YouTube API for Channels, Playlists and Hashtags
Paste a channel or playlist URL into EmbedSocial, or pick a hashtag. The videos sync in, and your app reads them with one API key.
The API is part of Premium (€99 a month). 7-day free trial.
What is the YouTube API?
The YouTube Data API is Google's official way for apps to read YouTube channels, playlists and videos. EmbedSocial connects to YouTube for you: add a channel, playlist or hashtag as a source, and your app gets the videos as JSON from EmbedSocial endpoints with one API key, including titles, links and dates. API access is part of the Premium plan, and it does not publish to YouTube.
YouTube Data API or the EmbedSocial API?
Both give your app YouTube videos. The difference is who does the setup and the upkeep.
| Feature | EmbedSocial API | YouTube Data API |
|---|---|---|
| What you set up | A source in EmbedSocial: paste a channel or playlist URL, or type a hashtag | A Google Cloud project, an API key or OAuth, and your own code for each call |
| Where the videos live | Synced into EmbedSocial. Your app reads them from one endpoint | You fetch them from YouTube on each request, or store them yourself |
| Usage limits | No Google quota for you to manage | A daily quota per Google Cloud project |
| Other networks | The same key covers Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, X and more | YouTube only |
| Search across sources | POST /v2/api/social-feed/items/query by keyword, date, tag or AI score | Build it yourself |
| When the API changes | Our API shields you from those changes | You update your integration |
| Price | Part of Premium, €99 a month, with widgets and social listening | Free to call, within the quota |
A channel, a playlist or a hashtag, read the same way
Connect each YouTube source once. Put one or several in a widget, then call the widget by its reference and page through the videos, up to 200 at a time.
- Channel: everything a channel publishes, from its URL
- Playlist: a fixed set of videos you picked on YouTube
- #Hashtag: the videos published under a tag
- GET /v2/api/social-feed/hashtag-album/media, or /media/{mediaId} for one video
Your EmbedSocial API key, not a Google one
You never create a key in Google Cloud. API access comes with the Premium and Enterprise plans: start with a 7-day free trial, connect your YouTube sources, then open Integrations in Settings and send the key as Authorization: Bearer {apiKey}. Step by step: Do you offer API Key and API documentation?
YouTube API FAQ
Is the YouTube API free?
Do I need a YouTube API key?
What is the YouTube Data API v3?
Can I get videos from a channel I do not own?
Can I pull live streams or private videos?
How many videos does a new source start with?
Can I upload or post to YouTube with the EmbedSocial API?
More ways to use YouTube videos
YouTube social listening
Track the videos and creators that talk about your brand on YouTube.
Learn moreSkip the Google Cloud setup
Connect a channel, playlist or hashtag, then call one API for the videos.
API access is on Premium and Enterprise. 7-day free trial.