# SoftwareAdvice Reviews Scraper (Cheap) (`data_api/softwareadvice-reviews-scraper-cheap`) Actor

Extracts software reviews from SoftwareAdvice product pages, including ratings, reviewer details, pros and cons, and sub-ratings.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/data\_api/softwareadvice-reviews-scraper-cheap.md
- **Developed by:** [Data API](https://apify.com/data_api) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.99 / 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/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

## SoftwareAdvice Reviews Scraper

![SoftwareAdvice Reviews Scraper](cover.jpg)

SoftwareAdvice holds thousands of buyer reviews, but reading them one page at a time is slow, and there is no download button when you want the data in a spreadsheet. This scraper does the copying for you. Paste a product link and it returns every review as its own row: the reviewer, their star scores, what they liked, what they did not, and the date they wrote it. Point it at one product or a whole list of competitors and pull the lot into JSON, CSV, or Excel.

### What you get

Each review becomes one tidy row, and the shape stays the same from product to product. Fields that a reviewer left blank come back as `null` rather than disappearing, so your columns line up cleanly in a sheet or database. Three groups of data per row:

- **Product context** — `softwareName`, `softwareUrl`, `softwareCategory`, `productScore`, `reviewsTotal`
- **The review** — `reviewKey`, `reviewTitle`, `publishedDate`, `likedMost`, `dislikedMost`, `reviewText`, `upvotes`, `verifiedUser`
- **Scores and reviewer** — `scoreOverall`, `scoreEaseOfUse`, `scoreSupport`, `scoreFeatures`, `scoreValue`, `authorName`, `authorRole`, `authorCompany`, `authorIndustry`, `usageDuration`, `usageFrequency`

### Quick start

1. Click **Try for free** and open the input form.
2. Paste a SoftwareAdvice product link into **Product page URL**, or drop several into the batch field below it. The profile page and the `/reviews/` tab both work.
3. Set a **Review cap** so the run stops where you want, and a **Lowest star score** if you only care about higher ratings.
4. Press **Start**, then download the rows as JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML once it finishes.

![How it works](how-it-works.jpg)

### Use cases

- **Competitive research** — line up your product's reviews against rivals in the same category and see where buyers say each one wins or loses
- **Voice-of-customer analysis** — feed the pros and cons text into sentiment or theme tagging to learn what users actually praise and complain about
- **Product roadmap input** — pull recurring gripes from the cons field to prioritise fixes and features
- **Marketing and sales copy** — surface real quotes and high scores to back up landing pages and battlecards
- **Market sizing** — track review counts and average scores across a category to gauge momentum
- **Academic and analyst research** — build a structured dataset of software sentiment over time

### Input

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|-------|------|----------|-------------|
| `reviewPageUrl` | string | One of `reviewPageUrl` or `reviewPageUrls` | A single SoftwareAdvice product link, either the profile page or its `/reviews/` tab. |
| `reviewPageUrls` | array of strings | One of `reviewPageUrl` or `reviewPageUrls` | Several product links to run in one batch. Duplicates are dropped before the run starts. |
| `reviewLimit` | integer | No | Ceiling on total reviews collected across the whole run; about 10 come back per page request. Default `25`. |
| `minStars` | integer | No | Drop reviews scoring below this many stars, from 1 (keep all) to 5 (top only). Default `1`. |
| `timeoutSeconds` | integer | No | Seconds to wait on each page request before giving up. Default `45`. |

#### Example input

```json
{
    "reviewPageUrl": "https://www.softwareadvice.com/project-management/asana-profile/",
    "reviewPageUrls": [
        "https://www.softwareadvice.com/crm/hubspot-crm-profile/",
        "https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/2764-Salesforce/"
    ],
    "reviewLimit": 25,
    "minStars": 1,
    "timeoutSeconds": 45
}
```

### Output

Every review the scraper keeps becomes one row, and each field is always present — values a reviewer left out come back as `null` so your dataset stays rectangular. If a URL cannot be processed, the row carries an `errorMessage` instead.

#### Example output

```json
{
    "softwareName": "Asana",
    "softwareUrl": "https://www.softwareadvice.com/project-management/asana-profile/",
    "softwareCategory": "Project Management",
    "productScore": 4.5,
    "reviewsTotal": 13284,
    "reviewKey": "rv_8841273",
    "reviewTitle": "Keeps our whole team on the same page",
    "authorName": "Marcus T.",
    "authorRole": "Operations Manager",
    "authorCompany": "51-200 employees",
    "authorIndustry": "Marketing and Advertising",
    "publishedDate": "2026-04-18",
    "scoreOverall": 5.0,
    "scoreEaseOfUse": 4.0,
    "scoreSupport": 4.0,
    "scoreFeatures": 5.0,
    "scoreValue": 4.0,
    "likedMost": "Task dependencies and timeline view make planning sprints painless.",
    "dislikedMost": "The mobile app feels cramped once a project gets large.",
    "reviewText": "We moved from spreadsheets to Asana last year and never looked back. Setup took an afternoon and the team adopted it fast.",
    "verifiedUser": true,
    "upvotes": 12,
    "usageDuration": "MoreThan2Years",
    "usageFrequency": "Daily",
    "errorMessage": null,
    "collectedAt": "2026-06-30T12:00:00.000000+00:00"
}
```

