app-store-scraper reviews not working (403 or "Unexpected token <")? Get App Store reviews in 2026

Users of the Node package app-store-scraper report statusCode 403 and "Unexpected token < in JSON at position 0" from reviews(), and the package hasn't had a release since version 0.18.0 in November 2023. Apple's public review feed it reads also stops at about 500 reviews per country. App Store Reviews Scraper on Apify reads reviews through the App Store's web API instead, goes past the 500-review limit, and returns rating, title, text, date, reviewer, app version, helpful votes and developer replies for $0.08 per 1,000 reviews.

Open App Store Reviews Scraper on Apify $0.08 per 1,000 reviews ($0.05–$0.07 on paid plans)

Step by step

1. Create a free Apify account. Sign up at apify.com. The free plan includes $5 of monthly credit, roughly 60,000 reviews with this Actor, and needs no credit card.
2. Install the Apify client. Run npm install apify-client (or pip install apify-client) and copy your API token from Apify Console → Settings → API & Integrations.
3. Add your apps. Pass App Store URLs, numeric App Store IDs (like 324684580) or app names in apps, and the storefronts you want in countries, for example ["us", "gb", "de"].
4. Filter and sort. Set maxReviewsPerApp, sort (newest or most relevant) and minRating or maxRating, for example 1 to 2 stars to collect complaints only.
5. Run and export. Start the run and read the dataset as JSON, CSV or Excel, or through the API. Each row is one review with the app's name, developer and overall rating attached.
6. Monitor new reviews. Turn on onlyNewReviews and add a daily schedule to receive only reviews posted since the last run.

Do it from code

Python

# pip install apify-client
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("automationnation/app-store-reviews-scraper").call(run_input={
  "apps": [
    "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/spotify-music-and-podcasts/id324684580",
    "570060128"
  ],
  "countries": [
    "us",
    "gb"
  ],
  "maxReviewsPerApp": 1000,
  "sort": "newest"
})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item.get("appName"), item.get("rating"), item.get("date"), item.get("title"))

REST API (cURL)

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automationnation~app-store-reviews-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"apps": ["https://apps.apple.com/us/app/spotify-music-and-podcasts/id324684580", "570060128"], "countries": ["us", "gb"], "maxReviewsPerApp": 1000, "sort": "newest"}'

From an AI assistant (MCP)

Add this MCP server URL to Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor and ask in plain English:

https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automationnation/app-store-reviews-scraper

Alternatives

Other options: Apple's App Store Connect API returns customer reviews, but only for apps your team manages; app-store-scraper may still work for small requests from some IPs; and several other Apify Actors scrape App Store reviews. See the side-by-side comparison of App Store review scrapers. See the side-by-side comparison.

FAQ

Written by AutomationNation, the developer of App Store Reviews Scraper. Prices checked October 2026.