# Kickstarter Projects Scraper (`parseforge/kickstarter-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes Kickstarter projects by search term, category, and sort order. Returns each project as a flat row with funding, backers, deadline, and creator details.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/kickstarter-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Other
- **Stats:** 14 total users, 2 monthly users, 90.4% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $19.00 / 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.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#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

![ParseForge Banner](https://github.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/blob/ad35ccc13ddd068b9d6cba33f323962e39aed5b2/banner.jpg?raw=true)

## 🚀 Kickstarter Projects Scraper

> 🚀 **Export Kickstarter crowdfunding project data in seconds.** No API key needed. No login required. Just hit run and get structured JSON, CSV, or Excel - instantly.

The Kickstarter Projects Scraper extracts live crowdfunding data from [Kickstarter.com](https://www.kickstarter.com) - the world's largest crowdfunding platform. Every record is scraped in real-time from Kickstarter's own data, so you always get current funding status, backer counts, and deadlines.

With over 676,000 indexed projects spanning technology, games, design, film, music, and more, this scraper gives researchers, investors, journalists, and marketers direct access to the pulse of the innovation economy - without ever opening a browser.

### Coverage

676,000+ projects across 16 top-level categories (Art, Comics, Crafts, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film & Video, Food, Games, Journalism, Music, Photography, Publishing, Technology, Theater). Each record includes 15 structured fields: funding goal, amount pledged, backer count, percent funded, days remaining, project status (live, successful, failed), creator name, location, and project image.

### 📋 What the Kickstarter Scraper does

- Searches Kickstarter projects by keyword, category, and sort order
- Extracts funding goal, pledged amount, backer count, and percent funded
- Captures project status (live, successful, failed), days left, and deadline
- Returns creator name, location, project blurb, and image URL
- Paginates automatically to collect up to 1,000,000 records
- Outputs clean JSON/CSV/Excel ready for analysis

> 💡 **Why it matters:** Kickstarter data is a leading indicator of consumer demand. Projects that get funded signal real market validation - before any retail launch, press coverage, or distribution. This scraper gives you that signal at scale.

### 📊 Data fields

Each record includes: `backers`, `blurb`, `category`, `creator`, `daysLeft`, `goal`, `imageUrl`, `location`, `percentFunded`, `pledged`, `results`, `scrapedAt`, `status`, `title`, `url`. These field names come straight from the actor's dataset schema, so what you see here is what lands in your dataset.

### 🚀 How to use

1. [Create a free Apify account](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) (includes $5 credit)
2. Go to the [Kickstarter Projects Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/kickstarter-scraper) page
3. Click **Try for free**
4. Enter your search keyword, select a category, set `maxItems`
5. Click **Save & Run**
6. Download your dataset as JSON, CSV, or Excel

### 🔗 Recommended Actors

| Actor | Description |
|---|---|
| [Indiegogo Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/indiegogo-scraper) | Scrape Indiegogo campaigns for cross-platform comparison |
| [Product Hunt Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/producthunt-scraper) | Track product launches and upvotes on Product Hunt |
| [G2 Reviews Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/g2-reviews-scraper) | Extract software reviews for competitive intelligence |

> 💡 **Pro Tip:** browse the complete [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge) for more specialized scrapers across 50+ platforms.

*This scraper accesses only publicly available data on Kickstarter.com. Use in accordance with Kickstarter's terms of service and applicable laws. ParseForge is not affiliated with Kickstarter PBC.*

### 🆘 Need Help?

If you hit a bug, have questions about setup, or need a scraper we haven't built yet, open our [contact form](https://tally.so/r/BzdKgA) or write to parseforge@protonmail.com. We also take on paid custom data projects.

For faster answers, join our [Discord](https://parseforge.co/discord). It's the best place to get support and suggest new actors.

# Actor input Schema

## `search` (type: `string`):

Keyword to search for Kickstarter projects (e.g. "technology", "board game", "film").

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

How many projects to collect per run.

## `category` (type: `string`):

Filter projects by Kickstarter category.

## `sort` (type: `string`):

Sort order for project results.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "search": "technology",
  "maxItems": 10,
  "sort": "magic"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 = {
    "search": "technology",
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/kickstarter-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 = {
    "search": "technology",
    "maxItems": 10,
}

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

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

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

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "search": "technology",
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/kickstarter-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/kickstarter-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/r8xQyHJmRN8q2TV3s/builds/Vd72NFCH9OdLKnQje/openapi.json