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN']}"},
json={
"mode": "search",
"searchTerms": [
"calculator",
],
"maxItems": 3,
"includeDetails": False,
"includeDeveloperResponses": False,
},
timeout=300,
)
response.raise_for_status()
items = response.json()
print(len(items), items[:1])Generated from the Actor's published schema and checked, not executed.
Same data, other routes
- Apple App Store MCP server: these Actors as tools in Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, VS Code and Codex.
- App Store reviews to Slack: an n8n workflow you can import.
- App Store reviews to Google Sheets: an n8n workflow you can import.
- Every Actor with a one-request API
When a call fails
Why does the workflow or script stop with HTTP 408?
The synchronous endpoint waits at most 300 seconds. After that it answers 408 while the run keeps going in Apify. Lower the result limit, or start the run asynchronously, wait for it to finish and then read its dataset.
Source: Apify API: run Actor synchronously and get dataset items
What do 400, 401, 402 and 403 from the Apify API mean?
Read error.type in the response body. 400 is invalid Actor input. 401 (user-or-token-not-found) means a token reached Apify but it is wrong or revoked. 402 with x402-payment-required means no token reached Apify at all: the n8n credential or the Authorization: Bearer header is missing, and Apify is offering its pay-per-run x402 route for agents instead; any other 402 is an exhausted usage limit on the account that pays for the run. 403 is a token without permission for that Actor or storage.
Source: Apify API: authentication; Apify documentation: agentic payments with x402; Apify API: run Actor synchronously and get dataset items
Why does a server-mode request answer 429?
If no Actor run can take the request within 2 minutes, Apify answers 429; the first response must also arrive within 5 minutes. Retry after a short pause, and send one request at a time while you test.
How do I authenticate server-mode requests?
Send Authorization: Bearer with your Apify API token. A token query parameter also works and is stripped before the request reaches the Actor, but a header keeps the token out of logs and browser history.
Questions
Is there an official Apple App Store API?
The iTunes Search API exposes app metadata and some storefront information. App Store Connect is for apps you manage. There is no open reviews API. No per-call fee is published for the iTunes Search API.
How much does Apple App Store data cost through an Apify Actor?
The Actors listed here charge from $0.40 a run plus $0.99 per 1,000 results on the Apify Store (Free plan), checked 2026-11-12, billed to the Apify account whose token makes the call. Actor start events and platform usage can add to that.
Can I get Apple App Store data as JSON in one HTTP request?
Yes. App Store Search, Lookup & Reviews Scraper has server mode on: a GET or POST to the Actor's own URL returns the results in the response. Every other Actor here works through POST /v2/actors/<id>/run-sync-get-dataset-items, which waits up to 300 seconds for the run.
Can an AI agent use the same Apple App Store data?
Yes. The Apple App Store MCP page bundles these Actors into one Apify MCP URL for Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, VS Code and Codex.
Is it allowed to collect Apple App Store data?
Public app metadata only; not legal advice. Read Apple App Store's terms before you build on the data.
Sources
- iTunes Search API and App Store Connect API documentation, checked 2026-11-09
- Apify API: run Actor synchronously, checked 2026-11-11
- Apple App Store terms