#### Output fields

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `softwareName` | string | Title of the software product the review belongs to |
| `softwareUrl` | string | Link to the product profile page on SoftwareAdvice |
| `softwareCategory` | string | Market segment the tool sits in, such as CRM or Project Management |
| `productScore` | number | Blended star score across all reviews, from 0 to 5 |
| `reviewsTotal` | integer | How many reviews the product has on SoftwareAdvice in total |
| `reviewKey` | string | Identifier that uniquely tags this single review |
| `reviewTitle` | string | Short headline the reviewer gave their write-up |
| `authorName` | string | Display name of the reviewer, or Anonymous when withheld |
| `authorRole` | string | Job title or position held by the reviewer |
| `authorCompany` | string | Employer name or company-size band reported by the reviewer |
| `authorIndustry` | string | Business sector the reviewer works in |
| `publishedDate` | string | Day the review went live (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `scoreOverall` | number | Headline star score the reviewer assigned, from 0 to 5 |
| `scoreEaseOfUse` | number | Sub-score for how easy the tool was to use |
| `scoreSupport` | number | Sub-score for the vendor's customer support |
| `scoreFeatures` | number | Sub-score for the depth of features |
| `scoreValue` | number | Sub-score for value relative to price |
| `likedMost` | string | The pros the reviewer called out, in their own words |
| `dislikedMost` | string | The cons the reviewer flagged, in their own words |
| `reviewText` | string | Full body of the written review |
| `verifiedUser` | boolean | True when the reviewer was confirmed as verified |
| `upvotes` | integer | Count of readers who marked this review helpful |
| `usageDuration` | string | How long the reviewer has used the software |
| `usageFrequency` | string | How often the reviewer uses the software |
| `errorMessage` | string | Why a URL failed; `null` on success |
| `collectedAt` | string | ISO 8601 timestamp of when the row was captured |

### Tips for best results

- **Try one product first.** Run a single URL before queuing a big batch, so you can confirm the fields match your pipeline before spending on the full job.
- **Use the cap to control spend.** Each page request returns about 10 reviews, so set `reviewLimit` to match what you actually need rather than pulling everything.
- **Filter at the source.** If you only want strong reviews, raise `minStars` to 4 or 5 instead of pulling every review and trimming later.
- **Raise the timeout on slow runs.** If you see frequent timeout errors, push `timeoutSeconds` toward 90.
- **Watch the `errorMessage` field.** A populated value means that URL did not resolve — usually a bad link or a product with no reviews yet — so the rest of your rows stay clean.

### How can I use SoftwareAdvice review data?

**How can I use the SoftwareAdvice Reviews Scraper to compare competing software?**
Queue the product links for every tool in a category into `reviewPageUrls` and run them together. You get one row per review with the product name, category, average score, and the individual sub-scores for ease of use, support, features, and value. Group by `softwareName` to see which competitor buyers rate highest and on which axis.

**How can I pull SoftwareAdvice pros and cons for voice-of-customer analysis?**
Every row carries `likedMost` and `dislikedMost` straight from the reviewer, plus the full `reviewText`. Export to CSV and run them through your own sentiment or theme tagging to find the praise and complaints that come up again and again — useful for product, support, and marketing teams alike.

**How can I export SoftwareAdvice reviews to a spreadsheet?**
Paste a product URL, set a `reviewLimit`, and start the run. When it finishes, download the dataset as CSV or Excel and open it in any sheet tool. Each review is its own row with consistent columns, so there is no copy-pasting from the website and no manual cleanup.

**How can I track software ratings over time?**
Run the same product links on a schedule and keep the `collectedAt` timestamp with each batch. Comparing `productScore` and `reviewsTotal` across runs shows whether a tool is gaining momentum or sentiment is slipping.

### Is it legal to scrape data?

Our actors are ethical and do not extract any private user data, such as email addresses or private contact information. They only extract what the user has chosen to share publicly. We therefore believe that our actors, when used for ethical purposes by Apify users, are safe.

However, you should be aware that your results could contain personal data. Personal data is protected by the GDPR in the European Union and by other regulations around the world. You should not scrape personal data unless you have a legitimate reason to do so. If you're unsure whether your reason is legitimate, consult your lawyers.

You can also read Apify's blog post on the [legality of web scraping](https://blog.apify.com/is-web-scraping-legal/).

### Support

Questions, feature requests, or a field you'd like added? Reach out at <data.apify@proton.me> and we'll get back to you.

# Actor input Schema

## `productUrl` (type: `string`):

URL of a SoftwareAdvice product page (profile URL or /reviews/ sub-page — both work).

## `productUrls` (type: `array`):

Scrape multiple products in one run. Combine with Product URL to mix single and batch. Duplicates are removed automatically.

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

Maximum total reviews to collect across all products in this run. Each product page provides up to 10 reviews per request.

## `minRating` (type: `integer`):

Only include reviews with this star rating or higher (1 to 5).

## `requestTimeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

Per-request timeout in seconds.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "productUrl": "https://www.softwareadvice.com/crm/salesforce-profile/",
  "productUrls": [
    "https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/2764-Salesforce/",
    "https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/3232-Asana/",
    "https://www.softwareadvice.com/crm/hubspot-crm-profile/"
  ],
  "maxItems": 10,
  "minRating": 1,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 30
}
```

# 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 = {
    "productUrl": "https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/2764-Salesforce/"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("data_api/softwareadvice-reviews-scraper-cheap").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 = { "productUrl": "https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/2764-Salesforce/" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("data_api/softwareadvice-reviews-scraper-cheap").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 '{
  "productUrl": "https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/2764-Salesforce/"
}' |
apify call data_api/softwareadvice-reviews-scraper-cheap --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/SIOT1YiTUkFscnATC/builds/MOw6F639cHoP9JnUP/openapi.json